The Journey of Memories

Green Bay

2009-09-05T07:11:00.000-05:00

Saturday, September 5

Just a quick update, Thursday we had a nice day and travelled from Washington Island to Menominee. The skies were clear and the winds light. In the afternoon we walked from the marina to a nice sand beach just outside the breakwater.

Yesterday was another good weather day, glassy flat water to finish our summer. We got to Green Bay about 1:30. Arrangements are all set for the work to be done on the boat and it will be hauled out on Tuesday as soon as we leave, to go into heated winter storage.

I have a flight out this morning to get the van and expect to be back in Green Bay tomorrow afternoon. We will clean and pack up on Monday and drive Home on Tuesday.

I think Diana has some pictures, I will add them to this post later.

Headed for Home

2009-09-02T20:31:00.000-05:00

Wednesday, September 02

After talking it over and checking on options last night and this morning, we have decided to end our journey this year early. Instead of continuing on to St Charles, MO to put the boat in winter storage there we are headed for Green Bay and have made arrangement to store the boat there this winter.

Tomorrow we will go from Washington Island to Menominee MI; then on Friday we will go on to Green Bay. Over the weekend I will fly to St Louis and retrieve the van we left in St Charles. I will drive back to Green Bay where we will pack up our gear and on Tuesday turn the boat over to Harborside Yacht Center for them to store the boat for the winter .

There were several reasons for the decision, a few of which include, both of us having had plenty of time on the water, the ongoing problem with the fish barrier on the Illinois River, two less than pleasant days on Lake Michigan with the prospect of about seven more.

If you are interested in the problems the fish barrier has caused on the boating public check this web page. http://www.uscgd9safetyzones.com/go/site/1295/ The short story is you have to get off your boat and have a commercial towing company tow it a half mile through the fish barrier.

We will decide this winter what we will do next year. The current options are to re-launch the boat and continue the trip including up the Mississippi to St Paul (about 1200 miles of water) or to have it trucked to St Paul (about 275 miles). There may also be other options to consider.

With all that arranged, it was a beautiful day here on Washington Island. It was clear skies and light winds with a temperature in the low 70s. We went for a walk and saw some a pretty rural area. The marina has a restaurant and we had dinner there, it was excellent.

I don’t know when I will have both internet access and time for another entry. It may not be until we are home sometime next week.

Detroit Harbor, Washington Island (Door County)

2009-09-02T10:26:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, September 1

The weather looked like another fine day, so we were up and out of the Manistique Marina early, (7:30) and headed south. Although the wind was light and forecasted to remain fairly light there were significant left over swells from yesterdays winds.

We punched into them for the first couple of hours but they settled down as the morning went by. They produced more motion then we like but it was nowhere as bad as yesterday. By late morning it had become a beautiful day on the water.

Our destination today was Washington Island which is a short ferry ride north of the north end of Door County, Wisconsin. By mid-afternoon, (we gained an hour on a time zone) we were pulling into the Marina here in Detroit Harbor. The Island is a tourist destination, hopefully tomorrow we can do some sight seeing.

It was a good day of boating but not a lot to write about.

Manistique

2009-09-01T05:55:00.003-05:00

Monday, August 31

First an update on Sunday, as forecast Sunday was still windy, no day to travel. At least the skies had cleared and it was a nice day for a stroll around Mackinaw City. We had breakfast in town.

Then after lunch (when it warmed a little) we walked over to stroll thru Mackinaw Crossings. This is a new pedestrian plaza surrounded by shops. In the center is a fountain that feeds a stream that runs down to a pool at the far end.

Next to Mackinaw Crossings is a large waterfall that is part of an adventure golf center.

Across the street was a large arts and crafts show with 60 or 70 vendors in tents. Diana stroll the displays while I walked down to check the new state harbor marina. It is a beautiful new 130 slip facility that just opened the last week in July, very few boaters know it is here. We got another picture of the old icebreaker and Diana liked this fancy clock and flowers at the end of main (Central) street.

For my birthday dinner, Diana did individual chocolate cakes in the microwave. It is a receipt she saw last spring and made sure she had all the ingredients onboard. Who knew you could bake a cake in less than five minutes.

Now for Monday.

From Mackinaw we were looking at a long day somewhere to get to the west side of the lake. We decided that today looked like a good day to run straight west to Manistique. It would be 76 miles (almost ten hours) but a straight shot once we were under the bridge. The forecast was 5 to 10 NW going SW in the afternoon waves one foot or less, other than 45 degrees a good day.

We were off the dock by 7:30 and under the bridge just before 8:00. The prospect was for driving over 70 miles by compass. I can steer by the compass but it is much easier with a visual reference. As fortune would have it there was a freighter in front of us by about 3 miles, he was on our heading. He was just a little faster than we were but I was able to use him as a visual reference for 50 miles, he was just a spec but then slowed and finally turned north to go into Port Inland. It was only a couple more miles and I had a tower on shore near the Manistique Harbor entrance.

The weather was clear with the predicted 5 to 10 from the NW. About 1:00 it went to the SW as forecast, but instead of remaining 5 to 10 by 2:30 it had built to 15 to 20 and the waves were 2 to 3 feet. It was a very uncomfortable ride for the rest of the day; everybody hunkered down and made the best of it. Just before 5:00 we made the breakwater and on into the marina. Everyone was relieved to be tied up in calm waters.

At least now we are in a position to run down the Wisconsin shore. It will be one day from here to Washington Island at the north end of Door County, and then there are many harbors going down the coast.

Tourists in Mackinaw City

2009-08-29T13:57:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-28T08:39:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-26T17:53:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-26T17:50:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-25T10:35:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-24T08:05:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-23T07:30:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-22T06:47:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-20T16:00:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-20T15:41:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-20T15:07:00.009-05:00

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

2009-08-17T07:15:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-16T17:13:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-16T16:52:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-16T16:44:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-16T16:28:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-12T07:54:00.006-05:00

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

2009-08-12T07:40:00.005-05:00

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

2009-08-10T07:27:00.000-05:00

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

2009-08-10T07:21:00.003-05:00

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.

2009-08-09T18:49:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-09T18:46:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-09T18:44:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-06T11:54:00.001-05:00

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.

2009-08-06T11:50:00.002-05:00

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

2009-08-06T11:45:00.004-05:00

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

2009-08-06T11:42:00.001-05:00

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

2009-08-02T16:23:00.003-05:00

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

2009-08-02T16:16:00.003-05:00

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.

Return to Burritt’s Rapids.

2009-07-31T13:58:00.002-05:00

Thursday, July 30

First thing this morning I returned the rental to Enterprise then we were off to start the return trip on the Rideau from Ottawa to Kingston. Since I described this going the other way, I may not describe as much detail going back.

Just on the outskirts of Ottawa
we past this piriate ship.

Jan and Loren need to be in Kingston by August 5, so we need to travel a little faster going back. To get a jump on this we did 37 miles and eight locks today. This took us through the Long Reach and back to Burritt’s Rapid. We spent the night above the lock. We should now have time for them to do some sightseeing along the way.

The weather today was near perfect. It was mostly sunny, low humidity and a temperature in the upper 70’s.

Life is GREAT.

Work Days in Ottawa

2009-07-31T13:55:00.001-05:00

Tuesday – Wednesday July 28 and 29

Tuesday we spend thoroughly cleaning the boat inside and out. We also had a Yanmar diesel mechanic come for major, routine service. With all the hours we have put on the engines the manual called for a lot of work. Diana got Pictures proofing I was cleaning, they all show the pavilion that has three restaurants and is surrounded by water.

She also got pictures of the beautiful flowers in the park just across the street.

Wednesday we finished the cleaning, rented a car, then went grocery shopping. Then I drove the two plus hours to Kingston. My sister Jan and husband Loren drove in and left their car in Kingston and will do the return trip on the Rideau with us. They got held up by an accident and road construction so it was it little late by the time we got to the boat. We loaded their stuff on the boat and went to the restaurant right here at Dow’s Pavilion. We had a nice dinner, showed them around the boat and then it was an early night for everybody.

Tourists in Ottawa

2009-07-31T13:46:00.005-05:00

Monday, July 27

Today’s plan was to see downtown Ottawa as tourists. Ottawa is the national capital of Canada and has an impressive Parliament complex on a hill overlooking the Ottawa River. Every morning they have an elaborate changing of the guard ceremony in front of the parliament building.

We were up and making plans to catch a bus downtown shortly after 8:00, when a heavy rain cell moved in. We checked the radar and it looked like it wouldn’t last. By 8:30 it had quit and we headed for the bus stop. It was a quick easy twenty minute ride, and the bus dropped us off about three blocks from the main entrance to parliament grounds.

By now the sky was clearing and it looked like a nice morning, unfortunately the sign on the lawn said the changing of the guard ceremony was cancelled.

