Boatnerding the St. Lawrence 3

Now it gets rough.

Nothing more coming through Clayton so we decided to head for Cape Vincent and catch the James Norris at Cape Vincent. Unfortunately there was an annual festival going on so we couldn't sit in town to wait. So we detoured around town and drove out to the Tibbett's Point lighthouse to wait. The wind was blowing like crazy out here where the St. Lawrence meets Lake Ontario. It's open water out here and the wind has had some time to get the water all stirred up. Not a day to be pleasure boating but the big fellas just keep slugging along. They probably just barely notice the weather is rough.

Here's the James Norris framed through the trees. If you can't tell its rough, check out the bow. That's not a bow wave, they're slamming through some heavy stuff.

Here's a distance shot of the Norris swinging to starboard as she heads out into open water. We figured it was keeping to the channel. While looking around, a silhouette appeared on the horizon. The Norris was swinging wide in the channel to allow the newcomer room to enter the river.

In about 10 minutes the CSL Niagara became identifiable through the camera. She was riding high and empty headed down river.

Here's a shot that gives a general impression of what the day was like after the weather closed in. It was raining sideways (an Alaskan term!) and blowing like mad. Everytime I opened the door to take a picture, the inside of the truck got all wet. Oh, what fun!

Yes there's a boat behind that! This was a chance shot as I accidently hit the shutter release before the wave hit. By the time it corrected the focus the splash was in full glory. Digital photography: just keep shooting, you'll get the good one.

Two More Shots!