On Aug. 7th two trips from Rochester to Toronto were sold out because of the baseball game betweeen the Yankees and Blue Jays.
Photo by Dick Halsey
Then there were other problems. On Aug. 21st the ferry hits dock in Toronto and breaks three windows. On Oct. 18th, a fuel line to one of the four engines of the ferry loosened, causing the engine to lose power. The captain, recognizing that the combination of that loss of power and the potentially rough waters, decided not to sail across the lake and turned back to port in Rochester. Then on Oct. 28th the ferry has a problem with propulsion system.
The main champion of the ferry had always been Mayor Johnson and in November 2005 he did not run for re-election.
It came as a big shock to almost everyone when Bay Ferries announced on Dec. 8th that they would suspend service on Dec. 12th because they were out of working cash. So on Dec. 14th Mayor Johnson asked for $10 million from City Council to continue the ferry. This time the City Council were very reluctant to advance more money to keep the ferry running. It was decided to wait until after the first of the year when new people would be on the Council.
Mayor Bob Duffy took office on Jan 1, 2006 and one of the first jobs he had to do was go over all the ferry paperwork and make a decision on the ferry. On Jan. 10th he announced that everything he had seen showed that the ferry could not every make money so he asked City Council to sell the ferry. On Jan. 17th City Council agrees to pay off all ferry debts and sell ferry. So the waiting began for the ferry to leave.
Photos above and below by Dick Halsey
