Sailboat getting the boot from Lac Leamy decades after wreck

A sailboatthat sank in Gatineau'sLake Leamymore than 40 years ago will finally getremoved from the water and live on, partially, in a museum,according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

The Ville de Vanier, also known as the Jean Richard, was a large boat built in 1959. In August 1983, it sank in the western Quebec lake after a fire and has remained there ever since.

The wreckwas labelled a "potential vessel of concern" in 2019 while arisk assessment flaggedsafety hazards for pedestrians and boaters and stated thevesselshould be removed.

The Canadian Coast Guardtold Radio-Canada it received permission to do that in February 2023but waswaiting on funding.

Divers from MVC Ocan, a Trois-Rivirescompany, will begin dismantling the wreck on Monday.

Some parts of the boat have been buried in the sediment over time. Those sections won't be removed "to reduce the impacton the seabed," according to the coast guard.

Once it's out of the water, most pieces of the wreckwill be recycled or go to certified material treatment centres, Pierre Nellis,Fisheries and Oceans Canada's chief intervention officer,told Radio-Canada in French.

But HubertDesgagns, a volunteer scientific advisor at the Muse maritime de Charlevoix, told Radio-Canada he will identify a few piecesto be preserved and brought back to the museum.

Nellis said the wreck is expected to be gone by Sept. 30 but added the work could take a few extra days.