Owen Sound Transportation Company - Tobermory - South Baymouth Ferry Service

South Baymouth Ferry Service

In 1930, Captain R. Vittie and H.W. Harmer, of Southampton, Ontario, obtained a charter for the Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Transportation Company. They had purchased John Tackaberry's S.S. Henry Pedwell. The steamer was taken to Midland where it was widened and its gangway modified to accommodate automobiles. Later that summer the Henry Pedwell was placed in ferry service between Tobermory and South Baymouth.

With the 1930 season underway, OSTC purchased a retired Detroit Fire Department fire boat named the S.S. James R Elliot, delivering it to the Midland Shipbuilding Company for conversion into a combination package freighter and passenger ferry. Replacing her boiler and steam engine with a new diesel engine increased her freight capacity and enabled her to transport automobiles. Overnight passenger cabins were also added. In 1931 the vessel was renamed the M.S. Normac, after the OSTC's general manager Norman Mckay, captain of the S.S. Manitoulin.

The M.S. Normac began her scheduled route on July 16, 1931, taking the place formerly assigned to the S.S. Manasoo, leaving Owen Sound at 11:15 p.m. Thursdays and returning at 4:30 am on the following Tuesday. Meanwhile, with the S.S. Manitoulin continuing her weekly Monday evening departures from Owen Sound, the OSTC also acquired the service of the Georgian Bay and Manitoulin Transportation Company and its steamer the S.S. Henry Pedwell, which they renamed S.S. Kagawong. The Kagawong was returned to the Tobermory - South Baymouth auto ferry route during the 1931 July to September season. During early and late seasons she operated on the Sault Ste. Marie route from Tuesday evening to Saturday morning, with weekend trips to Providence Bay.

From 1932 the summer-only ferry service between Tobermory and South Baymouth was assigned to the M.S. Normac, which sailed the route sturdily and steadfastly for the next 30 seasons. The owners of the S.S. Kagawong, Vittie and Harmer, defaulted on the mortgage held on the ship by its previous owner, and it was relinquished back to John Tackaberry. Dominion Transportation Company operated its M.S. Hibou between Owen Sound and Providence Bay until 1933, when it was assigned to other duties. John Tackaberry operated his S.S. Islet Prince over the same route, although this ship was better known as a Pelee Island ferry.

In 1936 the Owen Sound Transportation Company Limited and its competitor, the Owen Sound-based Dominion Transportation Company Limited, managed by R. V. Malloy, decided to merge their operations. Together the two companies, under the joint management of Mckay and Malloy, operated a pool passenger-freight service to Georgian Bay and North Channel ports and continuing through the Soo Locks and into Lake Superior to Michipicoten, as well as the auto ferry service between Tobermory and South Baymouth.

The M.S. Hibou did not run much during the early spring of 1936; in June she was placed on the Tobermory ferry service. The previous year the Hibou had operated as a ferry and excursion boat out of Kingston where most of its staterooms on the promenade deck had been removed to make room for sightseers and dancing. With the loss of her cabins, the Hibou was best suited for day use such as the ferry route it shared with the M.S. Normac.

On November 16, 1936, the Hibou made her last run on the ferry crossing and returned to Owen Sound, from where it was to take a few more trips to Killarney and Manitoulin Island. It was dangerously late in the navigation season and the only ships of the pool service still in operation were the Hibou and Normac, S.S. Manitou, S.S. Caribou and S.S. Manitoulin having already gone into winter quarters at Owen Sound. Captain Norman McKay took command of the Hibou while her regular captain, James Agnew, moved back to the position of First Officer.

On its second trip to Killarney on Saturday, November 21, the cargo onboard Hibou shifted while she was operating in relatively calm waters, causing her to founder and sink only 10 minutes out of Owen Sound. It is thought that while testing the accuracy of a new compass, Captain Mckay had made a sharp turn to the port side, causing the cargo to shift to starboard. The ship listed to starboard, and did not recover. In the ensuing tragedy, not only the Hibou, but seven of the 17-member crew, and Captain Mckay himself, were lost.