Welland Canal

BBC Europe cleared the Welland Canal yesterday and her ETA for Fort Lauderdale is December 23/21

Today a new Sunseeker and Sailboat were on the deck of the Minervagracht up bound Welland Canal.

Yes up bound on December 15/21 which is late in the year as the Seaway closes December 31/21.
It was a new Sunseeker going to dealer St Clair Shores MI
The ship that took down all the yachts last week was over two months late arriving here she is do in Halifax December 20/21
and gave an ETA for Fort Lauderdale for December 23/21 when she departed Sarnia.

BBC Europe has been in Halifax for five days now she blew a Head Gasket on the main engine they are waiting for parts.

BBC Europe departed Halifax Sunday morning do Port Everglades December 31/21 01:00

Canada Border Services Agency
COVID-19 notices: March 17, 2022
Starting April 1, 2022, pre-entry tests will no longer be required for fully vaccinated travellers entering Canada by land, air or water. Until then, follow the pre-entry test requirements.
https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/menu-eng.html
I have had several calls last few weeks from American yachts coming to Great Lakes this summer.
You will no longer need pre-entry test but will be required to be vaccinated.
You must install ArriveCan APP on your phone and have it filled out before you arrive.
NOTE:
Last two years Delivery Captains and his crew plus the owners Captain and crew were allowed to fill out a forum (VPLAN)
for Canada Customs which considered them Essential Workers and they were exempt from pre-entry test plus they did not have to be vaccinated but will probably be not used this year as Essential Workers now have to be vaccinated to cross border .
Also the mayors of Niagara Falls NY and Niagara Falls Ontario are pushing the Federal Government to drop the requirement to be vaccinated to boost Tourism in Ontario and border towns.

New Viking Cruise Ship
The new Viking Cruise Ship (OCTANTIS) 672' X 77'9" made for the Great Lakes.
The lock are 740' X 80'

Her expected arrival is on 26/04/22 in Montreal and then she will be heading up the Seaway to the Great Lakes soon after – so let’s learn a bit about her!
She is the first Cruise Ship in 3 years, having embarked on her maiden voyage in January 2022 from the shipyard where she was built - Fincantieri’s VARD in Romania. THIS will be the ship to see Ship Junkies!!
What’s SO special about her, you ask?
SHE’S HUGE – This huge Polar Class 6 cruise ship is 672’.7” ft long and 77’.9” ft wide (378 guests in 189 staterooms). “The Viking Octantis is BIG – bigger than a FedNav ship (just to put things into perspective for you)”
SHE CAN GO ANYWHERE – she will sail on voyages to Antarctica and remote Polar regions, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and the Great Lakes.
EVERY MEMBER WILL SEE HER FROM THE EAST COAST, UP THE SEAWAY TO THE FURTHEST GREAT LAKE – She is the first of this size to travel through this region and spend a full summer season here. She will make a total of 7 trips from Milwaukee to Thunder Bay - which will be the turnaround port for her in the Great Lakes.
SHE WILL NEED 2 PILOTS –As some of you might already know - anything with a foreign flag over 300GT requires a pilot. No exceptions. The Great Lakes Pilotage Authority (GLPA) Pilots that will be on her this season all had to go for a refresher “simulator” course getting used to “Azipods” in March. They will have to put a 77’ ship into an 80’ lock with no visual reference of the side of the ship and clearance of the lock chamber. They will need to make direct entries. (No sliding of approach walls).
SHE IS REFERRED TO AS A ‘PAX’ SHIP – Which translates to a “ship that carries passengers.”
SHE IS ‘GREEN’ - designed to have a minimal environmental impact & meet biosecurity standards & stringent emission norms.
HER DESIGN IS NOT ONLY BEAUTIFUL, BUT ALSO ‘SMART’ – the modern Scandinavian inspired design has a straight bow, long hull, and state-of-the-art fin stabilizers to enable the ship to efficiently sail over the ice waves. The straight bow will reduce fuel consumption while the onboard dynamic positioning system will enable the ship to hover over the seabed without anchoring. U-tank stabilizers will decrease rolling by up to 50% when the ship is stationary. The hangar or the in-ship marina on the ship will enable the launch of small excursion craft through the multiple shell doors of the ship. The hangar will offer an 85ft slipway that allows the guests to embark on rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) from a flat, stable surface inside the ship.
SHE IS SO BIG – THAT A MODEL & COURSE SIMULATOR HAD TO BE DEVELOPED FOR GLPA PILOTS FOR TRAINING PURPOSES - the GLPA and with the participation of Viking Ocean Cruises, the Maritime Simulation and Expertise Center (CSEM) was mandated to create the mathematical model of Viking Octantis and geographical databases of the places that will be visited by the ship, which adds to the vast portfolio already developed over the past 15 years for the training of GLPA pilots. She is a brand-new vessel, and Pilots who command her will need to familiarize themselves with the dimensions, type of propulsion and multiple destinations to ensure safe navigation for passengers and crew as well as for the environment.
A REFRESHER AZIPOD COURSE IS A GOOD THING! - Designed for optimal transport inside the locks of the Seaway and the Weiland Canal, the Viking Octantis is equipped with two Azipods (Azimuth thruster pods – a gearless 360° steerable propulsion system launched in 1990, where the electric motor is located in a submerged pod outside the ship hull.) By utilizing the Azipod system’s maneuverability, marine vessels can direct thrust in any direction with incredible precision, saving time and fuel. An advantage that, however, requires adjustments and familiarization on the part of everyone especially in the Locks.

