Day 2 of 8: Welland Canal and Niagara Falls

This morning during breakfast we passed under the Allanburg Bridge on the way to today’s destination, Port Colborne. Allanburg Bridge is one of four vertical-lift bridges over the Welland Canal, located in Allanburg, Ontario, Canada. It was constructed and completed in 1930 and was used for the groundbreaking ceremony for the entire canal. The bridge marks the closest point to Niagara Falls that we passed on Viking Octantis. In August 2001, the bridge was struck by the MS Windoc, which caught fire when the lift span was lowered before the ship cleared the structure. After repairs to the bridge, it reopened to vehicle traffic in November, 2001. (stock photo of Allenburg Bridge)

We arrived at the final Welland Canal Lock #8 at 10:30 am, another of the four vertical-lift bridges crossing the Welland Canal, followed shortly after by the Clarence Bridge. Lock #8 is the longest of the eight locks, at 1,150 feet, but with the least vertical lift. The other seven locks are each 776 feet long and the Octantis fits nicely at her 665 length. However, the width of the locks is 78 feet, while Octantis is 77 feet wide, making for a very tight fit side-to-side. 

Inside the eigth and final lock of the Welland Canal

Exiting lock #8

Passing a cargo freighter after leaving lock #8

The captain provided this photo of the tight squeeze faced by Viking Octantis. Quite a stressful evening for the captain as he navigated eight of these narrow locks.

The lift-bridges provide 120 feet of clearance and Octantis is 113’ tall, so it also gives the perception of a tight squeeze. The total increase in sea level from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie is 327 feet, across 27 miles of the Welland Canal. Each of the first seven locks raise vessels about 46 feet, while lock #8 at Lake Erie is a control lock with a shallow lift of less than four feet.

The Clarence Street Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge located in Port Colborne, Ontario. Built between 1927–1929 during the 4th Welland Canal Construction, the bridge still serves today as a vital automotive passage. The structure uses simple electric motors and counterweights to raise the deck 120 feet above passing vessels. The raising and lowering of the bridge takes about 90 seconds.

Viking Octantis passing underneath the Clarence Bridge:

The Welland Canal, its locks and lift bridges are engineering marvels, so we stayed on deck most of the morning watching our progress until we docked at Port Colborne on the north shore of Lake Erie. 

After lunch, we boarded a bus for the Niagara Discovery tour, a 4-hour trip covering various views of Niagara Falls and the Niagara River upstream and downstream from the falls.

Niagara River just upstream of the falls

Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian sde

Niagara River downstream whirlpool

Niagara flower clock

Upon return to Octantis, the Viking crew welcomed us with a champagne toast. We were on the first bus, so we had time for a visit to the onboard gym before dinner, followed once again by three desserts (gellato with crushed Oreos, vanilla cheesecake and an oatmeal cookie).

Octantis set sail from Port Colborne at 7:30 pm, expecting to reach our next destination of Point Pelee by 9:00 am Monday morning. But first, the Captain and crew invited all passengers to a welcome reception, including a short performance by our onboard enterainment, a wonderful musical duo from Kiev, Ukraine.