The parliament complex has three buildings as you approach, the center main building and an east and west building. We admired the grounds and took some photos.

Then we headed for an information tent. They conduct regular guided tours of the parliament building, at no charge. The next was in about fifteen minutes. We relaxed and studied the literature. Soon it was time for the tour and our friendly knowledgeable guide, Natalie, lead us off to start the tour. Unfortunately all visitors to parliament must go through security, just like an airport. It delayed the start for another ten or fifteen minutes.

The tour lasted almost an hour and gave us a chance to see much of this beautiful building plus some insight into the workings of the Canadian government. Afterward we walked around the lovely grounds the view is of the Ottawa River looking across into Quebec.

The parliament library is in a separate connected building behind the main parliament building, it is very ornate and is actually older then the main building. The original parliament building burned in the early 1900s but the library was saved.

When we reached the far end of the parliament grounds we were looking across the Rideau Lock Chambers at the beautiful Chateau Laurier Hotel.

From the bridge to the hotel Diana took a picture looking done the flight of locks, then another from down beside the locks looking back up at the hotel.

It had been a long morning of walking; we went on past the hotel and found what appeared to be a nice restaurant for lunch. They offered an outdoor patio, but we choose to go inside, it was rather humid outside. About the time our lunch came it rained hard again.

By the time we were ready to leave the rain had moved on and we walked another few blocks to the National Art Gallery. This is a newer grand building with a giant spider sculpture out front. We spent about two hours at the gallery, most of it in the Canadian Gallery, Diana enjoyed immensely. I think a series art lover could spend a week but we didn’t have the time and old feet were getting tired.

We walked back and found a bus stop, in ten minutes we were on the bus and another fifteen we were back to the boat. It was a fine day in a very interesting and lovely city.

Dows Lake, Ottawa

2009-07-28T16:13:00.003-05:00

Sunday, July 26

We were up and away by 8:00 this morning. We had five miles to the next lock and the forecast had a greater chance of showers later in the day. As we started down river from Long Island Locks there was a trailer park just beyond the lock.

This area still has some undeveloped river bank but is more and more developed.

The next lock is Black Rapids; they have a nicely landscaped lock station.

As we exited the lock looking back we could see a lot of water coming over and thru the dam. We have not seen real heavy rain just frequent showers, especially at night, for several days. There has been heavy rain nearby. Normally this time of year the dams are all closed trying to hold as much water as possible. This year they are dumping water like they do in the spring.

Friday night Ottawa had enough rain to cause significant flash flooding. The flight of eight locks downtown that connect the Rideau to the Ottawa River were over four hours late opening Saturday while they dealt with the high water.

I knew the Kawartha Voyageur had turned around the last night in Ottawa and we would be meeting here somewhere. I called heard on the radio to make sure we didn’t meet in a narrow channel and before she could answer I saw her coming around the corner. We had lots of water to pass, we exchange greetings and she headed into the lock we had just left.

Being a weekend there were many people out enjoying the water. These three young women went by in their kayaks at a rather rapid pace.

We are now well into the greater Ottawa area and there are nice homes all along the river bank. We are soon at the next lock, Hogs Back, and through it we have left the Rideau River for good as it flows through a series of rapids down to the Ottawa River. We are now in an all manmade channel.

A mile further we are at the Hartwell locks, a flight of two. All along this stretch there is park with a bike/hiking trail. It runs all the way through downtown and out along the Ottawa River. Note in this picture; it has started to rain slightly and the high water is slightly above the gate of the lock.

From here it is only another mile to the Dow’s Lake Pavilion where we have a reservation to dock for the next four nights. As we leave the lock it starts to rain harder. By the time we are docking it is back to a light drizzle. We get tied up and relax, it is lunch time and we are in no hurry to do anything.

This is the halfway point of our trip. From here we will turn around and basically go back the way we came. There are a few places the route will be different.

We will be here until Thursday; tomorrow we will sightsee in Ottawa, Tuesday a diesel mechanic is coming to service the engines and Wednesday we will rent a car to grocery shop and pick Jan and Loren, my sister and brother-in-law, up in Kingston so they can cruise back to Kingston with us.

Life continues to be great.

Long Island Locks

2009-07-28T16:08:00.003-05:00

Saturday, July 25

We were ready to lock down when the lock opened at 8:30 this morning. It was overcast, but otherwise a very pleasant morning. After Burritt’s Rapids lock there is an open stretch called Long Reach, it is over 23 miles to the next lock.

We had a very enjoyable cruise through a variety of scenery. Early it was mostly rural with at lot of undeveloped shoreline. As we proceeded we were getting closer to Ottawa and there was more and more development.

Along the way we past this interesting old small cruise boat.

At the end of Long Reach is the Long Island locks, the locks are in a channel separate from the main river channel. There are two islands between the channels that are joined by a dam. There are 20 to 30 houses on the island with their only access being a swing bridge over the lock. The bridge is opened by a loc k attendant walking around a capstan in the middle of the bridge.

The Long Island Locks are a flight of three chambers. We had planned to go to the next lock for the night but this lock like such a nice lock station and there was the threat of a few showers we decided to spend the night on below the lock.

Here is a picture taken from Memories of the other boats below the lock. We had a few showers but they did not last. It was a pleasant afternoon.

Late in the afternoon two older gentlemen (I would guess about 80) locked through in a large kayak. They set up their tent right beside Memories. We have seen them a couple of time in previous days but not talked to them. They are kayaking and camping the 125 mile length of the Rideau from Kingston to Ottawa. This is day seven they figure two or three more. They wish the rain would stop even more then we do.

There is a circular stone dam similar but smaller than Jones Falls here. It still amazes me that 175 years ago they were able to stack stone blocks without mortar in a way that has held for all these years with limited maintenance.

The final picture is looking down at the lower approach area from the top of the dam.

It was another very good day.

Burritt’s Rapids

2009-07-26T13:28:00.004-05:00

Friday, July 24

We wanted to go through the Merrickville locks (three of them) this morning, but the Kawartha would be first. Because of the heavy traffic lately we got underway about 8:20 motored out of the pond were the dockage is, around to the channel so that we could take a spot on the blue line when the Kawartha left.

She was just leaving as we got there. We idled in the channel for a couple of minutes and she pulled into the lock and we tied to the blue line. Diana took a picture of the bow folded up so that the boat is not too long for the lock.

It had rained some over night and everything was wet this morning, it looks like it is not going to be a great day for boating.

Finally it was our turn and we started down the three locks, this picture shows the view from the second chamber.

We passed another adult loon with a young in tow.

Two miles after Merrickville is another lock, the first of three in less than a mile. They try to coordinate the traffic going thru. We locked through the first two with three other boats and they held us in the second lock so that we would pass boats going the other way between the second and third locks. It turned out there were seven boats going the other way.

A few miles further is a swing bridge about a half mile before the Burritt’s Rapids Lock. The lock staff at Burritt’s knows when boats are coming and ride a bicycle up to open it.

This was as far as we were going today. We tied to the look wall above the lock and have settled in for the day. It rained and drizzled much of the morning and hot soup tasted good for lunch. It was only a seven mile day, but six locks.

This is a long canal section and there is a walking trail down the peninsula when it stop drizzling for a while we walked part of it. Diana took this picture looking back at Memories and the lock station.

A Day to Explore Merrickville

2009-07-26T13:22:00.004-05:00

Thursday, July 24, 2009

We spent all day in Merrickville. It is a very interesting old town. It is also Stan’s (my dad) birthplace. He left before he was two and the family does not have a lot of history in the area.

Unfortunately it rained hard and then drizzled off and on all morning. I found the library and used the internet for weather, e-mail and the previous posts. Diana spent the time on the boat, painting, croqueting and reading.

Finally mid afternoon it cleared a bit and we had a nice walk around this lovely town. There are many old buildings.

On the way back to the boat the ice cream shop looked very attractive. They have all homemade ice cream with many interesting and unusual flavors, many with local ingredients. I had a rhubarb ice cream that was wonderful.
A good day, less rain would be nice.

After a short rest and some socializing we walked back to the Main Street Family Restaurant for a nice pasta dinner.

The Kawartha Voyageur cruise boat (see Bobcaygeon entry for description) had docked at the blue line for the night. After dinner I walked over and had a nice conversation with Brian, the engineer and John the Captain/Owner.

Then I walked back to the library to check e-mails and the weather.

Merrickville

2009-07-23T09:07:00.005-05:00

Wednesday, July 22

It rained hard overnight, but by morning it had quite and it was just very wet out. We were up and ready to lock thru when the lock opened at 8:30. Cher was there also and we locked thru with them all day.

