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Naramata Yacht club holding fundraiser social

Society is looking to raise $40,000 for dock repairs
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The Naramata Marina after it was destroyed in June (left) and with the newly-rebuilt public dock and walkway. (Submitted photos)

The costs of rebuilding after this spring’s flooding, high water and storms keeps adding up.

The Naramata Yacht Club and Marina Society are throwing a fundraiser in an effort to recover the $40,000 they spent replacing the public walkway on the marina.

All 110 feet of the walkway was destroyed in early June in the windstorms that caused damage all around the shores of Okanagan Lake.

Bob Pope, the spokesperson for the society, said they got $5,000 in assistance from the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen but weren’t eligible for provincial assistance.

Repairs had to be made a priority. Not only was it unsafe to launch boats, but the Naramata Fire Department need a safe spot to get their 21-foot rescue boat in the water — the marina is the only one on the eastern side of Okanagan Lake.

Fire Chief Tony Trovao said having a well-maintained boat launch in a protected breakwater is vital to being able to quickly launch their rescue boat.

Pope said the society made it a goal to get the marina walkway repaired as soon as possible, noting that during the first week of July, the fire department was called to five lake rescues.

“If the big waves are coming in, it makes it really hard to put the boat in fast,” said Pope. “We just went for it. We’ve already paid for it out of our dredging fund.”

Pope said the society had been saving for four years to have the marina dredged. That money was redirected to fixing the walkway.

To help recover the funds, the society has a dance social of Nov. 4 in the Naramata Community Church hall, with live music donated by the band 3RM and a silent auction featuring over 60 items: Sparkling Hills Resort get-away, Canucks club seats and Seinfeld tickets, a bike from the Bike Barn and more.

Tickets are $20 each and are available at the Naramata Store. Contact Commodore Randy Brown at 250-496-5771 or Bob Pope at 250-496-5378 if you have anything to donate.