Tourists in Mackinaw City

Friday, Sat and Sun, August 28 - 30

The weather Friday was not bad but the forecast was for a terrible weekend. We decided Mackinaw was a better place to spend several days then anywhere we might get to, so we stayed put. We had a leisurely morning and finally about 11:00 we walked around to the Mackinaw Icebreaker Museum.

The icebreaker Mackinaw was built for the Coast Guard starting in 1942 and commissioned in 1944. The idea being that it was important to extend the great lakes shipping season as long as possible to keep the iron ore (and other commodities) flowing for the national interest.

She served as the principal great lakes icebreaker for 62 years being decommissioned in 2006 when a replacement also name Mackinaw was ready for service. She has now been turned into a floating museum. If you are ever near Mackinaw City, she is worth the couple of hours it takes to tour.

Diana got many pictures; the executive officers conference area, one of six engines, the mess hall, the aft deck, looking over the bow from in front of the bridge, inside the bridge, the captains quarters and a guest “stateroom”.

She carried a crew of 75. There are six Detroit engines in three engine rooms. All engines drive generators, the props are driven by electric motors. There are three props, two aft and one forward. The forward one draws water out from under the ice making it easier to break. She cruised through three feet of solid ice, about the most encountered on Lake Superior. The ice can be thicker in windrows and pressure ridges, reaching 10 and 12 feet. For this the technique was to drive up onto the ice, pump 100,000 gallons of water from stern tanks to bow tanks and then back off and repeat.

Although the ship is still solid and very capable of doing the job, the 1940s equipment is becoming dated. Her replacement has the same ice breaking capabilities, using a crew of 50 instead of 75 and has more ability to performed needed summer tasks after the icebreaking season.

On the way back Diana took this picture of Memories. It shows two things, the high docks I mentioned yesterday and also the two large cruisers on our starboard side. By late afternoon and through the evening the wind had picked up to 15 to 20 with gusts over 25 knots. It is from our starboard side and those cruisers make a nice wind break.

After a late lunch and a little rest for the feet, we walked into town, getting pictures of the marina and main street on the way. We window shopped all the way to the far end of the street where the grocery store is, picked up a few items and came back the other side of the street.

Later we walked back into town to a pizza place that has a bridge museum upstairs. We had been here years ago but I wanted to go back. They had a wonderful museum detailing the building of the Mackinaw Bridge. Unfortunately it burned down a few years ago. They have rebuilt but have lost most of the original memorabilia they had. They still have an interesting movie of the construction that makes it worthwhile. The pizza was good and they had a cherry wheat beer on tap that was unusual.

As I write this it is Saturday afternoon. It rained much of the night and the wind never settled down. This morning the temperature was 58, it is now 55 with drizzle all day and winds continuing to gust in the high 20 knot range. The marina internet does not reach the boat so I have made a couple of trips to the office; otherwise we have hunkered down for the day.

Tomorrow the rain is forecast to end but the wind will blow until tomorrow evening. The slip is paid through tomorrow evening, we aren’t going anywhere before Monday. Hopefully we can at least get out and go into town tomorrow.

The Illinois Waterway remains closed at the fish barrier, still no word on when that might change.

Mackinaw City

Thursday, August 27

The weather continues on the cool side, morning temperatures in the low to mid 50s and highs of barely 70. Today looked like a good travel day with a forecast for light SE winds, we are headed west.

Our destination today is Mackinaw City; we can either run a straight course to Mackinac Island or we can go inside through the Les Cheneaux Islands. Since the water is calm and we did the inside going east we decide on the straight run. It is almost two hours shorter.

We are underway a little after 8:00. As we leave the St Mary’s River Diana gets a picture of De Tour Reef Light. The wind is ESE about eight but drops to flat calm by mid morning. There is still a bit of a swell running but it is behind us and the ride is very comfortable.

By 1:00 we are making the passage between Mackinac Island and Round Island. Diana gets pictures of the Convention Center, the harbor with the hotel in the background and the edge of the fort to the right. Unfortunately her telephoto lens has a problem and is no longer working, it limits the pictures she can take.

As we approach the harbor entrance the ferries are leaving. There are three ferry companies, Arnolds, Sheplers and Star Lines, each runs to Mackinaw City and to St Ignace. Six ferries leave the harbor and accelerate to full speed in just a couple of minutes. We are now rocking and rolling all the way to Mackinaw City.

The Round Island Light is a famous lighthouse. I believe it is now in the hands of a non-profit that has restored it and is maintaining it.

When we approached the Mackinaw Bridge going the other way it was very haze and we did not see it until we were a few miles away. Today I first saw the towers from almost 30 miles away. For the first few miles after I saw them I thought it was a couple of sailboats. At about 25 miles I realized what it was.

By 2:00 we are into the Mackinaw City Municipal Marina. It is nice old facility; I was first here in 1985. The only problem is the docks are fixed (not floating) and with the current water level we need a two step stool to get up to the dock.

It is another great day.

De Tour Village

Wednesday, August 26

With a forecast of nice weather the plan today was go nine miles to De Tour Village and fuel then go on to Mackinaw City , another 45 miles. Unfortunately the weather was clear but with winds of 15 knots gusting 18 and temperatures in the mid 50s.

Finally about 10:30 the winds dropped to the 8 to 10 that was forecast. Then just as we are getting ready to go Solstice comes headed in the channel. We wait and say hi to Cappy and Judy then finally about 11:15 we are out and on our way. We stop at De Tour for fuel and decide that it will be after 7:00 before we can get to Mackinaw City so we decide to take a slip here at De Tour.

The fueling was 157 gallons at $2.90 a gallon. With an eight gallon allowance for sixteen hours of generator it works out to 3.4 mpg.

We walk up to the Main Sail resturant, where we had a good lunch going the other way. They have Wi-Fi, the marina does not.

A very short day.

Drummond Island

Tuesday, August 25

We pushed hard yesterday because the weather was forecast to be bad today, so it was a rest day today. Last night was clear with lots of stars out, living with the light pollution of the city one forgets how beautiful the night sky is with millions of stars out. The clear also lets the temperature drop. This morning was 53 with clouds and blustery winds. Never did warm all day, and we had a couple of periods of rain and heavy blowing mist.