This is one of the busiest weeks of the year for the Rideau system. Montreal follows the European custom of businesses closing and everybody taking holiday (vacation) at the same time. This is the first week and many people with boats have come up the Ottawa River into the Rideau. They are all going the other way, but it means that at the most popular locks overnight tie ups are full early. It also means hearing as much French as English spoken.

After locking down the new combined lock Diana got a picture looking back up the old flight of three.

A mile later we were at the Old Sly lock. It has a large swing bridge just above the lock. They were locking thru three boats going the other way, so we went to the blue line. Soon they swung the bridge to let the three out and we proceeded in. This is a flight of two, but with just two boats it went quickly. There is another old lock office here.

As we exited there were six boats heading the other way. We were soon out of the narrow channel into the river and some very nicely landscaped properties.

This area is all low land and a mix of nice properties, farm land and marsh. Although the water is wide in places except for the channel it is very shallow. In this picture, although it may look like we are going around to the right by the far end we actual leave the picture to the left.

We pasted this tour boat headed the other way, with a full load of tourists enjoying the scenery.

We continue to see many loons, it appears the young are nearing adult size and trying to learn to fly. We also saw several osprey and lots of turns, Diana has not decide which of the tern family

We were soon approaching the Edmonds Lock, a remote lock with no population nearby. This lovely boat was parked on the approach wall.

The lock has a manual swing bridge. The attendant is just visible at the left end of the bridge pushing it open.

We were on thru one more lock after Edmonds and into Merrickville, our destination for the day. Here the tie up space is on the other side of the peninsula that leads to the lock. As predicted even though it was just before noon, things were pretty full. In the corner there appeared to be room on the shore end of a floating dock. We went in slowly rotated the boat between the sailboat and the weeds on the shore. With the help of a couple of line handlers we wedged the boat in, notice there is a fender between the dingy and the wall. Later a 30 foot cruiser came in and tied to the wall in the foreground of the picture.

On one side of the canal are the ruins of the old milling complex. They had lumber, flour, and woolen mills here; it was the original reason to settle the town in the 1790s. They have a small museum in one restored building.

On the other side is downtown with an old church near the river and one of the old blockhouses across the street. The blockhouse has been restored and is now a museum. We toured both the mill ruins and the blockhouse this afternoon.

Merrickville is a set of three locks, but not a flight. Each is a separate lock with a small basin between. The picture is from the swing bridge at the first chamber looking down the two turning basins and lock chambers.

Best of Times, Mike and Jeanette, came through late this afternoon. There was no space to tie up above where we are, so they locked on down and got the only small tie up area below the locks. They went into town for dinner and stopped by afterwards. They came aboard and visited for awhile. After they left the couple in the sailboat just in front of us came aboard and we had a nice visit.

Another fine day.

Rest Day in Smiths Falls

2009-07-23T09:01:00.003-05:00

Tuesday, July 21

We spent the day resting, catching up on chores, this blog and sightseeing in Smiths Falls. Late morning we walked the half mile to the railroad museum. The museum consists of the large old depot, with many nice displays, and a good deal of rolling stock. The rolling stock includes a steam locomotive, an early diesel locomotive many box cars plus three cars open for touring, two cabooses and a dental car.

In the 1940s the Canadian Government took several passenger cars and converted them to living quarters for a dentist, his nurse with a dental office. The cars would be moved from small town to town where there was no dentist. The program continues today, however in the 1970s they switched to using RVs.

The display of a dining car table reminded Diana of traveling from St Paul to North Dakota to spend summers with her grandparents when she was young.

After dinner we walked to the other side of the channel where Cher was tied up. We first meet the couple on Cher the night we were at Big Chute on the Trent. They live in Florida but for three years have kept their boat up here and use it as a summer cabin. We had an interesting visit again with them.

Yesterday I mentioned a new lock that replaced a flight of three, walking across the channel tonight Diana took this picture of the old flight.

As we were going to walk back we had this beautiful sunset.

Life continues to be great.

Smiths Falls

2009-07-21T12:25:00.005-05:00

Monday, July 20

It was a little cool this morning but warmed up quickly as the sun rose and we had another fine weather day. We did some chores including filling the water tank and a little after nine we were underway. Diana took this picture as we left of the Galley where we had lunch yesterday.
We followed an alternate route back to the main route on Big Rideau Lake and continued on. This nice home was on the shore as we past close by. We saw the deepest water we have been in since Lake Michigan on the east end of Big Rideau, over 300 feet.

We reached the end of the channel that would take us to Lower Rideau Lake. This is now getting into some low land and the later exiting Lower Rideau there is a very twisted channel through marsh land.

We followed the boats we had locked with into the next section.

Soon we were approaching Smith Falls, our destination for the day; it is the midpoint of the Rideau system. Originally there was a detached lock and a quarter mile later a flight of three. In the 1970 a swing bridge over the flight was replaced by a new larger bridge and a new single chamber lock was build next to the flight to replace it. The flight of three is still there but not operational.

The approached to the entire area is marked by this permanently open railroad bridge. It is the last of its type standing in Canada. We locked through the detached single lock and headed into the very busy quarter mile between locks. In addition to tying on the lock wall the town has finger docks available for overnight mooring with power and showers. It is associated with a camp ground also in the park.

The park does not take reservations it is first come, and they were full. We went across the way and tied to the approach wall right next to a lovely city park.

Smith Falls is the site of the Rideau Canal home office and they have a museum attached. We walked over and toured the museum, it is very interesting. On top of the museum is an observation tower over looking most of Smith Falls, Diana took this picture of the area. Memories is just visible center right.

After the museum we walked to the grocery store. It was a healthy walked to the store and even longer back with four bags of groceries.

Another excellent day.

Len’s Cove Marina – Portland

2009-07-21T12:16:00.005-05:00

Sunday, July 19

We awoke to another beautiful day after a quiet night. I said yesterday we spent the night alone but by first locking at 8:30 there were several boats that had come from the last lock, on the blue line ready to lock thru.

We were in no hurry so we waited for the museum in the old lock masters house to open at 9:00 and went over for a quick tour. Again they to a nice job of depicting life on the canal in the mid 1800s.

Then it was back to the boat and lock up through Chaffey’s Lock. From there we followed another narrow channel to Indian Lake. Just around the corner was Dorothy’s Fish Camp, it looks like you could fish from the balcony if you didn’t want to go out in the boat.

The landscape continues to be solid rock.

This picture is interesting for the little green sign above the 10kph sign. Your view is straight ahead for almost half a mile of narrow channel, but it is a dead end. As the sign indicates, just out of picture the canal makes a 110 degree turn to the right out into the open lake.

After several miles through the lake we came to the Newboro Lock. This is a short lift up to Upper Rideau Lake. The yellow sign on the right hand lock wall is a reminder that this is the last up lock. We are now at the high point in the system and will be going down from here to Ottawa. The skipper must remember that now red right is wrong, red left is correct.

We have again locked through with Best of Times; Mike leads the way out of the lock. Once out of the lock they turn off the main route to head for a marina at the west end of the lake in Westport.

We continue on to the Narrows Lock where we lock down for the first time on the Rideau. The Narrows is a very popular lock for road traffic and on Sunday there were lots of spectators. The main route runs some twelve miles to the other end of Big Rideau Lake put we are headed for a marina of the main route at the south side of Big Rideau. We have been locking thru with a local cruiser that is headed home to the same marina; he offers to lead the way.

The lake is large with many islands and has lots of water, but between some of the islands is foul ground, time to pay attention to the chart and make sure we are in the deep water. Along the way Diana got this picture of an interesting building on the point of this island.

Soon we were at Len’s Cove Marina in Portland. We had called and they said they would make room for us. We ended up on the outside of the end of their main dock. Len’s is a nice marina with slips, rental cabins and a nice marine store. They also have a pool, showers and a laundry. Diana made use of the laundry and we will shower in the morning.

The first order of business was lunch, since it was now 1:30 and we had not eaten we decide to walk to the far side of the marina to the Galley Restaurant, it was about a quarter mile and Diana was hungry. We sat on their second storey patio. We had a good lunch though Diana was a little cold; it had been sunny and warm on the dock so she didn’t bring a jacket. After we got to the patio a cloud blocked out the sun and there was a bit of a breeze.

The final picture is looking straight of the bow from where we are docked at an interesting home.

Jones Falls and Chaffeys Lock

2009-07-20T05:33:00.013-05:00

Saturday, July 18

It rained overnight but by morning it had quit. It was still overcast but was showing signs of breaking up. Since it had drizzled much of yesterday afternoon after we tied up Diana had not been out to look around the lock station. This morning she got this nice picture of the lock mechanisms.

The crank on the right is attached with chains going both ways to the long bar. When cranked it pulls the bar in either direction, pulling the gate open or pushing it closed. The crank on the left is attached to a chain that runs down the lock wall to open and close the water valve.

