Magdalen Islands ferry passengers finally get off ship in P.E.I. harbour

Ferry passengers coming from Quebec's Magdalen Islands were finally able to disembark in Souris late Wednesday after having been stuck on board ever since the ship arrived at its northeastern P.E.I. port around 19 hours earlier.

When the passengers learned shortly before 8 p.m. AT that they could return to their cars and then dry land, thunderous applause erupted, Radio-Canada reported.

They had spent almost 24 hours on the ship that had left Cap-aux-Meules at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdsay, bound for P.E.I. 

Coopérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien (CTMA), the company that runs the ferry, said high winds meant the ship had to come in on the wrong side of its wharf in Souris at around 1 p.m. AT Wednesday, so passengers and vehicles couldn't get off.

There's no offloading ramp for vehicles located where it was able to dock safely, the company said. Crew members were finally able to move the ship into the correct position Wednesday evening.

Late Wednesday afternoon, dozens of cars, campers and trucks could be seen lined up in the company's parking lot in Souris, waiting for the next trip to the small Quebec archipelago. 

Jade Caron was one of the people waiting. She said she stayed in the parking lot for a while Tuesday night before staff told her the ferry wouldn't be able to depart for the Magdalens as scheduled because of the weather.

"We finally were able to get a room last minute. If not, we would be sleeping in our small car with a toddler. So it was tough last night. Mentally tough," Caron said.

Jean-François Boudreau was going to visit relatives in the Magdalen Islands. He said one of his uncles was on the boat that couldn't unload its passengers.

"Those things happen. We can't do anything about it. It's the winds," Boudreau said.

"The morale seems to be pretty good despite the situation… That's all you can really do, pass the time."

Bluegrass/country group Veranda was providing some entertainment for other people who were stuck waiting for the ferry. The group was heading to the islands for a show Thursday night.

"We had a couple of songs that we wanted to rehearse for tomorrow's show so we just said, 'Well, perfect timing to do it,'" Leandre Joly said.

"It's all right. I mean, there's worse things in life… We're looking forward to les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, so hopefully we'll make it out there to the show and meet the people out there."