COLD LAKE - The Cold Lake Sailing Association is hoping to grow its footprint and club.
Colin Declercq with the Cold Lake Sailing Association spoke to City of Cold Lake council on May 9 during the last regular council meeting, offering an update about the association, and the location that has been provided at Kinosoo Beach.
About one year ago, the City announced it had helped find the sailing association a suitable location to store the group's boats and equipment.
The Cold Lake Sailing Association now has plans to purchase more equipment, and is gearing up for another season of lessons.
Speaking to council, Declercq said the association, which operates the Cold Lake Sailing School, is now looking at offering programming for smaller children, which would include some smaller boats. The group is also looking to expand its footprint at Kinosoo Beach.
Declercq said there are already people signed up for June and July classes, and the season will include instruction days for youth and young adults. Thursday night programming for adults is also being scheduled as an introduction to sailing.
The association was recently gifted a boat that the group is looking at getting ready to be sea worthy. The 22-foot keel-boat will offer people a way to experience sailing at a leisurely rate, said Declercq.
The association is also looking at purchasing an upgraded coach boat, since the boat it uses now is quite small. But, "it's kind of a high ticket item," said Declercq. The coach boat would cost about $30,000. He put forward the idea that the City could also use the boat for search and rescue type operations, and noted it could be a shared project.
The association has made some applications for grant funding in hopes of financing some of its future plans, heard council.
Coun. Bob Mattice asked Declercq if there has been any safety issues or vandalism at the association's site on Kinosoo Beach.
Declercq acknowledged that at the beginning, the were some concerns, but so far there have been no issues, whatsoever. He added that the site is working well for the sailing association, but they are hoping to expand their footprint a bit. And there are also some drainage issues that cause challenges during wet weather.
Another issue that has come up is that it can be hard to get the boats out of the water at times, and the association is hoping to acquire a mobi-mat, which is a $3,500 item. The mat would allow for sail boats to exit and enter the water more easily.
Declercq noted that he received information stating the City might prefer to own the item so they could put it out and also store it.
While no decision was made on the item, administration did acknowledge they would look into the item.
