Risley Works Aids to Navigation, Saves Bird
12/28:
Below is a report from crew member Paul Beesley aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Samuel Risley.
We left the Cornwall area on 22 December bound for the Welland Canal. En route we were tasked to replace several light buoys with winter spars. Most of these we did, but by the time we reached Lake Ontario the winds were up to 35 knots and they had kicked up the sea. There was no way we could lift the buoys in those conditions so we left them for the Simcoe and better weather conditions and headed West across the lake.
By heading West we steamed directly into the wind and the sea. It was an uncomfortable night but we reduced speed and arrived at Port Weller at 0830 on the 23rd. After all night bucking the wind and the waves we had accumulated a certain amount of ice on the decks, railings and rigging. Some of this had to be knocked off before we could tie up in Port Weller.
We finally tied up at wharf number 1, Port Weller, to load winter spars for the Welland Canal and to offload a few buoys from the St Lawrence River. As we approached the dock we noticed a seagull desperately trying to fly away, but the poor thing was frozen to the dock. The deckhands were careful not to disturb the bird too much while tying up. One fellow went so far as to spread a bit of salt around the creature in hopes the ice would melt.
Several hours later we had finished the buoys below lock one and were preparing to leave the dock. The bird was still frozen in. A couple of fellows approached carefully, wrapped a hand around the bird and cut the ice beneath it. The bird was finally free and wasted no time flying away. That is, as soon as it relinquished its beak-hold on the rescuer!
Just off Port Weller Dry Dock we placed a buoy to mark a shoal. This area will have its water level reduced over the winter but the yard needs to mark the shoal so their tugs can move around safely with various hulls and additions.
There is a fair amount of ice in the Canal and this caused problems at the locks and slowed down our transit. Also, the flight locks were only open on the West side. This also slowed down our transit.
We had to stop every so often to change one of the summer buoys, and we have to do all this work with our self-propelled barge as there is not enough water at the buoys for the ship to work safely. This also takes time.
During one of these trips in the barge we passed the Cuyahoga which was downbound for Toronto. We talked with the crew in passing and learned they would be upbound the next day, had 3 or 4 more trips left and would be laying up in Sarnia. The Montrealais also tootled by while we were out working in the barge.
We actually spent an hour waiting for lock 7 because of icing problems in the lock. By the time 11 PM rolled around we had only gotten as far as lock 7. When we left the lock the Seaway asked us to check a buoy at Thorold which was in the middle of the channel and thus an impediment to shipping. We picked that up and tied up just above lock 7.
Bright and early this morning, the 24th, we set out again to finish our transit and our buoy work. The Rt. Hon Paul Martin was downbound and we had to wait for her to pass before continuing.
Around about Port Robinson we picked up a buoy whose lantern had been smashed by the ice. By the way, the ice is between one and two inches thick and this is about the maximum thickness for our 26 foot barge.
We ended up in Port Colborne were we unloaded buoys and kept the bridge operator from an early Christmas Eve with his family. We went through the bridge 3 times in about 2 hours, the last time at 6 PM. Finally we tied up at the fuel dock in Port Colborne. We will be leaving here about 10 PM and moving to the East side of the canal because the Frontenac is due in the middle of the night. She should be the last ship through the Canal.
The weather forecast for Lake Erie on Christmas day is windy and very cold. We may end up staying the day in Port Colborne with the John Spence, Petite Forte and a couple of others. Then it will be off to Western Lake Erie to help out there.
Merry Christmas to all the Boatnerds from the crew of the Samuel Risley.
Reported by: Paul Beesley
