GAMRU’s ship to come in

A three-year long campaign to fund a new, custom vessel for GAMRU South Shore Search And Rescue has finally come to port.

GAMRU announced last Friday that they had ordered a new Stanley 26 CR S&R boat from Stanley Aluminium Boats of Parry Sound, Ontario which will be customized to the needs of the volunteers. The new vessel is expected to enter service for the 2021 boating season.

GAMRU unit leader Bob Gordon said it “is a great moment” for the organization.

“This is the culmination of several years of fund raising and the end of a long, arduous selection process,” said Gordon. “We believe the design offers the speed, range and seaworthy characteristics we demand in a rescue boat combined with the deck space, equipment storage and crew safety we need.”

He added that the boat could have a working life of 20 years.

Final price for the vessel and its equipment is expected to be within the $240,000 budget volunteers raised for the project.

Funds were raised from businesses, institutional and private donors, individuals from the community and GAMRU members, over a three-year period.

Gordon expressed the volunteers’ heart-felt thanks to the donors who brought the project to life.

“It was important to share this news with the many generous donors who supported this effort from the earliest days and through the long periods when it appeared we weren’t making much progress,” Gordon told the donors. “Your encouragement and financial support during this time was invaluable. To you, our sincere thanks.”

The selection process looked at nearly two dozen boats from Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand before settling on the Stanley. The new boat will replace the aging Zodiac Hurricane 630, which will see another year of service in 2020.

GAMRU responds to rescue calls in western Lake Ontario, with more than 30 active volunteers serving the communities along the south shore from bases in Fifty Point and Grimsby.