Page 4 - From Visits with Capt. Michael Tobin Coastal & Gulf Ferry Captain, Ret'd

ISSUE : Issue 73

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1998/6/1

The S.S. Bruce • th& first regular ferry service from Newfoundland across the Cakx>t Strait to Canada, which began In June 1898. Lost r Louisbourg on March 24,1911, with two passengers drowned. (It's certainly a lot less expensive.) Well, that's what I told him. And I said, "You go in the school and get at the tele? graph- -nothing is going to happen. There's no tide, there's no current. Where are you CAW'TCA CANADA Canada's largest private union & supporter of Cape Breton *s Magazine Sydney Area Office: " Victor Tomiczek National Representative " Lynn Pollock National Representative " Paulette Turnbuii Support Staff 165 Townsend Street Sydney, NS BIP 5E4 Tel: (902) 562-3857 Toll Free: 1-800-591-7523 Fax: (902) 539-0519 e-mail: [email protected] getting the experience?" I said, "When we got our experience we had coastal service all along the New? foundland coast. And every half hour you were docking the ship, or leav? ing. We had thirty, forty ports of call to make every week." And I said, "That's where we got our experience in docking a ship...." (Those thirty or forty ports of call, was that all year round?) All year round. Winter, summer. Now the South Coast I was on--there's no ice to contend with, very little except up around Port-aux-Basques. But you had all kinds of bad weather. Fog and heavy winds, cold, snow. (And regard? less of that weather, just about eve? ry half hour you were docking at a new place.) Well, you'd have a couple of ports--you might have probably two hours or three hours off. But outside of that there were some less than a half hour. (And you were just going port by port....) You did every port. Dock and leave. Keep schedule. (And regardless of the weather.) That's right. Well, we had two weeks to make a round trip from Argen- tia to Port-aux-Basques, and the south coast. And then do all those ports and land the freight and passengers. Some places--no wharves--(the passengers) had to go ashore in a mail boat.... When I was on the coast, there were very little ice--just a bit of harbour ice. Bay d'Espoir now, is a place--you'd butt up through there. But we did it in the coastal boats. That's the only place that used to be frozen over for any distance. Bay d'Espoir --it's narrow run up there, and it's long. And sometimes my crew used to get on skates and go ahead of her, and skate up there-- some of the fellows off watch. But anyway, the crowd that was supposed to come from St. Albans for the freight, they'd come out so far. They knew the ship couldn't get right up to St. Albans. They'd hide in WOW VAN f 00 Fully Licensed ??yhrrmmv' Restaurant OPEN DAILY 11 A.M. to 1 A.M. FRI. and SAT. till 2 A.M. SUN. till MIDNIGHT Major Credit Cards Accepted Gift Certificates * Ample Parking Oriental and Canadian Cuisine in a relaxed and elegant dining atmosphere Daily Luncheon Specials Banquet Facilities Available Take Out Orders Delivered A Warm Welcome Excellent Service and Fine Food 460 Grand Lake Rd., Sydney 562-0088 or 539-2825'

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