MV ''Bluenose'' was a Canadian passenger and motor vehicle

ferry A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

operated by

Canadian National Railways The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...

and later

CN Marine CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick. History CN Marine was created by parent Canadian National Railway (CN) in 1977 as a means to group the company's ferry operations in eastern Canada into a separate ...

from 1955 to 1982. She sailed between

Bar Harbor Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

and

Yarmouth Yarmouth may refer to: Places Canada *Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia **Yarmouth, Nova Scotia **Municipality of the District of Yarmouth **Yarmouth (provincial electoral district) **Yarmouth (electoral district) * Yarmouth Township, Ontario *New ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

. The vessel was named after the famed

Grand Banks The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...

fishing and racing

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

Bluenose ''Bluenose'' was a fishing and racing gaff rig schooner built in 1921 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, Canada. A celebrated racing ship and fishing vessel, ''Bluenose'' under the command of Angus Walters, became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia and ...

''.

Construction

In 1949, the Canadian Maritime Commission began to explore the possibility of investing in the construction of a ferry to connect the port of Yarmouth with a port in Maine. This followed a multi-year lobbying campaign of the federal government conducted by citizens and local political leaders in southwestern Nova Scotia advocating a ferry service to replace steamship connections that were not resumed following the conclusion of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The vessel was built by

Davie Shipbuilding Davie Shipbuilding is a historic shipbuilding company located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. The facility is now operating as Chantier Davie Canada Inc. and is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America. History The Davie shipyard ...

in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. Building commenced with the laying of the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

in July 1954. MV ''Bluenose'' was launched on 25 May 1955. The ship was christened by its patron Jeanne St. Laurent, wife of Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent, whose government commissioned her construction. Mrs. St. Laurent reportedly christened the ship by saying "I name this ship Bluenose and may God protect all who sail in her."

Statistics and Livery

''Bluenose'' measured in length, had a beam of and draught of . She displaced . She had the capacity to carry up to 615 passengers. The crew numbered about 96. She could also carry up to 150 automobiles and 18 trucks. ''Bluenose'' was propelled by 6

Fairbanks-Morse Fairbanks, Morse and Company was an American manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, coffee grinders, radios, farm tractors, fee ...

38 8-1/8 diesel engines which delivered to two propellers. Her service speed was about . Automobiles and trucks were onloaded and offloaded through four large hatches, two on either side of the ship. On the promenade deck, ''Bluenose'' had an observation lounge forward and a cafeteria aft. Single berth cabins could accommodate up to 30 passengers. ''Bluenose'' had a blue hull and white superstructure. Her funnel was emblazoned with several different designs, initially with red, white and blue stripes, at one point red with a white CN (

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN i ...

) logo, at other points blue with a white CN logo.

Service

For her entire career as a ferry, ''Bluenose'' ran between

Bar Harbor, Maine Bar Harbor is a resort town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population is 5,089. During the summer and fall seasons, it is a popular tourist destination and, until a catastrophic fire i ...

and

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia Yarmouth is a town in southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. A port town, industries include fishing, and tourism. It is the terminus of a ferry service to Bar Harbor, Maine, run by Bay Ferries. History Originally inhabited by the Mi'kmaq, the regi ...

. Operations commenced in 1956. Her last run occurred on 16 October 1982. She provided remarkably reliable performance throughout her 26 years of service. Those who took this ferry across the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northeast ...

saved a driving distance of approximately . Daily service occurred over the warmer months. Tri-weekly service was offered during other periods, although, during the late 1970s and early 1980s, service was discontinued over the winter months. In 1982, ''Bluenose'' was replaced by a newer vessel, the 1973-built MS ''Stena Jutlandica'', which was renamed MV ''Bluenose'' before entering service. This second MV ''Bluenose'' was retired from service in October 1997.

Disposition

The

Electric Boat Company Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described ...

Groton, Connecticut Groton is a town in New London County, Connecticut located on the Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. The Naval Submarine Base New London is ...

, purchased ''Bluenose'' in 1983 through the

Government of Canada The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown ...

's Crown assets disposal process. She was renamed MV ''Marine Bluenose'', and was converted into a floating machine shop on the

Thames River The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

in Groton. In 1984 a dispute developed between the owners of the ship and Groton city officials, who claimed that the vessel was a building and was required to meet state building codes. In October 1996, ''Marine Bluenose'' was towed from the Electric Boat Company’s facilities in Groton. Thereafter, she spent several years in an advanced state of decay in

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, moored alongside the idled Chandris liner RHMS ''Britanis'' (ex-). ''Marine Bluenose'' was towed from Tampa Bay to

Tuxpan Tuxpan (or Túxpam, fully Túxpam de Rodríguez Cano) is both a municipality and city located in the Mexican state of Veracruz. The population of the city was 78,523 and of the municipality was 134,394 inhabitants, according to the INEGI census o ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

for scrapping in 2000.

Commemoration

The wheel, compass, telegraph and bell from the bridge of MV ''Bluenose'' were donated to the

Yarmouth County Museum The Yarmouth County Museum & Archives is a museum located in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. This museum explores the history of Yarmouth County. Located in the heart of Yarmouth's heritage residential district, the museum is housed in a former c ...

by the Electric Boat Company. They are featured along with a model of the ship in a special display at the Museum which evokes the bridge of ''Bluenose.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluenose Ferries of Nova Scotia Ferries of Maine Ships built in Lévis 1955 ships CN Marine Transport in Yarmouth County Transportation in Hancock County, Maine