THUNDER BAY — The end of the visitor season for the Alexander Henry provides little in the way of a respite for the man who led the effort to return the former icebreaker to Thunder Bay.
Charlie Brown, president of the Lakehead Transportation Museum Society, is still doing maintenance on the ship and planning tweaks to how the waterfront tourist attraction is presented and marketed.
The inaugural season for tours was a short one because it only started on July 18.
Brown, however, says his group is satisfied with the turnout of 2,800 visitors over 54 days.
"We did remarkably well...we thought that was excellent," he said.
In addition to local residents, the Alexander Henry was toured by tourists from across North America and overseas, Brown said. "They just loved it...Everybody really enjoyed the ship and gave us a lot of encouragement."
Already in the works for next year are plans for enhanced promotion and better signage, including on highways entering the city.
Brown said some people said they had difficulty finding the location where the ship is moored at the former Pool 6 grain terminal.
Visitor numbers will increase significantly next year, since tours of the the former Canadian Coast Guard vessel will start as early as the Victoria Day weekend.
The museum society also hopes to organize a number of special events throughout the season.
Brown expects the admission rates to remain the same as, or similar to, this year's fees.
