Amanda W.

Ellerslie, Prince Edward Island

Prince Edward Island Provincial Heritage Fair

"Ice Boats at the Capes"

My project is about "Ice Boats". My project gives people a better understanding of what ice boats were and why they were important to the history of Prince Edward Island and Canada.

 

 

 

What was the most interesting thing you learned about your topic?

The most interesting thing that I learned about my topic was what an ice boat actually was. An ice boat was a boat that was 17 feet long and 4 feet wide,constructed of wood and allowed crew and passengers to cross the icy cold Northumberland Strait. The main purpose of the ice boat service was to deliver the mail providing Prince Edward Island with winter communication to the mainland. The service also allowed for passengers to travel as well.

What important lessons have you learned that you want to share with other Canadians?

One lesson is that for 90 years ice boats enabled Prince Edward Island to have winter communication with the mainland.The crew members endured very dangerous and cold wintery weather conditions to deliver mail by ice boats between Cape Traverse, P.E.I and Cape Tormentine, N.B.

How would you compare your life today to the lives of those studied in your project?

People in the 1800s relied on mail to communicate with family and friends that were living in different areas of Canada and the United States. Mail was one of the only ways of communicating. With technology today, we have so many ways to instantly communicate with people such as email, texting, Facebook, Twitter etc. We could live without the mail service but in the 1800s this service was essential. Think of the amount of time and labour that would have went into delivering one letter in the 1800s as apposed to the seconds it takes today.