Hub Staff

Port Elgin Harbour is looking healthy and ready for the summer after the Port Elgin Yacht Club's boat lift in May 7.

The day started at 8 am with a crane arriving from Canadian Crane Rentals in Wingham, for which the boaters split the cost. Club Membership Secretary, Marcia Hesse was timing how long each boat took to prepare and be lifted into the harbour.

“It's kind of a shared cost from the minute [the crane] leaves the yard to the minute they get home and all the setup time is shared and we time the boats individually,” she explained. “So if they're actually really quick they would get money back and if they take longer than necessary they get a bill.”

The larger boats, two houseboats and a catamaran were lifted in first. “They do them first because the morning is typically when there's less wind,” said Hesse explaining that the larger boats sway a lot more in the wind, which makes them harder to maneuver.

Hesse said that 38 boats in total were being lifted in with the larger boats such as the houseboats taking approximately 10 to 15 minutes each and the other boats around four to five minutes each.