To get out of Burlington Bay where our marina sits and into Lake Ontario, we head toward Burlington Bridge, which will rise every half-hour as needed. And lifts only as high as needed. They're really good judges of just how high to lift that sucker, which is just as well, because distances are deceptive from the deck of a boat. Paul warned us of this, how it looks like there's not enough clearance when really you have 20 or 30 feet above the mast to spare, also noting how the lift operators appreciate some alacrity once the bridge has risen far enough. On our first pass through the bridge, Mike kept waiting for the bridge to reach a good height, until finally the lift operator called through the loud speaker some form of "get a move on."
Also, motor boats have no problems passing under the bridge at any time as they're short enough to get through without raising the bridge, and some of them are driven by idiots who don't appreciate the effect of their wake on other boats. Many motor boat operators are conscientious enough to slow to impulse speed when going under the bridge, but when someone whips through at something closer to warp speed, they leave big waves behind. A sailboat under sail can turn into those waves to try to minimize the tossing effect, but when stationary, really has no choice but to ride it out. If the sails are up when you start bouncing wildly near the bridge, any number of disasters could occur. At least if you're only under motor, you stand a better chance of countering the effect of drifting into the bridge or the sides of the canal.
I saw him just as he managed a rather spectacular face-plant into the Lake. He came up again quickly and kept going, so I assume no permanent damage occurred. Of course, he didn't hang around too long after that, so who knows. We tried to get a picture of his antics, and this is the best we could do. At least he didn't have to contend with the waves ...