Inuvik (Oct 31/03) - For as long as Kim McClement can remember, she has had a passion for sailing. This is probably the reason, she says, for becoming a radio operator for the coast guard's Marine Communications and Traffic Services.

"I've always liked the water and I wanted to help people, so I suppose that's why I got into it," said the former Disney animator prospect.

While McClement has worked 13 years for the Canadian Coast Guard -- from Vancouver to Iqaluit -- she has spent the last seven seasons at the Inuvik radio station keeping mariners safe in the Western Arctic.

Here, McClement maintains communication with all marine traffic from the mouth of the Mackenzie River at Great Slave Lake to the reaches of the Beaufort Sea. To ensure that there is proper monitoring of this vast nautical area, the Inuvik station's radio coverage overlaps with Alaskan and Nunavut based marine communication stations.

From May to October, McClement and two other radio operators work in shifts to maintain 24-hour radio contact with marine traffic, in particular guiding vessels through ten "danger zones" of the 1700 km Mackenzie River.

These include regions of faster moving water and narrow channels in which two vessels could not pass by each other safely.

Weather in the region is also monitored from the Inuvik station and the information gathered from automated weather buoys and satellite is transmitted to the ships.

Compared to her duties as a coast guard radio operator in Vancouver, McClement says the Western Arctic's lower marine traffic volume makes things a little quieter.

"You get closer to your users here because we are their only contact so I've met a lot of amazing people."

One fond memory for McClement was joining the crew of the coast guard ship Dumit for a buoy-maintenance trip on the Mackenzie River.

"Captain Les Wylie and his crew were top notch and great hosts," she said. "And it was great to get a chance to see the Mackenzie River."

This week, the Inuvik station closed for the season and McClement is off to her farm in Ontario before heading to Australia to do some sailing of her own. Ships ahoy!