View From The Mast

Canal Days is an annual event here in Port Colborne, centred around the Welland Canal that plays such a prominent part of life here. The 4-day festival brings tourists from many miles away as vendors and bands and tall ships come together from across the region. I am usually spread thin trying to be all places at once. I don’t want to miss anything and the event is growing every year. Locals are divided on how they feel about that.

I was fortunate enough to fall in with the crowd surrounding one of the tall ships, the Empire Sandy. Long story short, a few beers with the crew one night led to an early morning visit to the ship where I was summarily hauled up in a bosun’s chair to the top of the 116ft central mast on a string. Well, it was a 2-inch wide rope but it sure looked like string from my seat on a half inch plywood board.

This Is A Selfie

My view from the mast was unparalleled. The whole peninsula stretched in front of me. I got some unique shots that day, and cannot thank the captain and crew enough for giving me the opportunity to do this. I think they thought I might back out in the cold light of day. I didn’t. Serves me right for thinking it was a good idea. Which it absolutely was. The memory lives on. What a day.

It was very hot up there. After getting safely back to terra firma I wanted to cool off. So I went up to the Clarence Street Bridge and jumped in the canal fully dressed. My long-suffering wife got that on video. As well as the teenagers panicking around me as Nikki laughed and reassured them that I do this kind of thing. Fun times.

I wonder what shenanigans I can get up to this year.

Click here to view some of my favourite images from previous years.