The day started off great. We topped off the fuel tanks at 7:00am in Ashtabula, OH and got onto Lake Erie to finish the last 100 miles by 8:00. The dockmaster at Surtherlands Marina told us that the wind was to pick up by noon and he was spot on. We started with pretty calm seas, maybe a foot. By 10:00 the seas started to build and we could feel the weather changing. Temperature dropped 10 degrees in 10 minutes and the wind changed out of the north. By noon as we were coming into Port Colburne, Ontario the waves were building and we were glad to be getting off the lake.
We stopped at the Welland Canal check-in station and called customs and then checked in with the Seaway Lock System by 12:30pm. Then we waited and waited and waited. Finally at 4:00pm they called us to start the transit behind a 500-foot freighter "Kaminisiqua". We sucked on his fumes all night long. Not to bore you with the gory details, but we didn't finish the transit until 4:00am. That is how it goes sometimes. It was cold and damp with the front that came through so it was not an enjoyable passage.
We hit the rack hard at 4:00am and did not even set an alarm. We knew we would have plenty of time to cross Lake Ontario since we only had to transit 150 on Saturday to meet up with the new owners in Oswego, NY.
The entrance to Port Colborne, Ontario
Reel'n in the Years tied up waiting for entrance to the Welland Canal
A gloomy and overcast day. We got off Lake Erie just as the weather tuned.
A big freighter coming out of the Welland
The rest of the ship coming out of the Welland
Our night time view of the Welland. I took this picture at 2:00am as we waited to enter the lock.
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