Walking along the shores of Lake Michigan is a feast for the eyes with Chicago's skyline on one side and the blue expanse of the Lake on the other. Along Lake Shore Drive and amongst the yachts docked in Du Sable Harbour lies an interesting sight - a large, distinctive ferry seemingly out of place in these genteel surrounds.
The eye is not misleading, there is indeed a ferry docked here but she no longer operates as such, she is the former Canadian National Railways ferry Abegweit.
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| The powerful prow of the Abegweit remains a forceful presence but the ship no longer needs to do any tough sailing - the yachts by her side can do that. |
Nowadays the ferry does not travel, she is securely moored and serving as the clubhouse for the Columbia Yacht Club. The yacht club was founded in 1892 and has used two previous ships as a clubhouse. The first was the Pere Marquette which opened on 13 May, 1925. This ship was replaced by the venerable steamer Florida in 1937 until 1983 when she in turn was replaced by the Abegweit.
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| Abegweit means 'cradle of the waves' in the native Mi-kmaq language which describes Prince Edward Island. |
The Abegweit was built in 1947 in Quebec to operate across the Abegweit passage to connect the communities of Port Borden and Cape Tormentine. The advances in ferry technology soon made her redundant and in 1982 was sold to the Columbia Yacht Club.
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| A feature of the shoreline for three decades and hopefully many more to come! |
Since 1983, the Abegweit has served as the clubhouse for this classic Chicago institution and remains an icon along the shores of Lake Michigan.
Lovingly maintained and beautifully preserved, the Abegweit is set to remain as a Clubhouse for many more years.
Some more information regarding the history of the Abegweit can be found here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Abegweit_(1947)
A good site with history of the club and of this ship: http://www.columbiayachtclub.com/
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