For the first time in decades, Midland's harbour won’t be home to a tour boat.
Longtime, day-passenger vessel the Miss Midland is being renamed and moving west while the Island Princess, which is moving from Orillia to the area, chose Penetanguishene over Midland as its anchorage of choice earlier this year.
The iconic Miss Midland, meanwhile, is becoming the Tobermory Legacy and will be part of Tobermory Cruise Line, which started up a few years ago.
“Our cruise line is fairly new,” said Adam Lee, whose father Mike Lee owns the business.
“We've got a 45-passenger speed boat that we use to take people to Flowerpot Island in the grotto with, but we were looking to expand and when the opportunity came up to purchase the Miss Midland, we took it.”
While the sale to Mike Lee from Jim Dubeau occurred earlier this year, Adam Lee said they hope to begin operating the newly christened Tobermory Legacy some time next month.
“It will be doing something fairly similar to what was doing in Midland,” Lee said, noting there are also plans to feature live music aboard the 90-foot ship that can welcome up to 300 passengers.
“We'll be running two and a half hour lunch cruises daily, two and a half hour dinner cruises daily.and then several times a week, it'll be going out for a sunset cruise.”
Requests for comment from Midland Tours Inc. (Miss Midland Boat Cruises) weren't successful since the company's website and phone number are no longer operational.
Meanwhile, Lee said they’re excited to add another element to their business.
“It’s going to be something different for us. The speed boat is a lot of fun, but having a ship of this size and people recognize it too (since) it’s got a lot of history. It’s going to be a challenge for us, but one we’re looking forward to.”
Lee said they plan to pilot their new purchase over to Tobermory later this month.
“We’re hoping to do the first leg within a couple of weeks,” he said. “It’ll go from Midland to Owen Sound and will probably stay there overnight and then day two, it will probably run up the peninsula to Tobermory.”
