Captain Eli and Mate Graham had an early start leaving Kelly’s Island in Ohio to venture on their remaining two days of the journey. They arrived in Sarnia, Ontario, to check themselves and the all new Sabre 48 Salon Express into Canada. Customs was a breeze taking only an hour to clear. They then left Sarnia and entered Great Lake Huron and traveled an additional hundred miles north to Kincardine, Ontario, where they spent their final night. The waters of Sarnia and Lake Huron are the cleanest of all the great lakes with sparkling turquois water that makes one think of the Caribbean.
Day 13, lucky 13, was spent traveling to their ultimate destination of the Georgian Bay down to Penetanguishene (say that fast three times) Harbor. The ride up through the Reserves and National Parks resembles cruising in Maine so now we understand why this boat feels so at home.
Lessons learned throughout this delivery:
- Double check with canals for lock closures or other canal interupptions
- Stay in the Erie Canal if your boat can fit under the 15.7′ bridge heights
- Dockage is free while traveling through the canal, make sure you bring a 30amp splitter as there are no 50amp services
- Travel with large poly ball fenders and inexpensive lines that will frayed and dirty
- Bring a good pair of rubber gloves to ascending and descending locks as they are slimmy and gross
- Bring fishing rods
- Fuel up in Troy, NY before entering the canal system, for a better price per gallon, but there are plenty of places to stop along the way
- Destinations that are a must in NY; Spencerport, Brockport, Holley & Albion
- Captain Eli recommends you avoid the following stops in the NY canal; Amsterdam & Medina
- Do not speed in the canal system; they know if you do
- For the average boater plan on 6 days of casual cruising to go from Troy to Buffalo
- NY has a great website for the Canals: https://www.canals.ny.gov/index.shtml
Oh Canada
