HMCS Annapolis sunk in Howe Sound, ending years-long saga

Smoke is seen after explosives detonated aboard HMCS Annapolis in Howe Sound Saturday, April 4, 2015. (CTV's Chopper 9)

A decommissioned Canadian Navy vessel is now sleeping with the fishes after it was sunk to create an artificial reef and diving site Saturday.

Explosions rang out as HMCS Annapolis at around 1 p.m., before it plummeted to its underwater resting place, just off Gambier Island in Howe Sound.

Dozens of boats crowded around Halkett Bay Saturday to watch, those aboard clapping and cheering as the vessel submerged into the water, shrouded in smoke.

The process of sinking it took a paltry two minutes and one second, following years of preparation and court battles it took to get to this point.

Rick Wall, who served as a junior engineering officer on HMCS Annapolis in the late 1970s, said watching it go down was a blast from the past.

“All the exciting things that happen to you happened at the time I was on that ship. Getting engaged, getting promoted, first big cruise…I met a lot of people that are still friends 40 years later,” he said. “It is emotional in a way, but it’s not sad,” he said.

The ship served in the Navy between 1964 and 1996 before it was towed to the Esquimalt CFB base near Victoria.

It was later sold to the Artificial Reef Society of B.C., which came up with the plan to use the ship as a reef, effectively attracting more marine life, as well as a draw for scuba divers.

Years of debate surrounded whether or not to sink the boat, a decision seen as controversial by some.

A group called Save Halkett was vocal in its opposition to the reef, even filing an injunction to stop it – which delayed the project for more than five years.

The group claimed Environment Canada didn’t properly investigate whether the ship’s paint contained toxic chemicals before it issued a permit for the project.

The reef society countered, saying volunteers spent hundreds of hours meticulously cleaning the vessel in preparation.

“It has been an interesting evolution getting it to this stage, and it hasn’t been without its challenges,” said Wall, a board member of the Reef Society.

“I consider that all water under the bridge because guess what, there’s all water over the bridge right now,” said Society member Larry Reeves. “It’s just great. This is the end of a very complicated project that’s going to be a usable tool underwater for recreation.”

A spokesman for the Society said the reef will be open to divers once an underwater safety inspection is completed Sunday.

It has become the eighth artificial reef in B.C., a fleet including six other destroyers and a sunken Boeing 737.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Jon Woodward