Stoney Creek man buys MS Norgoma, a 190-foot long ship

Mike Goman grew up in Stoney Creek but every year when summer arrived, his heart belonged to Tobermory.

Goman's job has taken him across North America since he left Hamilton in 1980, but his love for the tiny town at the tip of Bruce Peninsula has never wavered.

Now he's planning to bring a piece of Tobermory's marine history back to life.

Goman has an agreement to purchase the MS Norgoma, a 190-foot long ship that was once the ferry between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island, and he hopes to permanently moor the vessel in the town's Little Tub Harbour.

It's a way to strengthen the long attachment his family has had to Tobermory dating back more than 70 years, an attachment that continues to this day.

His grandfather built a sawmill in the Tobermory area in the 1940s and his father, a Hamilton engineer, helped him build several cottages they would rent out.

After Goman graduated from Mohawk College in the '70s, he worked at Firestone in Hamilton then took a job with the former Bramalea Ltd. property development company.

From there, he was off to Prince Albert, Calgary, B.C., Houston, Dallas and then East Hartford, Conn. for the past 24 years where he now has his own real estate advisory business.

Back in 1980, Goman started a little store in Tobermory called The Sweet Shop, which he still owns with a business partner.

It's grown from about 700 square feet to 4,000 square feet and 17 years ago, Goman leased the former post office next door and opened a coffee shop.

It's a crazy economy up there because you do all your business in about nine weeks," said Goman, whose mother and sister live in Burlington.

Built in 1950, the Norgoma carried passengers and cargo between Owen Sound and Sault Ste. Marie for 13 years.

It then served for a number of years as a ferry between Tobermory and Manitoulin Island until the City of Sault Ste. Marie purchased the ship for a dollar from the provincial government in 1975.

A non-profit group took ownership of the Norgoma and operated it as a floating marine museum but the city took the ship back last year and it is now sitting idle at an Algoma Steel dock while the Sault city council decides what to do with the vessel.

Twice last year, the Sault put out requests seeking a buyer with no luck.

Meanwhile, Goman was trying to figure out how to expand his coffee shop. Space is tight on the waterfront around Little Tub Harbour in Tobermory and the handful of businesses located there are rarely available.

In terms of trying to find a place to expand the coffee shop, we just kept coming up empty," Goman said.

Goman wondered what had ever happened to the old Norgoma ferry and he discovered it was up for grabs in Sault Ste. Marie.

I thought, you know as crazy as it sounds, I could put a coffee shop on that," Goman said. It would be very cool."

The upper viewing deck has space for several dozen people, there are dining areas on two lower levels and there would still be room for a marine museum.

So he reached out to officials in the Sault to see if the Norgoma was still available.

The response was kind of comical," Goman said. It was like When can you come and get it?'"

Sault city council has approved an agreement in principle for Goman to purchase the Norgoma for $2,500.

But that's a drop in the bucket of the total amount of money needed to make the dream come true.

Goman said he's prepared to spend $20,000 to $30,000 for an engineering study of the ship's current condition. Towing the Norgoma to Tobermory would cost more than $100,000.

Including the refurbishment of the ship, Goman said the entire venture could cost $500,000.

It's not much different than a lot of the work I typically do on buildings," Goman said. It just happens to be floating."

Now he needs to work out an agreement with the Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula, which includes Tobermory, that would allow the Norgoma to be docked permanently in Little Tub Harbour.

The municipality charges for dock space and the Norgoma would have to be able to cover the costs for the number of slips it would occupy.

Goman said he plans to make a formal proposal to the municipality before Labour Day.

I'm not interested in moving a ship several hundred miles if I don't have a place to put it," Goman said.

We've got to be able to show we can put this in the harbour without disrupting the historic way the harbour has always run and we have to make sure it's not going to be a financial liability to anybody."

He said he'd be happy to turn over ownership of the vessel to a non-profit organization and lease back the space he needs to make the operation viable.

Goman said it's too early to tell how his plan will be received but he's optimistic.

I'm in the real estate business," Goman said. You've got to be an optimist to stay alive."

Steve Buist is a Hamilton-based investigative reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbuist@thespec.com