Canada Customs
LOCAL : NEWS
Niagara marinas, boating clubs eager for cross-border ports of entry to reopen
With only 1 port of entry open on river, boating hours away to nearest reporting site 'not very convenient': sailing club manager

Set Niagara-on-the-Lake as My Local news
By Zahraa Hmood
Tue., May 17, 2022timer3 min. read

updateArticle was updated 3 hrs ago

• 
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  “It’s not very convenient,” said Mark Minor, general manager of the NOTL Sailing Club. “It makes people maybe not want to come from the States to Canada if that’s where they have to go to check in.”
  
  Beyond using up time, it also presents a safety issue, said Ciupa and Douglas Bienko, commodore of the Buffalo Yacht Club, which has the Point Abino Station in Fort Erie.
  
  “Lake Erie is known for picking up quickly,” Bienko said, describing the lake’s conditions. “You’re spending an extra four hours on the water.”
  
  A spokesperson for the CBSA told Niagara this Week the agency is making sure sufficient resources are available to manage the border, including potentially sending officers to a telephone reporting site to examine and confirm travellers are complying with public health requirements.
  
  As of April 1, fully vaccinated travellers no longer need to provide a pre-entry COVID-19 test result, but partially or unvaccinated travellers do. Those arriving still need to submit other information through the ArriveCAN app within 72 hours of re-entering Canada.
  
  The CBSA said it is conducting an analysis to determine where the closures of reporting sites are impacting its communities most significantly. As it resumes services, the agency will be considering, among other criteria, pre-COVID volumes, proximity to other reporting sites, and the availability of CBSA resources to provide services due to distance.
  
  Niagara Falls MP Tony Baldinelli brought this issue before the House of Commons on May 16, pressing the government reopen sites like Smuggler's Cove and the Greater Niagara Boating Club in Chippawa.
  
  
  “We need to meet the demands of our boating community by having all sites in Niagara reopened,” he said.
  
  The CBSA spokesperson did not provide a timeline of when the marinas can expect to reopen their reporting sites.
  
  Ciupa said he’s surprised they haven’t been reopened already, with Victoria Day coming up on May 23, and on the other side of the border, Memorial Day on May 30. Holiday weekends usually see a high volume of cross-border boating activity, he said.
  
  “We’re always hopeful, and we’re patient, but we share the same frustrations of thousands of other recreational boaters in Niagara,” said Ciupa.
  
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New Secret 242'
Today she went up bound Welland Canal bound for Chicago.
This is the first time a large Yacht has gone up bound in the Montreal section of Seaway and the Welland Canal.
We had 25 knot winds in the Welland Canal he did a good job'
The reason she went with no lines is the Seaway dose not have lines men any more do to Hands Free Mooring System.
If he wanted to go with lines she would have to wait until the Seaway get a few employees to take her through.

Azimut 87'
Took this Azimut up the Welland Canal this week.
When the Captain was planning his trip up the Erie Canal his air draft was to high for the bridges even after he removed everything off the hard top.
To avoid going the long way around Halifax to Montreal which adds 1600 miles to your trip he had a friend calculate how much weight he would have to put on board to lower him six inches.
They stopped on the Hudson River at a marina a purchased eighteen fifty gallon plastic drums and filled them with water and put on the bow and stern and in the saloon.
When they got to Oswego they gave them to a farmer.