Ships, trains and airplanes. There’s something about a vehicle that takes the driver a matter of minutes, not seconds, to travel from front to back. And, of course, there’s something eternally romantic and exciting about travel over water with no land in sight.
When we caught up with the Frontenac, there was indeed land in sight for the crew. The Great Lakes freighter was transiting the final lock in it’s journey through the Welland Canal. The journey between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario takes, on average, eleven hours. The distance covered over those eleven hours? Just 43 kilometres or 27 miles.
Frontenac Image Gallery
The photos in the gallery below were taken both while the Frontenac was in the lock and on its slow journey toward Lake Ontario, underneath the Garden City Skyway in St. Catharines, Ontario. The images have been cropped to fit the gallery setup. Click on the individual pictures for full sized versions of the photos.
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Frontenac (Canada Steamship Lines)
The Frontenac was built by Davie Shipbuilding Ltd. in Lauzon, Quebec for Canada Steamship Lines. The Great Lakes freighter was launched on December 12, 1967. This was the last the company built as a classic straight deck bulk carrier with the wheelhouse at the forward of the ship.
This self discharging bulk carrier is 222.44 metres or 730 feet in length with a beam (width) of 22.97 metres or 75 feet. This is fairly tight fit in the Welland Canal. Currently, the maximum length for a ship passing through the waterway is 740 feet with a maximum width of 78 feet.
The Frontenac has a capacity for 28,622 tons of cargo. A bit of a free agent, this ship is not dedicated to any one commodity.
Back in November, 1977, the ship was grounded in the bed of the St. Lawrence River. In October, 1984, it collided with the tugboat William A. Lydon in dense fog on Lake Erie near Point Pelee.
Welland Canal
The Welland Canal covers a 43 kilometre or 27 mile span between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. This covers a 99.5 metre or 326 foot elevation change and allows ships to climb the Niagara Escarpment and avoid the Niagara River and Niagara Falls. There are now just eight locks along the route, considerably less than when the canal was first opened.
Original construction began in 1824. The waterway first opened in November, 1829. At that time, there were 40 locks and each were just 33.5 metres in length. The current route was completed in 1935 with the Welland by-pass added in 1973. In several areas, you can see remnants of locks no longer in use.
The maximum boat length is 225.6 metres or 740 feet. The maximum beam, or width, is 23.8 metres or 78 feet. Ships take an average of eleven hours to cover the 43 kilometres between the two lakes.
The Welland Canal Parkway Trail runs the full distance and is open to cyclists and pedestrians. In theory, you could chase one of these massive ships by foot from end to end.
Can You Board This Ship As A Passenger?
Sort of. You can’t just call up and book a room on a Great Lakes freighter. However, the shipping companies raffle off trips, raising money for charity. These are very rare. You can find a listing of raffles here: Boat Nerd.
Visit the official profile page for the Frontenac at the Canada Steamship Lines website.
