Sudbury Navy League boathouse in need of major repairs

A Sudbury training facility for sea cadets in the northeast badly needs repairs after years of deferred maintenance and a decline in enrolment.

The Navy League of Canada's Sudbury branch owns a sailing centre on Ramsey Lake, on the same bay as the Sudbury Yacht Club and Science North.

The boathouse dates back to 1957, although it was built at Science North's current location and moved across the bay in 1977, to make way for the science centre.

The building is the central sailing training hub for Navy League members across the northeast, serving corps on Manitoulin Island, in Timmins and North Bay in Ontario. Roughly 150 cadets use the centre each year.

"We're the only northern sea cadet headquarters that's got a boathouse or sailing centre," said Sudbury branch vice-president Harvey Prudhomme.

The Navy League of Canada, a non-profit, offers free programming to youth ages nine to 18. It's focused on giving young people leadership and learning opportunities and is connected to the Canadian Forces.

New executive working to rebuild

The group is fundraising to pay for the roughly $110,000 in repairs required for the building. They include adding a new roof, new doors, lighting upgrades and remodelling half of the building.

It also requires repairs from water damage, after high levels on Ramsey Lake in recent years.

Prudhomme said the peak days of the Navy League in Sudbury were between the 1970s and 1990s. Since then, it has been declining due to changing demographics and interest levels.

In fact, the local Navy League Cadets shut down for a year in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prudhomme last served with the corps in 1991, but came back this past July alongside several former members who hope to revive the group.

In each of the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, for ages 12 to 18, and the Navy League Cadet Corps, for ages nine through 12, enrolment is around 25 people. That's half the number the executives are hoping to have.

"They're all on the rebuilding mode right now," Prudhomme said.

Program's modern relevance

Jim Young, the Sudbury branch's public relations officer, said the programming teaches life skills, character development and community service, and offers physical activity.

He and Prudhomme were each part of Navy League programs in their youth. Prudhomme said it can be an excellent learning opportunity, and he's formed lifelong friendships with people he's met in the branch.

The Sudbury branch has a large, active alumni network of more than 350 people, something Prudhomme says is unique across the country.

That network has been active in the restoration project. A former member, who's now a contractor, helped to draft the plans for the work.

The alumni network has given about $32,000 toward the project, said Prudhomme. It has done much of its fundraising through social media outreach on its Facebook pages. 

The branch also hopes to receive a Northern Heritage grant, which could cover half of the project cost. Neither the Department of National Defence nor the Navy League Command will be funding the project.