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3. Ma r i n e News - c o n t 'd . Sp ea ki ng of the ferry SUGAR ISLANDER, we must note that the East ern Upper Peninsu la T r a n s p o r t a t i o n A u t h o r i t y c o nf ir me d on De ce mbe r 22nd that federal officials had awarded a grant of $2 m i l l i o n towards the an tic ipa ted $ 2 . 5 m i l l i o n cost of building a ne w ferry for the cr os sin g from Mis si on Point to Sugar Island. At 114 feet, the new ferry will be almost 30 feet longer than SUGAR ISLANDER. She will c a r r y 22 to 24 cars, as opp os ed to 12 on the current boat, and she will have an e n cl ose d pa sse nge r cabin. As yet, there is no co n s t ru ct io n schedule, but terms of the grant are that it must be spent during 1994. The 1994 season on the O n t a r i o N o r t h l a n d T r a n s p o r t a t i o n Co mm is sio n's ferry route between T o b e r m o r y and South B a y m o u t h will be shorter than usual as a co ns eq uen ce of poor traffic in the early spring. Instead of starting her season in late April, C H I - C H E E M A U N will make her first 1994 run on May 13th. Her last trip of the year will be made on O c to be r 16th. In order to hold m i d - s u m m e r fares at previous levels, the C o m m i s s i o n has di sc on t i n u e d its 15% disco un t on spring and autumn fares. It wo uld appear that NINDAWAYMA, second boat of the service, will re ma in idle in 1994 as she did in 1993. A group calling itself Target: Al p e na 2000 has let it be known that it is co n s i d e r i n g the f e a s i bi li ty of ru nn i n g some kind of ferry service from the M i c h i g a n city on Lake Huron to T o b e r m o r y and South Baymouth. The c o n s i d e r a tions, accor di ng to press reports, are very much pre lim ina ry, with no s p e c i fics, and no word on how the service might link with Onta rio No rt hl and 's M a n i t o u l i n Island ferry run. In a previous issue, we m e n t i o n e d that the City of Two Harb ors had gran ted funds for the r e f u r b i s h i n g of the h i st ori c steam tug ED N A G., which serves there as a static display, and that drydocking of the tug was a probability. In fact, EDNA G. arr ive d at Su pe rio r on Oct ob er 12 in tow of the G-tug KANSAS. EDNA G. will spend the winter at Fraser Shipyards, where the ne c e s s a r y w o r k will be done, and she will be towed back to Two Harb ors in the spring. EDNA G. last o p e r a t e d under steam in 1981. A surprise u p b o u n d passage in the W e l l a n d Canal on Dec em be r 15 was the 1949built EDWARD, (a) C . C . G . S. EDWARD CO RN WA LL IS (86), wh ich was retired from her east coast service in the mi d - 1 9 80 s and later served as a restau ran t at Cobourg, Ontario. In tow of the tugs PAUL E. NO. 1 and GLENSIDE, EDWARD was bound for the scrap ya rd at Port Maitland, Ontario. A n ot he r former C a n a d i a n Coast Guard ship, the 19 60- bui lt JOHN A. MACDONALD, has made the on e- w a y trip to the breakers. Rena med (b) 1201 after her re tirement, she d e p a r t e d H a l i f a x on N o v e m be r 22nd, bound for India in tow of the Dutch tug ELIZABETH. Re ad e r s will recall that the M A C D O N A L D re ce ive d a major refit at Port Weller Dry Docks over the wi n t e r of 1986-1987. A tragedy occu rr ed on Lake Ont ar io on No ve mb er 27th, whe n a tug and her two ve ner abl e barges e n c o u nt er ed h ea vy weather. The J & M Mar in e Towing tug C . L. NO. 1 was towing the two 1 9 11 -b ui lt barges, with their unwieldy, ramsha ckl e w o o d e n superstructures, from the Penins ula Point area of Chau mon t Bay, where they had served as the flo at in g restau ran t "Barges", to Oswego, en route to a new home at Syracuse, New York. They had been p u r ch as ed from Al le n E. S t ra sse r by Ke nn e t h Decker, of Syracuse. When 11 miles off Oswego at 2: 00 a. m. on the 27th, rough seas o v e r t u r ne d one of the wo od e n barges, and its two cre wmen were thrown into the water. The tug turned back to assist but the towline fouled her p r o pe ll er and di sa ble d her. The Coast Guard att en de d the scene and res cu ed one man, but he s u b s eq u e n t l y died en route to hosp ita l at Oswego. The body of the other man had not been r e c ov er ed at last report. The tug and the other barge made port safely. The su rvi vin g barge made it back to Point Peninsula, w hi le ST EP H EN B. R OM AN towed C . L. NO. 1 to Oswego. The mas te r of C . L. NO. 1 was cha rg ed by the Coast Guard wi t h three s p e c i f i cations of ne gl i g e n c e and two of v i o l a t i o n of re gu l a t i o n as a result of the fatal accident. * * * * *