Kingston resident Jeff Campbell intentionally stranded his sailboat in the ice over the winter to see if the concrete hull was tough enough to handle a trip through the Northwest Passage.
In the end the ice didn’t get it, but the wind did.
The April 4 wind storm that swept through most of the Southern Ontario region marooned his boat on the nearby shores of Wolfe Island, where he had it anchored in a bay.
A number of Island residents get their water from that bay and were concerned about contamination from the boat’s fuel and motor oil if it spilled.
Fortunately it didn’t, and Campbell hired a company to remove the potential contaminants from the boat.
Residents are pleased there are no more potential environmental issues.
“We’re all grateful, because this is where a lot of people have pipes out to get drinking water from the bay,” said Judy Greenwood-Speers, who lives across the street from the bay. “But when you have diesel spillage of any sort it really does do a number.”
Frontenac Islands mayor Denis Doyle hopes to prevent incidents like this from happening again.
“We’ve got to see what kind of provincial by-laws or rules will allow us to pass local by-laws to have some control over the area.”
For now, Campbell is discovering one good reason not to try this again.
The fuel pump-out up has left him with a hefty bill.
“These guys charged me $6,800; I don’t know where these charges are coming from. When I called some of the other companies, they were shocked.”
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