ROCKPORT - When the green light flashed to re-open Ontario's marinas, the crew at Hucks Marine & Resort was ready to roll.

President and Co-owner Scott MacCrimmon already had a detailed, phased-in reopening plan with extensive COVID-19 safety and cleaning policies and procedures in place. He was able to have his 30-member crew swiftly back on the job to prepare as well as doubling the number of summer students.

"The season for us went from zero to 120 in less than two weeks," Scott says, adding sales are up because boaters and water enthusiasts are more excited than ever to safely escape the confines of recent months and be back on the water.

"I believe people are feeling after 10 weeks that they deserve this now," Scott says. "This is their place where they can safely go and get to their boat, relax and disconnect. That's what we're offering - that and we live in one of the best fresh water areas of the world."

The first phase of re-opening started just two weeks ago. Returning staff and students received extensive training on how to keep customers safe, including while on site and when gassing up at the pumps. The second phase, which went into action this past weekend, is safely scheduling customer visits to the resort's newly-built retail and service areas, customer amenities and all common areas.

"We want to be more accessible than ever for our customers. At the end of the day, it comes down to customer service and dealing with people you trust," Scott says.

Major redevelopment of the 131-year-old family business has been underway for the past few years, including buildings and docks. It is part of a vision the Hucks team has been working on long before the pandemic hit - to offer a full service marina and resort.

"We're really trying to build a reflection of what the marketplace is asking for," Scott says. "We're here to provide solutions and service in a clean environment so people can take advantage of enjoying the time they have away. Time away is valuable."

The pandemic has meant some setbacks in redevelopment of the site but construction work is now progressing. The next phase will be waterfront condominiums.

"Our tagline is 'Beyond Boating'," Scott says, referring to the entire redevelopment of the marina property. New amenities are being blended with services they've provided for four generations - new and used boat sales, parts and service, retail space, docking and storage.

Learn more about their full-service experience by visiting Hucks Marine, send them an email or call 613-659-3408. Learn more about their ParkStor, an 80,000-square-foot heated indoor boat storage facility nearby on the 1000 Islands Parkway. Hucks is located at 53 Front Street in the village of Rockport.