Editor's note: Candace, James and Susannah are transiting the Welland Canal from Lake Ontario into Lake Erie on their way to Basil Port of Call:Buffalo, we'll be posting a few of their blogs from the Redpath Waterfront Festival Toronto event.
The Toronto Festival came together splendid after much hustle and bustle Friday and Saturday. The throngs of tourists get to enjoy the ships from the cool shade of the waterfront parks, a much needed luxury due to the HOT summer weather. I spent most of the morning today aboard the U.S. Brig Niagara receiving aloft orientation, what they call “Up and Overs”, from the ships Bosun. Tonight, my fellow interns and I bring our gear to Niagara. We are all very excited to sail aboard her in the race to the Welland Canal.
Monday, July 01
Today marks the final day of the Redpath Waterfront Festival Toronto and we are all three of us are looking forward to getting underway. This afternoon I helped take Candace and Susannah on their Up and Over aboard Niagara, the first time they have ever been aloft. I could tell it was a bit nerve wracking, but I think they are excited to keep trying. I also got to help the bosun by putting lanyards around some of the main shroud deadeyes. This is something that is important to the rigs structural integrity and needs to be done before we can alter the rig enough to fit through the canal. The process for doing this is simply putting the lanyard in a cow hitch around the deadeye and tightening it with a mallet. Essentially it is looped around itself. The end of the lanyard is then seized to itself. All in all, the Redpath festival has been very exciting, and visiting the ships and speaking with their crews has been both fun and educational. The summer is only just beginning.
-James
