The year 2025 marked a very special milestone for Escapades Memphrémagog: we proudly celebrated our 15th sailing season on the legendary Lake Memphremagog. Fifteen years of elegance, breathtaking scenery, gourmet meals, and unique moments shared on the crystal-clear waters of the most beautiful lake in the Eastern Townships!
Over the seasons, many of you have joined us on board: families, couples, groups of friends, businesses… your smiles have told us a lot about the magic of Le Grand Cru!
To mark the end of this season (and a big change coming in 2026…!), what better way than to look back on some of the highlights of the last 15 years with a few anecdotes and fun facts from our team?
Important Moments
Here are some key dates from the past 15 years.
2009: Beginning of the shipyard on the shores of Lake Memphremagog
2011: Launch of Le Grand Cru and first cruise
2012: National Gold Award, Grands Prix du tourisme
2014: First edition of the annual fundraising event “La Petite robe noire” for the benefit of Fonds de l’Espérance, founded by André L’Espérance
2017-2018: Trip Advisor Traveler’s Choice Award
2019: First edition of “Les Grands Feux Magogois”, an event Escapades Memphrémagog has proudly sponsored every year since
2022: Dry dock works (world premiere!)
2023: “Winterization” of the boat and launch of winter dockside events
2024: Finalist for “Prix excellence tourisme” awards
2025: Greenstep Silver Certification
2026: Big news coming soon… stay tuned!
Did You Know That…
- The construction and launch of our 41-meter catamaran were quite an adventure. Since it was impossible to purchase a vessel of this size and bring it to Lake Memphremagog—it would never have been able to pass under the viaducts!—the team had no choice but to build it directly on site, creating a unique shipyard at Pointe Cabana in Magog.
- Organizing meals is extremely complex, and it was especially when we had just started offering our gourmet cruises. Since the onboard kitchen cannot accommodate any leftovers—and once the boat has departed, there is no turning back—preparation must be done in two stages: part of the meal is cooked on the dock, then finished on the ship. Every element must be perfectly synchronized. It’s a real headache for the team… but let’s just say that after 15 years, they’ve got it down to a fine art!
- With boxes attached to its sides when it was launched to make it float, the boat weighed no less than 300 tons! It has now returned to its normal weight of 165 tons. Mr. L’Espérance was keen to incorporate Swarovski crystals, exotic woods, and other luxurious materials into Le Grand Cru’s decor… which can still be admired aboard, of course!
Team Anecdotes
Here are six memorable or amusing moments collected from members of our team.
- Apart from a few hiccups in the preceding weeks—flooding had softened the launch ramp, and a shortage of welders had delayed the final work—the launch went smoothly on the morning of May 25, 2011. Operations were even ahead of schedule when things got complicated! We had a small problem with the trolleys on which the boat was moving; three out of four pairs had to be replaced, which caused a two-hour delay and some additional costs… Le Grand Cru was finally launched at 8 p.m., in front of a large audience that had come for the occasion!
- We have occasionally hosted special events on board with several artists, well-known personalities, and even politicians. These events were “top secret” and required the absolute discretion from our team. We welcomed guests with police escorts, and some even arrived by helicopter. These were certainly memorable events for everyone!
- During a cruise in the early years of navigation, passengers suddenly rushed to the windows and even onto the deck when a strange creature was spotted in the water… Of course, everyone thought it was the legendary lake monster, Memphré! In the end, it turned out to be a moose without antlers swimming across the lake… because yes, moose are excellent swimmers!
- In 2012, our founder André L’Espérance was on board with an important guest when he realized they were running late for a meeting. He asked his crew, who are used to dealing with the unexpected, to drop them off at a dock on Lake Memphremagog, near Georgeville. The two guests jumped from the boat to the dock as the other passengers looked on in amazement. Those who knew him would surely now say “Good old André!”
- On a few occasions, our team realized during an outing that the desserts had unfortunately been left behind at the dock. In these cases, we had to call on some invaluable colleagues to bring them to us in a small boat, which docked alongside Le Grand Cru and delivered the desserts… incognito. We have called these comical events “Operation Crème Brûlée”!
- For our dry dock works in 2022, the compressors had to run continuously. We had several possible scenarios and a generator as a backup plan, but under no circumstances could there be a breakdown, so as not to damage the boat. So we created a small room on board with a camp bed, so we could sleep on site and keep an eye on everything every night. Members of the team took turns sleeping there for several days!
To discover more amusing facts, watch this TikTok video (French)!