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Skills

Navigating Locks

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Sooner or later you'll encounter locks, but they don't need to be intimidating. Learn to successfully navigate locks in this information-packed webinar.

If you plan to cruise beyond one or two of the Great Lakes, the Mississippi River, the Erie Canal, or through any number of other waterways, at some point you'll encounter locks. Admittedly locks can be intimidating. For example, the Welland Canal's eight locks bring boats up or down the 326-foot Niagara Escarpment (think Niagara Falls) across a distance of but 24 nautical miles. That's a 241-foot greater elevation change than vessels encounter in the Panama Canal!

This webinar takes attendees through the locking process from preliminary preparation to successful exit. Its simple pointers will ease fears and ensure pleasant passages. The webinar will draw detailed examples from the largest locks of the Great Lakes -- the Welland between Lakes Erie and Ontario, plus other locks such as the Sault locks between Lakes Superior and Huron/Michigan, the Erie locks between Lake Erie/Ontario and the Hudson River, and the Trent Severn locks between Lake Ontario and Lake Huron's Georgian Bay. Information needed to lock through other inland waterways will also be discussed, including information of interest to Great Loopers as they navigate the Illinois, Mississippi, and TennTom waterways. As a bonus, attendees will also be acquiring the knowledge needed to navigate substantially every other great lock and canal in the world.

Meet The Instructor

Bill Rohde
GLCCSchool Assistant Coordinator and former Great Lakes Cruising Club Director, Bill Rohde, is a lifelong cruiser. For years he and his wife Judy cruised under sail, most recently on a 42' Tayana Pilothouse Cutter. They recently purchased a Legacy 40 Sedan Cruiser for the next chapter of their cruising adventures.