Yacht Club Expansion Faces Red Tape Delays
The Pugwash Yacht Club welcomed a new tenant, but far short of the twenty they hoped to host by next spring.
A plan to dredge Pugwash Harbour to make room for expansion of the yacht club is being pushed back from this fall, perhaps as far back as next fall.
The problem is not funding nor an able contractor, but rather government departments—competing government departments.
Officials at the local volunteer facility are frustrated at the slow pace of the permit process. While plans were announced that dredging would take place this fall, nobody expected that a variety of government agencies, both federal and provincial, would have such overlapping and confusing requirements that stand as roadblocks to the project even though it was fast-tracked by the Municipality of Cumberland and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
One boater fears the project could be in limbo for a year or more.
The yacht club project forms part of a larger waterfront development plan, at least five years in the making and still years in the future.
The club needs to dredge to re-open the area between the current floating docks and the shore. Silt has reduced the water depth such that sailboats, with their deeper keels, are limited in using the protected side of the docks, especially at low tide.
The club hoped the work would be completed this fall with work on a slipway, new docks, and a public walkway in the spring. The finished project would expand the facility by twenty new berths, allowing services for nautical guests.
Meanwhile, the Pugwash Fire Department launched its new rescue boat on Friday and became the yacht club’s newest tenant. The club has provided space for the firefighters at no charge as a community service.
Members of the yacht club (shown in the photos with Pugwash firefighters) welcomed the specialized vessel by touring the harbour in the twenty-two foot, rigid hull inflatable, which is powered by a rather peppy 150 hp outboard.
The rescue boat will winter indoors but will likely be the first in, last out of the yacht club each boating season.
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