On to Canada

Freedom in the Big Chute Marine Railroad
Jim and looking down from the Petersborough Lift Lock
We start the Trent Severn
This is how the lockmasters close the lock doors


August 7 – August 14 Picton to the Georgian Bay via the Trent Severn Waterway
We went across Lake Ontario on Sunday and had smooth waters. Spent the night in Picton town marina and cleared customs with no problems.
Monday afternoon after our run from Picton, we entered the Trent Severn waterway. During this next stretch we will go 240 miles through 44 locks. As it was getting quite windy, locking became a challenge and after 4 locks, we had enough and tied up to the wall beyond the lock for the night. The areas near the lock are beautifully kept up and all have picnic tables nearby. At this lock, we got the key to the old lockmaster’s house for the restrooms. Pretty neat – it’s an original lockmaster house and they used to actually live there during the season and boats would just blow their horns when they wanted to lock through. The lockmaster was on duty 24/7. 4 locks today.
Arrived in Cambellford on Tuesday and spent the night at the municipal dock. WiFi here, that’s great so I can update our web page and send emails to everyone to let us know that we are in Canada. 8 locks today.
Wednesday, we went on to Peterborough. Lots of locks but the wind was calm and we had a full day locking and crossing Rice Lake. One of the boats in the locks told us about an open air concert in Peterborough and fireworks tonight. We did arrive in Peterborough after a long day and tied up to a lock wall. Walked into town and went to the concert in the park – a Celtic band and dancers. Stayed up to see the fireworks. 6 locks today.
Thursday we went through the lock 19 alone and then were with two houseboats and a small Sea Ray for locks 19, etc. That was fun as the locks were right in a row. We did about 8 locks within 10 miles, one of them being the Peterborough lift lock – very impressive. The Peterborough lock is the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock, a 65’ vertical lift. The lock opened in 1904 – yes, that’s over 100 years ago. There are two huge water tanks shaped like pans, one up and the other down. When the upper chamber is filled with an extra foot of water, the higher water forces the lower tank, boats and all, to rise on its piston while the upper tank sinks down. Amazing. It was the easiest lock so far, you just needed to pull the boat into the bottom pan and tie it to the lock and then ride it up. We went through one of the lakes and decided to stop at about 2 . I was able to do some swimming in crystal clear warm water here. It was a very pretty spot called Young’s Point. 8 locks today.
Friday August 11, we went through some pretty areas and lots of lakes – Clear Lake, Sturgeon Lake, and Stony Lake. Another very pretty area – some of these lakes have very small islands (or rather large rocks) on which people have cottages. So you can only get to their cottage by boat – we even saw a church on its own island. Going through the locks we met up with Freedom, another looper boat. We had met Patrick and Jane at the Rendezvous. They are from Duncan Bay, Michigan (Cheboygan). We docked with them in Fenelon Falls by the lock wall. Had a burger at a local pub and took a walk around town and saw the falls. 6 locks today. We traveled with Freedom again on Saturday and went through another lift lock, Kirkfield which dropped us 49’. As we went through Balsam Lake today, we are 840’ above sea level. From this point on we are locking down. Moored at Lock 39 with Freedom. 4 locks today
On Sunday August 13, we went across Lake Simcoe, a large lake which is 20 miles long and 16 miles wide. It was an easy run across. Ended up with Freedom at Swift Rapids lock moored to the wall. We grilled pork chops and ate outside at the picnic table. 4 locks today.
Monday August 14 is the last day on the Trent Severn and then we are in Georgian Bay. Three locks today, including the famous “Big Chute”. It’s actually a marine railway that drops our boat 57’. Your boat is put in a sling, out of the water, on a railway car and you and the boat are hoisted down to the water. What an experience! Fortunately Freedom was in front of us because they said looking straight out the front of the boat was very high and a bit scary. Got out onto the Georgian Bay and headed to Midland, Ontario to Bay Port marina. We had a part ordered here for our air conditioning so we will get that repaired and spend a couple days doing laundry, grocery shopping and other errands.
Still at BayPort on Tuesday having work done on our air conditioning unit. Jim is doing an oil change and we will wash the boat. It’s very windy today, a good day to just stay at the marina. Wi Fi here so I can update everyone.