Funding increase for effort to build marine rescue base on Shuswap Lake

A boost in funding from the regional district is intended to help the Shuswap’s marine-based search and rescue crew’s goal of constructing a boathouse/training centre.

At a special meeting of the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) board, directors supported an amendment to the CSRD’s search and rescue grant-in-aid bylaw, to allow a 25 per cent increase to the maximum amount that could be provided to Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue (RCMSAR) Station 106. As a result, the Sicamous based non-profit operation will receive $131,750, instead of $105,400.

The boost in funding, explained Derek Sutherland, CSRD team leader for protective services, will help Station 106 service debt incurred for the construction of a proposed boathouse/training facility that will serve as its base of operations on Shuswap Lake. Currently, the station’s three vessels are moored outside which, according to a CSRD staff report, creates difficulty in maintaining the vessels’ operational readiness, while reducing the boats’ lifespan.

Bruce Weicker, president of the Shuswap Lifeboat Society, which oversees Station 106’s operations, was grateful for the CSRD’s support with the funding of the rescue base construction project.