Ice Strengthened Expedition Ship OCEAN EXPLORER

And then there was one piece left in my latest jigsaw puzzle to be placed. Not a logo or a flag this time around but instead this piece featured something most of us boatnerds probably had never seen before prior to this shipping season, a deckhand standing on a platform extended out of the bow of the uniquely designed passenger ship OCEAN EXPLORER just feet above Iroquois Lock's water level on September 6, 2022. 

The upbound 342.5' OCEAN EXPLORER was one of about seven foreign flagged passenger ships to cruise along the Seaway and Great Lakes for most of last summer. After two shipping seasons of seeing virtually no cruise ship passages due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it was pretty amazing to see all of these huge liners and for me especially, this one again with its unique ULSTEIN CX130 reversed bow.

OCEAN EXPLORER has a beam of 59' which allows her slightly more the a 10' of play in the 80' wide lock. Her width would normally allow vessels her size the ability to stay dead centre in the chamber and slip through the guard lock quite quickly once the outer gates are opened.  However on that day the 162 passenger vessel was encountering strong winds and with gusts of approximately 30km/hr and since Iroquois Lock is not equipped with Hands-free Mooring equipment like the flight locks, tying her up was going to be needed. 

The "fo'c's'le" or "forecastle" which is pronounced "fok-sell" (easy for me to say 😬), is the forward deck of a ship. It derives its name from sailing ships days when the raised forward deck was known as the fore-castle, a typically raised, castle like platform for archers to shoot down on enemy ships, and as a defensive stronghold if the ship were boarded. Also as it was then and on most vessels we see on the Great Lakes these days, essential machinery used for anchoring and tying off a ship is located on that forward deck. Not the case as you can see for the OCEAN EXPLORER with its inverted X-Bow, as her "fo'c's'le" is located below deck beneath an attractive forward observation area. 

   

While it great that her anchor windlass and tie-off winches are well protected from harsh salty seas, getting a line ashore is another matter. Quite a delicate operation as seen in these pics of the deckhand feeding a line to the right of the wheelhouse so that a deckhand there can toss it below to the lock linesman.

With the lines secured, it's all stop as first the gate arrester is lowered...

...then the bascule bridge...the gates are almost closed in the background too.

Due to the winds forcing the levels downstream, the built in 2021 ice-strengthened expedition ship is raised about a foot that day to Lake Ontario levels.

The patented ULSTEIN X-bow design on OCEAN EXPLORER offers her the ability to navigate with improved stability in comparison to the traditional bow designs. X-bow vessels are less subject to vertical motions induced by waves continuing on course smoothly while maintaining her top speed of 16 knots.  Also her engines use less fuel resulting in reduced air emissions and fuel consumption.

Iroquois Lock's west end gates begin to open....

...the lock's linesman stands ready by the snubbing post to let go of the line...

...not a commander's salute like what Meg Meakin gets every time a ship passes by her neighbour's Thousand Island dock, but instead a single blast from the EXPLORER's horn signals it's time let go the lines...

...the linesman pulls up the loosened but still heavy mooring line...

...and then walks it towards lock wall...

...line is let go...

...then hauled into the"fo'c's'le" from the lowered platform...

...the platform raises and time to get underway...

I got myself a big wave from a ship's officers which moments earlier was spot the distance to lock wall as the American owned but flagged the Bahamas OCEAN EXPLORER makes another trip into the Great Lakes. 

Before returning this spring along with her sister OCEAN POLARIS, the Polar Class 6 ice breaking cruise ships built with the capability to cut through a metre or 3 feet of ice, will have been exploring the south seas around Antarctica during our winter months. Now that's a voyage I'll definitely be adding to my bucket list. 

    

Thanks again Alan Wooller for your technical assistance. Enjoy your upcoming shipping season on the veteran 730' gearless bulk carrier, TIM S.DOOL. I have photographed her many times including when named SENNEVILLE I got her at Ramey's Bend when then she was the first downbound laker to enter and transit the new 8 mile long Welland Bypass on March 28, 1973. 

It was a big day because previously ships would have to make a fairly sharp turn to the left at "Ramey's Bend" (when the location was actually a change in direction) and continue along a narrow and fairly straight channel for a time. After passing beneath Bridge 18, which my dad use to operate in Dain City and I rode a few times too, a downbound would pass under four more lift and by a swing bridge before cutting through the heart of Welland's busy downtown core. While I have many fun memories of those days, many others were frustrated with the delays and the car traffic gridlock that happened when especially the Main Street bridge, #13 went up for one or sometimes more vessels. It was as it was but the outcries resulted in the excavation of a bigger ditch, with two tunnels to keep the car and rail traffic moving and fairly straight and much wider channel between Port Colborne and Port Robinson. It was the definition of progress then and still today almost 50 years later.

