Yarmouth Cat ferry to set sail for first time since Nova Star failed

The Cat is getting ready to set sailonce againfrom Yarmouth, N.S., to Portland, Maine.

A double rainbow appeared over the Cat Wednesday morning, hopefully a good sign for the pot of gold Nova Scotia taxpayersinvested in the service.

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The first two years of this service is expected to costaround$32 million.

The ferry service has a capacity of 282 cars and866 passengers.

The crossing to Portland takes about5.5 hours. Over the last two years, the Nova Star ferry made thatjourney.

Nova Star Cruises received $39.5 million in subsidies from the provincial government over the two years it operatedthe ferry service.The ship had about 110,000 passengers, short of its two-year goal of 180,000.

There's a 10-year agreement between the province of Nova Scotia and Bay Ferries Ltd. The government has also promised to cover any cash deficiencies the company may incur that means, if Bay Ferries makes money, it makes money, If it loses money, those loses are reimbursed by taxpayers.

The Nova Scotiangovernment said there's no ferry service anywhere that can run without the help from government. It believes the investment is worth it.

It will still be months, though, before it's known whether enough American tourists use the service to make it worthwhile for Nova Scotians.