We had a leisurely day, Diana did some painting and reading, while a caught up on the news online. There is some disturbing news for us, the Army Corp of Engineers and Coast Guard have closed the Illinois Waterway at mile 296 indefinitely. This is where they have built the electric fish barrier to keep the Asian Carp out of Lake Michigan just south of Chicago.

My understanding is that they have been running it at a low voltage and allowing boat traffic. They apparently decide that they need a higher voltage and have doubled the current on the water, now they are not sure if it is save for boats to pass through. They have done some testing and are currently allowing barges without hazard material to pass with some restrictions. They are making no comment about when pleasure boat traffic might resume.

We don’t plan to be in that stretch of water for at least two and probably three weeks. If there is no resolution to the situation then we will have to explore the option of putting the boat in winter storage somewhere on Lake Michigan and continuing our journey next summer.

There is a beautiful classic Grand Banks 49 in the slip next to us. It is being prepared for winter storage here in Drummond Island Yacht Haven. Diana got a nice picture of it as it was coming back from the fuel dock.

She also got a picture of Memories and our neighbors from across the harbor.

Late afternoon another band of rain and blowing mist came in and lasted until sunset. It cleared just as the sunset, producing a beautiful sunset.

Drummond Island, MI USA

Monday, August 24

It was another cool morning, with a temperature of 53 degrees. The plan had been to take two short days to get to Drummond Island where we would clear US Customs. The intervening stop is Meldrum Bay where we cleared Canadian Customs in June. The weather forecast was for good weather today but high winds and chance of thunderstorms tomorrow. We decided that Meldrum Bay was very small and not a place to spent multiple nights so the plan changed to a long day run of 70 plus miles straight to Drummond.

We had planned on grocery shopping this morning, so right after breakfast we quickly walked the four blocks to the grocery and filled our small list. Before we left the slip Diana took a couple of pictures of the lovely Gore Bay Marina. A couple of sailboats had left the slips next to us giving the open view of the marina office and Canadian Yacht Charter.

We proceeded out of Gore Bay and past the Janet Head Lighthouse. My memory of my trip through Gore Bay 25 years ago was of a beautiful bay with high wooded cliffs on both sides, especially the east side; I was not disappointed on this trip.

As we proceed across smooth waters of the North Channel we see several “flocks” of loons. Yesterday we saw a group of about twenty, today there were several groups of about a dozen. It must be in preparation for migration.

As we pass the end of Manitoulin Island to cross above Mississiagi Straight and then past False Detour Passage the wind suddenly goes from calm to 15 to 18. It is out of the south which puts it right on our side. We rock and roll more than Diana is comfortable with, but she bites her tongue and lets me concentrate on driving.

By the time we are north of Drummond Island it is calm again. I had called Drummond Island Yacht Haven this morning, they said they were there until 6:00 and custom was there until almost 8:00. At 5:30 I called on the VHF and told them it would be 6:15, they said they would wait for us.

We got to the marina and they directed us to a slip on the far side from the office, just as I was getting lined up with the slip a fellow rides up on a bike to take our lines. We get in and before we are fully tied up the customs officer has walked over. She is a cat lover and the paperwork takes longer than it should only because she is distracted by the cats. Other than that it is routine and we are officially back in the USA after eight weeks in Canadian waters.

By the time we have dinner and I help a nice gentleman next to us with chart information (he is headed the other way) it is a bed time and we are both tired. It was a long day, but except for the couple hours of rock and roll it was a very good day.

Gore Bay

Sunday, August 23

The morning dawned overcast and cold (low 50s) I had to turn the heat on before the Admiral would get out of bed and fix breakfast. While we were eating Diana looked out the window and there were three otters on the next dock over. Needless to say breakfast was interrupted while the camera came out.

By the time I went up to the lodge for internet access and all, it was after nine before we got underway. With a short day planned and the cold we were in no rush. We went out the west entrance to the Killarney channel and proceeded down the Lansdowne Channel. Then it was west to the entrance to the Little Current narrows.

The Little Current Bridge opens on the hour. Going the other way we took the bimini down and didn’t wait, this time we got there about 11:55, so we just waited for the noon opening. Then it was through downtown Little Current, past the interesting little buoy that swings with the current to show which way it is running.

It was then another 30 miles west in the North Channel to beautiful Gore Bay. Finally about 2:00 we meet a clearing line headed east. The noon temperature in Little Current had been only 62. The sunshine was sure appreciated.

Being a summer Sunday we saw lots of sailboats headed in all directions. This is a great cruising area for sailboats.

By 4:00 we were pulling into the Gore Bay Municipal Marina. This is a lovely facility that is a favorite with travelling boaters and also has a 25 boat charter sailboat fleet based here. They have the finest docks we have seen on the trip. They are almost new and the double slips are forty feet wide.

Another great day (if you had enough clothes on).

Killarney Mountain Lodge

Saturday, August 22

Finally a day that looks like the weather will allow us to continue. The forecast is for cloudy, cool with winds around to the NW and N. Unfortunately it is drizzling off and on as we have breakfast and conceder heading out. A look at the radar shows a string of small light cells that are moving over us but not our intended track.

A little after nine there is a break in the drizzle and we take off. The plan is to go to Killarney today. It is 65 miles on the inside small boat channel. At mile 25 you have to go out into open Georgian Bay for about ten miles, if you stay outside here it is only 55 miles total.

The inside passage continues to be a study in granite. Diana takes many photos of all the different formations. For a seemingly isolated area there is a fair amount of boat traffic. There other travelers, fisherman, vacationers with cottages we can’t see and even some kayakers.

The three light houses mark the end of the Bustard Island group and this is where we have to go outside for a while. The wind is light, and although there is still some left over swell running from yesterdays high winds the ride is not too bad. We decide to take the short route and go directly to Killarney. As we proceed we can see light drizzle and poor visibility to the north (the inside route), staying outside was the right choice.

