More than 40 years ago, the late Bill Mundle had a vision of the potential a marina in Pugwash harbour would bring to the community.
It took a lot of time – and more than a few regulatory and funding hurdles to jump through – but the community has a new and improved marina named in his honour.
Mundle, who passed away in 2023, was the very first commodore of the new Pugwash Yacht Club in 1983.
His daughter, Debbie Cameron, is the present commodore – the eighth in the club’s history. She feels he’d very pleased at how his vision has been realized.
“It’s surreal. When you spend six years thinking about the project every day, it sort of hits you that all we have to do now is celebrate, the work is done,” Cameron said after cutting the ribbon to officially open the Bill Mundle Marina in Pugwash on Saturday, June 27. “It’s been a long six-year journey from the time we pressed go. There were a lot of pieces that had to fall into place, but we finally did it.”
The marina project was announced back in 2020 when Mundle presented a cheque for $120,000 to the Pugwash Yacht Club. The project included substantial dredging as well as the creation of 14 new dock spaces bringing the total to approximately 36 spaces.
The Municipality of Cumberland provided $65,000 toward the project.
Dredging was completed in 2025 with the dredged material creating the berm and the land base for a new fuel station.
She said the project is proof of what can happen when the community and all levels of government work toward a common goal. The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the provincial government and the Municipality of Cumberland were among the funding partners.
Another key addition was a fuel facility, which Cameron said was a stipulation her father had making his donation.
She said being able to fuel boats is a major plus and should open the marina to boaters from along the Northumberland Strait.
“This is a gamechanger,” she said. “I’ve already reached out to seven marinas within our Northumberland Strait loop to tell them. Pugwash has been missing out,” she said.
With the marina officially opened, Cameron said work will continue with the future development of a public slipway on the west side of the property.
“We have engineered drawings for the public slipway and we will do some infilling that will take us toward the fishermen’s wharf for parking and boat storage,” she said. “Our membership also wants a new clubhouse.”
Pugwash Yacht Club commodore Debbie Cameron cuts the ribbon to officially open the Bill Mundle Marina while club treasure Dougal MacDonald (left) and dockmaster Michael Cameron hold the ribbon. Darrell Cole – Municipality of Cumberland photo
Municipality of Cumberland Mayor Rod Gilroy congratulated Cameron and the yacht club for their dogged determination.
“They never stopped being dogged and determined and it made all the difference, don’t stop being that way,” the mayor said. “This is another example of what happens with all levels of government get together and decide a project is going to get over the finish line. With ACOA, the province and the municipality we all came together to make sure this project happened. Everyone was all in from the very start.”
District 3 Coun. Jennifer Houghtaling said the project is one of the remaining pieces of the Pugwash Master Plan.
“This is very exciting for the community,” she said. “There is a map in the village hall from the early 80s with a marina on it. That shows how long this has been envisioned. It’s a real plus to Pugwash and Cumberland County to see it become reality.”
Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth Smith-McCrossin acknowledged the late Bill Mundle for having the original vision.
“I know he’s with us in spirit and his so proud of his daughter,” she said. “He was larger than life and he was always dreaming and thinking of what we could do. He was one of the people in the community who had a vision for the yacht club and now the Bill Mundle Marina. This is going to bring people here and boost our economy.”
Colchester North MLA Tom Taggart represented the province and announced a commitment of $100,000 toward the development of the public slipway.
“We believe thriving communities need spaces like this, places where people can come together forge lasting friendships and create memories that carry far forward through generations,” Taggart said.
Pugwash Yacht Club commodore Debbie Cameron cuts the ribbon to officially open the Bill Mundle Marina while club treasure Dougal MacDonald (left) and dockmaster Michael Cameron hold the ribbon. Darrell Cole – Municipality of Cumberland photo