Over Big Chute and on to Orillia

Friday, July 3

We had a very quiet night in the secluded cove below Big Chute. We took it slow this morning as it was gray, overcast and a little cool. Finally about 9:00 we decided to get underway. I was wondering if we would have to go across and tie on the blue line to get the carriage down and the gentleman behind us suggested that although the Trent locks don’t us VHF I could phone them. We cast of and I was about to reach for a guide book to find the phone number when we see the car coming down the hill with two thirty foot cruisers.

We circled to the side while they exited then we headed into the car. The deckhand/photographer final got the dock lines secure and the camera out to record our entry into the car and its slings. The very skilled Parks Canada staff carefully guided us to where we needed to be, grabbed the boat with the hydraulically operated slings and we were settled in. They do not actually lift the boat with the slings; they set the boats keel on the car floor and only support the boat in the slings. Since our props are lower than the keel they set us on the back end of the car with the drive shafts off the end of the carriage.

Once we were settled the car heads up the hill and in a matter of minutes it is cresting the top. Note in the picture near the top that the two tracks that have been at very different levels now merge to the same level, the bed of the car has been level at all times. Finally the car runs into the water on the other side, the boat again floats, they lower the slings and we motor out to continue our trip while the car is ready to load two more boats that were waiting to go the other way. A most interesting experience, one of the highlights of the trip.

We head off into lots more beautiful country of narrow streams and small lakes. The photographer, being an artist is most interest in the natural scenery and did not get pictures of some of the more build up areas. We went through a couple of river stretches where the water was less than 200 feet wide and there were houses on 50 and 75 foot lots with docks and boats on both shores. Definitely a no wake area since we were less than 100 feet from the docks on both sides at the same time with opposing traffic.

Traffic today was much heavier than traffic we have been seeing. There was a steady parade of boats headed the other way, both larger cruisers and smaller local cruisers. They would come in groups of four and five as the locks cycled.

Eight miles past Big Chute we came to Swift Rapids Lock. It is the newest and deepest conventional lock on the system. The vertical lift is 47 feet. We had talked about tying up and looking around before we locked through, but the gates were open so we motored right in and quickly locked up. Then we tied to the approach wall above the lock, past the blue line and walked back to have a look around. There was a boat waiting as we exited and two more showed up while he was going in, so we watched the three of them lock through. The lower gates are high enough to allow a fixed bridge above them and the public is allowed to go to the other side of the lock. Diana got pictures locking back down where we came from and the gates opening to let the three boats out.

I have not written much about the thrusters lately, using them has become second nature, I just get the boat close to where it needs to be with the shifters and then fine tune the position with the a touch of the thrusters. I am very happy with their performance.

We continued through the lovely waterway, McDonalds Cut is the first of the man made sections of the route; it is about a half a mile. We then came to a 90 degree turn around a red buoy and this island want to be. The weather began to deteriorate and we moved inside with a light mist falling. Fifteen miles from Swift Rapids is Couchiching Lock. We pulled to the approach wall opposite the blue line and decided to wait out the rain before continuing.

About an hour later the sun peaked through and we decide to go ahead and continue. We locked up and finished the last mile of tight river channel into Lake Chochiching and the eight miles of open water to the town of Orillia. Unfortunately the weather that had cleared the rain was a front that brought 15 to 20 mph winds with gust to 25 and occasionally 30. The photographer disappeared into the cabin.

The wind was a little unpleasant but the ride was not too bad. We got to the breakwater for the Port of Orillia and radioed for a slip. They told us where they would like us and the turns after entering the harbor. When we got there, two helpful dockhands were there to help us in. We are spending tomorrow here, so we will put pictures in tomorrow’s entry.

Despite a little rain and wind it was a great day. The Big Chute was a thrill and the scenery is even more beautiful then I remember. Life continues to be very good.

Big Chute on the Trent – Severn

Thursday, July 2

This was to be a work morning, and it got off to a slow start. It started to rain before sunrise and continued until about 9:00. I went into the marina office where I could plug into the internet and got caught up on e-mails, business and posted four days of blog. Diana did a couple of loads of laundry. Since the dock is a solid pier that does not drain well she had to wear her rain boats to get off the boat.

I also had to use the pay phone at the marina to get a problem with our cell phone fixed. I had asked Verizon to set us up on an international plan that is a flat additional fee rather than a per minute charge for calls in and out of Canada. They got me set up ok but somewhere the communication between Verizon and Bell Canada got messed up. For the last week even though I had a signal in the remote parts of Georgian Bay, anytime I tried to use the phone I got a Bell Mobile messages saying I was unable to make calls at this time. When we got docked tonight it was finally working.

By noon there was no more moisture in the air and we walked four blocks up town for a few groceries. Yesterday I put a couple of murals of the town in the blog, today Diana got lots more pictures and also one of the Captain hauling groceries, by the shore side entrance to the marina.

Finally with chores done we left the marina about 1:00 for a short run into the Trent Severn Waterway. It is ten or twelve miles across the end of Georgian Bay to Port Severn and the first lock. The picture shows us carefully working up the narrow channel along the green buoys; unfortunately it is the wrong channel. The chart I was using shows three channels converging, there are actually four and we ended up in the one not on my chart. We went about a mile, realized the mistake and turned around and found the correct route.

