Chi-Cheemaun
Encyclopedia
MS Chi-Cheemaun is a passenger and car ferry
in Ontario
, Canada
, which traverses Lake Huron
between Tobermory
on Bruce Peninsula
and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island
. The ferry connects the two geographically separate portions of Highway 6
and is the vessel that replaced MS Norgoma
and SS Norisle
in 1974. The ferry service runs seasonally from mid-May to mid-October.
Literally translated, "chi-cheemaun" (in folk orthography or chi-jiimaan in the more standard Fiero double vowel spelling) means "big canoe" in Ojibwe
.
tradition dating back to the 1930s when a small, wooden vessel, Kagawong, first ferried automobiles across the Georgian Bay
between Tobermory and South Baymouth. It features a drive-on, drive-off bow and stern loading and unloading through a visored bow system and a square door stern section. The ship is 111 m (364.2 ft) with a 19 m (62.3 ft) beam and has capacity for 648 passengers and 143 vehicles, including room for large highway vehicles such as bus
es and transport truck
s.
The ship was initially powered by two Ruston 3500 horsepower (2.6 MW) diesel engines and an 800 horsepower (600 kW) bow thruster
engine for improved handling of the vessel at slow speeds. During the 2006-2007 winter layover period, her Ruston engines were replaced with four Caterpillar V8 diesels
. The addition of two mezzanine
decks in 1982 increased the ship's vehicle carrying capacity to 240.
Like her predecessors on Lake Huron, MS Chi-Cheemaun is owned by Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited
, an agency of the Ontario
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
, and operated under contract to the Ministry of Transportation
.
The ship makes the 40 km (24.9 mi) trip in about one hour and 45 minutes, four times each day during peak season and twice a day during May and October.
For a short time, from 1989 to 1992, MS Chi-Cheemaun had a sister ship, MS Nindawayma, which ran the same route. However, MS Nindawayma was retired because of service problems leading to public dissatisfaction and now sits rusting in Sault Ste. Marie
.
(89.9 FM in South Baymouth) and CHEE-FM
(89.9 FM in Tobermory) broadcast tourist notices and schedule information for travellers on the ferry.
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, which traverses Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
between Tobermory
Tobermory, Ontario
Tobermory is a small community located at the northern tip of the Bruce Peninsula in the municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada. It is 300 km northwest of Toronto...
on Bruce Peninsula
Bruce Peninsula
The Bruce Peninsula is a peninsula in Ontario, Canada that lies between Georgian Bay and the main basin of Lake Huron. The peninsula extends roughly northwestwards from the rest of Southern Ontario, pointing towards Manitoulin Island, with which it forms the widest strait joining Georgian Bay to...
and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island
Manitoulin Island is a Canadian island in Lake Huron, in the province of Ontario. It is the largest island in a freshwater lake in the world. In addition to the historic Anishinaabe and European settlement of the island, archeological discoveries at Sheguiandah have demonstrated Paleo-Indian and...
. The ferry connects the two geographically separate portions of Highway 6
Highway 6 (Ontario)
King's Highway 6, also known as Highway 6, is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. It crosses a distance of between Port Dover on the north shore of Lake Erie and Espanola on the northern shore of Lake Huron, ending at the Trans-Canada Highway in McKerrow.- Port...
and is the vessel that replaced MS Norgoma
Norgoma
MS Norgoma was a Canadian package freighter and passenger ferry, that could also transport automobiles on a limited basis. Originally constructed as a steam-powered ship in 1950, the SS Norgoma primarily sailed the route from her home port of Owen Sound to Sault Ste. Marie, providing a five-day...
and SS Norisle
SS Norisle
The SS Norisle was a Canadian steam-powered automobile ferry that sailed the route between Tobermory and South-Baymouth Manitoulin Island alongside her sister ships, the MS Norgoma and the MS Normac, owned by the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited.The name "Norisle" is derived from "Nor", a...
in 1974. The ferry service runs seasonally from mid-May to mid-October.
Literally translated, "chi-cheemaun" (in folk orthography or chi-jiimaan in the more standard Fiero double vowel spelling) means "big canoe" in Ojibwe
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
.
