South Shore woman upset abandoned sailboat still not moved from her property

For two years, a 17-metre wooden sailboat has rotted in a cove near Judith Atkinson's home in Feltzen South on Nova Scotia's south shore, an ugly wreck blocking her path to the water where she usually launches her dory. 

Atkinson is angry that after all this time nobody has begun work to remove the abandoned vessel, despite a new federal program that's supposed to do just that.

"Big hunks of stuff are coming off the sides, so it looks like it has wings and wants to fly but unfortunately it doesn't fly. It just sits there," said Atkinson, an American who's been spending her summers in Feltzen South for more than 50 years.

The problem is that she needs the help of the municipality, province or a community group to apply under the abandoned boats program, which gives applicants up to $50,000 to remove derelict vessels.

Atkinson said she's pleaded her case with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and her local municipality, without any luck. 

"I don't have the power. All I can do is say it doesn't make any sense not to move this. This is dangerous and it should go," she said. 

Boat drifted across the harbour

The sailing vessel Schwalbe was abandoned by its owners, who aren't residents of Canada, in Lunenburg. In 2015, it broke free from its moorings and drifted to Feltzen South.

A spokesperson for Fisheries and Oceans Canada said the owner has "declined all responsibility for the vessel," and that the coast guard removed pollutants shortly after it ran aground.

CBC News has reached out to the Municipality of Lunenburg and is waiting for comment.

As Atkinson tries to bring attention to the boat in her backyard, a more high-profile abandoned ship further south is finally being removed. The Farley Mowat is expected to be towed from Shelburne to a scrapyard in Liverpool on July 27.

It's been languishing in the community's harbour since 2014, costing the municipality hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

Residents can't apply under new program

Bernadette Jordan, MP for South Shore-St. Margaret's, has been championing the removal of Canada's roughly 600 abandoned and derelict vessels. She introduced a private member's bill last year, which has become part of the Oceans Protection Plan.

The new abandoned boats program is currently receiving applications, but a resident like Atkinson can't apply on her own. Jordan said this is likely because there's no way to hold an individual accountable for the funding. 

"The small-boats program that was just announced is new. It's still finding its legs, I think, but I think it's a great first step forward in helping people remove these things," said Jordan, adding that she plans to reach out to Atkinson. 

The MP said boat owners abandoning their vessels is a big problem, especially because "it's an expensive venture to remove these vessels."

"It's not an easy fix as a lot of people seem to think," she said.