125 years, 100 miles. Congratulations RMS Segwun

Brian took this photo of the RMS Segwun earlier this
summer. She is a beautiful sight on the water.

She is one of only four Royal Mail Ships remaining. The other three are the RMS St. Helena, which plies from Capte Town, South Africa, to St. Helena island; RMS Queen Mary 2, a luxury liner crossing oceans; and the RMV (Royal Mail Vessel)Scillonian III which serves the Scilly Islands from Penzance.

The fourth is right here in Muskoka. The RMS Segwun, sailing out of Gravenhurst with a long, proud history on the lakes. Mail a letter on board the ship, or from the ticket office, and it will be franked with the RMS postal Segwun Stamp.

The RMS Segwun was built on the Clyde River Estuary in 1887, and started her sailing life as the S.S. Nipissing III. She was a steam powered paddlewheeler, 128 feet long with a 21 foot beam and she drew six feet of water. The hull was built in sections, transported to Gravenhurst and assembled for the Muskoka Navigation Company.  The vessel came out of service in 1914, when the walking beam broke and she languished away until 1924.  Then the boat was  rebuilt, and renamed the S.S. Segwun -- the name is Ojibway and means Springtime. Her trademark Phoenix was placed on the funnel at that time, but later was transferred to the  RMS Sagamo.  The paddlewheels were scrapped and replaced by twin propellors, still steam driven and coal fired.

She worked hard. Her usual schedule: conduct the 100 Mile Cruise every day from Bala, connect with the morning CPR train at 7.30 a.m, call at the resorts on the west arm of Lake Muskoka, then meet the northbound Sagamo up from Gravenhurst to exchange freight, mail and passengers -- then up the Muskoka River to Bracebridge. In the afternoon, whe would reverse the route,meeting Sagamo again at Beaumaris, then back at Bala at 7.30 p.m. Mostly staying on Lake Muskoka, at times int he spring and fall she also ran the route of Rosseau for the SS Medora and worked from mid-May to late-September.

The "queen of the lakes" really is a beautiful
reflection of our past, and a true treasure.

In the 1950's after the war, the people began spending their time in autuomobiles, and gradually the fleet was reduced. In 1955, the Gravenhurst Steamship Ltd. took over the operation, running purely excursion cruises. Soon Segwun was plying from Bala, meeting the noon trains at Gravenhurst... but still the revenues dropped.  In 1958, following a humiliating incident where she was run aground on the unmarked Gull Rock Shoal off Point Montcalm, both her cast iron propellers were shattered. She limped back to Gravenhurst... but the order was not to repair and the steamship days seemed to have ended.

In 1960 she was rescued from scrapheap ignomy when the citizens of Gravenhurst campaigned to keep her intact. In 1962 the Town of Gravenhurst purchased her for $1.00, and she was transformed into a floating museum. For the next eleven years the museum welcomed approximately 4500 guests.  In 1973 the iron hull began to show pinhole leaks, and it was decided the ship needed to be dry docked for inspection.  The artifacts were carefully removed and stored and her life as the Steamboat Museum ended.

Look for the Phoenix rising on
the front of the funnel.

After the demise of the RMS Sagamo, the Phoenix was rescued and returned to the Segwun -- which seems only fitting since the extraordinary Grand Lady of the Lakes kept rising again from what seemed like certain ashes. She had captivated the public imagination.  In 1974, work began to refurbish  the vessel and re-plate the hull. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau was the dignitary at her re-launch in 1974, and the Ontario government came forward with $400,000 in 1976, and  on July 1, 1981, with Premier Frank Miller on board, she celebrated her first sailing date as the newly renovated and restored RMS Segwun. The Honourable Lincoln Alexander, Lt. Governor, was on board to celebrate her 100th anniversary in 1987.

Now she sails daily from mid-May to Thanksgiving, 145 days, and welcomes 25,000 passengers on board from around the world every summer. She has been repeatedly voted one of Canada's Best Attractions.

Tomorrow, August 18, she celebrates another Milestone. In honour of her 125th season on the Muskoka Lakes, RMS Segwun will make one Big Cruise. It hasn't happened in 54 years, but it's being re-created for this occasion.  Along with her sister ship, the Wenonah II, accompanied by at least 100 wooden classic and antique boats and a lot of fanfare, she will leave the Gravenhurst docks for the 100 Mile Cruise.  Donations to the Cancer Society are suggested for the antique boat participants.  It is going to be one heck of a party, and frankly we are delighted to see the RMS Segwun re-create this amazing cruise.

If you don't manage to get on board for this one, though, you can still sail on this lovely ship, which takes out sight seeing cruises and dinner cruises throughout the summer, and which truly should be on your MUST DO bucket list.