We decide to try the Killarney Mountain Lodge for our overnight stay; we have heard good thinks about it. We telephone and they say they can accommodate us. About 4:00 the Red Rock Point light is at hand and we turn into the Killarney Channel.

We get tied up and the boat cleaned up and there, two docks away is Solstice, the big Fleming we had last seen in Fenelon Falls. We catch up with Cappy and Judy on how the others trip has gone. Then it is off to the showers for both of us.

The boathouse staff had made a reservation for us in the dining room and we walk up for dinner. The lodge is primarily a wilderness retreat and the transient docking is second. To accommodate their guests they have a large dining room and a kitchen that prepares all items from scratch. The meal is excellent and we splurge and have dessert, wild blueberry cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate raspberry pie. We split them and they are both fabulous!

They have Wi-Fi in the lodge but not on the boat so I stay to check the weather and e-mails while Diana goes for a walk and takes lots of pictures of the area.

Life is still very good.

Wrights Marina

Thursday & Friday, August 20 – 21

The day was just as forecast, showers early morning with strong and gusty winds out of the south. We took it easy did a few chores and relaxed.

About supper time a thunderstorm rolled through with heavy rain, but no more wind than we had all day. The Toronto area had tornadoes. As it ended there was a pretty rainbow.

The other pictures are the other side of the inlet looking of the back of the boat.

Friday.

Most of the rain was out of the forecast, but the winds were 25 knots out of the southwest.

Diana did a load of laundry and took some pictures of the marina.

Early afternoon a 46’ Sea Ray came in and said it was really ugly out on the bay.

We can only sit and wait and be patient.

Byng Inlet

Wednesday, August 19

It is two days travel between Henry’s and Killarney, coming the other way we spent a night at anchor. Because the weather forecast is questionable for tomorrow we decide that we will go to Byng Inlet tonight. We head out on a nice morning although the forecast is for west wind up to 15 knots, not a good direction and the upper limit of what we can handle in open water.

The first couple of hours are more gorgeous cruising on the inside small boat channel up Georgian Bay. Unfortunately this stretch has three places where the small boat channel goes out into the edge of open Georgian Bay.

We pass the Pointe Au Baril lighthouse and beyond it the replica barrel on top of which the old timers use to place a lantern to help guide them back in.

This leads to the first open stretch and we pound heavily into larger waves than had been forecast. The admiral and the deckhands are not happy, but they make the best of it. The captain is concerned but makes the best of it. This stretch is short and everybody is happy when we are back inside.

Along the way we pass this interesting cottage on shore.

We go back outside for a second and third time, the last being for over an hour. The ride is just slightly better. Deep water produces waves that are not quit as steep and we are taking them at a slightly better angle.

Finally we are headed back in at Byng Inlet. We proceed the four miles up the pretty, sheltered channel to Wrights Marina. They are a busy place that primarily provides services to cottagers that need to have a shore base to get out to their islands, but they also provide space for many transients.

We get tied up and all breathe a sigh of relief that the day is over. It was a long 65 miles from Henry’s at our 8 mph.

As we relax it is small world time again. A gentleman (aren’t all boaters) walks over and says he saw us in Green Turtle Bay in KY, June of last year. He bought a used 48’ Sea Ray in Nashville and lives in Sarnia, ON (just across from Port Huron, MI). He was trying to bring the boat home last year up Mississippi, Illinois and around Michigan to home. He was held up in Green Turtle by the June floods in St Louis last year. We had a good time catching up on each other’s travels and plans going forward. They left Sarnia the end of June and went up Lake Huron and spent a month in the North Channel and are no working their way slowly back home.

With the day we had today and a weather forecast of 25 knots and thunder showers I paid for two night docking and we won’t even think about going anywhere tomorrow. At least they have internet.

Henry’s and seeing friends

Tuesday, August 18

There is a little drizzle at first light this morning, but it doesn’t last. We don’t rush to get going but are of the dock by 8:30. It is just a half mile to Lock 45, Port Severn, this is the last lock on the Trent Severn and once we are through it we are officially in Georgian Bay. We follow the small boat channel the forty miles to Henry’s Fish Camp on Frying Pan Island.

The scenery is still spectacular, and we enjoy all the beautiful islands and their interesting trees, mis-shappened by the prevailing strong west winds.

The channel goes through a tight area at Honey Harbor with a resort facility on shore. They even have a miniature golf course along the water.

A favorite pastime here appears to be piling rocks to form interesting figures.

We continued on past the entrance to Snug Harbor and its pretty lighthouse.

By mid-afternoon we were at Henry’s, see earlier entry for a description of this institution on an island. Now for the small world entry of the week, in my fifty plus years of racing sailboats we early on became friends with the Allen family from Lake Minnetonka (suburban Minneapolis). It turns out that the oldest daughter Judy and her husband have a cottage on an island just a mile from Henry’s. Although they live in Minnetonka, Gary’s family have owned and been coming to the cottage for over fifty years.

Judy and Gary were here this week, so when we got tied up we called them and they came over in their small boat and picked us up. We went back to Isaac Island for a visit to the cottage. Then they came back and had a tour of Memories. After that we all went into Henry’s for a good fish dinner and more conversation.

Live continues to be good.

Port Severn

Monday, August 17

It started as another hot and humid morning. We were off about 8:30 for the ten mile run down the middle of Lake Couchiching. It starts as a generally open water run then funnels into the shallow north end of the lake where there is a two mile straight stretch between pairs of buoys. This is known locally as the bowling alley.

It is in the mid 70s with near 100% humidity and the wind is about eight directly behind us so there is no apparent wind. It is very sticky even on the fly bridge. We exit the Lake into the Severn River. Shortly we come to this train bridge that must open for us. The operator starts as soon as he sees us. However, the bridge moves very slowly and from the noise of the machinery we wonder if it is going to make it.



The rest of the day we are on the Severn and it is probably the most beautiful scenery of the trip. It is mile after mile of heavy granite river bank, tree lined with nice cottages too. There is a great deal of local small boat traffic. It is mid August and all the cottagers are enjoying their vacation on a hot day.

