News Channel on Boatnerd.com has a good description of the problems that the early shipping season is going to encounter. Roger LeLievre states the this will be a 'brutal' opening to the shipping season. The ice in the eastern end of Lake Superior is four feet thick and presents a great challenge to the United States Coast Guard.
Right now, the March 25 is opening day for the Soo Locks as scheduled. But I will try to keep the blog updated if there are any changes to that.
TV 9 & 10 reported on the difficulties faced by Sugar Island residents due to the ice.
" The U.S. Coast Guard says the ice is starting to have an impact on island communities. People trying to go to and from Sugar Island are dealing with getting stuck on either side. Wednesday night people were stuck, and that may be the case Thursday night as well. The USCG says it will continue to have an icebreaker out working, but they may not be able to get things clear by midnight.
The USCG says this problem may continue for some time. They said that Wednesday night the tanker Algocanada, carrying oil to Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., passed through St. Marys River. When it did, it broke up ice and sent it downstream, which ended up near the Sugar Island ferry. They say the problem they are facing now is there is nowhere to put the ice as they break it."
