Post by Low Light Mike on May 25, 2009 18:46:17 GMT -8
A good article on the charter M.A. ferry and some ship history from that area.
www.capebretonpost.com:80/index.cfm?sid=253981&sc=150
www.capebretonpost.com:80/index.cfm?sid=253981&sc=150
M.V. Atlantic Vision is the new big boy of ferries
RANNIE GILLIS
The Cape Breton Post
The year 1955 marked the beginning of a new era in ferry service across the Cabot Strait, with the arrival of the brand new M.V. William Carson. Built in Quebec, she represented the first generation of East Coast drive-on/drive-off ferries that would modernize the transportation system between mainland Canada and her newest province. The Carson, as she came to be known, was 351 feet long, had a top speed of 16 knots and could carry 292 passengers and 50 automobiles.
Thirty-one years later, in 1986, the second generation of so-called ‘super ships’ arrived on the scene. The M.V. Caribou, also built in Quebec, is approximately 580 feet long, has a top speed of 22 knots, with a capacity of 1,200 passengers and 350 automobiles. Her virtually identical sister ship, the M.V. Joseph and Clara Smallwood, arrived four years later, in 1990.
Earlier this spring North Sydney welcomed the third generation of ‘super ship’, the M.V. Atlantic Vision. Built in Germany in 2002, the new vessel is significantly larger than any previous ship on the Newfoundland service. She is 670 feet long, with a top speed of 27 knots. Although her passenger capacity of 700 is less than either the Caribou or Smallwood, she can carry almost twice the number of motor vehicles. She has four vehicle decks, as compared to two on the Caribou or Smallwood, and can carry more than 530 cars, or a smaller number of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.
I have in front of me, as I write, a little illustrated brochure on the M.V. William Carson, dated 1960. In addition to a nice photo of the ship, it has a picture of a deLuxe cabin ($10 one way), the ladies lounge, and the cafeteria, where I used to work while a student at Xavier Junior College in Sydney.
In the summer months the Carson made two return trips each day. She would leave North Sydney at midnight and arrive in Port aux Basques six and half hours later. She would then leave Newfoundland at noon, and arrive back in Cape Breton at supper hour. An adult passenger ticket cost $5 one way ($28.75 today), and the cost to transport your car was $16 one way ($81.50 today).
An interesting footnote in the brochure said: “Through rail fares include transportation on the ferry.” This meant, for example, that if you bought a ticket to go by train from Halifax to St. John’s, your ticket price also included your ferry passage.
The back of the brochure had a map of eastern Canada, which indicated the route of Canadian National train service in this part of the country. It also had the following note:
“Convenient train connections at North Sydney to and from Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Saint John, Boston, etc. Rail service is also available from Port aux Basques to all points in Newfoundland.”
There were three different categories of cabins available on the M.V. William Carson:
DeLuxe cabins on B-Deck ($10 one way) had two single beds, and a small bathroom with private toilet. Four-berth cabins on C-Deck ($10) and F-Deck ($8), deep in the bowels of the ship, did not have a bathroom. They did, however, have washbasin facilities.
Next week: the sad end of the M.V. William Carson.
Rannie Gillis is an author and avid Celtic historian whose column appears every week in the Cape Breton Post. We welcome your comments on this column or any other material appearing in the Post. You can write c/o Letters to the Editor; Cape Breton Post, 255 George St., PO Box 1500, Sydney N.S., BIP 6K6 or fax
to (902) 562-7077
or e-mail ranniegillis@ns.sympatico.ca
RANNIE GILLIS
The Cape Breton Post
The year 1955 marked the beginning of a new era in ferry service across the Cabot Strait, with the arrival of the brand new M.V. William Carson. Built in Quebec, she represented the first generation of East Coast drive-on/drive-off ferries that would modernize the transportation system between mainland Canada and her newest province. The Carson, as she came to be known, was 351 feet long, had a top speed of 16 knots and could carry 292 passengers and 50 automobiles.
Thirty-one years later, in 1986, the second generation of so-called ‘super ships’ arrived on the scene. The M.V. Caribou, also built in Quebec, is approximately 580 feet long, has a top speed of 22 knots, with a capacity of 1,200 passengers and 350 automobiles. Her virtually identical sister ship, the M.V. Joseph and Clara Smallwood, arrived four years later, in 1990.
Earlier this spring North Sydney welcomed the third generation of ‘super ship’, the M.V. Atlantic Vision. Built in Germany in 2002, the new vessel is significantly larger than any previous ship on the Newfoundland service. She is 670 feet long, with a top speed of 27 knots. Although her passenger capacity of 700 is less than either the Caribou or Smallwood, she can carry almost twice the number of motor vehicles. She has four vehicle decks, as compared to two on the Caribou or Smallwood, and can carry more than 530 cars, or a smaller number of cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc.
I have in front of me, as I write, a little illustrated brochure on the M.V. William Carson, dated 1960. In addition to a nice photo of the ship, it has a picture of a deLuxe cabin ($10 one way), the ladies lounge, and the cafeteria, where I used to work while a student at Xavier Junior College in Sydney.
In the summer months the Carson made two return trips each day. She would leave North Sydney at midnight and arrive in Port aux Basques six and half hours later. She would then leave Newfoundland at noon, and arrive back in Cape Breton at supper hour. An adult passenger ticket cost $5 one way ($28.75 today), and the cost to transport your car was $16 one way ($81.50 today).
An interesting footnote in the brochure said: “Through rail fares include transportation on the ferry.” This meant, for example, that if you bought a ticket to go by train from Halifax to St. John’s, your ticket price also included your ferry passage.
The back of the brochure had a map of eastern Canada, which indicated the route of Canadian National train service in this part of the country. It also had the following note:
“Convenient train connections at North Sydney to and from Halifax, Moncton, Montreal, Saint John, Boston, etc. Rail service is also available from Port aux Basques to all points in Newfoundland.”
There were three different categories of cabins available on the M.V. William Carson:
DeLuxe cabins on B-Deck ($10 one way) had two single beds, and a small bathroom with private toilet. Four-berth cabins on C-Deck ($10) and F-Deck ($8), deep in the bowels of the ship, did not have a bathroom. They did, however, have washbasin facilities.
Next week: the sad end of the M.V. William Carson.
Rannie Gillis is an author and avid Celtic historian whose column appears every week in the Cape Breton Post. We welcome your comments on this column or any other material appearing in the Post. You can write c/o Letters to the Editor; Cape Breton Post, 255 George St., PO Box 1500, Sydney N.S., BIP 6K6 or fax
to (902) 562-7077
or e-mail ranniegillis@ns.sympatico.ca