Shipping season starts with top hat ceremony in Goderich, Ont.

Captain John Lavery had the honour of wearing a ceremonial top hat after being the first ship to arrive in the Goderich, Ont. port this shipping season.

“My first time, being first. I’ve been here plenty of times over the years, but this is the first time I’ve been first,” said Lavery.

The ceremonial top hat has been awarded in Goderich every year since 1932.

Historically, it used to be a race to get to port after the Great Lakes ice breaks up, but ice cover wasn’t a problem this year. In fact, there’s been a 75 per cent decline in ice cover on the Great Lakes over the past 50 years.

“Usually, you get some ice near the Mackinaw Bridge. This year, there was some, but not much. Usually, we need the Coast Guard to cut us through there, but this year there might have been one or two days they needed assistance,” said Lavery.

Goderich Deputy Mayor Trevor Bazinet put the official top hat on Captain John Lavery’s head for being the first ship to arrive in the Goderich Port this shipping season on March 31, 2023. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Lake ice is a huge impediment to shipping, said Lavery, especially back in 2014 when the ice cover surpassed 80 per cent. It only reached 20 per cent this winter.

“That year we had all the ice, we left Port Colborne for Thunder Bay. That’s usually a three day trip. Took us three weeks, because of the ice,” said Lavery.

So this winter, with no lake ice, shipping only stopped for a couple weeks for ship maintenance and mine maintenance in Goderich, making the top hat ceremony more about tradition than actually kick-starting the shipping season.

“We’ve been doing this since 1932. Even during COVID, we were able to hand out the top hat. It’s an important part of our community,” said Goderich Deputy Mayor Trevor Bazinet.

To learn more about Goderich’s top hat ceremony you can visit the Goderich Port website.