May 25 found some members of the Reef Boat club giving the Westfort a cleanup for the coming boating season.
CCGC Westfort was built in Georgetown, P.E.I., in 1973. It is 44.5 feet in length with a 12-foot beam. The boat was stationed in Thunder Bay until it was donated to the Municipality of Meaford in 2005 by the Ministry of Fisheries and Oceans. Its two engines were removed and it was towed from Parry Sound to Meaford in 2006.
Each year since 2006, when the late Captain Bruce Sheppard guided the CCGC Westfort into the Meaford harbour and put the coast guard vessel on display, he and a loyal crew of volunteers have cleaned it and every third or fourth year given it a fresh coat of paint.
Captain Bruce Sheppard would have been proud to see the care given to his project by the volunteers this year.
Reef boat Club has painted and cared for the Westfort over the past number of years honouring Bruce’s love of all things Marine related.
