Trip Plan HELP With New Boat-Erie/Welland/Ontario

S

Shel

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If everything goes according to plan I will be cruising a 1989 Tollycraft 34 Sport Sedan from Pelee Island on the west side of Lake Erie to my Marina on the Rideau River Ontario during the last two weeks of August.

This is a new to me boat, first time with twins, new waters, and bigger waters than I'm use to. Needless to say I am a little nervous.

I will be picking up cruising guides for Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, so that should help.

I am thinking I will need up to 7 days to cruise the north side of Erie to the Welland Canal, then cross Lake Ontario and enter into the Bay of Quinte. Then I will take another 7 days to get to my marina on the Rideau.

Does 7 days sound like enough time to do the Pelee Island to Bay of Quinte leg of the trip?

What are the must see places along the north side of Lake Erie? Nicest Marinas? Any nice anchorages?

Anything I need to know about Lake Erie that a newcomer would need to know in terms of safety?

I have the same questions about Lake Ontario, from St Catherines to Bay of Quinte.

If she does well on the survey and sea trial, this is the boat we will be cruising in.
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Any information and help anyone can give would be appreciated.

We are very excited about the new boat and the trip we are about to take.

Shel
 
Shel

Definitely get the Lakeland Cruising Guide for Erie. Seven days on Erie would be good. You won’t find any anchorages unless you cross over to Port Erie in Erie Pa. Erie can get very rough and you will need to watch the reports.

From Pelee you could hop (north) over to Leamington. There is a cheap taxi guy to take you around to the wineries or restaurants. From there you could get a in a long day and go to Port Stanley.
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I would go up river to Kanagio Yacht club, last place on the port before a low fixed bridge. Someone there will give you a car and you can check out Stanley…cute little town, nice shops and beaches. You can walk or bike to town also.

From Stanley I would go to Port Dover.
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Go up river to the Port Dover Yacht club. When approaching the point to the west of Port Dover stay a couple miles off as you round the point and head north to Port Dover. Dover has a great beach, shopping, and restaurants. We love it there. From Dover you will want to go to Colborne and set up for the Welland. You will be down bound which isn’t too bad. Friends of mine went through last month and were allowed to go through (down bound only) with just 2 onboard. Cost is $200

Between me and my friends and other Lake Erie boatered RO's we can tell you all you want to know about Lake Erie, all the way around. There are more stops between the ones I mentioned. They will all be in the guide. If any look interesting we can give you the scoop. Don’t even think about Port Burwell though!!

Good luck
Niles
 
Niles,

Thanks! For the first night we were thinking of staying at a marina on Pelee. Would you recommend a Marina on that Island. From there we were thinking of Port Stanley. We have 7 days to also do Lake Ontario. So I was thinking of 3-4 days in Erie, and I would hope that would account for any bad weather as well. Do you think it is a stretch to go from Port Stanley to Port Colborne in one day?

We were talking to the head captain at the Welland Canal, he said he will allow us to have just the two of us since we are down bound.

Thanks,
Shel
 
Winds are usually NW on Erie correct? So there is a good chance I will have a following sea all the way across Lake Erie? From what I have heard about the boat I am buying, she is fantastic in a head wind, but a following sea she can be a bit unnerving. If the wind is <= 15 knots, it should only have 1-3 footers, which should be fine.
 
I would would assume the boat is already in best marina on Pelee, Scudder's. There really isn't much on Pelee. Because of that we have never stopped there. PS to Colborne would be a long day...what is your cruise speed? I will look up the distance tonight.

Niles
 
Niles, given the correct conditions we should be cruising at 20 knots. If the following seas are bigger than 3 feet, I will be more comfortable going slower, maybe 8-10 knots.
 
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Shel
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SLW, that is a good point. I think we may change the plan a little and instead of staying at Pelee, we will import the boat into Canada at Pelee and immediately, go to Leamington for the evening.

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Pelee is very limited as far as supplies, but it's also beautiful and they have a great winery. If you have the luxury of time, the winery will send a free shuttle to the marina where you can buy gifts, sample wine and buy food for you to BB-Q on their gas grills. I wouldn't blame you though, for not wanting to leave your new boat on your first day aboard as the owner...

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The marina basin is at the top center of the island. It contains two piers with floating fingers and a wall. One pier is operated by Scudder, the other is WesMarine. Leamington is apx 10 miles north, and as Niles mentioned, has flat-fair taxis, a large marina with fuel, and will be a much easier place to get those last minute parts and provisions.

You are correct, chances are you'll have the prevailing wind to your stern. If you get a good day, I'd advise taking advantage of it and getting as far as possible. I've run from Geneva-on-the-Lake to Port Colborne in a day, and that's probably a similar distance from Port Stanley to Port Colborne. (you'll have to clear the point though, so it could be further)

I would also keep in mind that this is basically a shake-down cruise, so you may want to plan a stop during long runs to check fluids, leaks etc.

Port Colborne also has a basin containing 2 marinas. Marlon is the smaller one to the east. They have a ships store and a fuel dock. Sugarloaf is the larger one on the west part of the basin. They have a small shop and a restaurant and nice facilities.

