655'10" bulk carrier HELENA G unloading steel at the port on August 21, 2019 |
Thank goodness for the Port of Oshawa. I cannot tell you how many times it has been my release. My breath of fresh air. An eyes wide open relax app. Wherever it is that you jump on Ontario's multi-lane super highway 401, from that moment forward it's go-go NOW, or get the HECK out of my way. It's nuts and just as you start motoring along at a comfortable speed it's suddenly dead stop and crawl for the next 60 kilometres east until you are at Harmony, the road exit off the 401 rat-race, that is. Harmony actually becomes Farewell Street which you continue for a bit until you turn right on Harbour Road, and then left on Simcoe Street South to the parking lot at Lakeview Park. Kill the engine and after maybe a two minute walk past more often crashing waves onto the park's long Lake Ontario beach, you're there, a boat watchers heaven with few limitation to catch saltie bulk carriers, tankers and Great Lakes self unloader offering in-your-face action on the other side of the pier, or sometimes both. Oh YAAA 👍🚢👍
McNally fleetmate WHITBY working at Oshawa harbour entrance on July 20. |
SANDRA MARY below Welland Canal Lock 1 on April 12, 2006 by Capt. Paul Beesley of St. Catharines Photo courtesy: https://www.shiphotos.com |
The other compact and very versatile tug tied off along that wall was the 73'9" LA PRAIRIE. The also twin screw harbour tug was built in 1975 for the St. Lawrence Seaway Authority at East Isle Shipyard in Georgetown, PEI.
However just like this past weekend LA PRAIRIE makes her annual passage to Montreal and becomes available to conduct icebreaking operations along the South Shore Canal between St. Lambert and Côte Ste-Catherines Locks. That's where LA PRAIRIE was going when I caught her pushing water by the Port of Johnstown in these two photos on December 11, 2020. Eric Vice, who is a member of my Facebook ship watching group mentioned to me about LA PRAIRIE's amazing maneuverability which allows her to complete a 180 degree turn in a seaway lock which is useful when flushing ice flows out or scraping chunks of ice off the walls to keep the lock at its maximum 80' width.
On my first rendezvous with LA PRAIRIE she was entering Iroquois Lock while bound for Oshawa on April 28, 2015. For more information about this cute little toot and her owners, check out my original blogpost https://carlzboats.blogspot.com/2015/09/harbour-tug-laprairie.html |