S.S. Norisle

On Monday Steph had to travel to Manitoulin Island for work and I joined here. The morning was misty and while fog can make anything cool it transformed the drive there into an almost mystical experience [A proper soundtrack is essential - we were listening to a mix of the Sweet Hereafter OST and songs like those dirges posted in Audiophiles]. Fog poured over the all-encompasssing forest hiding many of the small towns we passed through, it crowned the mountainous pass toward the island where the rocks turn red and white, and it ebbed and waned on the island itself according to out proximity to the shore.

Most of my experiences on Manitoulin have been at farms on flat cracked land or the towering plateau of the Cup and Saucer trail, but like any island Manitoulin is mostly shoreline and Steph's job took us to Manitowaning - a tiny port town that was first European Settlement on the island (est. 1937)



Steph asked where I wanted to be dropped off while she went to the local public school and I said, "Where ever the harbour is." The population of Manitowaning is about 900 people and the habour was small with only one or two aluminum fishing boats packed on it's single dock. That's what made the SS Norisle beside them so surreal.  I did not realize it when I came to Manitowaning but this tiny town was home to one of the last coal-fired steamships in Canada! The SS Norisle (i.e North Isle) was a 200-foot passenger steamship built right after WWII.



The ship was designed to carry 200 passengers and up to 50 vehicles and had a  1,000 HP triple expansion steam engine (cruising speed of 10 knots and a top speed of 12 knots) originally built for a Royal Canadian Navy corvette. The Norisle provided passenger ferry services between Bruce Peninsula and Manitoulin Island (and it also did the 'turkey trail' around the Island) from 1947 until 1974 when it was replaced by the much larger and more modern MS Chi-Cheemaun.

The community of Manitowaning was her first and last Port of Call.



The Norisle was purchased by Manitowaning for a dollar as a tourist attraction but it has fallen into a state of disrepair. According to Wikipedia: "The ship was slowly sinking due to rainwater entering through her engine room vents and the main smokestack. This has since been stopped by placing tarps over them. City leaders planned on having it towed to deep water and sunk as a dive site, however these plans have been halted because a support group for the Norisle has been recently formed (March 2007)." It was sad to see it in such rough shape but it did add to its gothic grandeur. I tried to find a way on but the only door had a padlock.

I did some beach-combing and discovered the shore was full of fossils (rugouse & tabulate corals and some sprial shells that looked like giant teeth) dating back to the Silurian Era.  I then climbed a hill to get a view and found myself beside a church and lighthouse.



The church was the oldest Anglican Church in Northern Ontario started in 1845 and is where the 1862 'Manitoulin Treaty' was signed. The Manitowaning Lighthouse (est. 1886) had a weathered look with chipped paint but it had a green light that seemed to work - but its' view of the bay was now blocked by overgrown tree. Most of the town overlooked the bay and Steph said the school had a beautiful view of it.

I then returned to the harbor and sat at the end of the dock in the foggy shadow of the massive decaying steam-ship. The bay was so covered in mist was like a grey nullity, my eyes actually began watering if I stared into the grey nothingness too long. Two loons hunting for fish were the only break in the nothingness - but a huge heron did emerge for a few moments before it flew back into the void. Then the fog seemed to just pack-up its bags and start slowly strolling north off to the Georgian Bay - you could watch it retreat and reveal the waters it had hidden.

So much wonder and history is hidden around us. An hour or two drive in any direction in North Ontario seems to reveal something new to me.