Long winter delays Pelee Island ferry service again

The slow start to spring will again delay the start of ferry service to Pelee Island.

There's still too much ice on the lake to get the first boat in the water by April 1, as planned.

Usually, ferry service begins in mid-March.

It was pushed back to April 1 due to ice.

Sandar Laranja owns the Wandering Pheasant Inn.

Some customers have already booked rooms for the end of April.

Usually, Laranja needs to start logging supplies to the island as soon as the ferry starts running.

"It's not just a matter of going over and turning a key," she said. "Usually, it takes me three or four trailer loads for me to go back and forth."

As a result of the delay, air service to the island is extended through the first week of April.

Susan Schrempf speaks on behalf of Owen Sound Transportation, the company that operates the ferry.

She said the impact will be minimal.

"The Islander normally can carry 200 passengers, but in the month of April the numbers are fairly low," she said. "You would roughly carry two and a half passengers per vehicle so that's less than 30."