The province has just retired one of the five vehicle ferries that operate as part of the Manitoba highways system. On Wednesday, the 89-foot M.V. Edgar Wood made its final Lake Winnipeg crossing between Bloodvein First Nation and the west side of Lake Winnipeg's narrows. Built in 1958, the ship first served Hecla Island before a causeway was built and then moved up to the turbulent narrows. The completion of the eastside road to Bloodvein killed the demand.
The first link in the east-side road turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Lake Winnipeg Narrows’ ferry service, which has been cancelled after 35 years.
Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/10/2015 (2409 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The first link in the east-side road turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Lake Winnipeg Narrows’ ferry service, which has been cancelled after 35 years.
On Oct. 14, the M.V. Edgar Wood made its final 14-kilometre trip between Bloodvein First Nation on the east side of Lake Winnipeg to Islandview on the west side, at the end of PR 234.
The 27-metre self-propelled ferry boat, built in 1959, has been carrying cars, trucks and pedestrians across the narrows since 1980. It served as the only warm-weather link between Bloodvein and the rest of Manitoba until 2014, when a 156-kilometre road connecting PR 304 to the First Nation was completed.
Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation operated the ship one more season along its regular route, which also served the small east-side outpost of Princess Harbour.
A drastic decline in traffic this year led the province to mothball its oldest ferry, which sailed Oct. 15 to Selkirk, where it awaits decommissioning.
"Right now, we have no future plans for this boat," said Mike Knight, director of northern airports and marine operations for Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation.
"We have to figure out if there’s any other place it’s needed. But it would have to be cut into pieces, moved off Lake Winnipeg and put back together. Those are significant costs, and it’s a very old boat."
The Edgar Wood was one of five ferries that served as links in Manitoba’s highway system.
A second self-propelled ferry makes the 21-kilometre trip between Tataskweyak Cree Nation and York Landing on Split Lake. Cable ferries operate on South Indian Lake, on the Nelson River at Sea Falls and on a channel of Lake Winnipeg at Matheson Island.
The Lake Winnipeg Narrows ferry, however, was arguably Manitoba’s best known, as it was used by Bloodvein residents as well as by paddlers who completed whitewater trips on the Bloodvein River.
"I’ve seen canoeists on that ferry from virtually every corner of the globe. It’s amazing how many people have paddled down that river," said Barry Blair, Manitoba Infrastructure’s marine projects manager.
The end of the ferry service is even more significant for longtime residents of Lake Winnipeg’s northern basin, where marine traffic has dwindled precipitously since the middle of the 20th century.
The extension of roads, flights by small aircraft and small privately owned boats have all supplanted larger ships, said David Stephanson, who served as the Edgar Wood’s captain from 1982 until last week.
MANITOBA INFRASTRUCTURE & TRANSPORTATION
Photos of the M.V. Edgar Wood was the province's oldest ferry.
"You’d see a ship going by every day in the ’60s and ’70s. There used to be 25 or 30 on the lake. A lot of them are sunk now, and some are in the (Marine) Museum," said Stephanson, who served with the Coast Guard before becoming a ferry captain.
While the Lake Winnipeg crossing was not as long as the M.V. Joe Keeper’s route on Split Lake, the Edgar Wood faced far more treacherous waters. The Lake Winnipeg Narrows are famously turbulent, especially when a strong northwestern wind spawns large waves and creates unpredictable currents.
"It’s the roughest water anywhere on Lake Winnipeg," Stephanson said.
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While Transport Canada placed strict operating conditions on the ferry, its captain still found himself steering a big, flat boat through waves as high as three metres.
While Transport Canada placed strict operating conditions on the ferry, its captain still found himself steering a big, flat boat through waves as high as three metres.
"It gets pretty dicey at times, when you get waves coming from different directions and you have to fight the sea," Stephanson said. "The weather has really changed, especially in the summer. Now, you get caught in these waterspouts. You just aim your ferry into them."
Rough water is no longer Stephanson’s concern. The construction of the road to Bloodvein has forced him into retirement on Matheson Island.
"I didn’t think it would happen in my lifetime. Now that it has, I’m glad for the people there, for them to get access to the south. I hope they build (the road) all the way to where they’re supposed to build it before I push up daisies," Stephanson said.
"It’s kind of sad. But I’ve done my stint. It’s time for me to put my feet up and take it easy."
Up until this year, landlocked Manitoba operated five highway ferries. Here’s the goods on the boats in the service of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation:
M.V. Edgar Wood
Location: Lake Winnipeg
Ferry type: Self-propelled boat
Route: Connected Provincial Road 234, on the west side of the Lake Winnipeg Narrows, to Bloodvein First Nation and Princess Harbour on the east side of the lake.
Length: 89.9 feet
Capacity: 11 cars, 39 passengers and three crew.
Built: 1958 by Riverton Boat Works
Operated: 1980 to 2015 at Lake Winnipeg Narrows.
This season: June 2 to Oct. 14
Decommissioned: Oct. 15, when it was docked at Selkirk.
M.V. Joe Keeper
Location: Split Lake
Ferry type: Self-propelled boat
Route: Connects Tataskweyak Cree Nation to York Landing First Nation.
Length: 112 feet
Capacity: 16 cars, 40 passengers and four crew.
Built: 1977 by Riverton Boat Works
Operated: 1978 to the present.
This season: May 27 onward.
C.F. James Apetagon
Location: Nelson River
Ferry type: Cable ferry
Route: Crosses the Nelson at Sea Falls, allowing Provincial Road 373 to reach Norway House.
Length: 90 feet
Capacity: 15 cars, 48 passengers and two crew.
Built: 1977 by Riverton Boat Works
Operated: 1978 to present.
This season: April 2 onward.
C.F. Ingemar Carlson II
Location: Lake Winnipeg
Ferry type: Cable ferry
Route: Connects Matheson Island with the mainland.
Length: 75 feet
Capacity: 12 cars, 50 passengers and one crew.
Built: 1977 by Riverton Boat Works
Operated: 1980 to 1986 at Cross Lake; 1990 to present at Matheson Island.
This season: March 24 onward.
C.F. Johnny Paul
Location: South Indian Lake
Ferry type: Cable ferry
Route: Crosses a strait, allowing Provincial Road 493 to reach O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree Nation.
Length: 90 feet
Capacity: 16 cars, 50 passengers and two crew.
Built: 2004 by M&T Fabricators
Operated: 2004 to the present
Source: Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation
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