Corner Brook -
Losing half the poinsettias shipped to her has a Corner Brook florist reconsidering the Christmas tradition of bringing them in.
Donna Thistle, owner of Thistledown Florists, had a shipment of the delicate Christmas symbols perish on the dock last year when Marine Atlantic's mechanical ramp broke down and backed up traffic.
Tuesday morning, a strong gust of wind pushed the MV Atlantic Vision into the fendering system on the dock at Port aux Basques. One of the fenders broke lose and put a hole in the vessel 15 feet above the water line.
The Vision didn't leave the dock at Port aux Basques until Wednesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the MV Leif Ericson and MV Caribou hung off Port aux Basques waiting to unload, before reloading and heading back to North Sydney.
These troubles played havoc with Thistle's shipment. Half the poinsettias, which are native to Latin America, died after sitting on the dock for too long.
"Two years in a row the poinsettias that were coming to Newfoundland sat on the dock anywhere from five to seven days," Thistle said. "It's not good for them, and no one's liable. The shipper wasn't liable, the freight people weren't liable, Marine Atlantic's not liable and we ended up paying.
Last year we ended up throwing them right in the garbage."
Thistle said the plants are a fragile cargo to begin with. She said they can't be shipped by air and sitting in boxes isn't good for them either because they're sensitive to bacteria.
Two years of freight problems, along with the stiff competition from supermarkets, she wonders if she should even bother.
"You can't very well say because I lost half my crop, you have to pay double for it."
Canada Post also depends heavily on Marine Atlantic for the timely delivery of the island's mail.
Genvieve Latour, spokesperson for the Atlantic region of Canada Post, said the mail aboard the Vision Tuesday was distributed across the island in time for Christmas. Mail aboard the Ericson and Caribou didn't make it in time for Christmas Day. It wasn't sent by Canada Post's deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery, but it would still have beaten Santa Claus if the ferries hadn't been delayed for more than 30 hours.
Unscheduled downtime for the ferry means trouble for Canada Post, and ultimately its customers.
"Unfortunately the impact is on the customers," Latour said. "They are receiving their mail late, or if that's not the case then later than they would have. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do.
"We rely heavily on the weather and the boat, so we have no choice but to be patient and wait."
Ferry delays bring logistical challenges for the Crown corporation.
Drivers' schedules have to be shuffled, but that's nothing that's specific to Canada Post.
"We'd love to have a Batmobile or something that could get the mail flying, but realistically that's not an option," Latour said.
"Realistically, we have to rely on the means of transportation we have available and that's the boat."
