Turning a big boat around in the Welland Canal

I woke before my alarm this morning and heard silence. The silence that I had gotten used to during lay-up. Today's silence meant something different, we were at anchor in the St Mary's River. I wasn't surprised by the quiet in my room because I heard that a ship ran aground in the St Mary's River yesterday, stopping all ships from passing. I looked at Marine Traffic before getting out of bed to confirm my suspicions and there we were, a little green dot with a few other green dots. I saw a green arrow headed in our direction on the bottom of the Marine Traffic screen, and knew that they would be joining us becoming a green dot too. We will all patiently wait to continue our journey.

We are the green dot with the circle around the dot. We dropped anchor around 04h30 Friday morning and were on our way again last night by 20h00. They delay was caused by a ship running aground in the St Mary’s River. There were ships backed up on both ends of the River.

We had a beautiful anchorage spot.

Delays are a part of shipping and normally I don't think about it, but I have to be off the ship by the 12th of April.  I am going to join Roger LeLievre from "Know Your Ships" in Algonac, MI April 13th for a book signing/Meet and greet. These events are so much fun and we enjoy meeting people. Mark the date on your calendar. Lorraine (my sister, best friend and publisher) and I will be there. Bring your books to be signed. We will also have the original cookbook "Recipes and Stories As We Sail Through Our Day" and the Children's book "The Stowaway Adventures" and be happy to sign them for you. I have only sailed by Algonac and look forward to my first visit there. The regular cook is coming back here in April so I am hopeful that the timing works out. This is a great job and I wish I could stay but I remind myself, I am where I am meant to be. 

We look forward to this event and meeting you there.

Thursday was an absolutely gorgeous day. We entered the Detroit river early Thursday morning. It was still dark but I could make out Detroit/Windsor in the distance. I calculated quickly in my head what time we would be going under the Blue Water Bridge. I enjoy going out and waving at the webcam under the bridge and to the shoreline of both the US and Canada. I usually try to go out and wave at other places along the way but I don't have an extra minute in my day while I am training the new second cook. He is a wonderful, kind person and he is going to make a fantastic second cook. He is extremely clean and organized. My days are busy but enjoyable. I have lots of groceries and between the jobs that Lorraine  and the new second cook have done, the galley is so nice and clean. I sometimes have to go over and see if the porthole is open, The second cook got it so clean it looks like there is no glass. I shared a little video with you on Wednesday when we left the Welland Canal on my YouTube channel @shiptoshorechef. I explained in the video that we would have to turn around and that is exactly what we did. I was trying to imagine where we would turn this big boat around which is the length of TWO football fields because the Welland Canal is narrow. That morning while I was preparing lunch, I kept looking out my pristine porthole and when I saw that we were starting to make the turn I hurriedly went out on deck to film this rare occasion. There was a tug on standby watching as we made the perfect 360. We then continued on our way retracing our path to Port Colborne, lock 8 and then made our way out onto Lake Erie and our first trip of the season to Thunder Bay. When the Captain came down for supper I commented on how interesting it was to see the ship do an unassisted 360 in such a small space. I asked if he filmed it and was so pleased when he said he would share his time-lapse video of the turn. He has the best view from the wheelhouse. Click on the following link/photo to see the 360 turn in Time-lapse and Real Time. 

We made it through Lock 8 before lunch and I caught sight of Sophia's Cafe in Port Colborne. I had been a few times during lay-up and fit-out. It was just a short walk from where the Spruceglen spent the winter. Sophia makes her own desserts and they are delicious. It is the perfect place to watch ships pass by as they slowly make their way into Lock 8, or slowly exit the lock as they make their way down to the next 7 locks taking them into Lake Ontario.