These pictures are of the boats at the dock. The sun came out long enough to get the nice reflection of the boats in the water.

Soon we were off headed through more 10 kph canal with spectacular scenery. This rock outcropping is known as The Duke. Most of today’s travel is through a series of lakes connected by narrow channels. For the most part they are deep enough that there is only the occasional buoy. The geographic is lots of granite.

We have been seeing lots of loons, but none closer than this family of two adults and two young. We went between the three and the adult on the other side.

We decided that lowering the bimini was not going to help us get under this bridge, but the bridge tender saw us coming and we waited only a couple of minutes while he swung it.

Soon we were approaching the locks at Jones Falls. This is a major set of locks on the Rideau, there is a flight of three followed by a single 100 yards farther on. Originally this was a 60 foot vertical, set of rapids over about a mile.

We had planned to lock up then tie up and see the sites from the top. When we arrived there were five cruisers in front of us and the lock was working boats down in the upper chamber. I talked to the very busy lock master and he said he thought he could get the six of us in the next locking if we waited for a second locking it would be two to three hours. We waited while they completed the down bound, the lock master then had time to look closer at the five cruisers. He had thought a couple were 26 – 28 feet and he could put them three deep on one wall. They were all 30 feet and with both agreed I would be better off waiting for another lock cycle.

We walked up to the top of the fourth chamber and across to the other side. They have a 1840s blacksmith shop restored to functioning condition. They give demonstrations, make items for sale and also make parts to keep the original lock mechanisms working.

We then walked back across the lock and to the top of the hill to the Sweeney House. Mr. Sweeney was the original lock master and his home has been restored to how it was in the mid 1800s. Notice the window slits in the pictures. This, as many of the lockmaster houses, was built as a defensible house in case of attack. The slits are gun ports and there are wood inserts to plug them that will stop a musket ball.

From there we walked to the observation platform viewing the Jones Falls Dam. When it was built in 1830 it was the largest dam in North America and third largest in the world. It is sandstone block standing on end in an arch, the water behind pushes the blocks together giving it strength. It is 61 feet high and 350 feet long.

On the way back there was a swallowtail butterfly sunning its self. We walked back down to the boat and had a leisurely lunch as we watch the activity and chatted with other boaters waiting. Finally it was our turn and we headed into the first chamber. This picture is leaving the flight of three and heading to the fourth chamber across the turning basin.

We followed Mike and Jeanette on Best of Times out of the lock past the traffic waiting to go down. We first meet Mike and Jeanette on the Trent-Severn and have seeing them ever couple of days, and have stayed at the same place three or four nights.

As we continued there was a lot more beautiful scenery, plus an occasional nicely landscaped yard.

They really want you to go for the trees and stay away from that rock at this narrow pass.

We did a few more miles through Davis Lock and on to Chaffeys Lock where we tied to the wall for the night. The totals for the day, 17 miles and 5 locks. The last picture is of the water flowing just beside the approach wall we were tied to. It was a quiet evening with just the sound of the running water. There were several other boats above the lock but none below the lock.

Upper Brewers Lock

2009-07-20T04:54:00.004-05:00

Friday, July 17

Last night we had a beautiful sunset.

We have an appointment in Ottawa for routine engine maintenance and to pick up crew the week of July 27, we are a couple days ahead of schedule, so we plan to go slowly up the Rideau. This morning dawned sunny, warm and calm, a glorious morning. Since we were not in a hurry Diana fixed blueberry pancakes with fresh blueberries from the farmers market yesterday.

About 9:00 we got underway. We saw a little more of the Canadian Shield granite but for the next ten miles the canal goes through an old marsh that is now a shallow lake, there is a long narrow, buoyed channel that follows the old river bed. At the top of the lake there is productive farm land, wheat to port and corn to starboard.

We were soon approaching the Lower Brewers lock; note the bridge in the picture. When we left this morning there were boats locking up at Kingston Mills. They ran faster than we did coming up the lake and caught up to us as we approached the lock. So there were three of us locking up together. When we reached the top the lock attendants manually swung the bridge open by pushing on a bar on the side. It must be well balanced.

Another couple of miles and we were at Upper Brewers Lock which is a flight of two chambers. The picture was taken looking to the side of the boat; the captain is head to pass the green buoy on the port side correctly. We exited the lock and headed for the dock above to tie up for the afternoon and evening. As we did the boats we had been locking with continued up stream. There is room to tie to both sides of this dock we were the fourth boat on the dock and by night fall there were seven. Diana took this last picture of the lock staff a little later in the afternoon.

Although the weather had been nice this morning there was a front that travelled with us all morning and by early afternoon it started to drizzle and though it never rained hard there was a light drizzle all evening. We sat inside and relaxed.

Life continues to be good.

The Rideau Canal.

2009-07-19T19:35:00.004-05:00

A few words about the Rideau before we continue our journey. Although similar to the Trent-Severn, they are both run by Parks Canada, there is no commercial traffic (just an occasional tour boat) and every lock is a park site. There are some major differences. The Trent was started in the mid 1800s and not completed until 1920 while the Rideau was started in 1826 and completed in 1832. The Trent has been updated and modernized while the Rideau has been carefully maintained as it was originally built, all the lock gates and valves are hand operated cranks and chains to drive the mechanisms. At the time the Rideau was built there was no concrete, the locks are all limestone blocks hand carved and fitted.

After we got back to the boat we headed out to start the Rideau, much of the early section is narrow channels through otherwise shallow water. There are lots of buoys. After about five miles we headed into a narrow canal between granite walls. This is part of the Canadian Shield and had to be blasted and hand excavated by the canal builders. The signs on the side of wall are “10kph/hr and no wake”. It leads to the first set of locks at Kingston Mills. This is a flight of three locks followed 100 yards later by a fourth.

They were just finishing a group of six boats going the other way when we got there. Two on each wall and two smaller boats rafted off in the middle. When they exited one was a very interesting boat from NY. My impression is of an old Erie Canal boat, but that is just an impression I know nothing about the boat.

We locked through and tied to the floating dock above for the night. Notice in the pictures the limestone block construction. The lock has a railroad bridge high above the middle chamber of the flight and a swing bridge above the fourth chamber. There was a lot of train traffic early, most of it passenger from Montreal to Toronto and on to Windsor. By bed time it had slowed down and we heard only one freight train during the night. It was a lovely park setting, there were a lot of fisherman in the evening but they all left by dark. We were the only boat there.

Another great day.

Tour of Kingston

2009-07-19T18:35:00.007-05:00

Thursday, July 16

Today we planned to tour Kingston then go only to the first set of locks for this afternoon. It was a beautiful morning. Yesterday I mentioned getting through a bridge without it opening, this morning we got pictures of the bridge closed, then open with a sailboat going thru. Unfortunately the bridge has a metal grating and is very busy. This produces an almost constant low rumble as vehicles cross it.

We choose the Kingston Marina because we need a place here for guests coming aboard to leave a car. The big marina, Confederation Basin, is right downtown but there is no parking nearby. Kingston Marina is a working marina with lots of repair work and new construction, they said for a fee a car could be left for a week.

They have for sometime built fire and rescue boats. This 65 footer for Tampa is far and away the largest they have ever done. It was started last fall and is due for delivery in a couple of weeks. It is all aluminum with big Cummins diesels. It will get to the destination at over forty miles per hour then the engines switch to driving large pumps that pump 12,000 gallons a minute. They now have orders for two similar, but slightly larger boats. Word is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers paid for the paint job.

After admiring the fire boat, we walked the little more than half a mile to downtown. The first picture is of the city hall built in the 1840s. Next door is the Prince George Hotel built in 1809. Across the street are a nice park and the old train station which is now a tourist information center, beyond the park is the big public marina.

Kingston is a very old city. First the French build a fort in the early 1700’s which was quickly taken by the British and replaced with a fort of their own. Because it is at the junction of the St Lawrence and Lake Ontario it was considered very strategic when all travel was by water. It is also just a short distance across the water to New York and the breakaway colonists. It was feared for a long time that they might attack.

There is a one hour trolley tour of the city. We hopped on the 10:00 tour and enjoyed it a great deal. They start by crossing the river and going to the Royal Military Academy. This is the equivalent of Annapolis, West Point and the Air Force Academy all in one, although they have only about 1,200 cadets. During the summer the cadets are away on military exercises elsewhere, but they have high school students in for special programs. Also on that side of the river is Fort Henry the old British Fort. Diana got a nice picture of the downtown area from across the river.

There are four of these round towers along the water front; they were built as defensive sites.

We crossed back over the river and toured the rest of the city, there are many lovely old homes in the city, the pictures are just a sampling.

After our tour of Kingston, we went to the local farmers market (three days a week) and had lunch at the Iron Duke. Then it was back to the boat.