We have now turned so the wind is close to on the bow and it has increased. With 15 mph winds gusting 20 the boat wants to go all over and requires constant attention. It has become partly cloudy and the heat is not as bad now.

We lock through the Couchiching Lock and another hour we are at Swift Rapids. This is the newest lock on the system and was build with all hydraulic controls. It is also the highest lift, 47 feet, of any of the conventional locks on the system. It has a floating bollard, so we need only a mid ship line and I get a picture of Diana holding the line.

Diana takes pictures as we exit, of the lock and the dam next to it.

Another hour of beautiful scenery and we are at Big Chute and the Marine Railway. The car is nowhere in sight. We go into the blue line. There is another boat there ahead of us, he says the car went down ten minutes ago and should be back shortly. We relax and shortly the car appears coming back up the hill and out from behind the control building. They proceed across the road and down into the water. Soon six smaller boats exit the carriage.

Now it is our turn. The other two boats waiting go in first; we have to be at the back so our props can hang off the back of the carriage. The pictures show the slings supporting us while we get settled. They set the boats down on their keels once the car moves out of the water, the slings only balance the boats. The next picture is looking down off the bow at some of the hydraulics on the deck of the car. Then from above; starting up out of the water, cresting the top, looking over the side as we cross the road, two looking out over the descend, looking back at where we came from and final going down into the water and looking back as we exit the carriage.

The whole thing, from starting to load to exiting the carriage probably was less than 15 minutes; I was too busy to time it. Although I have done it before and know what to expect it is still a great thrill and one of the highlights of the trip.

Shortly after big chute we come to little chute. This is a narrow passage through granite walls with more current than most of the rest of the river, not a place to meet another boat and it is a blind turn into it at the top. Every boat of any size makes a security call on the radio.

Another 45 minutes and we are at Severn Boat Haven where we have dockage reserved for the night, we go to the fuel dock for a pump out first.

We have fresh corn on the cob done on the grill that is excellent and then start planning for Georgian Bay tomorrow.

It was a great day.

Orillia

Sunday, August 16

The day started as another warm, clear and humid morning with only light winds. Since we planned on chores in Orillia we were ready to go when the lock opened at 8:30. They had some water management issues first thing, then we waited for another but coming from the previous lock.

By nine we were through Thorah lock and headed into Gamebridge lock. Then it was just another mile and a half to Lake Simcoe. The wind was less than ten mph, so the hour and a half passage of open water was very pleasant.

Then we approached the narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching. Many local boaters from around the area go to the Orillia Marina for the weekend. This weekend was a car show in town. That is why the marina had been full (200 transient slips) last night. Now about half of them were headed back into Lake Simcoe, most went to full throttle as soon as they cleared the narrows. We were rock and rolling in boat wakes for the last two miles.

The narrows is a quarter mile of no wake, tight channel, between marinas and bridge piers. There was a steady parade of boats going in both directions.

We cleared the narrows and had two miles across the south end of Lake Couchiching to the marina. We waited for one more cruiser to clear the breakwater then we went into a marina that was now three quarters empty.

We got tied up and immediately turned on both AC units. It was only in the mid 80s but the humidity was very high. We had some lunch, and then it was off to the laundry. While Diana did laundry I got caught up on e-mails etc, since this was the first internet access in over four days.

When Diana had cooled off from the walk back from the laundry we headed for the grocery store (closer than the laundry). There is an ice cream stand right on the path to the grocery store, so we indulged.

Then back to the boat and a quiet evening. Life is still very good.

Talbot River

Saturday, August 15

Our plan for today was to run the twelve miles and five locks to the entrance to Lake Simcoe, and then tomorrow we would just cross the lake to Orillia. It was another clear, calm morning with the promise of being hot. We proceeded down the last of the man made channel connecting the Trent and Severn watersheds.

After about half a mile this leads to Canal Lake, a small lake that is in two halves. The first is shallow with a buoyed channel through water that is only deep enough for small fishing boats outside the buoys. The second is not deep but there is seven to ten feet of water so there are no buoys. The halves are connected by this interesting old bridge build in 1905.

From Canal Lake proceed into the Talbot River. The first thing on the Talbot is this swing bridge which is permanently open as the road is closed. This is a pretty stretch of water with nice cottages on both shores.

A little farther is another swing bridge, the attendant sees us coming and we hesitate only a moment while the bridge swings.

Along the way an osprey is watching as its young flaps its wings.

We are soon at the first lock of the morning. This stretch of locks are all still manual, with hand cranked gates and valves. As with all the locks the grounds are beautifully maintained.

There is not enough water for many loons, but there are still a few around.

The Talbot River winds around a lot and drops rapidly from here to Lake Simcoe, so there is a straight six mile canal with four locks to bypass the river. Here is the entrance.

Along the way is this pretty old farm house.

The very helpful lock staff tells us that although there is lots of room to tie to the breakwater at the entrance to Lake Simcoe, it is very popular with fisherman and on a hot August, Saturday night with others. The last lock is right under a busy highway and also very public. We take their advice and stop for the day two locks and two miles from the lake. This lock is only accessible by boat and a private Parks Canada service road, it is very quite.

We find a spot on the gray line in the shade and watch the boat traffic go by. It is a very short day. Mid afternoon this interesting work barge comes through the lock. It is a big diesel in a small jet drive aluminum boat.

By late afternoon the shade is gone and we run the generator for the rest of the day to have AC. It is getting very humid, but the forecasted chance of showers never appears.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

Friday, August 14

The weather is more of the summer days. Clear, warm and light winds; the forecast is no change for four or five days. Since we don’t have far to go today, we take our time this morning. Diana goes out to take waterfall pictures that she hope the light would be better than last night. Either, they closed part of the dam or the water level dropped over night (I suspect the later), there is not as much water. Yesterday there was water all the way across, now there is a large dry section. It is still a pretty sight.

Final a little after nine I notified the lock staff that we would lock through on the next cycle. They were just locking a small boat down and were ready by the time I got the engines started. As we reached the top of the lock, Diana took pictures of the shops across the street from the lock, including the Captains Table where we ate last night. It was already feeling warm in town at 9:30.

