Continuation of a long day - Lift & Swing Bridges
21 August 2008 | Black Rock Canal - Erie, PA to Buffalo, NY to Tonawanda NY 1
The Bascule is a lift bridge with a vertical clearance of 17 feet so we had to wait. The Bridge tender said there were 3 boats coming from the other direction and asked if we could wait - sure not a problem. Forward a little, neutral, reverse, kinda good practice for me. From there through the Black Rock Canal to another bridge - this one a swing bridge. When we called, nobody answered on channel 13 so we tried channel 16 too. Still no answer, then we noticed a sign that said wait here until the light changes. More good practice - forward, shuffle to the right, neutral, shuffle back to the left, reverse - don't go past the sign that says stop here... the Black Rock Swing bridge (we soon discovered) opens up right to the Black Rock Locke (say that fast) that lets down bound traffic through the lock on the hour, and up bound traffic through on the � hour.