Captain’s Sudden Illness Leads To Harbour Ferry Accident
Posted October 11, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The captain experienced some kind of medical problem just as the vessel came in to dock at the harbour, and the ship suddenly hit a breakwall beside the boat it was heading for.
Shouts of, “I don’t think he sees it! He doesn’t even know it! Hold on! Hold on!” could be heard before the ship hit the concrete just before noon.
“Today’s a high pressure day,” explains Toronto Port Authority spokesperson Lisa Riatt. “Unfortunately we ended up with a medical problem in the wheelhouse … Luckily we always have a secondary captain on board and after we determined the captain was fine, we had paramedics on the way.”
There’s no word on what caused the captain’s sudden ailment, but speculation centres on the most innocent of possibilities.
Because the ship was on its maiden voyage, a fireworks display was set off to help celebrate the occasion.
Some passengers report seeing the boat circling several times before it hit the wall, and many believe the captain may have suffered an anxiety attack when he couldn’t place the source of the smoke.
Riatt doesn’t buy it, noting the skipper was a veteran who wouldn’t be so easily rattled.
“I don’t think that’s fair to say because I haven’t talked to anybody who examined him,” she retorts. “What I do know is that when he reoriented the vessel, the vessel struck or bumped into the dock wall, and then we wanted to make sure that he was okay.”
But at least one familiar witness has his own interpretation. Former CityNews Political Specialist turned political candidate Adam Vaughan watched the entire affair unfold.
“I sailed a 25-foot boat and you get that close to a wall around here, you’re in trouble,” he comments. “That guy was in trouble, and to take a half an hour to get under control? That’s ridiculous.”
The ferry continued its run between the mainland and the airport after the mishap and doesn’t appear to have been seriously impacted.
No one was seriously hurt in the crash.
The captain is at home resting and his bosses insist they’re not going to question him about what happened until he feels ready.
