Charting a new course: Splash Dash Boat Tours up for sale

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This article was published 16/06/2023 (826 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The owner of a popular Winnipeg tourist attraction hopes someone new will steer the ship.

Splash Dash Boat Tours, the company behind the tour boats stationed at The Forks, is up for sale. Gord Cartwright wants to hand over the keys and retire.

“It’s been a great run. I’ve enjoyed it, and now it’s time to move on,” Cartwright said Friday, one day after his company’s sale went public.

The business is listed for $599,900. Included are nine boats — for tours and water bus rides — plus the name, the equipment and, potentially, the staff.

“Anyone that does take on this job, they’ll find it very rewarding, (and) they’ll find it hard work,” Cartwright, 63, said.

He still takes customers out for tours down the Red and Assiniboine rivers, describing the city’s history while covering staff lunch breaks.

Tours run daily from May through October, with boats departing every 15 minutes. A busy year might elicit 80,000 customers — 60,000 from tours, and another 20,000 through water bus operations, Cartwright said.

The water bus ferries passengers near Corydon Avenue, the Manitoba Legislative Building, The Forks, the Exchange District and Winnipeg’s French Quarter in St. Boniface.

“I started right from scratch,” Cartwright reminisced, sitting in one of his nine water vessels. “(The Forks) needed someone to invest and buy boats.”

He didn’t have any, back in 1992. He had experience in customer service at CN and a love of boating, which he developed at his family’s West Hawk Lake cabin.

When The Forks issued a tender for a water bus operator, he and a partner bid— and they won.

They bought three boats to start. “Normal” water levels elicited good years; when the river covered The Forks’ walkway, things got tricky — no water bus and fewer tours, Cartwright said.

“I still make money, it still works,” he added. “It’s just better when the water stays normal like it is right now.”

One of Splash Dash’s boats broke down with Queen Elizabeth on board in 2002. The monarch was scheduled to take a ride to St. Boniface.

Cartwright considers it the company’s best marketing.

“Today, on a weekly basis, people talk about the Queen being on this boat broken down,” he said.

It was mortifying at the time, he noted. However, she was only delayed by “like fifteen minutes” and it drew new customers.

Splash Dash has grown to roughly 30 staff, including up to eight water bus and tour boat operators.

Some employees, like the company’s office manager, plan to leave with the ownership change. Cartwright believes it’s ideal to keep the staff who want to stay.

“My captains are very important, because they’re very hard to find,” he said. “For someone to get rid of all the staff and bring in all their own, I would find that… (an) extremely difficult thing to do.”

Such operators must be Transport Canada certified, he added.

Jay Nowicki is eight years in to leading boat tours and still loves the job. He’s explained parts of Winnipeg’s history to tourists from the Ivory Coast and India. Meeting Asians, Europeans and South Americans is not uncommon, he said.

“It’s fantastic,” Nowicki remarked. “We get to meet people from all over the world and make them smile.”

A new owner must have a lease approved with The Forks to operate on-site, Cartwright said.

“As we do with any potential tenant or vacancy, we look for someone that aligns with our values, provides excellent customer service, and is an enthusiastic entrepreneur,” Zach Peters, communications manager for The Forks, wrote in an email.

Mary Flick stood steps away from Splash Dash Friday. She showed surprise upon hearing the business was for sale.

“I hope that they don’t jack up the prices to the point where a lot of people, it’ll deter them, because it’s a beautiful boat ride,” Flick said.

She takes a ride annually to, in part, see the city from a different view, she added.

Splash Dash will continue regular operations this season. An adult fare is $13.50; seniors and youth tickets cost $11.50. Beginning Saturday, Splash Dash will open at 9 a.m. and close at 9 p.m., according to its office manager.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com