The Tugfest Rendezvous returned to Little Current on August 14, featuring a flotilla of tugboats including the restored wooden recreational tug Ruby Pearl and the historic 1891 tug Dawn Light.
LITTLE CURRENT鈥擜 group of tugboats came chugging up the North Channel in stately procession throughout the day on Friday, August 14 as the Tugfest Rendezvous returned again this year to Manitoulin.
One of the first vessels in the flotilla to tie up in the Port of Little Current was the Ruby Pearl. Owner Stephen Pym had a wonderful display of photographs featured in a book set on a stand alongside his tug. The book chronicled the restoration work that the vessel underwent from derelict in a yard to the spiffy recreational tug the Ruby Pearl is today.
鈥淲e discovered it in Tobermory when we were cruising on our other little wooden boat and fell in love with it and met the owner,鈥 he said. It took about five years to convince the owner to part with it. 鈥淏ut eventually we got the boat, and we completely rebuilt it to do the trip,鈥 he said. The 鈥渢rip鈥 being the famed 鈥淕reat Loop.鈥
Subscribe now and have access to all our stories, enjoy exclusive content and stay up to date with constant updates.