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Two people rescued from Port Moody Arm after climbing aboard abandoned derelict boat at Rocky Point

By Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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Emergency Response

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May 13, 2024

rocky-point-dredging — stock photo

No charges are being considered for two people left stranded in Port Moody Arm after climbing onto an abandoned derelict boat harboured at the Rocky Point Park Launch.

Both individuals were initially arrested by Port Moody Police on Monday morning, but the incident is not being treated as a theft due to the abandoned nature of the vessel, said Const. Sam Zacharias, Port Moody’s media officer.

“Given that this boat is abandoned property, the incident is not being treated as a theft,” Sam Zacharias.

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Zacharias said they received the report just after 2 a.m., after a man and his friend called for help after climbing onto the boat, which somehow became loose and drifted into the inlet.

ScanBC, an online account which relays emergency scanner activity, initially reported the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) was responding to two suspects who had allegedly stolen the boat but couldn’t figure out how to drive it.

The incident was reported to the CCG, but Port Moody firefighters took the file due to a 45 minute response time from CGG’s Kitsilano Base, according to the Port Moody Fire Rescue Service.

The board was towed with its two occupants back to Rocky Point, where they were initially arrested, Zacharias said.

He added Port Moody Police are working with the city and other local agencies to remove the board from the Rock Point Boat Launch.

Author

Patrick Penner, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Having spent the first 20 years of his life in Port Moody, Patrick Penner has finally returned as a hometown reporter.

His youth was spent wiping out on snowboards, getting hit in the face with hockey pucks, and frolicking on boats in the Port Moody Arm.

After graduating Heritage Woods Secondary School, Penner wandered around aimlessly for a year before being given an ultimatum by loving, but concerned, parents: “rent or college.”

With that, he was off to the University of Victoria to wander slightly less aimlessly from book, to classroom, to beer, and back.

Penner achieved his undergraduate degree in 2017, majoring in political science and minoring in history.

To absolutely no one’s surprise, translating this newfound education into career opportunities proved somewhat challenging.

After working for a short time as a lowly grunt in various labour jobs, Penner’s fruitless drifting came to an end.

He decided it was time to hit the books again. This time, with focus.

Nine months later, Penner had received a certificate of journalism from Langara College and was awarded the Jeani Read-Michael Mercer Fellowship upon graduation.

When that scholarship led to a front page story in the Vancouver Sun, he knew he had found his calling.

Penner moved to Abbotsford to spend the next three years learning from grizzled reporters and editors at Black Press Media.

Assigned to the Mission Record as the city’s sole reporter, he developed a taste for investigative and civic reporting, eventually being nominated for the 2023 John Collison Investigative Journalism Award.

Unfortunately, dwindling resources and cutbacks in the community media sphere convinced Penner to seek out alternative ways to deliver the news.

When a position opened up at the Tri-Cities Dispatch, he knew it was time to jump ship and sail back home to beautiful Port Moody.