This lead us to Lock 45, Port Severn, the first lock on the Trent Severn, we were officially leaving Georgian Bay to enter the Trent. We could see that they were just starting to lock down at least two boats so we pulled into the approach wall. I went up to talk to the staff to clarify a couple of things while Diana got a picture of Memories. There were not only the two boats we could see but three more behind them, we waited for them to exit and in we went. Diana got a picture as we exited looking back. Just past the lock is Severn Boat Haven.

The Trent Severn going our direction goes up the Severn River through many beautiful lakes and a couple of manmade cuts. It then descends down the Trent River to the Trenton, ON. on the north shore of Lake Ontario. One common theme is lots of no wake areas and 10kph speed limits (about 6 mph). There is lots of beautiful scenery, nice cabins (large and small) and wonderful water to travel. I believe that dog point had its name before the statues appeared.

After traveling through Little Lake and Gloucester Pool we approached an area known as Little Chute. This is a narrow channel that in high water times can have 5-6 mph current; today it was only about two. When we got through Little Chute there is an area of more cottages and there was a group of kayakers out enjoying the day.

Around the corner was an interesting old cottage right on the water’s edge. Note the diving board that appears to be higher than 3 meters right on the shore. This tells you something about the water depths

Around the next corner was Big Chute Marine Railway. The carriage was just going up and over as we arrived, if you look closely that is about a 20 foot i/o in the bed of the car. The area has the main railway then a power generation station and an old railway on the other side. We pulled across to floating docks right below the old railway to spend the night. Looking back across the water is a long wall with a blue line. Tying to the blue line indicates your are waiting to “lock thru”, tying to other areas indicates you are not ready. We walked up the stairs beside the old railway to look around and take some picture. Diana stopped half way up with the excuse of getting a picture of Memories to catch her breath.

As we were on the back deck grilling shrimp for dinner the car came down the hill. Note the back is on an outside rail and the front on an inside rail, the rails are different levels so the car stays level going downhill. It brought down about a 40 foot houseboat and when it departed the 25 foot open cruiser that was waiting pulled in.

We had a quiet peaceful evening in a very secluded spot. Life continues to be good.

Midland – the end of Georgian Bay

Wednesday, July 1

Happy Canada to all our Canadian friends and hosts.

We both slept soundly and were slow to get up this morning. The weather was overcast and looked like it could rain and we only planed to run about forty miles today to Midland, so we were in no hurry to get started. Finally just after 9:30 we decided to go ahead and get going. The rain had held off but the visibility was only two to three miles. In the poor visibility and a bit of open water I got disoriented and headed for the wrong buoy. As we approached the buoy I had the feeling things weren’t right. When we could read the buoy number, it confirmed it was not the inside passage we wanted. But we figured out where we were and how to get to where we should be. We found the buoy we wanted and things looked like the chart showed them.

About 45 minutes into our run the wind had built to about 15 from the west, we came to a stretch of the route that comes out from behind the islands and we were headed south with the waves on the beam. We were rolling pretty good and every so often a wave would catch us and we would roll violently. The deckhands weren’t happy, the admiral was not happy and the captain was tense. We but more power on and this helped reduce the roll a little, and shortened the time before we got behind the next set of islands.

Along tthe islands we have seen many places where people have stacked rocks, I believe there is a name for this practice, but it excapes me. This is one of the most elaborate.

After being sheltered for about 45 minutes the chart showed another stretch where we might be exposed. As we were getting near where the worst might be, the chart showed an alternate route through a couple of small bays that looked like they could be good anchorages. As we pulled in there were four other boats that looked like they had probably been anchored all night. We continued to near the exit from the alternate channel looking for what might be the best anchorage, although the wind seem to be down to about 8 to 10. While we circled a Monk 36 trawler that had been at Henry’s last night came through the channel. I decided that being a local he knew where he was going and we followed him out hoping the wind was down enough to make the ride a little smoother.

He was running at our normal cruising speed and although we still rolled a bit it was not nearly as bad as earlier. He fell in line about a quarter mile behind him and followed him for the next hour. Between the photographer waking up not feeling well, the bad visibility and the motion of the boat, today’s pictures are limited.

By 1:00 the weather had improved and we were out of the big water. In fact we were approaching Honey Harbor, a heavily populated area at the south end of Georgian Bay in very restricted waters. There were several areas with a 9 kph speed limit (less than 6 mph). Soon we came out into the relatively open waters at the south end of Georgian Bay and in quieter weather we crossed to the Midland Harbor Town Dock.

The town of Midland has commissioned the painting of many murals around town; Diana got a picture of a big one on a grain elevator on our way in. That is another on the side of harbor masters office. We took a short walk around town before dinner and there are many on the buildings downtown, they depict the history of the town.

By dinner time the sun was out and it was a pleasant evening. It was not the best of days but we are at another transition in our journey, from here it is about eight miles to the first lock on the Trent Severn Canal.