‘Sailing on a story’: Montreal relics used in boat-building workshops at Big O

Yves Plante says he’s sailed from Montreal to the Caribbean for work so many times, it’s as commonplace as “going to the dépanneur.”

But it wasn’t always like this. 

Plante grew up in Sainte-Hyacinthe, Que., and no one in his family sailed.

“It’s funny because it’s far from sailor country — it's farmer country,” he said of the city in the Montérégie region. 

But then, while canoeing in his 20s, his life changed. He was asked to assist a stranger in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region to help sail a boat with an amateur crew. That moment helped spark his passion for the sailing world.

“If you have a father, a mother, an uncle who has got a boat and they introduce you, it's OK. But if you don't, you have no introduction and no occasion,” he said. “And that's why we need to create this first spark.” 

Plante now boasts over 40 years as a sailboat captain, gained over a career making deliveries of commercial goods around the globe.

After getting inspired to teach his own daughter how to make a sailboat in the early 2010s, he turned his attention to teaching.  

And Jeunes Marins Urbains (JMU) was born.

The Montreal non-profit now helps facilitate access to the water and world of sailing for those without the means, whether that’s time, money or access to people with relevant knowledge.

For the first time this year, JMU is inviting the public to a winter workshop at Montreal’s Olympic Park, regardless of prior experience, to come help them build and refurbish their fleet of eight wooden boats. 

The fleet is destined to be used in free sailing workshops run by JMU this summer in Montreal’s east end.

Sailboats in this winter workshop are stripped down to their foundations in order to be refurbished. They are made of long pieces of wood that may need annual replacement, sanding or reinforcement.

Clément Le Roux, a project manager with JMU, says part of the wood comes from donated trees that have been cut down due to sickness in Montreal’s parks as well as side rails of deconstructed ladders, among other materials.