The word Abegweit is derived from the Mi'kmaq word for Prince Edward Island, Epekwit'k, meaning "cradled (or cradle) on the waves."
Design and construction
Abegweit crossing the Northumberland Strait in her glory days.
The first Abegweit was laid down as hull 144 in November 1944 and was launched in 1946 at the Marine Industries Limitedshipyard in Sorel, Quebec. Her designers were the famous Montreal design firm of German & Milne. Her owners were Canadian National Railways (CNR), operator of the Borden–Cape Tormentine service from 1918 to 1977.
This vessel was the most powerful icebreaker in the world at the time of her commissioning[citation needed] on June 28, 1947, and was reportedly the heaviest vessel ever constructed in Canada as well. Her patron at the time of commissioning was Katherine Francis Bovyer, wife of Prince Edward Island premier J. Walter Jones. She entered service on August 14, 1947 and earned the hearts of Islanders who affectionately called her the "Abby".
She measured 372 feet in length and displaced 7,000 tons. Her eight main engines generated 13,500 brake horsepower (10 MW) and drove propellers at both bow and stern. She could carry 950 passengers and 60 cars (or one complete passenger train of 16 railway cars).
Service
The growth of vehicle and rail traffic by the 1950s soon made her obsolete, and subsequent vessels introduced in the 1960s and 1970s could carry more vehicles and rail traffic and could load and unload with greater speed.
Disposal and sale
The replacement for Abegweit was a vessel that was laid down as MV Straitway; however, while under construction CN Marine decided to name this new vessel Abegweit. To accommodate this change, the original Abegweit was renamed Abby in fall 1982 and she maintained this name through the end of her ferry service. After finishing service on the Borden–Cape Tormentine route, the Abby was moved to Pictou, Nova Scotia and placed for sale during the winter of 1982–1983.
During the winter of 1982–1983, while the new Abegweit was in service between Borden and Cape Tormentine, the old Abby was docked at Pictou, Nova Scotia and advertised for sale by CN Marine. She was purchased by the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago, Illinois. Chicago city ordinances barred the club from constructing a clubhouse on the waterfront, so the club decided to purchase the Abby and permanently moor her at their facility.
Abby left the Northumberland Strait for good in April, 1983 and remains in "service" in Chicago. A curious phenomenon arising out of CN Marine's name-switch operation is that many in the general public assume the new vessel's name was Abegweit II — this is not the case as she was officially registered as Abegweit.
Columbia Yacht Club
Abegweit was purchased by the Columbia Yacht Club in 1983 and moved to Chicago that spring. In 1986, she appeared in an action sequence in the film, Running Scared. She continues to serve as club house for the ColYC. The ship had new hull paint applied in 2010, preserving the traditional color scheme.
The Confederation Bridge is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened May 31, 1997, the 12.9-kilometre (8.0 mi) bridge is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water.
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
A Northumberland Strait iceboat is a rowing boat, typically 5 metres in length, 2 metres in beam, with runners fastened to the hull for dragging over sea ice.
The Prince Edward Island Railway (PEIR) was a historic Canadian railway in Prince Edward Island (PEI). The railway ran tip-to-tip on the island, from Tignish in the west to Elmira in the east, with major spurs serving Borden-Carleton's train ferry dock, the capital in Charlottetown, Montague and Georgetown and the original eastern terminus at Souris. A major spur from Charlottetown served Murray Harbour on the south coast.
Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL) is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. NFL is also the owner of subsidiary Bay Ferries Limited through its holding company.
CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
MV Caribou was a Marine Atlantic passenger/vehicle ferry which operated between the islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton in eastern Canada.
Marine Industries Limited (MIL) was a Canadian ship building, hydro-electric and rail car manufacturing company, in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, with a shipyard located on the Richelieu river about 1 km from the St. Lawrence River. It employed up to 8,500 people during the World War II support effort.
MV John Hamilton Gray was an icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferry which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Port Borden to Cape Tormentine between 1968–1997.
Borden-Carleton is a town in Prince County in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It is situated on the south shore fronting on the Northumberland Strait. The town was originally incorporated as a community on April 12, 1995, through the amalgamation of the town of Borden and the community of Carleton. The town of Borden opted to demote its status to a community in light of a declining tax base with the pending completion of the Confederation Bridge and the closure of the Marine Atlantic ferry service. Borden-Carleton became a town on July 31, 2012.
The MV Vacationland is a Canadian RORO ferry that operated across the Northumberland Strait between the ports of Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Port Borden, Prince Edward Island.
MV Holiday Island was a Canadian RORO ferry that operated across the Northumberland Strait between the ports of Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia. The vessel was owned by the Government of Canada and was managed and operated by Northumberland Ferries Limited.
Saint John Shipbuilding was a Canadian shipbuilding company located in Saint John, New Brunswick. The shipyard was active from 1923 to 2003.
MV Princess of Acadia was a roll-on/roll-off passenger and motor vehicle ferry that traveled between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick, crossing the Bay of Fundy. The vessel held 650 passengers and could transport 180 automobile equivalents. On July 28, 2015 the ship was replaced by MV Fundy Rose.
MV Abegweit were icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferries which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. There were two vessels named Abegweit that serviced this route between 1947 and 1997.
MV Bluenose was a Canadian passenger and motor vehicle ferry operated by Canadian National Railways and later CN Marine from 1955 to 1982. She sailed between Bar Harbor, Maine and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. The vessel was named after the famed Grand Banks fishing and racing schooner Bluenose.
MV Confederation is a double-ended RORO ferry which operates on a seasonal basis between Caribou, Nova Scotia and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island from May to December. It is operated by Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL). Built by Pictou Industries Limited for NFL and launched in Pictou, NS in 1993 Confederation has a total length of 114.2 metres, beam of 18.77m, a draft of 4.439m and a gross tonnage of 8,060. Her passenger capacity is 600 with a vehicle capacity of 220.
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