Kamutik W delayed all week by high winds, stranding passengers on Labrador's north coast

The fall season's higher winds and rougher seas in Labrador have left the Kamutik W tied up in Rigolet since it left Happy Valley-Goose Bay on Sunday, stranding passengers and renewing concerns about the ferry's ability to serve the north coast.

The delay meanspassengers are also faced with for additional costs for food and a place to sleep, prompting them to becareful abouthow they spend their money or rely on family for financial support.

Wanda Lucy of Hopedale has been sending money to her son and granddaughter on the shipin order to keep them fed.

"When I sit down to my table to eat, I'm wondering if my granddaughter and son have a meal, and when I go to bed for the night, I'm wondering, 'Are they sleeping on the chairs or are they sleeping on the bed?" Lucy told CBC's Labrador Morning on Wednesday.

Lucy says the shipisn't cut out for rough waters.

"It's a flat-bottomed boat that can't operate in high winds and high seas. The Astron could normally travel in what she can't travel in," she said.

"We need help now.We have store shelves that are not stocked. People aren't getting to places who need to travel."

There's only about a month remaining until the shipping season ends and freight service for the north coast will cease as winter rolls in, and Lucy is worried.

"If it's going to take her up to six or 10 days in either port where she's weatherbound because she can't travel due to high winds and seas, then we're in dire straits," said Lucy.

North coast left to 'own devices'

Torngat Mountains MHA Lela Evans says it's unacceptable that passengers have to pay for additional expenses.

"If anyone was travelling from St. John's to Toronto and they got stuck in Halifax for three-plus days, they would be provided with food and accommodations. On the north coast, we're left to our own devices," Evans said.

'All the freight will be delivered'

Dave Leyden,operations manager for the Woodwards Group, which operates the ferry, says there are food vouchers being handed out to the passengers on board.

"Yesterday we put out meal vouchers for meals, so that's ongoing, so we're making sure that they're being fed properly," he said. "Also we had a couple of passengers who thought the trip was going to be shorter. They didn't purchase a cabin so we issued them a complimentary cabin for the delay."

Leyden says the delay is due to safety.

This is going to prove to be a year of learning, and I expect by next year we'll know exactly what we need to be doing.- Dave Leyden

"You got freight in trailers and such on open deck and we got to be careful to make sure that we don't do anything that will cause that freight to shift," Leyden said.

"We don't see any issues with it. There shouldn't be anyone trying to get passengers around Cape Harrison with three or four metres of sea, whether it be the Ranger or otherwise."

In the future, Leyden said, groceries will be shipped in containers rather than the wooden pallets currently being used. He also said that despite the setbacks this year,freight will be delivered to the north coast.

Some freight is being delivered while the Kamutik is tied up, with a resident posting a picture on Facebook on Thursday of a freighter passing by while the ferry is docked.

"When all is said and done, the freight will all get delivered. It's a new service, especially the Labrador coastal side, I mean you replaced two ships with one," he said.

"This is going to prove to be a year of learning, and I expect by next year we'll know exactly what we need to be doing."

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