Owners of Amoeba sailing schooner chart new course in Baddeck

The Baddeck waterfront is missing a signature attraction.

The staysail schooner known as the Amoeba has been taken off the water and replaced with a modern day cruiser.

Capt. John Bryson said the 67-foot vessel was 50 years old and was deemed no longer fit to sail.

Bryson's late father Roy built the majestic vessel and the family has operated tours on Bras d'Or Lake for the past 30 years. Prior to operating the vessel as a family business, the Amoeba was a charter boat in the Caribbean for close to a decade.

"It's tough," said 65-year-old Bryson on the loss of the Amoeba. 

Retired schooner built by captain's father

"I was 10 years old when my dad started building the boat. And then I was on it forever. It made my life, my career. But I understand. It's a part of how it goes."

Bryson said he originally planned to replace the Amoeba's hull. But a cost estimate of about $1 million to bring the vessel up to Transport Canada standards was out of reach for the business. 

Replacement not feasible

The Amoeba was decommissioned in April, but Bryson said it will live on in memory and through the many photographs taken by visitors to the area. As part of their sailing tour, the 40-passenger Amoeba would round Beinn Bhreagh, the former home of the famed inventor Alexander Graham Bell and his wife. 

"If I had a dollar for every time I saw a picture of the Amoeba I wouldn't have to be doing this," he said. 

"A lot of times you could hear … 'No, no, wait dear, wait until it gets near the [Baddeck] lighthouse and get the lighthouse also.'"

Cruise vessel beginning operations next year

Bev Bryson, 60, who runs the business with her former spouse and their two adult daughters, said their new vessel, the 65-foot WinStar, will allow them to accommodate roughly 100 passengers.

She said the two-level boat could also host dinners, musical events and wedding receptions. 

"There's so much potential on this vessel right now. And business is really booming, particularly after COVID," she said.

"Obviously, we would have loved to have acquired another sailboat, but if it was that easy then everybody would be doing it. Now, we're just going to focus on the strengths of what the old Amoeba sailing tours had, which is that warm hospitality."

John Bryson says he's kept many parts of the old schooner and could one day rebuild the vessel. For now, he's busy upgrading and renovating the WinStar. 

"The dream is still there," Bryson said of bringing the Amoeba back to life. "I've been told not to let that dream go."

Bryson said bookings for the WinStar's new season will begin later this month. The new cruiser is set to hit the waters beginning in June 2023.