The long awaited new Royal Canadian Marine Search & Rescue (RCMSAR) base in now anchored in Sicamous, and the public is invited to attend the big reveal.
Approximately eight years in the making, the boathouse is now in place at the end of the Main Street dock, where the grand opening ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 24.
The schedule of events that day start with people gathering at 12:45 p.m. for the 1 p.m. official opening ceremony and ribbon cutting at 1:30 p.m. Guided tours of the facility will run from 1:45 p.m. to 3 p.m.
RCMSAR Shuswap Station 106 started in 2012 as a search & rescue station, the only one in the Interior. Five years later in 2017, the station, along with the Shuswap Lifeboat Society, began researching the idea of getting a marine rescue base. They wanted a facility to not only house the rescue vessels and related equipment, but also a space for a ready room, training classroom, and an area to provide privacy for patients and families after a mission call.
In 2022 the first weld was made on the new building, which was ready to launch in early 2024 but actually took place that November. Interior finishing continued since then and is now complete.
"It is time to celebrate!" Lifeboat Society president Bruce Weicker said in a media release. "We look forward to having you with us for our celebration day."