There's no telling whether SeaWay Welland will put you against the wall, or raft you. Even if there are only 2 boats going through, they may raft them so they don't have to feed lines to separate boats. If you're not rafted, your fenders will take a beating. Last summer the Marlon fuel attendants GAVE US nice synthetic burlap sleeves to slide over the fenders. They worked great. Unless you don't mind slime on your fenders, you may want to call ahead to see if they can provide them.

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Thanks SLW.

The Lock Master at the Welland Canal said that he lets newcomers stay on the lock docks, where the phone is to call in. Is that advisable?

Slime on fenders!? I thought that was what they were for! :-) We lock all the time so we are use to messy fenders. But I want the boat to look its best when I am traveling so I will take those covers if they have them. Thanks for letting me know.

Another good point about the shakedown. I will plan for intermittent checks of engines and systems on those long hauls.

Thanks,
Shel
 
Don't count on those west winds:) When are you doing this?

Niles
 
SeaWay Welland is a well-oiled machine. I don't doubt anything they say. You HAVE to tie there to call in, but as you can see, there's no power or water. So after a long day on the lake, and before a loooong day in the canal, I personally want hook-ups and facilities for the night.

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The good news is that it's right in town, so if you go up a flight of stairs and you can walk around. The marinas are a hike away.
 
If all goes well, we will be picking up the boat at Pelee Island on Aug 16, then we will start out on our two week journey home.
 
Good luck. We did something similar this year. We started out in bay City Mi with our new to us boat and spent the next 12 days and 436 miles bringing her home. We got luckly and only had 1 day of rough water…crossing Saginaw Bay. Our shakedown issues were crap in the fueltanks (still fighting this) and a fried shore power receptacle.

Niles
 
In regards to your comment about your discomfort with twins, Leamington is almost an ideal first port. It's a short run, and when you get there, the marina has lots of room, tons of transient wells and the best dock hands on the Great Lakes. They take reservations, so you can request a well away from other boats. (no pilings or uprights, but that doesn't matter if they put you in a well by yourself) Your visit will co-incide with their Tomato Festival. I have no idea how much boat traffic that will bring, so it might be a good idea to give them a call ahead of time.

When you hail them, they'll give you a dock assignment and tell you how and where to place your fenders, and then two dockhands will meet you at the dock carrying portable radios. They also understand spring lines, so have lines ready for them and they'll make you look like a pro.

If they do have empty wells, it would be a great opportunity to practice some twin-screw docking manuevers. Ronan, the manager, may even be able to recommend a captain to come by and offer some tips?

I plotted a quick course from Stanley to Colborne. It's 95 nm. That's 4:45 minutes at 20 knots. So it's not an unreasonable run in good seas...
 
Sheldon
Congratulations on the new ride! You even managed to pick up a few feet over the Tiara you were interested in (good move). Nice looking boat. Best of Luck on the maiden voyage. If you are ever in my neck of the lake look me up.
Don
 
Thanks Don! Why don't you meet me at Leamington on Aug 16th in your Carver, and help me cruise across Erie for the week! ;-D

SLW, we are absolutely going to stay at Leamington. We have a captian hired to deliver the boat to Canada, so we may hire him for a while longer to take us to Leamington and give me some docking pointers.

Sounds like I will make two trip plans, one fair weather plan for longer day trips, and a not so fair weather plan for shorter trips.

Thanks,
Shel
 
So, when I get through the Welland, I doubt we will want to go much further. Where is a nice place to stay on the north end of the Welland? St. Catherines?

Shel
 
With the great lakes plans don't last long!! On our deleivery we were on plan b the morning of day 1 when we woke to big winds and small craft advisory!!
Niles
 
I've had left-over energy when the doors to Lock 1 open and spill us into Lake Ontario. It's going UP that's so exhausting.

Transit times the Welland are typically between 5.5 and 7 hours, but that can double, or even triple if there's a malfunction or heavy freighter traffic. When you hear of boats taking 15-20 hours to get through, they're probably including the waiting time after they checked in, not total time in the canal itself. They do NOT, btw, lock-through pleasure boats and freighters in the same lock at the same time. Pleasure boats wait and yield.

So having said that, if you have a speedy transit and Lake Ontario is friendly, you might still be up for a run. I've run straight up to Toronto and thought nothing of it. (in contrast to going up, after which I can barely adjust the throttles)

Last year we exited the canal at sunset, and had a beautiful cruise to the city.

If you want or need to stay put, there are two marinas that I know of near the canal. One is up and around the east breakwall, and another is tucked in the corner by the breakwall by the "pond" in St. Catherines. I think the latter is listed as a YC, but Lakeland Boating would give better info. I also think Lakeland Boating suggests that the waters near the first marina are a good anchorage, but again, you'd have to check the guide to be sure.

SeaWay Welland wants you to review a guide before you transit the canal. I THINK it's this document:

http://www.lakelandboating.com/seaway/pleasurecraftguide.pdf
 
Thanks for all the info SLW. I have also printed that pdf, great stuff!

Thanks,
Shel
 
Yeah - Like I am up for tossing a spare $600-700 into those 2 blue pigs below the deck!!!!
Wish it were just a couple weeks earlier and I was at Cedar Point... :)
Really, Have a great trip.
Don
 
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