History
A trip aboard MS Chi-Cheemaun is a long standing Great LakesGreat Lakes
The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
tradition dating back to the 1930s when a small, wooden vessel, Kagawong, first ferried automobiles across the Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay
Georgian Bay is a large bay of Lake Huron, located entirely within Ontario, Canada...
between Tobermory and South Baymouth. It features a drive-on, drive-off bow and stern loading and unloading through a visored bow system and a square door stern section. The ship is 111 m (364.2 ft) with a 19 m (62.3 ft) beam and has capacity for 648 passengers and 143 vehicles, including room for large highway vehicles such as bus
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
es and transport truck
Truck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s.
The ship was initially powered by two Ruston 3500 horsepower (2.6 MW) diesel engines and an 800 horsepower (600 kW) bow thruster
Bow thruster
A bow thruster is a transversal propulsion device built into, or mounted to, the bow of a ship or boat to make it more maneuverable. Bow thrusters make docking easier, since they allow the captain to turn the vessel to port or starboard without using the main propulsion mechanism which requires...
engine for improved handling of the vessel at slow speeds. During the 2006-2007 winter layover period, her Ruston engines were replaced with four Caterpillar V8 diesels
Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. , also known as "CAT", designs, manufactures, markets and sells machinery and engines and sells financial products and insurance to customers via a worldwide dealer network. Caterpillar is the world's largest manufacturer of construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas...
. The addition of two mezzanine
Mezzanine (architecture)
In architecture, a mezzanine or entresol is an intermediate floor between main floors of a building, and therefore typically not counted among the overall floors of a building. Often, a mezzanine is low-ceilinged and projects in the form of a balcony. The term is also used for the lowest balcony in...
decks in 1982 increased the ship's vehicle carrying capacity to 240.
Like her predecessors on Lake Huron, MS Chi-Cheemaun is owned by Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited
Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited
This is an historical account of the Owen Sound Transportation Company, Limited , the forerunner of the enterprise that currently operates the vehicle and passenger ferry - M.S. Chi-Cheemaun - between Tobermory on the Bruce Peninsula, and South Baymouth on Manitoulin Island. For updated...
, an agency of the Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (Ontario)
The Ministry of Northern Development, Mines and Forestry is responsible for assisting economic development in the Northern Ontario region, and for mining and forestry regulation, in the Canadian province of Ontario....
, and operated under contract to the Ministry of Transportation
Ministry of Transportation (Ontario)
The Ministry of Transportation of Ontario is the provincial ministry of the government of Ontario which is responsible for transport infrastructure and related law in Ontario. The ministry traces its roots back over a century to the 1890s, when the province began training Provincial Road Building...
.
The ship makes the 40 km (24.9 mi) trip in about one hour and 45 minutes, four times each day during peak season and twice a day during May and October.
For a short time, from 1989 to 1992, MS Chi-Cheemaun had a sister ship, MS Nindawayma, which ran the same route. However, MS Nindawayma was retired because of service problems leading to public dissatisfaction and now sits rusting in Sault Ste. Marie
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
.
Information radio
Two low power radio stations, CHEI-FMCHEE-FM
CHEE-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts tourist information programming at 89.9 FM in Bruce Peninsula, Canada.Owned by Vamplew Electronics, the station received approval by the CRTC on February 17, 1999....
(89.9 FM in South Baymouth) and CHEE-FM
CHEE-FM
CHEE-FM is a Canadian radio station that broadcasts tourist information programming at 89.9 FM in Bruce Peninsula, Canada.Owned by Vamplew Electronics, the station received approval by the CRTC on February 17, 1999....
(89.9 FM in Tobermory) broadcast tourist notices and schedule information for travellers on the ferry.
Facts
, 85,000 vehicles 220,000 Passengers have been taken aboard MS Chi-Cheemaun.See also
- Spirit of Ontario I, a ferry on Lake OntarioLake OntarioLake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
- SS BadgerS.S. BadgerThe SS Badger is a coal-fired passenger and vehicle ferry in the United States that has been in Lake Michigan service from 1953 until the present. Currently, she shuttles between Ludington, Michigan and Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She is the last coal-fired passenger vessel operating on the Great...
, a ferry on Lake MichiganLake MichiganLake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...