Leaving the Welland canal and entering Lake Erie

Being underway means that all the crew are on their regular hours and watches. It was a good feeling to be on the run again. A happiness in the air, beginning of the season, everyone is still rested from a winter at home. It is listed that we are going to Thunder Bay and I am extremely excited with where we are taking the grain after loading. I hope we don't lose too much time in the St Mary's River because this may also cause an additional delay in Thunder Bay. There may be ships ahead of us headed for Thunder Bay too. I am a planner by nature and continue to remind myself throughout the day not to think too far ahead. Enjoy each present moment. As I am writing to you I glance over at my big pink coffee cup. It's actually Lorraine's. She left it for me because after four years, my favorite Sarnia cup has a chip in it. A chip down to the ceramic leaving a whole for bacteria to hide. I have retired the mug and will take the mug home and set it on my desk as a souvenir. It was a gift when I returned to sailing and when I look at the cup I think of the joy that I felt returning to the world of sailing. I feel so very fortunate that I get to ride these majestic steel giants. Sharing my stories with you has added to my experience because I often take a second look or photo to share. Someone just passed by and there is no news to update when the St River will re-open. We are slowly being joined by more ships that are waiting for the river to open up again. I have quite a few photos to share with you. With my leftover pork from a previous supper I made pork chop suey which was really popular. I made a homemade cream of tomato soup that day and of course made grilled cheese sandwiches which always go well with the tomato soup. I offered a spinach salad as a third choice.

I set out all my ingredients for making the homemade tomato soup and the pork chop suey. I move my birthday flowers around to where I am working. this is my most favorite place to prepare food, the stove is right behind me when I stand at this counter. When I am not cooking I move my flowers over to the table where I have my laptop set up.

I always make grilled cheese sandwiches when I make homemade tomato soup. They go hand in hand. The spinach salad is great with the 3-M dressing (maple mustard dressing) in the book.

Pork chop suey is always more popular than I realize. It’s a great option for using up leftover pork.

When I made cinnamon buns on Sunday, I saved some of my cinnamon bun dough to make peach bundles. They are easy and quick. the next day I made Italian sausages on homemade buns and tomato sauce. I fried some onions and peppers to go with both. My second choice was a feta-spinach frittata and for dessert I made peanut butter cookies. It was funny because I baked a few peanuts on top of each cookie and after lunch I saw a trail of peanuts on the floor and up the stairs where someone had taken some cookies leaving a Hansel and Gretel trail to follow.

the little roller on the side is a keepsake from my mom.

These are simple and easy to make

I have also made them with half a fresh apple.

I was excited when we got the groceries and they sent this parmesan cheese. Normally we get the cheaper version. It made the plate look extra delicious.

I followed the Hansel and Gretel trail of peanuts down the hall and up the stairs. The disadvantage of putting peanuts on top of the cookie, it made me laugh though.

For supper I made baked salmon and the second choice was curried chickpeas, sweet potatoes and spinach. I made the most delicious cauliflower couscous salad from the first book. Every time I make it, I think, I should make this more often. The next day I made grilled Reuben sandwiches with the leftover smoked meat from a previous meal. I found beautiful marble rye in the freezer and it made a really nice grilled sandwich. I served it with a pasta salad. It took me a few days to put this story and video together, stealing a few moments here and there. The Starlink service is fantastic! I am so pleased. Each day I find a few extra minutes in my day as the new second cook takes on more responsibility.

sometimes as many as 10 crew members ask for their meals to be put on the side because they are either working or sleeping.

I love a Reuben sandwich. I served it with pasta salad and potato skins. I prefer the Reubens made with swiss cheese but we don’t have any, so I used cheddar.

My version of a Reuben sandwich. I don’t eat bread so I bring Tortillas made with almond flour. They made the perfect wrap for the Reuben sandwich. I made the sauce with sugar free ketchup. It would have been better if I had horseradish. I love the cauliflower couscous salad. It is in the book and definitely worth making. You can keep it in the fridge for a few days.

The smoked meat is a popular choice.

It is now Saturday morning and I would like to take this moment to wish everyone a Happy Easter Weekend. I will post tomorrow and share some of the beautiful photos that Lorraine sent to me. We are sailing on Lake Superior this morning, it's a smooth ride and we will get to Thunder Bay tonight. I don't know yet if we will have to anchor but I will keep you posted. See you tomorrow. 

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