Where are they now, WinStar and others

 Part 1

  The "Where Are They Now" department was awakened from its slumbers by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation this morning (October 17) when a report came in from Baddeck, NS, the well known resort village on the Bras d'Or Lakes.

The venerable schooner Amoeba, which had been providing scenic tours from Baddeck for many years, has been dismantled and was not in service this year. However the owners, Bryson Holdings Ltd,  have acquired another vessel (which the reporter likened to a London double decker bus) which will be fitted out for service next summer, using some fittings from the Amoeba. 

I don't recall ever seeing the Amoeba, but there are numerous photos online, that show a nicely proportioned vessel, built along classic lines. It was built by Roy Bryson (father of the current owner) in 1978 using ferro cement technology and was about 50 feet (hull length) and 31.9 gross tons.

There are also many photos of London double decker buses online, and frankly - well, you be the judge. (There is a large feet of classic Routemaster buses in Halifax, still in service, providing tours during tourist and cruise ship season, so comparisons are easy.)

 An iconic Routemaster British bus in Halifax.

 The vessel that Bryson Holdings has acquired is a very interesting one with a long and varied career to date (none of it in London). It did operate in Halifax as a dinner cruise boat in 2018 and 2019.

Carrying the official name Winstar Cruise it came to Halifax in 2018 and catered to Asian tourists with authentic seafood cuisine and Chinese language service. Although it did see some service in 2019 it was not very active as I recall. I do not know here it was after 2019.

The 132.6 gt vessel was built of aluminum in 1972 by Paasch Marine Services of Erie, PA as American Adonis II for International Boat Tours Inc of Clayton, NY. It then became Island Princess and continued Thousand Islands tours. It was located in Florida in 2015 when bought by Jacques Normand of Quebec. At the time it carried the name Cabaret.com (a name Normand decided to keep) and it was a 75 day trip from Stuart, FL to bring the ship to Baie St-Paul, QC where it was refurbished for Canadian service.

It operated from Baie-St-Paul, QC (photo above) in 2016 and Pointe-au-Pic, QC in 2017, still carrying the awkward name Cabaret.com but was not well patronized.  It was sold and moved to Halifax in 2018 as the WinStar Cruise operated by an Ontario company.

Thanks to its aluminum construction, the boat appears to be in good condition. We wish the new owners success in Baddeck. 

Part 2

It may be a bit of a stretch, but the "where are they now" question might have been asked at various times in Halifax today as the legendary pea soup fog drifted in and out of the harbour with the tides.

The cruise ship Norwegian Joy was sounding its fog horn all the way in to Pier 22 early in the morning. By late afternoon, there was a solid wall of fog outside the harbour as the Atlantic Sun arrived from offshore anchorage.

Atlantic Sun arrrives, bringing a few wisps of fog with it, as Norwegian Joy prepares to sail.

Earlier in the day the ZIM feeder ship AS Felicia completed working cargo in bright sunshine at Pier 42, as fog lurked offshore in the background.

Only a few minutes later as the ship cleared for Kingston Jamaica, it was entering the leading edge of the fog, just off the end of the pier. Macnab's Island, normally visible, had "vanished."

 Also sailing off into the gloom was the tanker Elka Delos (see previous post). It completed delivering some refined petroleum products to Irving Oil and departed for Saint John, NB with the rest of its cargo from Amsterdam.

The very rugged tanks in the background belong to Imperial Oil. Irving Oil's tanks - not visible in the photo - are much better looking.

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