My decision to stop was logistical. Ogdensburg is a formal port of entry back into the USA and it is a place to pick up fuel and get any food shopping or laundry done before continuing on. I discovered this little commercial port through desperation on a previous trip. At that time, we had come around from the U.S. East Coast non-stop and had gotten down to our last bit of fuel. I was trying to avoid stopping in Canada due to the headache of dealing with Customs and Immigration and to hopefully find less expensive fuel than might normally be found in Canada. The upper St. Lawrence River does not provide many locations for Pride II to stop because her draft is more than 12 feet. Ogdensburg does not offer much in the way of marina facilities, but it is a commercial port. With the aid of the Maryland Port Administration, we were welcomed to stop in for a short time with no fees. Since that trip, I have called ahead on at least two other occasions requesting permission to stop for a few hours. They have always been welcoming. I understand that some of my sailing compatriots have heard of our experience and graced Ogdensburg with stops of their own for the same reasons.

Due to increased security concerns, all commercial vessels coming to Canada and the U.S., regardless of flag, must provide 96-hour advance warning and get a "pre-clearance" to arrive in port. I had forgotten to do this with Canada and I had my knuckles rapped. Pride, Inc.'s Operations Director, Jacy Zegowitz, made the calls to Ogdensburg for me and we got the necessary pre-clearance. But I was advised to update our ETA. When I did, and it was for a time outside normal working hours, I was advised to not come to the dock directly. This meant I had to figure out where and how to kill the extra time. It turns out that the harbor of Ogdensburg has a pretty decent area for anchoring. So I called to seek permission to do so. Pride II anchored at Odgensburg at 2100 hours the night before formal entry into the USA and all aboard heaved a huge sigh of relief at the sudden and deep quiet that settled around us after the engines were shut off after a total of three and a half days of steady motoring. I do not know how all of this would have worked out, considering all the extra security, without cell phones!

Our stay in Odgensburg was short due to the pre-arrangements. Fuel was arranged by Jacy well in advance and so they came when expected. Customs and Immigration arrived as promised shortly after 0800 and about 10 minutes after Pride II was docked. Once cleared, Scott the cook ran off with the aid of three local bicycle-riding youngsters to guide him and carry bags back for $5 each. By 1100 hours we were off again motoring up the last bit of the St. Lawrence River, the section some would say is the prettiest the St. Lawrence River has to offer.

Customs clearance was different than in the pre 9/11 days. Each individual aboard had to be seen one at a time and answer questions while their ID was scrutinized. All this after I had already faxed via our office a full list of personnel aboard along with birth date, place of birth, and passport number. I learned that this individual scrutiny is now required for all border-crossings. In the past, particularly if all aboard were American citizens, Customs and Immigration may not even come aboard, and instead accept a faxed crew list.

The Thousand Islands at the eastern end of Lake Ontario are always a treat to pass through. Houses and castles have been built right at the water's edge because the water level does not change. There are huge boathouses too. And, as can be guessed by the name of the area, there are too many islands to count. One of the crew, Jared Whalen, went to collage in the area and maintains contact with one of his professors who is a boat builder. He came aboard while we were in Ogdensburg to see Pride II. He then promised to meet the ship when she passed by Clayton, NY, with a classic wooden run-about he has permission to "exercise" from the Clayton Maritime Museum. And so a 3-bench beauty met us as we motored by Clayton that evening.

We reached Lake Ontario just before midnight and set sail for a 30 hour sail dead to windward for almost the full length of the lake. After so much motoring it was a better sail than it had a right to be. The head winds ranged from 15 to 20 knots and we had to tack three times. Our speed of advance was about 3.8 knots along the rhumb line. But our boat speed was usually 6 knots and sometimes 7.5.

The Welland Canal is the system of locks in the Seaway that carries a vessel across the Niagara Escarpment. Since my first experience with it in 1981 with the first Pride, it remains unchanged and is the most stressful locking experience in all of my travels. Especially Lock 6 in the up-bound side of the "Flight Locks," as they are termed, due to being back to back with no separating distance in between. The Welland locks are filled in a manner that provides lots of turbulence. This is due to a design that creates a current flow in the locks that holds a vessel against one side of the lock. This is fine for the cargo vessels that transit the system. But for smaller vessels such as ours, the turbulence can cause a great deal of minor damage and a lot of angst for the captain and crew. Over the years I have developed a technique that is pretty successful at minimizing the stress. But Lock 6 is a different matter - especially as the lockmasters cannot control this Lock the way they can the other locks. What a lockmaster can do is slow the rate of fill. This is most helpful to what I do to minimize stress. But in Lock 6, Pride II is overpowered. There is not enough horsepower in reverse to keep the bow line tight due to the side pressure on the ship. And due to the center mounted mainmast rigging channel, which acts as a base for the skid board that we hang from the rig to slide along the wall as the ship goes up, Pride II has a tendency to swing her stern into the lock wall. By backing down on the bow line, I can prevent that. But not in Lock 6 - the side pressure is too great. So the crew must work the windlass and crank the bow in toward the dock with the bow line.

Once we were out of the Welland Canal and into Lake Erie, we could sail again. After motoring for a while till the wind came up, we set all plain sail again and sailed west. We were able to sail for another 30 hours before taking sail in and motoring up the Detroit River.

Our return to the Detroit Yacht Club Monday June 30th was uneventful for those of us who where aboard for the very eventful arrival two years ago (when we went aground). Pride II was directed to a dock further up stream from her last docking and this location seemed to have more depth. Still, as a precaution against the down river shoals, I turned Pride II around well up stream of the dock and drifted down river stern first till abeam of the dock. Then by stemming, we the current moved sideways into the dock. Later the same day we hosted the Maryland Port Authority for a reception. And what a glorious day for a reception it was! Cool and dry without a cloud in the sky. We had many invited guests as well the senior officers of the Club, who were all very appreciative of how Pride II looked and repeatedly assured me that she was welcome to the Club anytime. It was a good way to end a full month of being underway. Pride II covered more than 3,200 nautical miles from her start down in the Florida Keys. From now on the mileage between main events will be small while the time in port is long. Also, for nearly the next two months the crew will not have the ship to themselves. But they will have more time off. So, maybe this change is not so bad.