New maritime centre open and looking for volunteers
The Cowichan Bay Maritime Centre is now officially open, but it needs more volunteers to ensure it stays open every day.
Suzan Lagrove is celebrating the new centre — home of the Cowichan Wooden Boat Society — plus putting the call out for more volunteers following Sunday’s opening of the renovated facility.
“During the winter I’d like to have two volunteers each day for shifts of about two hours each, and then starting in the spring we would do two and-a-half hour shifts,” Lagrove explained. “I’d like to stay open from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. during the winter, and then more like 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. in the summer.”
Volunteers guarantee the facility stays open for those who want to learn more about fishing and boating in the region.
“We have two levels and on the lower floor we have displays — our theme right now is Gone Fishing, so it shows recreational fishing, Native fishing, and commercial fishing,” Lagrove said. “That will be an exhibit space that will change every so often.”
The upper floor, meanwhile, is a great spot for community meetings and family get-togethers.
And, of course, the site will continue to host boat building and boat restoration projects.
“And what’s great about this building is it’s a timber-frame building made with all local wood, and put together with white oak pegs, so the building is totally recyclable,” Lagrove added. “We tried to keep it as green as possible, so in one hundred years you could take it apart, reassemble it, or remill the timbers and remake something else out of it — it doesn’t go to the landfill.”
Lagrove also hopes to host new guest speakers and activities at the facility, and encourages community input.
“If people are interested in learning how to work with wood, or any kind of boat-related activities, give us a shout because I’m looking for ideas on courses people want to take that we could facilitate here,” she said.
To learn more, or to order one of the 150 limited-edition Sue Coleman prints ($140), call Suzan Lagrove at 250-746-4955, or email cwbs@classicboats.org.
One hundred dollars from each print sale will help the centre.
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