New Cat is Ready to PounceMay 15, 2002 The Cat, Bay Ferries’ new 98 m Wave Piercing Catamaran built by Incat Tasmania, has arrived in Bar Harbor, Maine, USA after a 16 days delivery voyage from Hobart, Australia. Leaving Hobart on April 14 the craft and her crew of 13 sailed to Bar Harbor via Tahiti and the Panama Canal. It was then on to her home port at Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, for final preparations for the summer season. Bay Ferries’ marketing director Risteen Masters confirms The Cat will make her debut on the Yarmouth to Bar Harbor crossing on May 23, offering travellers more comfort, luxury and space than the earlier craft on the link. “It’s like getting a new car,” Ms Masters said. “It’s got that new smell.” With its distinctive “Blue Cat” livery already raising eyebrows in Canada and the US The Cat will carry 900 passengers, and 267 cars or a lesser number of cars plus heavy freight vehicles. Some 71 slot machines and other amenities will also be fitted to help passengers pass the time during the crossing. The original high speed craft, which went into service in 1998, replaced the conventional ferry Bluenose, which operated from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth since 1956. Passage time for the Bluenose was some six hours, while The Cat can make the 108 nautical miles crossing in less than half that time
