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Bermuda party boat, the Canima, sinks in Canada

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End of an era: The orginal party boat, the Canima, falls prey to the Canadian elements.

The much-loved Bermudian ferry Canima, a “party boat” during the heyday of local tourism, has sunk at what could prove its final mooring in Canada.Locals at New Brunswick’s Miramichi Bay have complained for years that the rusting vessel, originally planned to be renovated into a floating restaurant and bar, had been left to rot at the wharf there.Earlier this month, the boat sank to the bottom, leaving the rusted cabin roof and mast to jut above the ice.Earlier this year, Canadian businessman Steve Hawkins told The Royal Gazette that he and a US investor hoped to revive the vessel.Built in Ireland, the Canima was brought to Bermuda in the mid-1960s to serve as a tender.It became a fixture for partying US tourists, but was sold off in 1988, eventually getting bought by North American investors.Plans to renovate it went awry, however, when the ferry was swept off by a storm in 2005, got wedged on a sandbank, and was eventually docked at Millbank Wharf.The Canima is fondly remembered in Bermuda, but largely disliked in its final resting place.According to Miramichi Online, the sinking is “an early Christmas present” for locals.“When they woke up this morning, the ugly white boat that had been moored across the river at the Millbank Wharf was sinking,” the online newspaper reported.Exactly who’s responsible for removing the sunken ferry remains to be seen, they reported, quoting City Clerk Cathy Goguen as saying “the city has no jurisdiction over the vessel or the wharf”.

The "Canima" during its prime. The Irish-built vessel served Bermuda for 22 years before it was sold off to a succession of would-be business owners in North America.
After a long career as Bermuda's top "party boat", the 50-year-old ferry Canima rusts at the wharfside in New Brunswick's Maramichi Bay.