www.mybaycity.com
August 14, 2004
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Bay City Boat Lines Adds Third Vessel, Sister Ship to Princess Wenonah
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The 64-foot West Shore operated as a freight hauler out of Beaver Island after a long career as a car ferry in Lake Erie.
Bill and Elaine Fournier at the helm of the Princess Wenonah have good reason to smile. Their Bay City Boat Lines is busy with passengers and excursions and is expanding by addition of a third boat.
It's been perhaps 100 years or more since passenger ferries and excursion boats were an economic force on the Saginaw River.
But the day is dawning when passenger traffic on the river may reach full crest as an economic driver.
The capacity of Bay City's infant cruise fleet will soon go up dramatically.
The sister ship to the Princess Wenonah is being fitted out at Stender Marine to join the growing fleet of the Bay City Boat Lines that also includes the Islander.
"Commodore" Bill Fournier takes a brief break from line handling as the Princess Wenonah leaves the downtown dock to explain:
"We're very busy, lots of cruises, so we have added a third boat to handle larger crowds."
Mr. Fournier and his wife Elaine have proven that Bay City is fast becoming a more important tourism center through the boat line as well as the ever-popular Bay City Antiques Center, 1010 Water Street.
River tours with live narration are jammed with visitors. Sunset cruises, picnic excursions, color tours and parties of all varieties are perhaps Bay City's outstanding new tourist attraction.
The new vessel is currently named West Shore but undoubtedly will gain a new more appropriate moniker along with fresh paint and electric heaters that will be installed over the winter.
Fournier recently acquired the boat at Put-in-Bay in Lake Erie, near Toledo. West Shore most recently operated out of Beaver Island as a freight hauler and previously was employed by the Miller Boat Line of Port Clinton, Ohio. West shore was built in 1947, is 64 feet long with a 30 foot beam and is powered by a V-12 Detroit Diesel engine.
"The boat was a car ferry originally licensed for 10 cars below and 125 passengers on deck," says Mr. Fournier. "We will convert the car carrying area and will increase the capacity to about 250 passengers," he said, adding: "Electric heaters will be installed sothe boat will be more comfortable for cruises later in the season."
The 2004 season is fast winding down, with free weekday cruises slated to end Friday, Aug. 27. The free cruises are a popular tourist attraction featuring live narration. The cruises run from 10 a.m. to noon and go north toward Saginaw Bay on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and south to the Zilwaukee Bridge at Saginaw on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All free cruises are aboard the Islander except Wednesdays when the Princess Wenonah is used. Tickets are available at the Bay City Antiques Center beginning every Monday at 10 a.m. on a first come, first served basis.
Sponsors of the free cruises are Wolgast Corp., Realtor Association of Bay County, Dunlop Pontiac, Chemical Bank, Fireworks Festival Committee, Coca Cola, Wade-Trim, Krzysiak House Restaurant, COPOCO Community Credit Union, S.C. Johnson and Northern Concrete Pipe. Cruises begin in mid-June and continue into late August.
The season's two final Friday night sunset cruises are scheduled Aug. 20 and Sept. 3. These three-hour cruises feature a live band, picnic fare and cash bar and are priced at $25 per person. Private charter cruises also are available. Contact Michelle Judd at Bay City BoatLines, 893-0251, or e-mail boat@baycityboatlines.com. Website is www.baycityboatlines.com.
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