Kingston

2009-07-15T19:46:00.002-05:00

Wednesday, July 15

The forecast was for lighter winds and sunny skies, we awoke to just that. We were underway by 7:40 and head down the Bay of Quinte towards Kingston. The Bay of Quinte is long narrow portion of Lake Ontario that winds between the mainland and a large peninsula (Prince Edward County) that makes it a great boating area.

The water is generally deep and there are no buoys for miles. Occasional there is a shoal on one shore or the other (or in the middle) that requires checking the chart and when it is time making sure you find the buoy. There was more boating activity then we have been seeing. There were lots of boats of all types but more than anything lots of cruising sailboats. Many were motoring some were sailing and some were doing both.

Early in the day we past this family of swans, notice also the calm water.

Sometime later we past this interesting little tug.

As the day went on the wind built a little more than forecast and from the worst possible direction, SSW. As we went past the eastern end of Prince Edward County there is an open stretch before the course goes behind Amherst Island, then again after Amherst Island going into Kingston, these are known as the Upper Gap and Lower Gap. The SSW wind blows in off of open Lake Ontario and catches you right on the beam. It was just bad enough that we rolled a bit. Nothing serious but enough to upset the deckhands and the Admiral, and that is not good.

By 4:15 we were into the Kingston harbor and head up to the inner harbor. Kingston is a very old historic city. They have a great deal of sailboat racing activity, since they were the Olympic sailing site when Montreal hosted the Olympics in 1976.

There is a ferry that runs to Wolff Island regularly, Wolff is the largest of the thousand island area in the St Lawrence River.

There was a bridge that does not open during rush hour and the next opening was 6:00. We were able to lay the Bimini flat, lower the radio antenna and get under with about a foot to spare. The Kingston Marina was just beyond the bridge and we were soon tied up.

A pretty good day, but the Admiral does not like the rock and roll of beam seas.

A Lay Day at Trenton

2009-07-15T19:43:00.001-05:00

Tuesday, July 14

We decide that we would take another day in Trenton. I had planned on two days from Trenton to Kingston, we found out it isn’t as far as I had planned and could be done in one. The winds today were down from yesterday but still a bit gusty. Fraser Park is a very nice and friendly marina. Craig and Sandy who run it and are very pleasant and helpful.

I made another trip to the library for internet access, and then we walked a couple of blocks to a large A & P and picked up a few groceries. After lunch we took a walk on the river walk that leads from the marina back up alongside the Trent River. Diana got pictures of the small restored lighthouse in the park and a picture of the park and marina office from the far side.

Some chores got done and a great deal of time was spent chatting with other boaters. There were three fellows from Toledo, Ohio that had come up Lake Huron, thru Georgian Bay and down the Trent-Severn. They were now headed across Lake Ontario, up the Welland Canal and then west on Lake Erie. There was a couple who had just retired and were headed down the Trent-Severn and were headed for the Rideau the same as we were. There was a gentleman from Montreal who had done the Trent-Severn and was headed home down the St Lawrence. There was a couple on a sailboat from Montreal that had just taken the mast down to go up the Trent and then planned to spent the rest of the summer sailing Georgian Bay, and probably leave the boat there for the winter, and continue next year. There was also a gentleman from the Lake Simcoe area of the Trent Severn that had just purchased a used 40 foot Sea Ray in Connecticut and was bringing it home. He crossed Lake Ontario yesterday from Oswego NY. Each had something to contribute to some very interesting discussions.

A relaxing, enjoyable day.

Trenton

2009-07-13T18:19:00.003-05:00

Monday, Jul y 13

Last night Diana took pictures of Memories in the nice quiet setting below Glen Ross lock.

It was a chilly morning, when I got up it was 48 outside, the sky was clear and the wind was light. The forecast was for high winds this afternoon, so we wanted to get an early start. Today we had 14 miles and six locks to complete the Trent Severn Waterway. Since we spent the night below lock seven we got underway a little before 8:00 with seven miles of open river to go before lock six. This got us there shortly after their 8:30 opening. They saw us coming and had the gates open when we go there.

The wind had started to build before we left and continued to build all morning. It was not all that strong but in and around the locks it was very gusty. The boat wanted to go every direction but straight. Every time I planned for the wind to move me sideways it would die and I was sitting in the middle of the lock instead of on the wall.

After lock six there are five more in the next five miles. They all knew we were coming and the gate to each was open as we approached. Diana liked the name at lock 3, Glen Miller, since she did all the singing and loves the old music.

The morning went by quickly and soon we were exiting lock one and under the bridge that welcomes everyone to the Trent Severn, in our case it signaled the end. We had a reservation at Fraser Park Marina in Trenton; it is just 200 yards below the bridge. We called on the radio and they directed us where to go and were there to help us tie up. By now the wind was gusting pretty heavy and we needed the help.

This marks a couple of milestones for the trip. We have completed the Trent Severn Waterway, a major part of the trip (we will do it again the other way) and if we do the Rideau in both direction and don’t go to Montreal, we are at the lowest point of the trip, 243.3 feet above sea level. We have come down 597 feet since Kirkfield.

We had a late lunch and then I went to the lovely new library in town for internet access, then to an ATM and a marina supply story for a chart I was missing. Diana took pictures of the Fraser Park, and the marina.

When I got back I went over and chatted with Craig the very helpful, knowledgeable marina manager. The wind was now steady 25 gusting over 30 mph, Craig said he was expecting three sailboats in shortly. I stuck around and lent a hand, in this wind extra hands are always helpful.
Diana had taken a short nap and then she cleaned inside while I did some boat chores outside. If this wind settles down as forecast we will be headed for Kingston tomorrow otherwise we will see more of Trenton.

Another good day.

Glen Ross Lock

2009-07-13T13:11:00.004-05:00

Sunday, July 12

First I need to finish yesterday’s entry; I forgot an important item last night. Yesterday before we got underway I had a conversation with a boater at the other end of the lock wall in Hastings. It turns out he now lives in northern Wisconsin not far from Ashland. They frequently come to St Paul, the Ordway and the St Paul Hotel Grill are two of his favorite places. They bought their boat three years ago in North Carolina. The first year they came up the east coast, the Hudson river and then into the Erie Canal. They left the boat there in Brewerton, NY for the winter. Last year they came out of the Eire at Oswego, crossed Lake Ontario, did the Rideau Canal, the Ottawa River, into Lake Champlain and back to Brewerton. This year they have started up the Trent Severn and hope to get to Ashland this fall. He is a retired civil engineer with 26 years in the Coast Guard. The last three years of service were as Commander of the Coast Guard boot camp at Cape May, NJ. I went through Cape May in 1963 while he was at the Coast Guard Academy.

Today started with a beautiful morning, clear skies, cool at 50 and light winds. We took our time and about 8:45 walked across the bridge to the Riverview Restaurant for breakfast. After that we strolled through the lovely town of Campbellford, it was about five blocks to our destination. Any of you that know me well know that shopping is one of my least favorite things. That may change; we were now at the World Famous Chocolate Factory Outlet. One can only dream of a whole outlet store with nothing but chocolate at true discount prices. Ten pounds chocolate almonds for $20 was more than the calorie police would let me have. A 6.6 oz box of mint chocolate covered cherries for $1.50 was ok. We had one after dinner tonight they are great. We will be back here in a month.

Campbellford has many old brick houses; this picture is just a sample. We walked past this nice church then back downtown. The highly recommended Dooher’s Bakery was not open on Sunday, maybe when we are back. On the way back across the bridge Diana got a picture of Memories with the two dollar monument in the background.

Shortly after 11:00 we were underway to the first lock of the day which was only about a mile downstream. It was a narrow channel separate from the river channel with nice houses down both sides.

The next lock was Ranney Falls, another flight lock with a total drop of 48 feet. The gate was open with a large cruiser waiting to exit. There is a swing bridge just above the lock that had not yet opened. The bridge opened, the cruiser exited and in we went. When we got through both locks we pulled into the lower wall and tied up. There is a suspension bridge across just below the falls and we walked back to have a look. We got a picture of the bridge and the falls. There was not much water over the falls; it was all being diverted through the hydro electric plant next to the falls.

As we left again Diana got a picture looking up towards the bridge and one of the lock gates closed. This shows the lower gate and the high middle gate.

This stretch of the original river bed had a large drop over a relatively short distance. We had three more locks in the next few miles. For most of this time we were in a manmade channel next to the river bed. At Meyers Lock (our forth of the day) there is still an old lock master’s house. In the early days the lock master and family lived on site.

When we got to the last of this series we waited a short time for another cruiser to exited headed the other way. We then had about 12 miles of open river to the last lock of the day, Glen Ross # 7. We locked through and tied to the lower wall where we will spend the night. It was just 4:00. Would you believe there was a small store right across from the lock that sold ice cream cones? Like all the locks this is a nice park setting but with no town nearby.

