The boat, purchased without loan regulations, was three-quarters financed by various authorities. The Municipality would therefore have spent approximately $30,000 on the ship according to the mayor, Joël Côté.
” Its main vocation is recreational tourism, but when an event happens at sea, the boat will be requisitioned by the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary to carry out the rescue. »
The latter maintains that it is obviously a priority to save lives, but that in addition, the recreational tourism vocation of the boat will make it possible to cover certain costs related to its use.
When it is launched this summer, the Cap-à-l’Ours will first be the subject of a pilot project.
In this way, there will be no additional pressure on the profitability of the activities during the first year of service of the ship, according to the mayor. It will also allow the project to be launched more quietly.
It sounds easy like that to say we put the boat in the water and bring people to sea, but it’s more complicated than that
says Mr. Côté.
He mentions various Transport Canada standards to be respected, inspections of the boat to ensure safety in the event of fire, that the radio is functional and that the hull of the boat is in good condition.
Finally, a qualified crew must be on board as well as the preparation of the entertainment during small cruises. It is on this last aspect that the team is currently working while waiting for the inspections that will allow the launch.
” To be honest, we didn’t expect so much complexity on such a beautiful project. Despite everything, the motivation is there and we can’t wait to bring our first customers on the river. »
This project is awaited by the municipality, which has been working on it for several years. Given that economic development in Sainte-Madeleine-de-la-Rivière-Madeleine is booming, we are adding a string to our bow with the presence of customers on the boat to offer a more interesting tourist opportunity.
says the mayor.
The sea rescue component
The Municipality has entered into an agreement with Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary which allows them to requisition Cap-à-l’Ours if necessary for a rescue on the St. Lawrence River.
As the boat is fast and will not stray far from the coast during expeditions, even if a rescue call is made while the boat is at sea, Mr. Côté says the change of vocation will take place. rapidly.
For the recreational tourism side, the Municipality plans two outings per day lasting 1 hour 15 minutes each. Thus, the boat will be more often at the marina than at sea and the chances of a rescue occurring while the boat is on the water are rather low.
For Mayor Joël Côté, this is an important project because there are a lot of nautical activities in the area and the safety net between Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and Rivière-au-Renard was described as weak
. He says having this ability to help people at sea is essential.
He himself has already required a rescue at sea. I had an incident on the river where our crew spent 3 hours in the water on May 22. To have the hope that someone will come to our rescue, I have already experienced that. Night was not far away and neither was hypothermia. So I am aware of the fact that we need to have emergency services.
With information from Pierre-Gabriel Turgeon.
Reference-ici.radio-canada.ca