The Traveling Wheelchair

Onset Town Pier
Onset, MA
Phone: 508- 295-3883
http://www.hy-linecruises.com/canal/schedule.html

On the 4th of July I went on a Cape Cod Canal Cruise with my mom, dad, grandma and friends. We chose the two hour cruise which left from the Onset Town Pier. It started out as a cloudy 4th of July but the sun was shining by the time we got back. Last July 4th we went on the  Captain John’s Boat-Whale Watching out of Plymouth and that was not very wheelchair accessible. The whales were beautiful but my experience getting up and down the steep ramp in a wheelchair was dreadful!

Parking to take the cruise is free at the  Onset Town Pier for persons with a handicap placard. The price of the Cape Cod Canal Cruise is reasonable. The 3 hour cruise is $15 and the two hour cruise is $13. There is no disability or senior citizen discount yet children under 5 are free

I was somewhat skeptical and scared of taking this cruise which you can probably tell by the look on my face! But I am happy to say that the Cape Cod Canal Cruise is much more wheelchair accessible than the Whale Watching trip I took last year. Getting on the Hy-Line Viking boat was easy with my Quantum power wheelchair.  The ramp was  wide and wasn’t too steep.

Once on the Viking my family and I chose to sit in the rear of the boat so that my wheelchair wouldn’t block access to anyone else. The aisle getting to the rear of the boat was a little narrow but manageable. The area in the rear of the boat was the best open area for my wheelchair to fit but it was still tight for a person in their wheelchair.

There are restrooms and a snack bar located on the main deck of the boat. The main deck isn’t accessible to persons in wheelchairs for there are stairs leading to it with no elevator access. We chose the two hour cruise vs the three hour cruise in hopes I wouldn’t need to use the restroom while we were on the cruise.

Going down the Cape Cod Canal we got to see lots of great sites and we learned a lot about the Canal too. I’ve been going to the Canal for many years but always saw it from the road and today I could see it in a different way for I was traveling on the canal. I also learned a few new things! The cruise was very smooth along the way and there were no major bumps or splashes of waves . This wheelchair accessibility review will also include much of what I learned of the history of the Cape Cod Canal.

I usually visit the canal park at the entrances that run along the canal (See my review of the Cape Cod Canal - Bournedale Herring Run Entrance and Cape Cod Canal - Marina Entrance). Along the canal there are two campgrounds, a marina, a state reservation and two seven-mile paved trails where people can walk, bike, roller blade or just relax on benches, all along the canal. The picture above is of the  Cape Cod Canal - Bournedale Herring Run Entrance which does not provide access to the paved trail along the canal!

The Viking Tour Guide spoke nice and loud over a speaker and told us all much of the history of the Cape Cod Canal as we smoothly cruised along. He told us that the Cape Cod Canal is a National Historic Landmark. The original canal idea was thought of over three hundred years ago by Captain Myles Standish. He told us that the first canal was built in 1914 by a New Yorker but was too narrow and shallow and boats ran aground, mariners avoided it and it went bankrupt.

Then the U.S. government purchased it for $11.5 million in the 1920’s  and rebuilt the Canal which was finished in 1940! The canal is 17.4 miles long, 540 feet wide and 32 feet deep. It’s the widest sea-level canal in the world and used by about 20,000 boats a year. Boats can save 162 miles by using the Canal instead of having to travel around Provincetown at the tip of Cape Cod.

On our Cruise we saw the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge that crosses over the canal. The guide told us that the bridge is used 3 times a day and is very heavy. He told us the exact weight and it was something like 3 million tons but I don’t remember exactly. He also told us that this railroad bridge is the 3rd largest in the world! 

I’d like to see the railroad bridge come down and go back up but in all my years going here to the Canal I’ve missed seeing it go up or down. We also got a great view of the Bourne Bridge on our boat cruise . I travel by van over the Bourne Bridge quite often but it was so much fun to travel by boat under the Bourne Bridge today.

We also saw some very interesting birds nesting along the way. One of the nesting birds was the Osprey. We saw three different Osprey nests along the canal. The tour guide told us that the Osprey is part of the Eagle family which is something my family, friends and I didn’t know. We got some great pictures of these birds. The Osprey love to eat fish which is why they often nest near the water.

At first glance at their nests we thought they were Eagles because their large nests were up high on poles just like eagles nest.  There were some other neat birds we saw on the trip too. They were all black with orange beaks but I don’t know the name of these birds yet.

The guide pointed out the Gray Gables. The Gray Gables is the former home of President Grover Cleveland.  President Cleveland stayed in this vacation home often but after the tragic death of his 13 year old daughter he never returned to this vacation home. In 1973 it became a Restaurant and it burned to the ground. Gray Gables was rebuilt and is an exact replica of the original home. I’m not sure who lives in it now but would bet it cost a lot of $$.

We also saw the Maritime Academy on our cruise.  This is an academy where those who want to learn to work on ships or at sea come to get their degree.  We learned that the wind mill that they built for the Maritime Academy makes one third of the power that the Maritime Academy needs and is a lot more than they ever expected. This a big school so it’s great that they generate so much of their own power here.

One thing I found very interesting was a split rock. It was a natural occurrence which caused the rock to split. I enjoyed seeing it on the cruise. I asked my friend to take a picture of it as I couldn’t get a good view from the boat and he showed it to me up close and I thought it was really cool.

We were almost back to the shore when we saw some people riding on a Banana boat tip over in it. No one was hurt but we all had a great laugh over it. They laughed too and waved to us from the water. I bet they were somewhat embarrassed that they fell off. See the picture! LOL!

We then arrived back at shore. The tide was lower than when we left and the ramp was a little steeper, yet I had no problems with getting my power wheelchair off the boat. The crew was very courteous, kind and helpful.  The Tour Guide was great and informative. The other tourists on board the boat were all very nice too. They waited patiently for me to get my wheelchair off the boat.

I give the Cape Cod Canal Cruise THREE STARS.  They could earn the other Two Stars if they removed a few of the seats along the aisle and at the rear of the boat which would widen the aisle and create more space in the rear of the boat to better accommodate persons in wheelchairs. They would also need to add an elevator or lift so persons in wheelchairs can access the restroom and snack bar. I highly recommend this smooth sailing cruise to all persons in wheelchairs who think they can manage a few hours without needing to use the restroom. As for a snack or a drink, you are allowed to bring non alcoholic beverages and snacks on board.