When we left, the bright sun had warmed the temperature to the low 70s and it felt like it would be hot. An hour later it had clouded over and warmed no more, with a breeze of 10 to 12 it was almost cool.

All in all another excellent day; (next time I go to the chocolate outlet alone).

Campbellford Fueling

2009-07-12T07:16:00.000-05:00

Today we bought fuel for the first time in Canada. We took 656 liters at $.899 per liter Canadian. If my conversion is right that is 173.3 gallons at $2.959 a gallon U.S. using a $1.15 conversion on the dollar. We have travelled 569 miles since we last fueled in St. Ignace, MI. Because of all the nights at lock walls we also ran the generator almost 20 hours. Allowing 13.3 gallons for the generator, 569 miles on 160 gallons is over 3.5 miles per gallon. This reflects our slower speeds and is the type of mileage I was hoping for.

Campbellford

2009-07-12T07:01:00.004-05:00

Saturday, July 11

It has been a busy and productive day. The weather forecast was for 100 of rain and some thunder storms, not what we would like. After breakfast it didn’t look like any rain soon so we moved straight across the river from the lock wall to Hastings Village Marina. They have pump out facilities and we also filled the water tank.

Then it was back across the river to the Hastings lock which is right behind the low swing bridge. We tied to the blue line for a moment while an up bound sailboat exited the lock. The local blue heron stays close to the lock, knowing where the good fishing is.

We then had about fourteen miles of open river to the next locks at Healey Falls. Much of it was low, marshy shore line that looks like great wildlife habitat. We continue to see lots of gulls, turns, herons and osprey.

There were some sections that have some development along the shore. This is an island just of the river bank with a short bridge and about a dozen properties. The picture is of the first one that appears as if it could be a B&B, someone does a lot of landscaping.

About half an hour before Healey Falls we had a flash of cloud to cloud lighting and a big rumble of thunder and it began to rain moderately but no more lighting. We pulled into the approach wall and tied of. It was after noon so we had lunch while we waited to see what the weather would do. By the time we were done with lunch it had quit raining and look like it would clear. We walked around to the other side of approach channel and out to the dam where we could see Healey Falls. Today they had only one of ten gates in the dam open; it would be impressive to see more of them open when the water is higher.

The water flow today was higher than it might be; there is a twelve mega watt hydro-electric generating station next to the lock. It is currently shut down for expansion and no water is flowing thru it. In fact they have a large portable diesel generate on site to power the construction.

The picture looking done at channel at the lock shows Memories on the other side. We are near the dam and had to walk all the way to the lock to cross the channel then back the other side.

We then went ahead and locked through the flight lock, this is a double chamber that drops a told of 54 feet. The first chamber drops half way then you go through a gate into the second chamber that drops the second half. The picture is as we left the lower chamber looking back thru the open lower gate at the middle gate between chambers.

From there it was less than a half mile to the third Healey Falls lock. Then about two miles to Crowe Bay lock and two more to Campbellford lock. The picture is locking back at Crowe Bay as we exit. In my mind it is typical of the Trent –Severn Locks.

After that it was a short distance into Campbellford. There is an Esso station just before the bridge, they service automotive traffic in front and have pumps in back for boats. We pulled up to the wall with some help from Donna, the attendant, and bought 656 liters of diesel fuel. See separate fuel log entry.

From there it was under the bridge and into the Old Mill Park. This is a city park with a long wall for boaters. They provide free tie up during the day, and for a fee overnight transient docking. They have electric and showers for overnight.

After all the maneuvering today, most in 15 to 20 mph gusty winds, the thrusters have definitely paid for themselves.

Diana got pictures looking across the river at some of Campbellford including an interesting tower on an old building. In the park next to us is a band shell where they have concert all summer (not tonight) and a monument of the “Toonie”. Canada has long had a one dollar coin with a loon on it, so it was the “Lonnie”. In the nineties they came out with a new two dollar coin and it naturally became the “Toonie”. The coin featuring a polar bear was designed by a wildlife artist from Campbellford, so the town erected a giant replica.

When we got tied up the sun was shining and the wind was blowing, an hour later the wind was down and there were dark clouds to the west. We heard distant rumblings of thunder but only get a light sprinkle locally. That cell moved on by to the north and a couple hours later another goes by south of us.

We have left over pizza for dinner, a shower, and then we crash. We are both very tired after a long day.

Hastings

2009-07-11T06:58:00.002-05:00

Friday, July 10

It was a very quiet evening in an older small marina, we were far and away the largest boat, and most of the others were all locals. The only power available was a 20 amp circuit on a long extension cord; we ran the generator and stayed on the inverter for the night. We were serenaded all evening by a choir of bull frogs.

This morning the local blue heron that had been around last night was standing on a finger pier right across from us. Diana took this picture from the door of the boat.

At 8:30 Tom the mechanic and his assistant Rick were down at the boat to look at the stuffing box. They had a terrible time getting to it since with the “V” drives it is behind the engine and under the drive housing. They final got it loosened, added one more round of stuffing and tightened it back up. It is still dripping more then I would like, hopefully the new stuffing will swell a little.

It was an absolutely perfect morning; cool earlier but with bright sunshine and light winds it warmed quickly. By 11:00 we were off. Today’s journey was down the rest of the Otonabee River about 18 miles, into Rice Lake for another 12 and 4 miles into the Trent River to the next lock at Hastings, ON.

This stretch of the Otonabee is easy boating with good water (12 to 20 feet) through the entire river. Most of the shore is undeveloped and much is low and marshy, there are occasional stretches of a few homes and cottages. The traffic was light except for many fishermen. We did pass two couples out for a quiet kayak trip.

We came around one corner to see in the middle of undeveloped shore this beautiful old home, it look like it has been there a very long time, Diana was a little slow getting the camera out. The captain was pushing eight miles an hour so things go by in a hurry.

Rice Lake is some 20 miles long and 2 to 3 wide is a large shallow lake. Large areas of the shore are productive wild rice beds, thus the name. The navigation is straight forward, the Otonabee enters the north side west of the middle and the Trent River exits at the south east corner. It is almost a straight shot for 12 miles. The only tricky part is there use to be a railroad trestle across the lake, the trestle is long gone but the underwater cribs it sat on are still there. There are buoys to get you safely through, you just have to find them.

Hastings is a lovely little town right along the river. The guide book said the best tie up was above the lock. As we approached we could see several boats already tied up but it look like enough room for us just in front of the boat at the left of the picture. We went in and tied up and Diana took pictures from the bow looking past the other boats at a very low bridge that is just upstream from the lock gate. The lock attend swings the bridge when he opens the gate. From the other side of the bow the view is of town.

I went exploring, found a RBC bank for an ATM, a grocery store and the town laundry. While Diana did a load of laundry I pick up a few items at the grocery and work on posting the Peterborough blog entries. There is a village marina right across the river and I can pick up their Wi-Fi from the boat.

When Diana got back from the laundry we walked to the bridge and a pizzeria right next to it. The pizza was good and there are left over for another day. After dinner we went for a short walk.

Another very good day.

Peterborough

2009-07-10T19:53:00.007-05:00

Thursday, July 9

First no more complaints about the weather (at least for a while). Yesterday was forecast high near 70, light wind and 60% chance of rain, actual three or for periods of light sprinkles (never more than five minutes) light winds and high in the mid 70s. Today was more light winds, beautiful clear skies and high near 80. About perfect except if we were racing sailboats.

The plain for today had been to do less than 20 miles with seven locks and go into the Peterborough Municipal Marina, right down town. Last night I decided that a change was needed. For almost the entire trip I have been getting an accumulation of water in the bilge under the engines. There are stuffing boxes around the drive shaft where it goes through the hull, they are designed to be water lubricated and should leak a very little (or their too tight).

There are three section of the bilge divided by stringers, one under each engine and one in the middle, there is an automatic bilge pump in the middle. The stuffing boxes have been leaking enough that every third or fourth day I would go down and bail the water out, either with a sponge and bucket or use the small shop-vac we have on board. Port engine has been worse than the starboard, but in the last few days the starboard has gotten worse and I need to bail almost daily.

I found in the guide small marina about four miles (and one more lock) beyond Peterborough that showed mechanical services. I called and Tom said he could help us, if we came in tonight he would work on the stuffing boxes in the morning when the engines were cool. I called Peterborough Marina and cancelled our reservation.

