The maiden voyage of the Toronto Port Authority's new $5-million ferry to the controversial downtown island airport turned into a public-relations fiasco yesterday, as a boatload full of local dignitaries ran into trouble and at one point slammed into the rocky shore.
It is supposed to take just one minute for the ferry to cross from the mainland, near the foot of Bathurst Street, to Toronto City Centre Airport. But yesterday's crossing, staged for the media, took 27 minutes, with the boat first crashing into the north wall of the 120-metre-wide Western Channel. The accident, blamed initially on the captain having a "medical emergency," was apparently caused by plumes of purple special-effects smoke for the event at the island's ferry slip, obscuring the captain's view on his first approach.
The port authority, a federal agency whose moves to expand the island airport are opposed by Mayor David Miller and local community groups, had planned to show off the ferry and $10-million in new terminal and docking facilities.
But the event became ammunition for opponents of the airport, who seized on the accident as proof of what they say is the agency's lack of attention to safety.
Lisa Raitt, the TPA's chief executive officer, said the captain experienced a medical emergency, and the controls were passed to his second in command. Paramedics later declared the captain fit.
But Ken Lundy, the port authority's chief of operations, said the problem was the smoke, released as a precursor to celebratory fireworks welcoming the boat.
"When the fireworks went off, it clouded his vision on coming in, and basically he got into an anxiety," Mr. Lundy said. "So he said, 'Okay, I'll slow down, take the boat back.' And then the wind got him."
Mr. Lundy identified the man as 64-year-old Captain Jack Smith, a veteran of the port authority's ferry service with decades of experience. "He's in an anxiety. He's very upset. He's upset with himself."
Mr. Lundy agreed that the smoke was probably not a good idea, but said he didn't come up with it.
The 30-metre boat, full of port authority officials, heads of firms that worked on the new ferry terminals and some reporters, seemed to slow after the smoke began billowing, shortly after the boat left the mainland terminal. For a moment, the burnt-smelling mist completely obscured the narrow slip.
The vessel stopped in the middle of the channel and began drifting west in what appeared to be moderate wind, despite its two 385-horsepower engines. It twisted sideways several times in an effort to make a second approach.
Around the 10-minute mark, the boat slammed into the north wall with a loud crunch, damaging one corner. After the impact, which people on the boat described as a small bump, TPA officials said the first mate took the helm and the police marine unit was summoned.
Two other vessels in the channel got out of the ferry's way as it steamed several hundred feet west, apparently to approach its destination from a distance. A full 25 minutes after it left the mainland, with the fire department's William Lyon Mackenzie boat nearby putting on a display of hose spray, the ferry reached the island ferry slip, which has just a metre of wiggle room on either side. It took at least another two minutes for the vessel to dock.
The elongated voyage still ended as promised, with deafening fireworks and explosions that sent golden streaks into the overcast sky, even as paramedics prepared to board the boat to examine the captain.
The boat is meant to ferry passengers to Porter Airlines, which plans to operate out of the island airport beginning this month.
Robert Deluce, the entrepreneur behind the airline, was on the ferry. He said he is confident the boat will deliver his customers on time.
"I think this ferry is well designed and will work quite well," he said, hurrying past a reporter. ". . . These things happen."
The mayor, who killed the port authority's proposed bridge to the airport at the beginning of this term, said the accident shows that safety at the airport is still a concern, and for the airplanes as well.