2016 – Heading to the Welland Canal.

Leaving Turkey Point, Welland bound! 

The spring of 2016 was very busy. Karen was working on replacing the forward berth cushions, and I was focused on building a new swim platform that was larger and lighter and would allow us to store our dinghy on board. We then had a big list of projects to attack on the boat itself, getting it ready to make the journey from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario.

A short list of these projects was as follows:

• Replace all cooling hoses for the engines
• Replace impellors on both main engines and the generator
• Change oil and filters on engines
• Change spark plugs on engines
• Change out an old circuit breaker that kept tripping without reason
• Isolate the anchor light from navigation lights and add steaming lights
• Clean, buff, and wax the hull
• Refresh the bottom paint
• Install the new swim platform
• Seal the bow and stern thrusters
• Provision the boat for the passage
• Install storage in the galley
• Clean the interior
• Disinfect the water system
• Change the anchor
• Add 275 ft. of chain
• Install the new anchor windlass
• Install and re-configure and network the navigation systems
• Polish and clean the canvas and Isinglass

The list was lengthy and honestly a bit overwhelming. Karen and I have found in the past, with our previous boats, making spreadsheet lists with target dates is the best way to stay on track. We each had our tasks to accomplish and got on with the projects. We set priorities for each task and tackled them in order and according to weather conditions. The idea was to have all of the projects completed while the boat was still on land, and limit the amount of time spent tied up to a dock at the marina prior to our departure. We set our departure date for June 3^rd, now all we needed to do was to find crew and plan the logistics of transportation to the boat.

We recruited two of my friends, who were up for an adventure. We kept Barnacle and Zebra on standby, made the rental car reservations and watched the weather closely hoping that we would have a good window to make the journey. The plan was to drive down with Zebra and leave both vehicles at the marina in Trenton (our final destination), we rented a vehicle from Enterprise and drove down to the boat that night. The next day Karen and I stayed at the boat loading the final provisions while Zebra headed out to Port Weller at the Lake Ontario end of the Welland Canal, where he would meet up with Barnacle who left his vehicle there as he would be heading home right after the canal transit. While Zebra and Barnacle were making their way back to Turkey Point, Karen and I had Tropical Horizons launched and motored out into Long Point Bay for a quick shakedown cruise. We ran up the engines and headed into Long Point Bay where we stopped and pointed into the wind, I headed down to the bow and dropped the anchor to make sure that the windlass worked well and the chain could easily deploy without tangles. Everything seemed to work as expected so we performed another engine room check and made a final adjustment to the stuffing boxes, everything seemed in order so we headed back to the fuel dock and filled our tanks for the trip up to Sugarloaf Marina at the entrance to the Welland Canal.

Later that morning Barnacle and Zebra arrived after dropping off the rental car at Enterprise in Simcoe. The Enterprise folks gave them a lift to the fuel dock where Karen and I were patiently waiting for them. Once everyone was aboard, we gave our two crew members a quick overview of the boat and familiarized them with the location of safety equipment and what to do should we have an emergency. I then went through my start up procedure and warmed up both engines before we headed out and said goodbye to Turkey Point Marina.
The trip across to Sugarloaf was pleasant, we had blue skies calm winds and a flat sea, we couldn’t ask for anything more. Arrival at Sugarloaf was a simple process, we radioed ahead and arranged to be greeted at the fuel dock where we re-filled our tanks once again and were assigned a slip for the evening.

The dock crew met us at our assigned slip and assisted with docking as the wind started to pick up. We tied up for the evening, and I headed out to the marina office to pay our fees for the night. Sugarloaf is an older marina; that being said, the staff are friendly, the docks are in good shape, and the facilities are clean. Back at the boat, we pulled out the BBQ and started up with supper; burgers and beers. After we cleaned up, Barnacle pulled out a card game that Zebra seemed to be quite adept at (must be his healthy lifestyle) and after Barnacle started losing one too many times, he promptly put the game away. It was time to get some sleep as we would be heading out to the canal entrance for 5:00 AM the next morning.

When Karen and I were planning this trip we had a hard time finding out much information regarding transiting the Welland Canal system so we will share some tips for those of you who may be considering this trip. Before you transit the canal I suggest you purchase your transit pass online as you save quite a bit of money so it is well worth it. You will need to print your receipt as it is collected at lock number 3. We also planned our transit early in the season. May and early June have the least amount of pleasure craft traffic which really makes your life easier as you are not waiting for anyone else to get through the locks. We also made sure the get to the town docks by 5:00 AM and call in to the canal authority to inform them that we were ready to make the transit.  

I was promptly asked by a sleepy operator to go have a coffee and call back in half an hour.  Once I called back, the operator confirmed that they were staffed up and ready for us to make our way through.  We waited for the bridge to rise up and as the red lights stopped flashing and the green lights came on we started our journey through the Welland Canal!  You can view a slide show of the entire journey by visiting our YouTube channel.  Join us for the ride.