With the idea of a relatively long day we got underway a little before 8:00. We cruised the short distance out of the Young’s Point channel into Katchewanooka Lake, the last of the beautiful Kawartha Lakes. It was a six mile run to the first lock of the day at Lakefield. The geology of the area has changed; we are out of the heavy granite and into limestone with much different shorelines. There are more marshy areas and the shoreline is much softer. From Lakefield to Rice Lake we will be in the Ontonabee River. We have been seeing more raptors in this area both osprey and about six bald eagles.

At Lakefield there is a narrow channel around the dam to the lock. We head in and around the corner meet a large trawler headed the other way. We slowed to almost a stop and pulled to the side and he squeezed by. We got to the lock and tied to the blue line as they were locking others up. The first out was a lovely 44 foot trawler cat with a 19 foot beam. I sure glad we didn’t meet him in the narrow channel.

The lock staff said they would leave the gates open and we could go in and tie up, but they had to go back to the dam and make adjustments to the water flow, it would be 15 or 20 minutes. It made for a bit of a slow start. Soon they were back and we were on our way.

From here on the next four locks are between a mile and a half and half a mile apart, the lock masters communicate with each other and try to be ready for you. The next two the gates were open and we went right in. Diana got a picture along the river bank of this blue heron contemplating the morning breakfast menu. Also a picture looking back at the dam structure as we left a lock.

At the next lock the lower gates were open and they were waiting for boats going the other way. When they finally exited there were not only the three big boats pictured but four more small boats in the back corner of the lock. They do an amazing job of squeezing boats into the lock.

We were soon through that lock and the next and then it was on five miles to the lift lock. Much of that is in a channel separate from the Ontonabee River; most is remote and scenic until you come to Trent University which sits right beside the water. This building looked like it could be the library. Soon we had the lift lock in site with the Island Princess coming out. She is a seventy foot tour boat that runs out of Peterborough, through a conventional lock, then the lift lock, and turns around for the return trip.

We had been locking through the earlier locks with a Mainship and a small I/O, we loaded and the lock staff said they would like to get the Island Princess in too. We all squeezed forward and she just got in.

The Peterborough Lock is the highest lift lock in the world at 65 feet, but the operation is the same as Kirkfield. See the Kirkfield entry for details of operation. The biggest differance in the two locks is that Kirkfield has a lot of structural steel and Peterborough is mostly concrete. Because of the problem I have with too many pictures I have created a separate pictures only blog entry of all the pictures from the lift lock.

It was very different to stand on the boat and look down on the roof of the visitor’s center and the cars across the way. Another highlight of our trip.

We proceed down to the next lock only half a mile away and the three of us locked through together, the small boat had turned around and were going back up at Peterborough. The Island Princess apparently had been a lunch cruise, they were serving cake as we locked through, I didn’t manage to get any. We exited the lock and the Island Princess turn into little lake past the fountain to their dock while we continued down river to the last lock of the day about a mile ahead.

I have praised the helpful Parks Canada lock staff in the past, today at Lock 19, Scotts Mills; we meet Chad the champion of hospitality (at least so far). He was friendly and helpful. He asked for our camera and took pictures of us together on the boat, and then he suggested we should know how the lock works and invited us to close the gate.

We left Chad and had another few miles to the little marina with the mechanic; we got there just before 4:00 closing. It was a long day, but very enjoyable, we are both exhausted.

Pictures of Peterborough Lift Lock

2009-07-10T19:47:00.004-05:00

Young’s Point

2009-07-10T19:16:00.008-05:00

Wednesday, July 8

First, Happy Anniversary to us, we are celebrating fourteen years today.

We started out the day by heading out of Big Bob Channel and leaving Bobcaygeon behind us. Gordon Marina was just across the way from the lock wall, I found last night I could just barely get their Wi-Fi signal on the boat.

We were quickly out into Pigeon Lake, another of the beautiful lakes in the area. It is about ¾ to a mile and a half wide and long. Our route took us in one side down about five miles and out the other side. There is at least five miles more both north and south of where we entered. Somewhere on the lake is the Pigeon Lake Yacht Club. They race scow similar to what I have always sailed. They have M-16s, M-20s and a few “E”s. I was only able to locate the club, maybe before the return trip I can get the location.

We continue to see many lovely homes, many still just summer places. Big boathouses are part of many of them, both new and old.

From Pigeon the Gannon Narrows led to Buckhorn Lake. We continued the ten mile length of Buckhorn to the first lock of the day, Buckhorn Lock. We got off the boat while they readied the lock just long enough to get a picture of the large buck statue at the lock and a picture of Memories on the blue line.

The lock leads to Lower Buckhorn Lake, it is small and shallower. The channel passes close to many small islands. At the end of Lower Buckhorn is the Lovesick Lock leading to Lovesick Lake. This lock is located between two islands and the lock staff comes to work by boat. Since the only access is by water it is the most remote of the locks and a very pretty setting. All the locks are nice park areas but Lovesick is special.

It is only a couple of miles across Lovesick, past more beautiful islands, and sometimes the channel runs close between them even though there appears to be more room on either side (just not much water). Then it is through Burleigh Falls Lock. No picture of the lock but this is the outflow from the dam rejoining the channel.

We are now in Stony Lake, there is no question how it got its name. The channel actually goes thru just a short section of the end of a larger lake, but it is a tight winding channel through lots of rock. Stretches of the channel have names like “Hurricane Bend” and “Hell’s Gate”. Just after leaving Hell’s Gate, St Peter’s Anglican Church sits on its own private island. Worshippers come from all around the area come by boat for services; they have a large floating dock on the backside of the island.

Once we are through all the rocks we are into Clear Lake, it is a nice straight, open three mile run to the other end where we come to Young’s Point Lock. We planned to spend the night on the lower wall, as we approached it looked pretty busy. We tied to the blue line and I went to check, there was a rental houseboat on the lower wall but it looked like there was room behind him.

We locked on through and when we got out he was ready to lock up, we went on by to give him room to get out and turn around then we went in where he had been. Young’s Point was settled by the Young family from Ireland in 1825. Three generations were active in the area and they ran a steamboat company from this location. When the Trent Waterway was proposed they donated the land for this lock.

The grandson lived in a home right next to the lock. Today his home is the Lockside Trading Company. They have a little bit of everything, furniture, cast iron drawer pulls, clothes and much more. Most importantly they have ice cream; we had an anniversary ice cream cone.

If you note in the picture of Memories on the lower wall there is a power pole upper center of the picture. There is an Osprey nest on it, but from the boat we can only see the bottom of the nest. Diana had to walk up the grass a ways to get the picture of adult and young then the adult and young with the other adult just leaving.

We have been seeing lots of birds. There were other Osprey as we traveled today and although we see loons regularly, today there seemed to be more and closer. We heard them many times today.

Another glorious day.

Bobcaygeon day two

2009-07-07T20:23:00.002-05:00

Tuesday, July 7

First a word about the blog, I am finding that keeping the blog updated is taking more time than I can afford to put into it. I can write the text and then copy it to the blog when I get internet access, but the pictures must then be uploaded to the blog and they all go at the front and must be dragged and dropped to where I want them. It is a slow and frustrating process. The solution I am going to try is to reduce the number of pictures I put in each days entry. The scenery is going to still be beautiful and the locks interesting but the number of pictures will just be fewer. I will try this for a few days and see how it works. Your feedback would be welcome.

Today was a non travel day. Bobcaygeon is an interesting little down and because it is on an island very compact, everything is in walking distance. Last night I found a hardware store that does propane tank exchanges so this morning I got a full container for the BBQ. I then found a coffee shop with Wi-Fi to do the last three blog entries and catch up on e-mail. Diana walked to the post office (far side of the island) to mail a couple of cards and then did some shopping on her way back.

Since it was a cold rainy morning, we had gotten a very slow start; it was now almost 1:00. While I was on the internet this morning I checked the Ontario Waterway Cruise’s web site for the schedule of the Kawartha Voyageur knowing she was somewhere in the area. It showed she should be through Bobcaygeon today. I check with the lockmaster on the way back and was told she was expected within the hour. This is the cruise we did in 2005 to interest Diana in this area.

Sure enough about 30 minutes later there she was. She is a big boat for these restricted waters. She locked through then pulled to the wall across from us for a couple hours before continuing to Rosedale for the evening. This gives the passengers a chance to stretch their legs, see the nice little town and keeps the local merchants happy to have the Kawartha Voyageur around.

We then had a late lunch and walked back into town for some groceries since it was only a block and a half. When we got back it looked like space had opened up on the wall below the lock, I went done and verified it and came back and told the lock master we would lock down when they could be ready for us.

We got underway did another 180 in tight quarters, but with less wind today, locked through and tied to the lower wall. The picture shows the view looking back at the lock from our new location. Now we can be on our way in the morning without waiting for the lock.

It was another good day, if somebody would just turn the heat on. The temperature has been in the low 50s over night and struggles to get to 70 during the day. This is well below normal for this area.

