The SS Keewatin is gone, but some are left upset that they didn’t get to say a proper goodbye.
“She's gone,” said Keep Keewatin Home lead Dan Travers. “In a final mark of disrespect to the community, they took her early, and I watched as dozens of our supporters arrived in their cars only to find an empty harbour. Unbelievable.”
Barrie resident Jim Fox was one of those left disappointed by the earlier departure.
“I took my grandson after school from Barrie only to get there at 4:30 and the boat was already leaving. It advertised as departing at five — they should have held to that schedule,” Fox said.
After arriving to great fanfare on a warm summer day in 2012, the Keewatin left its home port for the final time Monday. The ship is making its way to Hamilton for repairs and then onto Kingston’s Marine Museum of the Great Lakes.
But the move to leave at 4:30 p.m. rather than 5 p.m. as had been originally scheduled all came down to a decision by the captain of the tug boat Molly, which is pulling the ship to the Lake Ontario shipyard via Lake Erie and the Welland Canal.
“Departure was always at the discretion of the tug captain,” said Friends of Keewatin president Wayne Coombes. “Even without first hand-knowledge, I'm confident the incoming weather was the basis for the early departure.”
The first planned departure was actually supposed to be Tuesday at 7 a.m., but that was changed to Monday afternoon due to a possible storm.
“We apologize to anyone who missed their chance to say farewell due to the unanticipated schedule change,” said Phil Gaudreau, a spokesman for the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes.
“Our goal since the Keewatin was donated to the museum is to be good stewards of the ship and, on the advice of the tugboat captain, the ship was moved earlier than previously planned due to approaching weather conditions," he added.
And with the Keewatin leaving earlier than originally anticipated Monday, it also meant those hoping to see it depart from the main dock had to head for alternative viewing spots. This led to a steady stream of vehicles travelling along First Avenue bound for Paradise Point.
And as a chilly wind came in off the bay, many gathered along the shore and at Patterson Park for about 30 minutes hoping to get a glimpse of the Edwardian-era ship as it headed into the open waters of Georgian Bay.
One of those was Coombes, who was also caught off guard by the change in timing and spent a “freezing 30 minutes trying to stand in wind gusts” at Paradise Point waiting to see the ship pass by.
Gaudreau said anyone wishing to see the ship again is invited to visit the museum once the ship is docked this fall.
“We will reach out once the ship is ready again for visitors,” Gaudreau said. “The museum once again expresses its gratitude to all those in Port McNicoll who cared for the ship, donated artifacts and were a part of the Keewatin's story.
“We look forward to telling those stories in the museum once the Keewatin exhibits are completed.”
