To PEI - Part 1, the hard way

The recent closure of the Confederation Bridge to all traffic during a blizzard, was one of the rare times that Canada has been cut off from Prince Edward Island in recent years. Since the 8 mile long bridge opened in 1997 there have often been traffic restrictions due to high winds, but only a very few actual closures.

In the years before the bridge there were long periods when there was no traffic at all. Ice boats, then ships attempted to make the crossing during ice season, and were often turned back or delayed.

It was not until almost mid 20th century that regular ferries became powerful enough to battle most conditions, but even then there were frequent delays.

I recently came across some old photos taken with a tiny Minox "spy" camera, and so the quality is understandably poor, but they are worth sharing. They appear to have been taken in the spring of the LATE 1950s, after most of the ice was gone, but I have no further information.

The rail ferry Scotia II steams across the Northumberland Strait.

 

The barge-like ferry shuttled rails cars, and the occasional locomotive for the CNR.

 

The photos were taken from the deck of the ferry Prince Edward Island, a rail and car/passenger ferry. CN adopted its famous "wet noodle" logo in 1961. Before that CNR ships had a blue / white / red funnel ( or in the case of this ship, four of them.).

The spy camera was better at detail photos.

 

A view over the bow shows some ice. but also some interesting rivet work on the 1915 built bulwarks.

Laid up in Dartmouth for a time, the old ferry's looks were not improved by orange funnels with the white CN logo. It was later converted to be a dredge pumping station and finally scrapped in Toronto.

That is the sealer Arctic Endeavour alongside - also no stranger to ice, despite its wooden hull. The bulker Cavala is inbound for National Gyspum, and the CN pier at left, is a junk and scrapyard run by Leo J. Beazley, with several sunken hulks on the opposite side.

In 1983 I made a memorable crossing on the John Hamilton Gray and got a close up look of Abegweit (ii) making it look easy to work through the ice.

Although ungainly looking, Abegweit (ii) was built for the ice and did a superb job from 1982 to 1997.

In the spring of 1997 I made round trip on the Abegweit and saw (and heard) John Hamilton Gray putting on a good show as it worked its way through moderate ice.

The Confederation bridge in the background is two months from opening as John Hamilton Grey storms through heavy ice, her eight Fairbanks Morses singing a happy tune.

It was my last chance to do the ferry crossing, for as soon as the bridge opened in May 1997 the Marine Atlantic Ferry service was shut down.

If some of this seems familiar - see http://shipfax.blogspot.ca/2012/04/fifteen-years-ago-bargain-for-8.html

There remains the seasonal ferry service between Caribou, NS and Wood Islands PEI - but that will be part 2.

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Fifteen years ago - a bargain for $8

On March 14, 1997 I made a little excursion to Prince Edward Island - my last trip through the ice on a ferry. The Confederation Bridge was to open in June of that year and the Marine Atlantic ferry service from Cape Tormentine, NB to Borden PE would shut down when the bridge opened.
I boarded Abegweit as a foot passenger and made the round trip for the grand sum of $8.

Quoting from my Shipfax newsletter of the March 1997 "John Hamilton Gray left Borden at the same time and appeared to be bobbing and weaving more than we were. Several times we crossed each others' bows as the two ships sought leads in the ice. With a mile or so to go [before we met] both vessels straightened out for a clear port to port passage.
" As the Gray drew abreast the thrum of her eight 12 cylinder Fairbanks-Morses [total 16,000 bhp] was audible in the cold air and her funnels were pumping hazy streamers of hot exhaust."
The return meet was equally exciting as more ice had built in and I can still almost hear the Gray's engines humming.

On a previous winter trip in 1983 I crossed on the Gray and got similar photos of the Abegweit. Her six Rustons totalling 18,000 bhp did not sound nearly as good, but it was an equally impressive crossing with lots of crunching ice.

Both ships were sold off and eventually scrapped despite efforts to find other work for them.

John Hamilton Gray 11,260 gross tons, built by Marine Industries Ltd in Sorel in 1968. Carried 165 cars and loaded and unloaded through a stern door. It was sold to Contessa International Cruise Line, renamed Contessa I, but plans to convert to a cruise ships fell through. Sold to Texas Treasure Casino in 2001 and renamed Texas Treasure for conversion to a casino-also failed. Remarkably the ship sailed on its own from Texas to Alang India, arriving June 29, 2004 where it was broken up. It was renamed Treasure for the delivery trip. Abegweit 13,483 gross tons, built by Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock in 1982. Carried 250 autos and originally fitted with rail tracks for 20 rail cars. Had bow and stern doors. Sold in 1999 to Accrued Investments of Houston, TX and renamed Accrued Mariner for use as a casino in Galveston. In February 2004 it was also sold for scrap, renamed Mariner and also sailed on its own to Alang.