Smooth sailing: 2 Manitoba women will share job as Gimli's new harbour masters

It sounds like a relaxing retirement plan: you polish off a happy, fulfilling career in Winnipeg and decide to live year-round in Manitoba's cottage country. So you pack your things and move to the lake.

That's real life for sailing friends Cindy Blicq and Lori Hiscock, but they're not exactly kicking back and taking it easy. They'll have a unique view of the lake as the newly appointed harbour masters for the Gimli Harbour Authority in the Interlake community of Gimli, Man.

"Lori and I decided to apply for the position on my 60th birthday," says Blicq. "I came out of retirement to take this job."

The job of harbour master is typically filled by one person — Blicq and Hiscock, who started a few weeks ago, are taking over from Gordon Gowie, who announced his retirement late last year after 15 years in the job.

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​But the two women decided to apply as a team. They combined their resumes, which boast a wealth of experience in public administration, faculty management, human resources, tourism and education, and said they would only accept the position as a job share.

"We felt that our combined skills, training and work experiences would bring more to the job than what one person alone could provide," says Blicq.

"We bring different, but complementary, skills to the position."

They also both know their way around boats, and the harbour. Blicq and Hiscock have been friends for years through the Gimli Yacht Club and are active users of the harbour as avid sailboat racers.

"We have sailboats in the harbour and have both raced," says Hiscock. "Cindy has been the skipper on our race boat for years."

No strangers to Gimli

Gimli's harbour offers safe moorage for the community's fleet of working commercial fishing boats and more than 200 pleasure vessels. Thousands of visitors and tourists visit Gimli every year to walk on its public piers, fish recreationally, take in the Icelandic Festival and watch movies at the Gimli Film Festival.

As harbour masters, Blicq and Hiscock work closely with boat owners, visitors, the Gimli community and its facilities. The harbour is open seven days a week and both Blicq and Hiscock share job responsibilities, including managing the harbour, looking after the grounds and ensuring customer needs are met. 

"We both do the day-to-day work and keep each other up to date with everything that we are working on. Then we can just pick up where the other has left off," says Blicq.

"We also try to schedule one day per week where we are both at work so we can plan and schedule tasks together."

"We are looking forward to having Cindy and Lori join our team as harbour masters of the most important and progressive working harbour on the Prairies," said Baldi Johannesson, chair of the Gimli Harbour Authority, in a press release.

The two are no strangers to the town, about 85 kilometres north of Winnipeg. Blicq has been coming to Gimli since the age of 10 and began taking sailing lessons at the Gimli Yacht Club in 1969. She moved to Gimli with her husband in 2012.

Hiscock, who lives in Whytewold, Man., initially began coming to Gimli for sailing and bought a place in the Interlake 10 years ago.

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For Hiscock, the new job is about customer service. "I want people to be satisfied with what they're renting and make sure things are available when they need it."

Major harbour upgrades

Recently, Gimli's harbour has undergone major upgrades, including resurfacing and repairs to the main pier, fishers' pier and centre wharf.  

"One pier was raised higher because it would flood regularly," says Blicq. "Small craft harbours continue to do upgrades and our role [as harbour masters] is to discuss improvements with them and provide any assistance." 

Both Blicq and Hiscock want to have a role in further developing the Gimli Harbour as a key tourist destination in the heart of the Interlake. "There are a number of events that happen in Gimli throughout the summer, and we want to be part of that," says Blicq. 

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One of those events is the upcoming 2017 Canada Summer Games; both Blicq and Hiscock will be involved. Hiscock is one of the sailboat race officials at the Gimli Yacht Club, and Blicq is a lead for spectator services.

Sailing is one of the three sports open to able-bodied and para-athletes during the first week of the games. 

"Just to be able to have a real role in helping facilitate this event is very important to us," says Blicq.

"I've retired a few times but being able to work in Gimli and at the harbour doesn't even feel like a job," says Hiscock.

Both Blicq and Hiscock anticipate this new venture will be a challenge, but they're excited for the opportunity.

"It's about having an interest in the town and wanting to be part of the community," says Blicq. "Being around boats and the lake every day is just part of life around Gimli."