Sunday 26 August 2012

Port Colborne to Niagara on the Lake

August 25: I checked in with Seaway Welland at 7 AM. They told me to get some breakfast and listen to channel 14. 20 minutes later they told the guy in the power boat it probably wouldn't be until noon. So we had breakfast and watched the shipping go past us into the canal. By noon they had run out of ships and we got to follow Garganey (Hong Kong) into lock 8. They had a fair head start on us, but we caught up and passed them just above lock 7 where we ducked into an inlet and tied up. Garganey kept "sliding the wall" at a crawl while the Algo Steel came out of lock 7 and went past us all upbound. Garganey continued and we waited for an upbound power cruiser then followed. We waited our turn behind them all the way down, going in circles waiting for the locks to turn back for us. We had a little excitement with a cross current in one of the flight locks, apparently because only half the valves were working, minor scratch on the starboard side...

It was about 2115 by the time we cleared lock 1, so we headed for Port Dalhousie. It was packed, so we tied to the wall on the DYC side, BBQ'd and went to sleep.

August 26: We motored, then sailed over to Niagara on the Lake where we took a mooring at the Sailing Club. It's good to be back in the land of reciprocal moorings ;-)

It was stinking hot in town today and we strolled slowly, staying as much in the shade as possible. Niagara on the Lake is packed with very international tourists and is a little overwhelming after he likes of Little Current. We had lunch at the Prince of Wales Hotel, then retreated to the shade of the residential areas, then the breeze on the mooring. Traffic in the river was equally hectic, with many heading out and back for a Sunday afternoon sail and jet boats full of tourists "Saute Moutons XX" departing for the whirlpools up river. Things got much quieter as the sun went down.

Tomorrow towards Coburg bright and early. The forecast suggests maybe spinnakering...


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