A short distance above the lock we past the Kawartha Spirit. She is a day excursion boat that we had passed yesterday, then watched come back and lock thru after we were tied up.

We make the short crossing (about 3 miles) of Cameron Lake and along the way get the daily osprey picture.

We are soon approaching Rosedale Lock. This small rise will take us up to Balsam Lake which is the highest point on the system. From here we will start going down.

As we exit the lock Diana gets this picture that not only shows the pretty scenery put also the total lack of wind and clouds.

Balsam is another of the nice lakes on the system; we pass only about four miles from one side to the other it is much larger in the other direction. Our route takes us out and around Grand Island.

Along the way we get the daily loon picture.

The route leaves Balsam Lake thru a man made channel blasted and dug out of limestone shale. This connects the Trent watershed we have been in to the Severn watershed we are about to enter. We make a security call on VHF 16 to notify other boats in the area of our intentions, the channel is no place for large boats to meet.

This takes us to Mitchell Lake, a small swampy area with a buoyed channel to the next man made cut that goes to Kirkfield Lock. As we enter Mitchell there is a security call from an east bound boat out of Kirkfield. We respond and advise him we will wait in Mitchell until he clears the channel, he is a 46 foot Sea Ray. Not a boat to pass in close quarters.

While we wait we let a 30 foot cruiser go in front and we both head into the channel when the Sea Ray clears. Five minutes behind the Sea Ray is a runabout. There is room to get by him, but nothing much bigger.

After over a mile of channel the top of the lift lock is in sight. We have to sit in neutral for only a minute and the green light comes on. We pull into the chamber and as always the view is fantastic. Diana spots a section of gray line (just visible on the left) that appears to be in heavy shade.

We lock down and shortly after noon we are tied up for the day. We have lunch on the front deck and enjoy a beautiful peaceful setting. Although it is pleasant in the shade by mid afternoon the cabin is getting stuffy and we need to charge the inverter batteries sometime. So we start the generator and run both ACs. The cabin cools quickly.

Diana takes pictures; looking back on the starboard side is the lock and on the port is the tree lined embankment we are moored to.

I do a couple of boat chores then I seriously contemplate what the next few days schedule will be.

The lock sits out in the country side, the only thing nearby is a small restaurant. They have ice cream. We walk up and it tastes great. On the way back Diana takes a picture from the road that runs under the lock, looking out under the up chamber with Memories in the background.

We have pork tenderloin and corn on the cob for dinner, done on the grill.

I have commented in the past about the Park’s Canada staff at the locks, but I will do it again. Throughout both the Trent and Rideau systems all the staff has been most pleasant and helpful. Their attitude and friendliness help make the trip the wonderful experience that it is.

Another perfect day.

Fenelon Falls

Thursday, August 13

The morning starts foggy but by 8:00 it has burned off and looks like another picture perfect day. We are ready to lock through right at 8:30 as soon as the lock is ready for us. We proceed through the short two miles of Lovesick Lake to Lovesick lock. We are still in granite country.

This is the only loon picture of the day but we see and hear dozens of them. Many of them have young in tow. The young are now able to dive and stay down for some time.

Soon we approach Lovesick Lock, it is on an island and the staff commutes to work in the small boat at the right. We proceed thru and are into Lower Buckhorn Lake.

When we approach the narrows between Lower Buckhorn and Buckhorn this osprey is in a tree on the right side. To the left is a young on the nest. There was another adult circling. The adult was calling, and we think trying to encourage the young to fly.

We motor up Buckhorn Lake and on into the Bobcaygeon channel. There are many very nice homes along the channel.

Soon we reach the heart of Bobcaygeon, right along the canal, and the swing bridge before the lock. We had hoped to tie and stretch our legs for a bite of lunch. Unfortunately the gray line is full of small local boats all with the same idea. We continue on and eat aboard.

From here we head out into Sturgeon Lake for over 12 miles of open lake running. Solstice is too big to lock thru with us, she is 19 wide and we can’t go side by side. She has been locking through behind us all day. She has run a little faster in Sturgeon Lake and is right behind us. Since she is going on and we are stopping at Fenelon Falls I radio Cappy that he should go on ahead. Diana got this nice picture as he went by.

We proceed on through the narrow channel, past the falls and tie to the back of the blue line. I check above and the upper gray line is full also. The lock staff says that there are several small boats on the lower wall that will be moving shortly. We wait 15 minutes and a spot opens on the gray line and we move across to it and secure the boat for the night.

It has been a beautiful day on the water, but on shore with the bright sun the temperature is approaching 90. We start the generator (need to charge the batteries anyway), close up the boat and turn on both AC units. The kitties say thank you for the cool air.

We relax in the cool a little while then walk up to the lock, there is an ice cream shop just across the street. We had planned to go to the Orillia Town Marina Saturday night; it will be our last provisioning and laundry before starting Georgian Bay. When I called, they are full for Saturday, so I make a reservation for Sunday and we will just go slowly for the next three days.

Life is wonderful.

Burleigh Falls

Wednesday, August 12

We were a little slow getting started this morning. We plan to be on lock walls for the next several nights, so we both showered this morning and I wanted to get the blog caught up. Finally about 9:15 we were underway.

It was a gorgeous morning, light wind, clear sky and temperature near 70 already. Diana took this picture looking back at the Peterborough Marina with Solstice on the left. Solstice is a 65 foot Fleming belonging to Judy and Cappy from Natchez, MS. We first meet them back at Fraser Park in Trenton.

We headed out of Little Lake and up through lock 20 and the swing bridge just above it. Then it was on to the lift lock. Although I have seen many pictures of it and been trough the lock several times, I am still impressed as I approach it.

This picture is looking up the stairway in the middle of the lock and shows part of the bottom of the upper chamber. When we reach the top we look out over the surrounding country side including the fountain back in Little Lake.

When we reach the end of the channel for the lift lock and are about to rejoin the river, we meet a large group of young kids in canoes. They move to the edge of the channel and we proceed at dead slow past them.

We now have five more locks in quick succession to get to Lakefield. This picture of the clouds reflecting in the water is a good representation of how gorgeous the morning is. There are also some nicely landscaped sections of shoreline.

