At the end of January our budget forecast predicted that we were about to have the best business year in our history. And like the rest of the planet, our world turned upside down in a matter of weeks in the face of a Pandemic. I have spent the last 3 months trying to research and plan for whatever level of season we could muster in the age of the Corona Virus. After all of that thought and effort, we still don’t know what is going to happen.
As of today, the US / Canada border will be closed to tourism at least until June 21. Personally, I do not believe that they will open it any time soon after that. There are dozens of polar points of view to be found written on the subject, but the fact is that there have been far more Covid cases in the US than anywhere else in the world. To date, the US is reporting over 85,000 deaths at the same time that Canada is seeing their cases decrease with more than 5,000 deaths. The different rates of infection between the 2 countries does not make me optimistic that we will see the border opened to US tourists any time soon.
We have been through the stages of grief and are left only with a plan to salvage whatever we can from a crippled 2020 season, but more importantly to improve for 2021 and beyond.
Many lodges have already made the decision to close for the entire 2020 season. We made the decision to bring some staff up to the lodge and complete our newest 10-person cabin. The Eagle’s Nest is nearly finished and is situated where the old cabin 5 used to be. Additional projects under way or in the works are a complete rebuild of the old fixed dock and installation of a new 80 kw generator. All of the old overhead power lines have been removed and replaced with underground service. By this time next year, the lodge will have a new and improved look.
When the border does open, we will be OPEN. At the same time, we know that we are going to have to change our current business model to adapt to the challenges of the virus. A new and more rigorous disinfection protocol will be implemented covering the entire property. The biggest challenge will be getting around the close seating of our current dining room. Our plan is to discontinue meals in the dining room and serve guests both breakfast and dinner in their cabins. We will miss the family style atmosphere of the lodge and the Master Angler Award ceremony but we feel that we can provide a safer meal service by compartmentalizing our groups in their cabin. Of course, shore lunches will continue to be served with your group on the beach. We still have a few more details to sort out before guests arrive, but we are confident that we can continue to provide a safe, high quality angling experience in the great Ontario outdoors.
I will try to provide updates with news reports on a regular basis. In the meantime, if you are a current SWWL guest and have concerns about your booking, please call me or email. I don’t know exactly when we will see all of our guests again, but when we do, we plan to continue to provide one of the best fishing adventures to be found in the north.
