transportation company founded 1921 headquarters owen sound ontario area served lake huron services passenger transportation freight transportation website www.ontarioferries.com chi cheemaun at tobermory ss norisle departing south baymouth june 1974 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 information see the article on the m.s. chi cheemaun . the owen sound transportation company was established by businessmen in the owen sound area in 1921 . these included w. g. hay president ; j. h. hay vice president ; and j. garvey secretary treasurer . these three men were also associated with the owen sound based north american bent chair company . their objective was to use the company s steamboat s.s. michipicoten in freight only service from owen sound to isolated communities along the north shore of lake huron and manitoulin island . it is likely the intended purpose of the navigation company was to procure the materials necessary for the manufacture of the north american bent chair company s bentwood furniture as well as the transportation of packaged freight from owen sound . it was the objective of the officers of the firm to carry on the business of the furniture manufacturer as a subsidiary of owen sound transportation company ostc . contents 1 owen sound transportation company limited 2 cruising the north channel 3 ferry service to manitoulin island 4 tobermory south baymouth ferry service 5 new management 6 ships of owen sound transportation company limited 7 references 8 external links owen sound transportation company limited edit early in 1921 a rumor circulated through owen sound a new steamboat line was being formed to re establish cruises to the popular tourist destination of mackinac island . promoted by a collingwood steamship line from the late nineteenth century until about 1903 these steamboat excursions crossing lake huron were popular from the georgian bay area . but it was not until the spring of 1926 that captain norman mckay arranged a public meeting through the owen sound board of trade to raise funds for the purchase of a steamship and refit it for reopening direct traffic between owen sound and other points on the mackinac route . in 1926 the owen sound transportation company limited was granted supplementary letters patent under the ontario companies act increasing its authorized capital stock from 40 000 to 150 000 . in 1926 the ostc purchased the steel hulled screw steamer s.s. modjeska a former lake ontario excursion boat intended as a day cruiser . the ship had been laid up since 1924 following a serious collision in toronto harbour . repaired and outfitted for service the modjeska arrived at owen sound late in the season but with time enough to operate a few excursions as well as two round trips to sault ste marie . over the following winter the ship was equipped with cabins and staterooms to accommodate up to 150 passengers . renamed s.s. manitoulin she began her first full season june 6 1927 with norman mckay serving as captain . norman mckay of owen sound was not working on the great lakes at the time the company was first incorporated in 1921 in 1918 he had accepted an appointment as captain of the ss canora which he delivered from davie shipbuilding in quebec to british columbia and operated it between vancouver and vancouver island for its first few years before returning to owen sound . 1 cruising the north channel edit the weekly schedule of the s.s. manitoulin began with an 11 15 p.m. monday departure from owen sound arriving tuesday morning at killarney then through the north channel calling at manitowaning little current gore bay meldrum bay cockburn island hilton beach richards landing and sault ste. marie ontario arriving at mackinac island on wednesday evening . returning over the same route with departure from mackinac island at 11 a.m. thursday the manitoulin arrived at owen sound on saturday morning at 4 30 . weekend trips on the manitoulin departed 11 15 p.m. saturday with calls at killarney manitowaning and little current followed by arrival back in owen sound at 4 30 monday morning . the s.s. michipicoten continued on an unscheduled freight only service between owen sound and sault ste. marie calling at manitoulin island and north shore ports . the michipicoten was destroyed by fire at the cooks dock near silverwater on manitoulin island on october 11 1927 . to replace the michipicoten the ostc purchased the s.s. macassa then under the ownership of the canada steamship lines subsidiary richelieu and ontario navigation company . the macassa had completed her season on september 30 1927 operating as a day excursion steamer between toronto and hamilton . the macassa was originally part of the toronto and hamilton steamboat company along with her sister ship the s.s. modjeska . over the following winter in toronto she was converted for the accommodation of overnight passengers . renamed s.s. manasoo she departed from toronto for owen sound on april 16 1928 . the 1928 ostc schedule for the s.s. manitoulin continued as it had the previous year while the manisoo departed owen sound on thursdays at 11 15 p.m. for a run that did not include mackinac island . after completing her northward voyage at sault ste marie the manisoo returned to owen sound at 4 30 tuesday mornings . on september 15 1928 the manasoo foundered near griffith island in georgian bay . while fighting a heavy storm she capsized when her cargo of 116 cattle apparently shifted to one side overbalancing her . the recent addition of increased passenger accommodations on her upper deck is also thought to have contributed to her instability . she sank quickly . the bodies of her cattle are said to have stocked many a winter larder along the shores that year . all five of the survivors drifted for 60 hours in a life raft before being picked up by the cpr s s.s. manitoba . ferry service to manitoulin island edit 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 . tobermory south baymouth ferry service edit 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