We are now into the start of the lakes section of the Trenton-Severn. It is much farther between locks and more open water. By early afternoon we are approaching Young’s Point. Note the osprey nest above the left end of the bridge. Five weeks ago we spent the night right below it and there was lots of activity. Today it is empty.

Above the lock is the Lockside Trading Company where we had ice cream before. The gray line is crowded and despite the fact it is humid and mid 80s we continue on.

We continue on through Clear Lake and into Stony Lake. Stony Lake has hundreds of islands, many islands, many with cottages on them plus the one with St. Peters Church. The channel takes us through only a few miles of Stony, put there is lots more that we don’t see.

Later we pass Burleigh Falls and when we round the corner there is room on the gray line just behind the rental houseboat. We go in and tie up. When I walk to the upper level the gray line is rather full, we decide the lower is a nice secluded spot, so we settle in for the night.

As we get settled in Solstice comes in, she locks through and because it is late ties to the upper blue line for the night.

Later Diana takes a couple of pictures from the boat of the lovely area we are in.

A near perfect day (just a little humid).

The Lift Lock

The Lift Lock

Tuesday, August 11

Anne and Steve need to leave for home this afternoon, but they get be this close and not see the famous Peterborough Lift Lock. We headed out and go thru lock # 20 just half a mile from the marina then it is another half mile to the lift lock.

We tie to the gray line in front of the visitor’s center and walk up to see it. Then it is back to the boat. Anne does not like heights so she and Diana stay ashore to watch from below and take pictures. Steve and I let the lock know we were ready to go up and waited for them to open the gate.

Diana took this sequence of pictures of us going up then turning around and coming back down.

I got pictures from the top of the view and of Anne and Diana down below.

By noon we were back into the marina and tie up. After a quick lunch it was time to call Enterprise and drive to Hastings to retrieve the Johnson’s car. When we got back they packed up and head down the road for Minnesota.

It was wonderful having them onboard, we wish they could have stayed a few more days.

After they left we did a little shopping, a load of laundry and returned the car. Then we crashed. It was a bright sunny afternoon, the temperature went to the high 80s, and it felt good to have the AC on.

Peterborough

Monday, August 10

The plan for today was to go from Hastings to Peterborough. We are in a stretch of the system with few locks. From Hastings we take the Trent River into Rice Lake, across most of the lake to the Otanobee River, then up to Peterborough. The only lock is less than a mile from the end of the 40 mile run.

It is a gray overcast morning, but there is no rain and the temperature is near 70. Most important the wind is light and for the 15 miles of open water on Rice Lake it is nearly calm. It was a pleasant, relaxed day of cruising.

It was also a day for bird photos. Diana took pictures of osprey in flight, a turn in flight and a couple of blue heron sitting on shore. Anne and Diana have been trying for a couple of days to identify the turns we are seeing. The pictures didn’t help, the ones we saw yesterday had black tails, and todays have white tails. The conclusion is we are seeing several different turns.

When we approached Lock 19, the only lock of the day, there was an osprey sitting on top of the flag pole on the end of the lock wall. He took flight just as Diana good the second picture.

The lock has flower boxes on the top of the gate along with a mascot.

Chad the very friendly lock master was there to greet us and take our picture as we finish locking through.

From the lock we turn off the main channel and head into Little Lake and the Peterborough Marina. They tucked us in against the wall right next to the office.

As we are getting settled in the sun tries to shine but this just generates enough heat to produce showers. It is warm and humid enough that we close up the boat and turn the AC on for a while. We get a little rain. But the thunder and heavy stuff pass us by to the south.

In the middle of Little Lake is a large water fountain. At night it has colored lights on it.

Another very fine day.

Fuel report 8-9

We last fueled in Campbellford going the other direction. We finished the Trent-Severn, went to Kingston, did the Rideau to Ottawa and returned on this tank. It was 469.8 miles plus 98 locks and 25 hours on the gen-set. We took 518.6 liters of fuel @ $.89.9 Canadian. I convert this to 137 gallons at $3.12 U.S. using a 1.09 conversion factor. Allowing 17 gallons for the gen-set we got 3.9 mpg on this tank. The mileage was helped because we ran slowly through so much of the canals, but was hurt by all the idling and start stop in all the locks. I am still extremely satisfied with the engines.

Hastings

Sunday, August 9

We started the day by going a quarter of a mile under the Campbellford Bridge and into the Esso station just beyond, these are the people with the cheapest fuel on the system. See separate post for fuel details.

We had several locks in quick sequence then a two hour open run to the lock at Hastings where we planned to spend the night. Along the way today we had many osprey sightings.



At lock 14 they have this pretty planter of flowers in an old sail boat.

When we got to the big double lock at Healey Falls it start to drizzle, out came the foul weather gear. By the time we were exiting the second chamber it was a steady rain. We pulled offer to the wall and tied up. We relaxed and had lunch. By the time lunch was over the rain had stopped.

We motored over to the other side of the canal and out about two hundred yards where we could tie up near the dam above the falls. We took a short walk so Steve and Anne could see Healey Falls. Diana and I had seen it last month.

We still are not sure if this pretty setting is a small inn or just a private home with an avid gardener. It certainly is lovely.

We have not seen many loons today but we had to slow down to avoid this adult and young.

Soon we were approaching the Hasting lock. We locked through and tied up to the lock wall for the night. Once we were tied up it was a short walk back to the ice cream shop next to the lock.

The Hastings Village Marina is just across the river and I can get their Wi-Fi signal on the boat.

Another fine day.

Campbellford.

Saturday, August 8

We planned to go to Campbellford today; it is only 31 miles but 12 locks so we are off by 8:15 to get to lock 1 when they open at 8:30. Diana got pictures of the much photographed bridge that signals the start of the Trent Severn Waterway plus the space at Fraser Park that we just vacated.


We go through lock 1 then approach the highway 401 bridge under repair with the dam for lock 2 in the background.

