Sam McBride (ferry)

Sam McBride is a Toronto Island ferry operated by the Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division of the City of Toronto government.[1] The ferry serves the Toronto Islands from a dock at Jack Layton Ferry Terminal in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sam McBride at Centre Island dock in 2009
History
Name: Sam McBride
Namesake: Sam McBride, 41st Mayor of Toronto
Owner: City of Toronto government
Operator: Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division
Port of registry: Toronto,  Canada
Builder: Toronto Drydock Co. Ltd.
In service: 1939
General characteristics
Tonnage: 387 t
Length: 36.9 m
Beam: 10.24m
Depth: 3.36m
Decks: 2
Capacity: 736 passengers

Construction

The ferry was commissioned in 1939, built by Toronto Dry Dock Ltd.[2][3] Her namesake was a former Alderman and Mayor, who had been the founding chairman of the Toronto Transportation Commission.

Operational history

On November 20, 1941, a Norwegian Northrop N-3PB seaplane clipped the second deck of the ferry. The plane was destroyed after hitting the waters, and the two crew members, Instructor Lieutenant Finn Strand Kjos and student pilot Tron Harsvik, on board were killed.[4] Damage was sustained to upper deck and later repaired.

It was transferred from the TTC to Metro Parks and Culture department in 1962 (and by Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation Division since 1998).

The ship was dry docked in 1973 to replace her engines.[5]

In October 2012, Toronto City Council decided that funds should be set aside to replace Sam McBride and her two fleet-mates, Thomas Rennie and William Inglis with new vessels.[6]

See also

References
  1. Larry Partridge (March 1976). "Toronto Island Ferry History: The Modern Fleet: 1935 – 1960". Retrieved March 14, 2003.
  2. Know Your Ships 2017. Marine Publishing Co. Inc. 2017. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-891849-22-0.
  3. Chris Bateman (October 7, 2012). "Explaining Enwave, Ford's Jarvis figures, Island ferry names, and classic council clashes". BlogTO. Retrieved April 30, 2015. Christened after a former Toronto mayor and alderman, a long-time Island resident, founder of the TTC, and the first head of council to die in office.
  4. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nbtTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dDgNAAAAIBAJ&dq=toronto%20island%20airport&pg=4484%2C5643943
  5. http://www.maritimehistoryofthegreatlakes.ca/Documents/Scanner/05/06/default.asp?ID=c003
  6. Niamh Scallan (October 1, 2012). "Toronto's aging island ferries headed for retirement". Toronto: Toronto Star. Archived from the original on February 2, 2013. Retrieved April 30, 2015. After spending $5 million for ferry upgrades that had unintended negative consequences, Toronto’s cash-strapped parks department is now planning to put aside money to replace the aging fleet altogether.


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