les de la Madeleine ferry and crew waited out wind storm at sea

Capt. Valmont Arsenault and about two dozen crews members waited out the winter storm in the Gulf of St. Lawrence aboard the ferrythat connects Prince Edward Island and les de la Madeleine.

The ferry was docked in Souris, but the company that operates it said Arsenault made the decision not to stay in the relatively unsheltered harbour because of the strong winds whichthreatened to tear the ship from its moorings on the wharf and potentially push it aground.

The ship pulled out at 8 a.m. Thursday.

It cruised the Northumberland Strait and Gulf of St. Lawrence.

It sailed to Port Hood in Cape Breton where it was hit by a wind gust of 165 km/h, so it moved to near Rustico, P.E.I. Mid-day Friday, it made its way back toward Souris.

It originally hadhopes of docking at about 4 p.m., but docked shortly after5 p.m.

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