Owen Sound Transportation Company - Ferry Service To Manitoulin Island

Ferry Service To Manitoulin Island

From the commencement of their operations, the S.S. Manitoulin (in 1927) and the S.S. Manasoo (in 1928) were capable of transporting automobiles. A competitor to the Owen Sound Transportation Company, the Dominion Transportation Company, also operated a pair of passenger and package freight vessels out of Owen Sound, over much the same route as the OSTC. In 1927 an automobile ferry, the S.S. Winona, provided service from Cutler to Gore Bay. Another automobile ferry serving Manitoulin Island was John Tackaberry's M.S. Alice, which sailed on a return route from Owen Sound, via Wiarton, Lion's Head, Tobermory to South Baymouth, and Providence Bay.

Throughout the 1927 season, Tackaberry operated the M.S. Alice on the run to Providence Bay. He was, however, unsatisfied with the performance of the ship. Anxious to dispose of her, Tackaberry sold the Alice to the Booth Fisheries Corporation of Canada Ltd. on April 3, 1928. Renamed M.S. Hibou to bring her in line with the other ships of the Dominion fleet (S.S. Caribou and S.S. Manitou -- "Hibou" being the French word for "owl"), she was operated for Booth by a subsidiary company, the Dominion Transportation Company Limited (DTC). She served Dominion's routes from Owen Sound to Manitoulin Island and the ports of Lake Huron's North Channel.