Passage through the Welland Canal is straight forward enough. I would suggest that you first visit the Seaway web page at
www.greatlakes-seaway.com. Choose your language of choice and then click on the Recreational Boating tab at the top of the page. From there you will be taken to the Recreational Boating page, where you will find all sorts of information about the canals and the seaway system in general.
You do need to keep in mind that the Seaway and the canals that make up the system are commercial operations and commercial traffic takes precedence. I would also advise you to give commercial barges and freighters lots of space and the respect they deserve. These boats displace lots of water and even at the slow speed of 6 kn, they can throw a surprising amount of water in their bow wake. Back to the web page, you will notice lots of information, the "St. Lawrence Seaway Pleasure Craft Guide" is a good place to start. This publication covers the entire St. Lawrence Seaway so I will boil down the details for the Welland Canal.
Here is a list of what equipment you may need:
Fenders, lots of them. If you have really nice white clean fenders or fenders with cloth covers, remove the covers and replace them with heavy duty garbage bags fastened around the fender line with a cable tie. Some people will mention fender boards, depending on the shape of your hull and how many fenders you have, this is also an option.
Radio, I suggest two radios. I have a fixed radio and a handheld, the bridges and locks all have their own working frequencies and the canal control has it’s frequency as well. I would keep my fixed radio on Ch. 14, the canal control frequency, and use the handheld to communicate with the locks and bridges as needed.
Line handlers, Barnacle and Zebra, you need them, well not those two specifically but you need some hands on board to handle the lines and fend off the boat. For the downward bound trip, you can get away with two hands on board to help you, for the up bound trip you will need three hands to help because of the added turbulence with the rising water. Be nice and provide your line handlers with gloves. The canal will provide you with poly lines that they will toss down or hand you, these can be dirty and frayed so gloves are in order.
Lines, you don’t need any for the transit, they are provided by the Canal workers.
Camera, take lots of pictures. You don’t transit the Welland Canal every day and there are lots of opportunities for some great photos.
Food and drink, there is nowhere to stop on the system and once you get going you don’t stop until you finish. Some passages can take up to 14 hours so be prepared for a long day on the water. If you can’t cook while underway, then make a few thermoses of your favorite hot beverage, early in the mornings it can be quite cool on the water.
Life Jackets are mandatory when approaching locks. Everyone on board must be wearing an approved PFD. On a personal note, we have both auto and manual inflation life jackets that we wear while the boat is underway and we have enough for our guests as well. Our life jackets are also equipped with distress strobes as well for night operations.
So you’ve been over the website, you’ve read the guide and you’re ready to go ….right? Make sure that your boat is ready. The canal is not a place to break down, and there is no overnight dockage anywhere within the Welland. There is a marina at each end and that’s it.
Your boat is mechanically sound, you are prepared and you’ve managed to con some friends into making the trip through the Welland with you (Okay con is a strong word). You have all of your safety equipment and you’ve purchased your ticket online. Oh you didn’t purchase your ticket online? Don’t worry about it, there is a dispenser at each end of the canal, look for the “phone booth” with a blue light on top that says “Pay Here” you can purchase your tickets there. If you purchased online, print and save your receipt, it is your ticket and will be collected at Lock #3. You will also be given a form at your first lock that you need to fill out and hand in with your ticket at Lock #3.
Arrival and reporting in to Canal Control
We really had no idea what time to start our transit, so I emailed the Seaway Authority and explained that we were new to locking and this would be our first transit of any canal system. The response that came back was informative and reassuring. We were told that for the time of year we would be heading out, to show up at the phone box and check in at 5:00 am. We left our slip at Sugarloaf Marina early that morning and set out to find the town docks at the entrance of the Welland Canal. This is where the phone booth is to call the Canal Control. Once we tied up, I place the call and notified the operator that we were ready to transit the canal. They asked for our boat name and had me return to my boat and call them back in 30 minutes while they checked on staffing levels and commercial traffic. After the second call I was told that we were cleared to go and the operator would be raising the first bridge for us. I was also told to monitor Ch. 14 at all times.
The First Lock
Once we passed under the first bridge we entered into Lock #8, this is a guard lock and simply
adjusts the water levels between the canal and Lake Erie with a rise or fall, from a few inches to a few feet. We were advised by the lock operator to just hang out in the middle of the chamber. Page 16 of the Seaway guide will advise the sides that you will tie to. I would suggest that you radio the lock operator to confirm. Each lock will have its own working channel to contact the operator on. I would suggest that you contact the operator as you approach the lock, especially if the lights do not change or signal your approach. Again the operators are very helpful and will guide you through safely.
It is worthwhile to note here that Canal Control had requested that I check in with them once I reached a certain mile marker. There is quite a distance between Lock #8 and the next bridge, roughly 10 nautical miles, so sit back, sip your coffee and really enjoy the scenery. The speed limit within the canal is 6 kn so relax and enjoy, we found that amidst the industrial scenery there was lots of nature to enjoy. With the rising sun and mist coming off the water it really did make for some great photos.
