Ojibwa is finally on its way to Port Burwell.

Elgin Military Museum officials confirmed late Saturday afternoon that the HMCS Ojibwa will be leaving Hamilton, Ontario in the early hours of Sunday morning.

“We had a meeting with the various parties, the engineering team and the shipyard and made that determination this afternoon,” said Ian Raven, executive director of The Elgin Military Museum in St. Thomas.

Weather in the area is expected to be good and will be suitable for viewing, as hundreds, perhaps thousands of spectators are expected to watch the HMCS Ojibwa pass through the Welland Canal during daylight hours on Sunday.

“The weather forecast for the next 24 hours is favourable for us, which is relatively flat water, clear skies and reasonable temperatures,” said Raven. “It should be a nice sunny day tomorrow as Ojibwa transits the Welland Canal.”

The decommissioned Cold War era submarine is expected to leave Hamilton at approximately 3:30 a.m. and arrive in Port Colborne around 6 or 7 p.m.

At that time, there will be a reassessment to confirm variable factors such as weather and wind conditions before Ojibwa makes its final leg of the journey to Port Burwell.

“We are expecting it to arrive most likely late Monday afternoon or if things aren’t as favourable, Tuesday morning,” explained Raven.

The public can follow the move at www.marinetraffic.com or www.boatnerd.com.

There will be two tugboats transporting Ojibwa on a barge through the canal and across Lake Erie. The lead tugboat is Lac Manitoba and a secondary tugboat, Seahunter will follow behind the submarine. It is these tugboats, not Ojibwa that the public will need to watch for online, during the trip.

There have been delays in recent weeks and ongoing issues surrounding the completion of the dredging in and around Port Burwell, but there are assurances now noted Raven that things are expected to go smoothly.

“That is ongoing as we speak, and the dredgers continue to improve the channel,” he said. “That is one of the things that we’ll be assessing as we get to Port Colborne, as to how much progress and what shape the channel is in. But at the moment, they are saying they are hopeful to have a channel suitable for Ojibwa to arrive Monday afternoon.”

The final confirmation of Ojibwa’s departure from Hamilton Saturday afternoon was the news that many have been waiting for.

“The project team is very pleased – everybody is happy, even the guys working the dredges in Port Burwell,” added Raven. “Everybody wants to see it happen. This is the realization that it is actually occurring. One of the things that has happened all along is everybody has been listening to us say it’s going to happen and not seeing anything,” said Raven. “Well, now we’re actually going to see things happen.”

For updates on the move or the latest on Ojibwa’s final journey to Port Burwell, visit www.projectojibwa.com.