Pirates Cove Marina to St Catharines
We left Pirates Cove Marina at 7:45 so we could make Lock #23 for the eight o'clock start to the day. Our goal for the day was to get to St Catharines Marina which was just outside the Welland Canal.
Line handling along the Erie Canal came in many forms. Generally we had a line at the front and the back of the boat; or midship and the back of the boat. Sometimes we could hook a tensioned cable with a boat pole and slide it up or down the lock. Sometimes we had an actual line to hang on to. Other times there was a pipe that ran vertically in the lock that we could wrap a line around. We conquered em all.
After we passed through the lock our course started to head a bit northeasterly. We soon came upon the fork in the road. The Erie Canal would continue to head West but we needed to head North on the Oswego Canal. The Erie Canal west of the three rivers confluence had bridges that we were not going to be able to clear. Our height is 19 feet and many of the bridges are only 15 feet.
Our time in the Erie Canal was done after 22 locks. We moved into the Oswego River and started north towards Lake Ontario. The Oswego River was seven more locks. We would be lowering in these locks. We had a little rain as we moved north; but not enough to complain about. These locks emptied very quickly and we moved on through much faster than we did waiting for them to fill in the Erie Canal. We were the only boat traveling on the canal that morning so the locks were waiting for us as we arrived.
We saw locks and bridges along the entire canal system in every form. This lock opened up to a bridge that had to lift for us.
Most locks along the way included a dam as well. The dam would encompass three quarters of the river and the lock would take up the rest of the width. Some dams generated power and some didn't.
As we came out into Lake Ontario we came upon this project. A new break wall was being built at the mouth of the Oswego River. Here is a article that explains the "dolos".
We popped out into the lake about 11:30. The lake was pretty calm and we got up on plane and started putting some miles behind us. We had fog that thickened and thinned for the first couple hours. Visibility was okay; but less than a quarter mile at times. We relied on our radar. Once the fog dissipated we were able to be on plane. We weren't jumping up and down for line handling in the locks so we could relax a bit. Sandi and Jerry were both reading. I did some more crocheting on my latest project. Dan watched the water ahead for obstacles.
We were about a half hour out of St Catharines when Dan noticed a small vessel tracking on our port side. Soon it became evident that they were coming right towards us. As they got closer we could see that they were US Coastguard. They soon came up alongside. They asked when we were boarded last. When Dan replied that we just bought the boat and hadn't ever been boarded on it; they asked or permission to come aboard. Before they came on board that asked if we had any firearms aboard.
They proceeded to give us a Coast Guard inspection. They were very courteous and professional and took us down the list of required safety items and procedures. These included appropriate life jackets, throwable life rings, a horn, flares, halon fire extinguishers for the engines, placards that list garbage requirements and waste systems.
We had complied with everything on their list and they gave us a copy of their inspection form. The young man that filled out the form joked that he was giving us the "gold" copy of the form, so if we were approached at a future date we just had to show our gold card and we were home free on the next inspection.
We made it into St Catharines just before the fuel dock closed and filled up for the next portion of our trip. Before the exchange rate; fuel in St Catharines was $5 a gallon.
We moved into our slip assignment and went and called in to Canada Customs.
This marina also had a small restaurant. We learned that they had homemade Key Lime pie. We took the last three pieces they had to go and split it four ways after dinner. It was a great ending to a good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment