Marinas in Quebec are observing a drop in motorized boats on the waterways: the rise in the price of gasoline is proving to be a determining factor.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Mathieu Demers has been sailing on Lac Mégantic for eight years now. He has noticed a sharp drop in motorboats on the lake since the start of the season. “Half as much,” he said. “The price of gasoline and the reopening of borders have a lot to do with it,” he says.
A boat trip costs him about $200 a day today, half for the car ride and half for refueling his boat at wakesurfing. Last summer, he paid $120 per outing on Lac Mégantic.
In North Hatley, on Lake Massawippi, the decline in motorized boat traffic is estimated at 10%, says Josée Fontaine, coordinator of the municipality’s marina. According to her, the increase in the price of gasoline seems to be the main factor.
North Hatley has seen a “crazy increase” in paddleboard and kayak outings compared to last summer.
Same scenario at Lac Simon, in the Outaouais. Chantal Hamelin, director of the Lac Simon Nautical Center, notes a drop in rentals and gasoline sales. At the Sorel marina, sales at the gas dock have dropped by 10%, estimates Mario Desmarais, the harbor master.
The strong winds that hit the region are also part of the equation, says Chantal Hamelin. “Myself, I prevented myself from going out because of the winds”, she underlines.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
In marinades, sales at the gasoline dock fell by 10% this summer.
“Chalets on the water”
At Marina Brousseau in Saint-Sulpice, all berths are rented for the season. However, the members remain at the quay, aboard their boat. “Definitely, people sail less. It won’t go far,” confirms Daniel Arsenault, coordinator of the Brousseau marina.
Some marinas have experienced unprecedented traffic in recent summers. “The pandemic has launched a movement,” says Mathieu Leblanc, owner of the Lévis marina. For example, Lake Memphremagog recorded a peak in nautical traffic in 2021, says Frédérique Thibault-Lessard, project manager for Memphremagog Conservation.
Inflation seems to affect boat enthusiasts as much as marinas, which have seen their sales drop since the beginning of the summer.
The boat is a luxury. What hits when people have less money? Luxury.
Yvon Vannini, owner of the North Shore marina in Repentigny
To date, at the Lévis marina, fuel sales have fallen by 50% compared to 2021, estimates Mathieu Leblanc, who has also observed a drop in visitors. Members use their pleasure craft as “a cabin on the water,” he adds. The owner of the Pointe-aux-Trembles marina, Paul-Yvon Valois, also confirms that “trips are less frequent” this summer.
Sectors spared
The phenomenon does not seem to be generalized across the province. The Boucherville marina has not observed any drop in traffic. Sales remained similar to those of 2021, underlines the owner of the marina, Jeannot Picher.
The Trois-Rivières marina is doing quite well. In July, it had sold 1,500 liters of gasoline more than at the same time last year, confirms its director, Mario Cloutier.
In Rimouski, we are seeing more and more pleasure boats from outside Quebec, says Claude Lemay, general manager of the Rimouski marina. In terms of gasoline sales and ridership, however, the trend seems to be the same as last summer, he adds.
In Estrie, Memphrémagog Conservation (MCI) still receives complaints from residents of Lake Memphrémagog who denounce the noisy parties on moored boats, tells us Frédérique Thibault-Lessard.
In 2021, MCI recorded a 25.8% increase in the number of permanent boats on the lake compared to 2010. There is still no decrease or increase in the number of pleasure boats on the lake in 2022. It is still early to quantify this summer’s traffic, according to Frédérique Thibault-Lessard.