The first six locks are all in the first seven miles so they come up quickly, but they communicate by phone and know we are coming so at each lock the gates are open and we proceed very quickly. This old lock master home (now lock office) has a nice flower garden in front of it.

Diana finds time between locks to get a picture of the crew relaxing.

Further on we approach this lock with flower gardens on the hill sides on either side of the lock. Just beyond is a road bridge that must be swung to let us through then a railroad bridge that is permanently open.

We continue past some lovely cottages along the shore.

By mid afternoon we are approaching the massive middle gate in the Ranney Falls flight lock. These two chambers are numbers 11 and 12 for the day and we are done. It is only another mile to downtown Campbellford.

We quickly get tied up and tell the tourist center clerk, we will be back to register a little later. It is almost 4:30 and the chocolate outlet closes at 5:30. We get our walking shoes on and head out across the bridge for the eight block walk. We make a quick stop at Dooher’s bakery. They are famous for their goodies, but this late in the day the pickings are slim. We buy a loaf of carrot pineapple bread and one of lemon bread.

Then it is on to the chocolate outlet. Steve and Anne get a few pounds of assorted chocolates, while Diana and I get a couple plus some gifts for friends back home. Then it is the long walk back lugging the goodies.

We relax a while, register with the tourist office, and then walk back across the bridge for dinner. We have a nice meal at the Riverview Inn and retire back to the boat. It has been a long day and we are all tired, but the agreement is it was a great day.

Life is very good.

Bay of Quinte

Friday, August 7

This morning we returned the car to Enterprise and headed out for a long day to Trenton. We were underway shortly after 8:30 and decided not to wait for the 9:00 bridge opening. By taking the bimini all the way down we can just get under the alternate span that has a clearance of about 16 feet.

We drove from topside to enjoy the view of Kingston for the first couple of hours but then we went inside since it was a little breezy and still in the upper 60s. It was a pleasant trip through the Bay of Quinte to Fraser Park Marina.

Craig the friendly manager at Fraser park was there waiting to take our lines. We had cheeseburgers and baked beans on the grill for dinner.

A very pleasant day.

Kingston, new crew

Thursday, August 6

This morning we got a car from Enterprise. We took a couple of loads of laundry to the laundry; they offered a service to do the laundry for just a few dollars. We went back to the boat and got the grocery list and bags and went shopping.

After the groceries were put away and I caught up on previous postings to the blog we had some lunch. It was then time for me to head to Hasting, ON, about 90 miles. Our good friends Anne and Steve Johnson were driving in to join us. They were caught in heavy traffic coming thru Toronto and were a little late.

We drove back to the boat and had a nice visit. They will cruise with us for the next five days.

The shipyard here at Kingston Marina continues to be impressive. The big fire boat was testing the main water canon again today. In addition to the big Tampa fire boat they have a couple of smaller fire boats in the works, plus an order for four, forty something foot passenger boats for the Panama Canal. With the expansion of the canal they will be used to move construction workers around the canal. The first one the hull is done and painted, they are finishing the installation of the engines and jet drives. The second one was moved today into the paint booth. Diana watch then realized at the last moment she should get a picture.

Kingston on the return

Wednesday, August 5

Today started as another beautiful day. Jan and Loren wanted to be back in Kingston to drive half a day today, so we got started before 8:00. We had 10 miles to the only locks of the day, Kingston Mills. This is another single followed immediately be a flight of three.

When we got there they had a small boat half way up the chamber, we waited for him to exit then we went right in. We have been very lucky with short waits. From there it was only four more miles to the Kingston Marina

With no wait at the lock we were tied up about 11:30. Jan and Loren packed their belongs in the car and we said our goodbyes. They declined lunch saying they would drive awhile then take a break. We were sad to see them leave; it was great having them on board.

Diana and I relaxed and took it easy the rest of the day. I mentioned when we were here before the marina shipyard is building a 65 foot fireboat for Tampa, FL. Today they were testing the fire pumps, this picture was taken right out the door of our boat.

Later this afternoon Pikka decided that if the captain wasn’t driving she could have the helm.

Life continues to be very good.

Lower Brewers.

Tuesday, August 4

I commented earlier in the trip that the Environment Canada weather forecasts always predicted winds calm become 20km/hr (12 mph) or 20 become calm, never anything else. Well they apparently heard me; today’s forecast was 30 gusting 60km/hr.

Our day was to start by locking down thru the four chambers of Jones Falls, to be ready we moved to the blue line before 8:30. The word was that since they leave the chambers empty at night if there are boats waiting the first cycle of the day is up and we would go down about 9:30. There were no boats down below so they filled the chambers and were ready for us before 8:45. We were the only boat going down so it went quickly and we were done with the fourth chamber before 9:30, what a great start to the day.

When we exited the chamber there were five boats waiting to go up, it looked like it could be slow. We continued on through the smaller lakes we were now in, it was a nice day except for the wind, 20+ gusting 30 mph. The captain couldn’t relax the steering required constant attention.

We saw lots of loons today, some of them very close up. The young are just learning to dive; they try but only stay down 5 or 10 seconds while adults stay down many minutes. Because of this the adults don’t dive when we get close.

We soon reach Upper Brewers Lock, a flight of two. They check and we are assured that there is room for us to overnight at Lower Brewers two miles ahead. We continued through the three locks and because of the quick start at Jones Falls were tied up shortly after noon. Both the captain and the admiral were happy to be done for the day with the wind blowing; it continued to build all afternoon.

Jan and Loren went for a walk around the area; they found a metal sculpture studio in an old mill just across the river. Diana got a picture looking at the dam from the boat. We set up to have a picnic supper again on a table right beside the boat. Half way through dinner the rain chased us inside.

It was still a very nice day.

Jones Falls

Monday, August 3

It looked like another beautiful day as we set out this morning. We retraced our route from Westport across Upper Rideau Lake to the main route and headed to Newboro Lock. This was Jan and Loren first down lock; we were leaving the highest part of the system to start done to Kingston.

