New passenger ferry opens between Maine, Campobello Island

A new link has opened between Eastport, Maine and Campobello Island, N.B.

A ferry for foot passengers started sailing last Saturday.

The ferry, what is essentially a regular fishing boat, makes two crossings each Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

The ferry will dock at the wharf in Welshpool, where passengers will be driven to the customs office at the Lubec-Campobello Island land crossing.

Peter Harwerth, who drives people from the wharf to Canadian customs, said the ferry crossing makes for a quick trip compared to the land crossing at Lubec further south.

"Between Eastport and Campobello, this is basically only a distance of one mile across the water," said Harwerth.

"When people want to drive around by car, they use at least 50 minutes to get there.…If you get in the boat it could be 10-15 minutes."

This isn't the first time a passenger ferry has been tried in the area.

There was a walk-on ferry connecting Eastport with Deer Island, N.B., but that ended several years ago.

Harwerth believes the ferry could do wonders for the island's tourism industry, as day trips may be more popular given the limited camping and hotel facilities on Campobello.

"Our overnight capacity is not huge," said Harwerth. "They have more overnight capacity over there in Eastport and people can come over here and enjoy the Roosevelt Park, for example."