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                           The MVS Abegweit arrived in 1946 and served until 1982. The back of the post card on the left states " World�s most modern and powerful icebreaker of its kind". With 13500 horsepower from eight diesel engines ice was not a problem. On one trip up the St Lawrence, she passed the Coast Guard Icebreaker Sir John A. Macdonald, which was stuck, in heavy ice. When the new Abegweit was built in 1981, she was renamed Abby. She is now serving as a floating clubhouse for the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago.
Length-372 ft, Width-61 ft
Capacity - 1 train, 60 autos (later 125 autos)

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Traffic across the Northumberland Strait was steadily increasing in the forties. Even the Abegweit couldn�t do it alone. The Prince Edward Island was still used during peak times. In 1940, Northumberland Ferries began a new service between Wood Islands and Caribou, NS. Their first vessel was the� MV Prince Nova, formerly the Erie Isle. It had a capacity of 14 autos. In 1946, they took a former Canadian Navy minelayer, The Sankaty and renamed it the Charles A Dunning.� The ship on the left is� the Dunning,  the ferry on the right appears to be the Prince Nova. These are family photos. I recall stories of workers actually picking up and carrying my grandfather�s Anglia aboard an old ferry( I don't know which one.)
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MV Charles A Dunning

MV Prince Nova

The next new ferry to arrive on the Strait was the MV Lord Selkirk. It replaced the Prince Nova, which was sold for scrap. Built in Pictou especially for Northumberland�s Wood Islands - Caribou route, she could carry 65 cars and served form 1958 to 1985. I was told this style of vessel was not as maneuverable as its later sisters Prince Nova and Prince Edward. I had quite a few trips on this boat myself. It may now be in the Panama area. I believe this ferry was actually the Strait�s first Ro-Ro (Roll on-Roll off), not the Confederation as some claimed.

MV Lord Selkirk