We continue to see beautiful scenery. It is pleasant cruising until we approach Chaffey’s Lock in a narrow channel. It is a holiday in Canada and the end of the two week vacation period, the waterway is very busy. As we approach Chaffey’s the docks are all full and there are two boats idling in the channel in front of us waiting for boats to come out of the lock going the other way. We have stop and hold position in a relatively small area. Finally the traffic clears going the other direction and we squeeze into the lock as the last of six boats.

We continue through several small lakes and their connecting channels until we approach Jones Falls. This is a detached lock plus a flight of three, our plan is to spend the night above the lock to allow Jan and Loren time to see the area. The small gray line above the lock is full but there are two finger docks about a quarter mile back above the Jones Falls dam. We tie to one about 1:00.

We have a leisurely lunch, then go exploring. Unfortunately for Jan and Loren because of the holiday both the lock master museum and the blacksmith shop are closed. It is still a beautiful area and it is fun to watch the other boats locking through. The traffic is very heavy and they are putting six and seven boats into the lock at a time, this makes the process of moving from one chamber to the next very slow. It takes an hour and a half or more to complete a sequence of four chambers.

We relax and then enjoy a picnic supper on the picnic table ashore from the boat.

Diana took this picture of our deck hands in their normal alert position guarding the boat.

Life continues to be great.

Westport

Sunday, August 2

The good weather can only last so long. The forecast for today was 80 to 90 % chance of rain; we awoke to very light showers. They continued off and on for most of the morning. Since we had 23 miles to our only lock for the day we drove from inside and it was a pleasant morning.

Before we left the Kawartha headed into the lock and Jan and Loren got a chance to watch.

The trip this morning took us through Lower and Big Rideau Lakes, they are very lovely, but it would have been nice if the visibility was a little better. The narrows lock then took us up to Upper Rideau Lake which is the top of the system. Just as we settled in the lock it rained harder than it had all morning.

Ten minutes later when we left the rain had quite. It was another six miles to the town of Westport that is a few miles off the main route. We got tied to the very busy town dock. We had some lunch watched some blue sky move in. The four of us then walked to laundry. The guide book mentioned a laundry only two blocks from the docks, the down map we were given showed a laundry but it turned out to be about an eight blocks. Later we learned there was another laundry not on the map.

Loren went for a stroll through town and I went back to the boat. I got the water tank filled and watched a dark cloud move in. Soon it was raining very hard. The girls got a ride back from the laundry with a gentleman that was there doing laundry. It quit just as they got back.

We had a quiet rest of the afternoon then walked two blocks to the Cove Inn, an 1876 hotel that served excellent meals. On the way back there just happened to be an ice cream shop.

Poonamalie

Saturday, Aug 1

It was a perfect morning, mild temperatures, bright blue skies and calm water. We headed out of Merrickville for the eight mile run to the first lock of the day, Kilmarnock; it is an isolated station with a swing bridge just above the lock. The bridge is so well balanced that the lock attendants just push on opposite ends of the bridge to swing it open.

We exited the lock through the pretty exit channel and headed for Edmunds Lock.

After Edmunds is the Old Sly flight of two approached by this nice wood channel and a train bridge right at the front of the blue line.

Old Sly is on the outskirts of Smiths Falls and soon we were going by the abandoned flight of three into the open gates of the new hydraulic lock. We went out of it and tied to the grey line along beautiful Victoria Park and had a bit of lunch.

Then we sent Jan and Loren of with instructions on where to find us after touring the museums and downtown Smiths Falls. Then Diana and I headed up to the next lock just a quarter mile away. We locked through and found the gray line full but the very nice lock master said we could tie to the far end of the blue line for a few hours.

Diana and I went grocery shopping for a few items, the store was much closer from here then when we went last time form downtown. Our plan was that when Jan and Loren got back we would be two miles to the next lock and spend the night above the lock. About four I went to the lock master and asked if he could check with Poonamalie to see if they had room. The answer was sorry they were full up, the lock master graciously agreed to allow us to stay on the blue line overnight even though we shouldn’t be there until they close.

Jan and Loren saw some of Smith’s Falls and the Rideau Museum plus the railroad museum, they said they enjoyed the entire afternoon, even if it was a lot of walking.

About five o’clock the lock master said he had just talked to Poonamalie and a boat had just left their gray line and there would be room for us after all. We hurried to get going and were soon at Poonamalie and locked up and tied to a spot on the grey line that we just fit into. This allows us to start tomorrow with a 23 mile run to the first lock.

This is a remote lock in a beautiful park like setting with a picnic table just up the hill from the boat. We prepared a dinner of corn on the cob, chopped vegetables (potatoes, onions and three types of peppers) with grilled shrimp all done on the BBQ. We adjourned to the picnic table for a fine dinner on a beautiful evening.

As we were finishing dinner, the Kawartha Voyageur came in and tied to the blue line across from us for the night. Jan and Loren talked with one of the passengers that has been aboard several times and he invited them aboard for a tour, this is against the rules but it happened anyhow.

It was a perfect day.

Merrickville Again

Friday, July 31

We started out with a lovely morning; notice the reflection in the water. We are back in the river stretch with a few cottages and lots of natural area between towns.

Our destination today is back to Merrickville, not a long distance, but three locks first. Loren has got the routine down for handling the line, this saves me having to dash down to get the stern line at each lock.

The three locks were all close, here we can see the second while getting ready to leave the first. Soon we are in Merrickville; the first stop is at a small marina below the locks, for a pump-out and to fill the water tank. Then we go over to the blue line, they are just finishing working boats up through the three locks and will start boats down shortly. We send Jan and Loren off sightseeing while Diana and I relax for the hour plus before it will be our turn in the lock.

We locked up and go around to the pond where we find dockage for the evening. After about five hours of exploring Jan and Loren return and we all relax a while before we walk back for dinner.

Last week I had seen a court yard behind the Inn and thought it look great, Jan and Loren had seen the same so there was no question where we would eat. The setting was lovely and the food was excellent.

Afterwards Diana got some pictures she had missed the first time we were here; including the street signs that give directions to all the attractions in town, an interest old church and a historic old house.

When the canal was build in 1826-32 Scottish stone masons were brought in to do the stone work. They were given land around Merrickville; this explains all the old stone buildings in the area.