A popular marina on Twelve Mile Lake near Minden Hills, Ont., is closing its doors early this summer.
The Wedgewood branch of RPM Marinas has been sold to new owners who will no longer be operating the property as a marina. The marina currently stores around 140 boats; about 40 of those boats belong to property owners on the lake.
Last week, RPM Marinas shared that the property will be transferring ownership in early summer.
“It saddens us that we have to leave the lake,” says Ann Gordon, who has owned the Wedgewood marina alongside her husband, Alan, since 2011.
The marina, which has been on the lake for more than 50 years, provided boat storage, fuel, and supplies for the community. They also sold ice cream and snacks (the Gordons’ son ran the barbecue bar).
The Gordons also own three other marinas in the area—Haliburton RPM, Redkenn RPM, and Balsam RPM.
“I’m 67 years old, and we run a fairly large operation,” says Alan, who is planning on retiring within the next few years. “We’re making the business a bit smaller so it’s more manageable to run.”
Skyrocketing insurance rates have also contributed to the Gordons’ decision to shut down the location. Alan says that they tried to sell the Wedgewood property as a marina—the couple reached out to other local marinas, and even property owners on the lake to see if they wanted to pool resources to purchase the business—but it didn’t work out.
“We had no other option but to sell it as a non-marina,” says Ann.
Wedgewood is the only marina on the three-chain lake that houses Twelve Mile Lake, Little Boshkung Lake, and Boshkung Lake. It has been for sale off and on since 2017.
Cottagers in the community are concerned that the new owners will remove the boat ramp that sits at the foot of Twelve Mile Lake, which was previously managed by the marina. The only other boat launch into the lake is a public launch off of Hwy. 118.
“We’re concerned about only having one option instead of two,” says Stu Smith, the president of the Twelve Mile Little Boshkung Lakes Association. He says that there are about 1,000 properties on the three lakes that will now have to use the public launch if they have boats.
Smith adds that the public launch isn’t particularly well-maintained and is prone to low water levels in the fall, making it difficult to pull larger boats out of the water.
Smith—who was surprised by the marina’s closure—is working with the Boshkung Lake Property Owners Association to find long-term solutions for the community. The associations have been in talks with officials from Minden Hills as well as Algonquin Highlands, who maintain the public launch.
“Wedgewood was a valued business on the lake,” says Smith, who personally stored his boat at the marina. “I’m hopeful that the community will come together to recognize the importance of finding a solution.”
RPM’s Balsam marina, located in Coboconk, is still for sale. The company’s other two locations in Haliburton and Kennisis Lake remain operational.
“We put our hearts and souls into building it up to what Wedgewood was in its glory days,” says Ann. “But we couldn’t do it anymore.”
Wedgewood customers should expect to hear from the marina within the next couple weeks with more information about retrieving their boats.
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