Cindy MacDougall
Northern News Services

NNSL (Nov 08/99) - Just beyond the horizon of Great Slave Lake, as boaters get so far out on the water they cannot see Yellowknife or Hay River, something eerie happens.

Very high-frequency (VHF) radios stop working. There's no answer on the radio, because the radios on shore simply cannot pick up the message.

"Right now, there's no VHF radio interception outside of Yellowknife (or Hay River)," says Dave Martin, unit leader of Yellowknife's detachment of the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary. "If someone gets into trouble out on the East Arm, unless they have a satellite phone, we won't know."

But come this spring, boaters on any part of Great Slave, including the north and east arms, will be able to reach on-shore assistance with their radios.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary, in partnership with the RCMP and the GNWT's Department of Municipal and Community Affairs, will set up a VHF radio repeater system all around the lake.

Hay River RCMP Staff Sgt. Jack Kruger, who is also a member of the volunteer coast guard group, said the repeater system will pass a boater's VHF message along so it can reach radios on shore.

"A repeater... receives and transmits radio signals, giving them a greater range," he said. "With the repeater system, you'll be able to contact someone in Yellowknife from the north arm or the east arm."

The $53,000 grant needed to buy and install the repeaters was awarded last week by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat, Kruger said.

The repeaters will be placed high on navigation towers, which will extend their range even farther, he said.

Martin said the repeater system will help the coast guard volunteers reach an accident scene quickly.

"Before, distress signals were passed boat to boat, if other boats were in the area," he said. "This spring, we'll be able to get the signal faster, which means we'll arrive at the scene much sooner."

Dave Robertson, a coast guard volunteer and pleasure boater from Yellowknife, said the system will give him peace of mind when he heads out on the lake.

"My wife and I owned a pleasure boat for a number of years," he said. "I have a three-year-old son and our concern when we go out on the water is whether we can get help if there are problems involving my son."

Robertson also pointed out that the repeater project was initiated by Mike Stilwell and the NWT Fishermen's Federation. Stilwell was an avid Yellowknife boater and local businessman who died this summer.

"Mike deserves the credit for this," he said.

Martin said the next step is to get Great Slave Lake boaters to buy VHF radios and become licensed to use them.

"Many boaters don't have a VHF radio now because of the short range they had," he said. "We'll be running information workshops in the spring for any boaters interested in learning about VHF radios and becoming licensed."

Martin said licences are free, but a standard VHF radio costs about $250.

"Some boaters pay over $500 to insure their boats every year," he said. "If you think about it, $250 is not a lot of money to make sure you can get help if you're in trouble on the water."