The Welland Canal

Mon 9/18/06
Port Colborn, Ont. to Wilson, NY (Welland Canal)
48 mi 8 hrs.

Today we do the Welland. The canal is 27 mi. long with eight locks. I have hired a guide/line handler to help us since these are big commercial locks that are designed for freighters. Only 2 people are required going from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario; but it seemed like a good idea, and the guide was a wealth of interesting and fun information that made the trip much more fun.

Norman arrived about 7:30 AM and we motored up to the check in point at 8:00 AM. We were cleared to enter the canal at 8:30 with a sail boat. Sometimes the wait can be 4 - 5 hrs, so we were lucky.

The canal and the locks are very large and the entire trip had a commercial feel to it.

The locks are large and almost intimateness. All of our locks we will be going down about 45 ft.



Some of the locks are double locks and at one we were preparing to go down while a freighter was rising in the lock next to us.


We exited the canal about 2:30. Norman was thrilled with the quick passage. The weather was around 70 and the threaded winds hadn't arrived so we started out into Lake Ontario with 3 Ft wave and headed east to Willson NY to get further along before the weather caught up with us.

We entered Tuscarora Bay about 3:30

and after finding a video phone checked in with Homeland Security (immigration & Customs) , then tied up at the Tuscarora Yacht Club for the night.


Tired, we did frozen dinners and called it a night.

Another good day.