As we reached Bridge 11, Canal Control warned us of a tow barge that was moving along upstream and would be crossing our paths shortly. There it was! We all noticed just how much water the barge displaced as it moved along, it was impressive and served as a reminder to keep a safe distance from these working vessels. We approached Lock #7 and checked with the operator over the radio to confirm which side we would approach on. Once into the lock chamber, lines were tossed down and we started our way down to the next level. Once the lock chamber was at the next level, the gates would start to open, and we simply tossed the lines aside as we slowly made our way out of the lock and towards Lock #6. This procedure continued all the way through the canal until we passed the last lock. Payment was accepted at Lock #3 along with the form that we were handed to fill out at the first lock. All in all, the trip through the canal was enjoyable and although a bit challenging at times with the wind as we approached Lake Ontario, we all had a great time.
Approaching Locks and Light Signals
When you approach a lock there are a series of signs and lights that will instruct you as you approach. Every lock also displays the channel which they monitor and can be hailed on as well. If there is no response from the lock operators and you have some concerns, you can also hail Canal Control on Ch. 14 who will provide instructions. In some cases it’s just a matter of time as some locks are operated by the same crew who must travel between locks.
When you approach a lock you will see LA signs (limit of approach), there will be three of them. The first you encounter is #3, the second #2, and the last #1. The LA #3 and #2 will have only red lights on them, the LA #1 will have both red and green lights. Signalling is simple if the lights are solid red, do not pass the sign. If the red lights are flashing, move ahead to the next LA sign. The LA #1 sign red lights will be flashing when the last piece of equipment has started to open. The green lights will come on indicating that the lock is ready and you may now enter. Do respect these signals as they may just help you avoid a hazard that you have not anticipated.
Bridge signals and approaches
There are numerous lift and draw bridges on the Welland that require opening for passage. Much like locks, these bridges have a series of signs and signals to direct you through. In some cases a bridge may take some time to open as there may be an approaching train that will need to pass before the bridge can be opened.
As you approach a bridge, the following signs and signals will appear. First you will see a whistle sign. This is a square shaped sign with black lettering on a yellow background. Next you will see the caution sign with amber lights which will flash indicating that the operator sees you. If the lights on the caution sign do not change to flashing as you approach the whistle sign, attempt to hail the operator by sounding a horn/whistle. The final sign is the LA sign which you must not pass until the bridge lights change from flashing read to solid green. The lights on the bridge span are red and green. A solid red indicates that the bridge span is down. Do not approach past LA sign. A flashing red indicates that the span is in motion. Remain at the LA sign and be ready to pass under the bridge in a prompt and safe manner. Finally, a solid green light will show when it is safe to pass under the bridge span. Move through the span promptly, keeping to the starboard side of the channel. When waiting for the bridge to draw and while navigating in the canal, always remain towards the edge of the channel where it is safe to do so and remember, if you cannot see the bridge on a commercial vessel, they cannot see you. These large vessels are restricted in their ability to manoeuvre and stop.
Once you’ve made it through the canal you are in Lake Ontario! There is a small marina just around the point called Port Weller. This is a small marina and when we stopped there, the water was quite shallow. If you choose to re-fuel here, keep in mind that this marina is very small! When you enter the marina turn immediately to port and follow the channel around. The fuel dock will be just ahead of the ramps and to your port. There is not much room to turn around here but it can be done. Tropical Horizons is a big enough boat, if you count the swim platform and the anchor pulpit, she measures in at 46 ft. and turning her around was a real test. The deepest area in the marina I measured was about 4.5 ft. so if you are at all unsure of your draft, be warned that this is a shallow marina. We draw 3.5 ft. and we were still churning up mud!
Toronto which was some 80 nautical miles away from our new home port. To be fair, they wanted to have the engine out, repaired and back into the boat as quickly as possible so that I could salvage my summer. I didn’t want to throw away my summer waiting for the repairs to be completed. Finally I was contacted by a marine surveyor who proved to be extremely helpful. After speaking with the surveyor over the phone, and convincing him that Whitby was in the wrong direction, we decided that making my way to Trent Port Marina was a reasonable plan. Once there I would have access to my vehicle and I would not be too far from a few repair facilities that could handle the task of rebuilding the engine. 
After a week in Cobourg, we finally had a weather window open up. I had been looking at the wind and wave forecasts on www.windfinder.com, www.weather.gc.ca , www.weather.gov. I had also been watching and monitoring the wave buoys that are placed throughout the great lakes. We would have a 24 hour window that would give us enough time to make it through from Lake Ontario to the Bay of Quinte via the Murray Canal. Early that morning we shoved off and made our way East from Cobourg. The water was like glass and I had been able to adjust the helm to running on a single engine. For the most part, we were the only ones out there on the water. We eventually came across a few fishermen and on our entry into Presqu’ile Bay we came across a sailboat. I tried to hail them over the VHF to inform them that we were running on a single
engine and had some difficulty manoeuvring. No answer from the sailboat…this was frustrating. Presqu’ile Bay is tricky, this is a shallow bay and you really need to keep to the channel. Add to this that we had been warned about low water levels and excessive weed growth so on the approach to the Murray Canal, we were a bit stressed. Having a Sailboat that ignored our hails ahead of us and heading across our path did not help. We finally made it into the Murray canal where we hailed the swing bridges and requested an open explaining our situation. The bridge operators were quite helpful and made sure that we would not need to stop while they collected the toll in a tin cup attached to a long pole. We made it through the first swing bridge while slowing our approach to allow for a smaller sailboat to go through first. We overtook the small sailboat and radioed ahead to the next bridge giving them our estimated time of arrival. Once again the bridge operators were ready for us and the bridge swung open ready for us to pass through. We thanked the operators as we passed and were soon on our way into the Bay of Quinte.
