Jennifer Pritchett
Northern News Services

RANKIN INLET (Jul 29/98) - If ever you find yourself stranded on Hudson Bay, take comfort in the fact that the RCMP in Rankin Inlet now have the vessel that is most likely to find you.

The detachment's new 22-foot Kingfisher, equipped with a depth sounder and a cabin, is a high-speed craft which replaces a smaller aluminum boat used by the RCMP for search and rescues. The shiny new craft arrived on the first barge of the season last week.

Const. Steve Halliday said that the cabined boat, not yet named, is both faster and safer than the open, aluminum boat on the icy, rough waters of Hudson Bay.

"In this climate with these waters up here, it's not conducive to search and rescue," he said of the older style.

"We are responsible for patrolling Rankin, Whale, Repulse and Chester. The boat we had wasn't conducive to patrolling those areas."

The boat, built in Kingston, Ont., is also equipped with twin 90-horsepower Oceanpro outboard engines that give the vessel a maximum speed of 40 knots. One of two bought by the RCMP for the NWT, a sister boat is in Kugluktuk.

"It's replacing the open style on the coastal detachments, but I'm not suggesting that all detachments will have this boat," he said. "Every detachment has their own boat."

While search and rescue is the main use of the boat, it will also be utilized as a patrol vehicle.

"It's a patrol boat, not a pleasure craft," he said. "It will be used for patrols to Whale, Chester, and Repulse. It will also be used in conjunction with fisheries and oceans to check for licences and illegal nets."

When asked about the need of such a pricey boat -- he estimates the engines alone cost more than $10,000 -- he said it's difficult to put a price on a human life.

"If we're able to save one life with a high-speed watercraft, how can you put a dollar value on that?"