A passenger’s eye view
Cape Breton Post reporter takes the ferry from North Sydney to Port Aux Basques to explore the Cabot Strait
Day 1 in a three-day series marking 120 years of ferry connection between Cape Breton and N.L.
Earlier this month, I decided to make the crossing between North Sydney and Port aux Basques to experience the trip first-hand.
There’s more to a ferry crossing than meets the eye, with much behind-the-scenes activity.
When I arrived at the Marine Atlantic terminal from Blowers Street in North Sydney around 10 a.m., I was shown to the employee parking lot, where I was asked to leave my vehicle as I would be a walk-on passenger for the Aug. 7 trip.
Then I walked a short distance to the Northside terminal, where I was greeted outside by Marine Atlantic spokesman Darrell Mercer, who would be joining me for the journey across the Cabot Strait.
Inside the terminal building, two security guards collected tickets and allow entry into the seating area of the recently renovated facility.
As we prepared to enter, one of the security guards approached us and said we had been randomly selected for a screening test — security not knowing Mercer’s position with the company or that I was a reporter.
“This was not set up,” laughed Mercer. “I don’t know these gentlemen and they don’t know me.”
The guard checked our carryon bags and cleared us for entry into the seating area.
A few minutes later, we boarded a small bus that takes walk-on passengers from the terminal onto the ferry.
As we board the MV Highlanders, a vessel that joined the ferry fleet in 2011, passenger vehicles and commercial trucks are separated and loaded closely together for the sixhour crossing between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
We made our way to the seating area that features hardwood floors and six large televisions on both the seventh and eighth floors.
Shortly after, I was given a tour of the 200-metre vessel, which has comfortable seating, 96 roomy cabins, two cafés and a restaurant that prepares fullcourse meals.
The vessel also has a gift shop and children’s activity area.
On this afternoon crossing, 347 passengers are on board.
Walking through the vessel, I was approached by staff who asked if I had any questions about the ferry or needed assistance.
As the vessel pulled out of the terminal, you’d hardly know you were on such a large boat. There was no rocking; in fact, I had to ask Mercer if we were moving.
With the adventure underway under sunny skies, we passed the MV Leif Ericson vessel, carrying commercial vehicles, heading to North Sydney. Both vessels sounded their horns — sending well wishes to one another.
A bit later, I had the opportunity to speak and meet with fellow passengers, all of whom raved about the experience as well as the food.
After interviewing some passengers and crew, I decided to try the food portion for myself — I ordered a two-piece fish and chips with homemade fries and was not disappointed.
After lunch, I continued to interview some of the staff, who shared interesting stories about how they began with Marine Atlantic and why they chose a career on the water.
Before I knew it, we were only an hour away from Port aux Basques, and I couldn’t help but notice the change in the weather.
We left North Sydney in 27-degree Celsius heat, but as we approached the Newfoundland coast, the fog rolled in and winds picked up, with the temperature dropping to 15 C.
As the vessel approached the Newfoundland terminal, the boat slowly turned, catching this reporter off guard. I asked Mercer what was happening, and he told me that the boat backs into the docking area.
In years past, I had been on the MV Caribou but never the MV Highlanders, so I wasn’t sure what to expect once we arrived in Port aux Basques.
The crossing finished, around 6:30 p.m. local time, we boarded a shuttle bus that would take us to the terminal. It was then when a gentleman from Sydney’s Ashby neighbourhood recognized my face and made it known to some 20 passengers that I was a reporter with the Cape Breton Post.
After spending three hours exploring Port aux Basques, as traditional Newfoundland music blared through the downtown core thanks to a band on stage near the wharf, I boarded the vessel around 10:30 p.m. for an 11:45 p.m. crossing back home and headed to my cabin for the night.
Much to my surprise, 520 passengers were on board for the night crossing — 173 more people than the afternoon sailing.
Throughout the night, I barely knew I was on a boat, despite a thunderstorm in the distance. I had no problem sleeping.
As we approached North Sydney, I woke to an announcement letting everyone know we were an hour away from Cape Breton. We arrived back in North Sydney at 7:20 a.m. to sunny skies.
Of course, the only true way to have the ferry experience is to make the voyage across the Cabot Strait yourself.