Above Lock 2: Upbound Self Unloader ALGOMA TRANSPORT

No question about it the observation deck at Lock 3 on the Welland Canal in St. Catharines is a unique place to photograph ships entering, being raised or lowered in the flight lock and then getting underway and out. However if you're looking for a place to park the car and get up-close and almost personal with a Great Lakes boat, above Lock 2 is one of the best vantage points on the canal, and that's where Janice and I caught the upbound 730' self unloader ALGOMA TRANSPORT on September 18, 2016. See for yourself:

 Yes, like everywhere else on the Welland Canal there's chain-linked fences there too but with the right camera 📷lens or cell 📲 phone you can get a pretty decent shot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bow plates on the then 37 years former Upper Lakes Shipping self unloader is showing their wear from rubbing on lock walls over and over again. At just under 76' wide, there's not a lot of room to spare in an 80' foot wide Welland and Seaway locks hence the rough look on even the newest of lakers.

My better-half, Janice got this neat shot with her iPhone. Pretty ugly clouds that day.

My turn to catch her line-rubbed bow and barbed-wire fence. Some things you simply can't crop out.

She was known as the CANADIAN TRANSPORT when built in 1979 just down the canal at Port Weller Dry Docks. Now owned by Heddle Marine of Hamilton, you can see all the action going on there these days from another neat viewing area above Lock 1.

Downbound fleetmate 729' gearless bulk carrier ALGOMA DISCOVERY approaches from Lock 3.

Riding high in ballast, the TRANSPORT's superstructure and twin stacks look ever taller from down below at wall level.

Powered with twin 10,000 horsepower diesel engines, the ALGOMA TRANSPORT picks up speed and veers left (or port) as the ALGOMA DISCOVERY makes her way across her bow over to Lock 2's approach wall.

ALGOMA TRANSPORT looked pretty good earlier from below Lock 2 too, eh!
 

Self Unloader LOUIS R. DESMARAIS

Here's an interesting snap from Shaun, a patient of my son-in-law, Rod, (who is a chiropractor here in Kanata), of the CSL self unloader LOUIS R. DESMARAIS entering upbound into Iroquois Lock. After being launched in Collingwood in 1977, the 730'x75' DESMARAIS was quite a versitile ship, able to service a variety of trades from coal to cement clicker to Seaway and Great Lakes ports in the summer months, and also being built with a bulbous bow which would have allowed her to handle forceful wave action with ease when working deep-sea in the winter months or when meeting with larger 'ocean' bulk carriers in the Gulf of St. Lawrence or in the Canso Strait to transferring coal, destined elsewhere across the pond. I'm not certain when Shaun's snap was taken, except it had to be prior to 2000 when LOUIS R. DESMARAIS entered Port Weller Dry Docks for conversion to 'SeawayMax' dimensions. During her stay in dry dock, the forebody of the DESMARAIS was removed and replaced with a new one that was longer and wider, new  state-of-the-art automated self unloading equipment was installed and after all was said and done, she re-entered service in April 2001 with also a new name, CSL LAURENTIEN.

Last February, I snapped the 740'x 78' CSL LAURENTIEN (below) going nowhere sitting high and steadfast in Port Colborne's winter ice. Though sporting a very different look up-forward from Shaun's snap at Iroquois lock (top), the converted LAURENTIAN (http://carlzboats.blogspot.ca/2012/04/while-laid-up-for-winter-of-2005-in.html) gives every appearance of being a hard worker and providing a good return on investment. Meanwhile, regardless of whatever name is painted on her hull, that original LOUIS R. DESMARAIS bridge, accommodations, and engine-room stern section (above&right) is looking pretty good for her age. Nothing wrong with sprucing things up as times change. Could be good for business, the bottom-line and, survival. Know What I Mean, Jelly Bean?
PS: Thanks for the snap, Shaun. Feel free to send more my way, Carl c);-b

PHOTO UPDATE: December 6, 2020

For whatever reason, unfortunately I haven't been able to photograph the big CSL LAURENTIEN that often and in fact the last time was on July 2, 2016 from the elevated observation platform at the Welland Canal's Lock 3 in St. Catharines. In these pics you'll see the LAURENTIEN enter, then be lowered and continue on her downbound transit to Lock 2 and beyond. 

Hey, if you're looking for an upfront in-your-face place to check out boats of all sizes, Lock 3 is truly it.  Regardless of all of the restriction due to  COVID-19, the observation deck and Welland Canal Museum, also located there is open to the public though there are some changes to make your visit safe and enjoyable during this nasty pandemic. Just click on this link for details https://www.stcatharines.ca/en/St-Catharines-Museum.asp 

She appears to be so close you could touch ✋ her, but you can't.

The average lift (or drop) for the seven Welland Canal flight locks that acts as steps for ships to traverse the Niagara Escarpment is 46.5 feet (14.2 meters).

Shadow of me far left in shorts taking pic as CSL LAURENTIEN motors out of the lock 😀

Gone but not forgotten ALGOWOOD approaches the double-leaf bascule Homer Street Bridge in the distance.