Bobcaygeon

2009-07-07T11:20:00.007-05:00

Monday, June 6

We left Kirkfield behind us and head out the long man made cut that leads to Balsam Lake. We are now at the highest point on the Trent Severn Waterway, 840.4 feet above sea level. I have read that this is the highest you can navigate a boat direct from the ocean. The area we are in now was the divide between the Trent water shed and the Severn. The area is all limestone and in the late 1800 they just trenched the canal through the rock and piled the rubble along the bank, the piles are still visible today.

We head across Balsam Lake and soon were head to the Rosedale Lock. This is our first down lock of the summer; it is only a four foot drop. From there it is only 3.5 miles to Fenelon Falls and the next lock. As you approach the channel into Fenelon Falls there is an old swing bridge that is permanently open but it looks a little intimidating but actually has lots of room.

We head for the lock and there is a row of small shops right across the street from the approach wall. We wait for a couple of boats to exit the lock then we lock through. It has been a bit cool this morning so we decide to tie to the wall below the lock and have a bowl of soup for lunch.

After lunch we got a picture of the garden in the park across the canal from us and took a short walk to stretch our legs. We got a picture of Memories and the falls.

We continue to be impressed with the helpful courteous Parks Canada staff at all of the locks. Without exception they have been very helpful and friendly.

We decide our break is over and get underway again. The next stretch is a river section heading from Fenelon Falls down to Sturgeon Lake. There are lovely homes and cottages along both banks and there appears to be no set back requirement in the building code.

Sturgeon is a beautiful large lake, it is “Y” shaped with most of it being one to two miles wide. Our route enters at the top of the “Y” goes down around the point and then up the other arm to exit at the top on the other side. The total distance we travel on the lake is just over twelve miles. There are now nice homes all around the lake, but the point was originally a summer area for people that arrived by train then a steam ferry out to the point. These are some of the homes along the point.

We exited Sturgeon Lake and were quickly at Bobcaygeon. Bobcaygeon is built on three islands in the river and a lovely little town with everything in walking distance. The two private islands as you approach the lock are in addition to the three the town is on.

We had planned to lock thru and spent the night on the lower wall. We pulled to the blue line and I went to check if there was space available, it didn’t look promising. After consultation with the lock staff we decide to do a “U” turn and tie across from the blue line for the night.

The area I had to turn the boat around is only about 80 feet wide and narrows as you approach the lock, in the other direction there was boats on both walls, and the wind was blowing towards the lock at about 20 and gusty. We made the turn without any problem and had lots of help with lines when we got to the other wall. The thruster helped a lot. I think I could have done it without them but it would have been tense and taken a lot more work.

I am very pleased with the thruster. With all the maneuvering in and out of locks they make life much easier.

We walked into town and found the chamber of commerce, they answered our questions for all the errands we need to do tomorrow.

Since we have an anniversary in a couple of days we walked back up town and had a lovely Italian dinner to celebrate a little early.

It was another good day.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

2009-07-07T11:07:00.005-05:00

The two lift locks, the other is at Peterborough, are marvels of early twentieth century engineering, they are both over one hundred years old. The principal is a huge hydraulic ram that lifts a tub of water. The secret is that there are two pans and their hydraulic rams are cross connected. The cross connection is closed, the ends of the tubs fold down to allow boats access, and when they are loaded, the ends closed; the cross connection is opened and since the upper chamber has been loaded with an extra foot of water it becomes a giant teeter-totter.

Here are pictures of the far chamber up and the near down and then reversing their positions. Although the total time is longer because of opening and closing of valves and adding water when the chamber reaches the top, the actual travel time to go up 47 feet was just over two minutes. The size of the tank is 100 feet by 30 by 6 feet deep, note the lock attendants in the red shirts in the pictures for reference. There is also a road that runs under the approach to the upper end of the chambers.

Monday morning it was our turn. The pictures are looking forward and back as we entered the chamber, then Diana looking off the back, looking forward and back after we reached the top and finally looking down at the road as we exit the chamber. Amazingly the chambers go down into a pit that although below water level is dry. On the shady moist wall of this pit is a healthy growth of ferns.

The final picture is looking back as we leave the lock; in the middle distance are guard gates that can be closed to stop water from reaching the lock. This is done for maintenance and in the winter to dry the system out and prevent ice damage. In 2005 Diana and I cruised on the Kawartha Voyager, a cruise boat that plies these waters. The company has an arrangement with Parks Canada that they but the boat behind the guard gate and when the water is drained they have their vessel in dry dock for the winter.

Orillia to Kirkfield

2009-07-07T10:38:00.008-05:00

Sunday, July 5

After a nice day in Orillia yesterday it was time to continue our journey. The morning dawned bright, clear and winds much lighter than the last two days. The first photo is as we are leaving the marina. From there it was about two miles across Lake Couchiching through the narrows into Lake Simcoe. The narrows being between the two lakes is a hub of local boating activity, there are five marinas there, catering mostly to the locals though some will accommodate transients.

The mural on the end of this row of slips is of a small outboard capsized, with a man with a bottle lying on his back. The dog in the bow is howling, a gull is on his chest with a fork and napkin around its neck, while a turtle uses his life jacket as a raft and sets a sail on it. The caption reads “This man is sinking, because he has been drinking”. I have noticed a big effort here in Canada to combat drinking and boating, I don’t know if this is a strong proactive campaign or a reactive one to a major problem. There laws on drinking while boating are stricter than those in the U.S.

We then headed for the fifteen miles of open water across Lake Simcoe to the Talbot River section of the Trent. The 10 to 12 mph wind was on our beam and we rolled a little for the two hour crossing, but soon we were headed in behind the break water. The Talbot River follows a rather winding route and when the canal was layout this section was done with a man made stretch of channel that is mostly straight and crosses the river several times.

In this stretch there are five locks in a stretch of about four miles. These are all old manual locks with the gates and valve hand cranked. The total vertical lift of the five locks is 73 feet. We approached the first one and tied to the blue line. The lock attendant came down and said they were waiting for boats coming the other way and it would be about 15 minutes.

Soon we were into the lock with two other boats and they closed the gates, and opened the valves in the upper gate to let the water in. From here on the next four locks had their gates open waiting for us. When they had just locked a group of boats through the other direction traffic got a little tight.

At one lock Diana got a picture of the attendant walking around the capstan to open the gate. If you note in the pictures there are heavy rubber coated cables running vertically on the lock walls. You slide your rope behind this cable and then it just slides up (or down) on the cable.

Some of these locks are on the canal and there is no dam others are in conjunction with the river and there is a dam and above it a small lake. It had been a long morning but I didn’t want to stop for fear of getting out of sequence with the lock cycle and then find the next cycle to have a full load of boats, so we pushed through all five locks and decided to tie to the lock wall above the last. When we got there it was very busy with several boats tied to the wall and five waiting to lock the other way.

We pushed on through a swing bridge that opened to let the boats we locked with through, then circled back into the wind and dropped the anchor. We relaxed at anchor and had some lunch then upped the anchor and continued on thru a couple of small manmade lakes. Soon it was through another narrow canal section and we were at the Kirkfield lift lock.

Orillia

2009-07-04T20:45:00.003-05:00

Saturday, July 4

Happy Fourth of July to all of our friends.

We planned to spend the day visiting Orillia and it is a good thing. It was in the mid fifties and the wind was blowing 15 when I got up. It has blown 20 with gust to 30 all day. The next leg of the trip takes us across Lake Simcoe, the largest lake on the Trent Severn System, about 15 by 30 miles. It would not have been a pleasant day to be out there.

We are at the Port of Orillia run by the city; they have about 200 slips all transient. With Lake Couchiching (about 2 by 8 miles) connected to Simcoe by a short, narrow channel there is a lot of local boating so in addition to people such as us traveling the Trent there are many locals that come to Orillia for Friday and/or Saturday night and go into town for dinner. The docks are very busy.

We started the day (after using the marina’s nice showers) with a walk up main street to Zats Italian restaurant for breakfast. The omelets were very good. We then continued up the street to the old city hall that is now the opera house. They have a farmers market every Saturday morning in the parking lot next door.

The town is lovely with many restaurants, small specialty shops and interesting architecture. We bought a variety of things at the farmers market then stopped at a book store on the way back to get a guide to the Trent Severn that was just published and the nice folks we docked with at Big Chute had shown us. There is a companion book on the Rideau that this store didn’t have, we will have to pick it up down the line.

This afternoon we took a walk along the boardwalk, the city has a large park along the lakeshore; it was a nice afternoon for a stroll. On the way back there is a restaurant in a series of old rail cars, we resisted and had a nice pork tenderloin off the grill with fresh bread form the farmers market. We could not resist the cute ice cream stand next door.

It has been a very pleasant day in a lovely setting.