Part 2 – Trent-Severn & Guests

Part 2 – Trent-Severn & Guests

TRUTH & EXCUSES: WIFI has been scarce and we have been to busy to haul the computer to a coffee shop or pub to upload this, but here is an update on the last month or so...... 

Taking our time to reach Peterborough, ON where we were to meet up with Paul and Amanda, we made stops at most of the scenic places along the Trent River. The underwhelming Healy Falls was a quiet stop, but the town of Hastings was an interesting place and not just for the farmer’s market, ice cream and fishing.  While we were docked on their wall, we met a man who claimed his grandfather was responsible for Panama City Beach (our hailing port) becoming a winter home for Canadian snow birds.  He told us his grandfather was passing through one fall as a mom and pop motel was closing for the season. The grandfather offered to bring a bunch of friends from Hastings, Ontario the next winter if the motel owner would stay open.  So, he claimed, began the winter trek from Ontario to Panama City Beach and the founding of the Noah’s Ark and other snow bird activities which thrive today.  What a small world this is. Steve also caught some fish just after the opening day madness for bass season in this fishing paradise! 

After Hastings we spent a night on the hook – a real change from our stays on dock walls where visitors were frequent and ice cream was handy. Fortunately, the winds were calm, the bugs few and the temps mild.  We could see the historic retreat community of Hiawatha which reminded us of the popular spots on Martha’s Vineyard where church groups relaxed and built similar retreats.

Before meeting the kids at the Toronto airport, we spent a couple nights on the wall at lock 19 – it was included in our seasonal pass and a short walk from Fanz’s Deli. This gem should not be missed by folks who like food.  If only we had freezer space to stock all the temping goodies displayed.  We did add a few sausages to our stores and some fresh and smoked salmon plus the broccoli, cauliflower and cheddar salad. No suffering here.

the flavor of the Peterborough Marina - rarely is this empty!

To rent a car for the trip to the airport, we docked at the Peterborough Marina which is conveniently located in the heart of this charming town.  The town sits just off the main canal on a small lake (Little Lake) between locks 19 and 20.  Its well-stocked stores provided a new horn to replace our sick one as well as bountiful choices for eating out, resupplying ships stores, and generally contributing to the local economy (buttons and yarn???).  On our first night in the marina we were treated to a free Blues Concert on the neighboring dock – we did not even have to leave our back deck to enjoy the music.

With the kids safely on board we headed through the exciting lock 21 – the Peterborough lift lock – a unique marvel – an elevator for boats.  The 60+ foot lift is accomplished by driving the boat into a big tub which then is lifted up while the other side comes down.  All this is the result of balance and delicate weighting of the tub moving up being lighter than the tub moving down. We stopped long enough to walk the shore and view the museum and watch the hundreds of paddlers who were trying for a record. We had locked through just ahead of this hour-long attempt to lock more paddlers through in one hour than a similar lift in Scotland. It all added to the excitement of this impressive mechanical marvel.

The next day we cruised into Lakefield – a pleasant stop with a street of shops and few delicious choices for lunch.  We had a bite at the Bistro then beers and the Canoe and Paddle before filling up on their ice cream.  The crew deserved these treats after a long day learning to handle the ropes in locks. Dinner on board was “light”…

Amanda had to buy a few beers, but she caught on quickly

Luck was with us and we enjoyed a night at the very remote Lovesick Lock (L30) This is a popular stop since it is scenic and very quiet.  The only access is by water and even the lock attendants must commute by boat.  It also can only accommodate a few boats our size, so we were lucky to have found a spot there.  Fishing was also good as was rock climbing!

catching bait critters

walking the dam

Buckhorn was our next stop – another cute little town with handy ice cream options.  The kids also were getting into the spirit of tasting butter tarts which we had to seek out at each stop. It had been hard to beat the ones we found at the Peterborough farmer’s market, but they worked hard to continue the research.

Bobcaygeon is another popular stop for cruisers and house boats.  Several houseboat rentals start from here and the novice operators along with the awkward craft make for excitement along the docks – lots of fenders are also a smart move. We watched a houseboat sideswipe a fellow looper’s boat across the canal from us.  Quick thinking by the Amanda resulted in a great video of the events and clear identification of the offending boat. Our friends were not on their boat at the time and from our angle we could not determine if any damage had been done, but the houseboat took off so we wanted to make sure there was a record in case any claims were needed.  Fortunately, there was no serious damage, but our friends, Doreen and Greg, were grateful since they have a contract on their boat and hope to finalize the sale in August.

The shopping in Bobcaygeon was upscale catering to the smart and stylish cottage owners both in home goods and clothing. There was also a bakery whose butter tarts rivaled the DooDoo offerings from Peterborough.  A special favorite was the rhubarb butter tart! Oh yes, it is also the home of the Kawartha Dairy which has an outlet a mere 10-minute walk from the dock.  This was a serious problem since we had to visit twice during our stop.  It would have helped if the walk had been longer or at least included more hills. The ice cream choices were beyond numerous and the popularity attested by the Disneyland style covered waiting line.

From Bobcaygeon we cruised on to Fenelon Falls where a CanAR bus would take the kids back to Toronto. Hopefully this stretch of the canal gave them a clear picture of our summer cursing.  As always it is a pleasure to have them stay – such easy guests and so fun to have around - expert crew in locks as well. (Also, glad they have the travel bug and are willing to join us in out of the way places.  But then, they just got back from Morocco, are soon off to Peru and Paul managed a short dive weekend in Belize.  Must have our genes!)

We stayed on the wall in Fenelon Falls, which for a small extra fee included both water and power, an extra night before heading out to the lake to watch the fireworks on Canada Day. That Saturday night before Canada Day the town celebrated with midnight madness – music at several venues and the shops remained open – until midnight!

museum at Fenelon Falls

While we were stopped on that wall, we watched the aftermath of a lock accident – a small boat tipped over as they filled the lock because the boat had tied off to the cables. Fortunately, the four passengers were quickly retrieved by others in the lock, but it caused a several hour delay while the boat and all the spilled contents were recovered.  Then, a big truck mashed a car on the bridge above the lock which blocked traffic for miles and miles around the lock on this already congested holiday weekend.

one of several paddlers we shared lock and dock space with

Rosedale - next to ice cream stand

Stopping at another remote dock – lock 35, we started locking down with the Kirkfield Lift lock – where we entered at the top and were lowered 47 feet in the tub similar to Lock 21 at Peterborough. 

entering TUB at the top to go down

back to doing the lines on our own

In a long day, we continued on to lock 39 where we stopped with several boats before crossing Lake Simcoe to Orillia.  This sounds quick, but in fact, most of the locks are manual and we were traveling with a full lock – four boats (2 motor vessels, 1 de-masted sailboat and one paddler).  We had to slowly move each boat into the lock, hook up and then wait for the others to join us and safely space them out to avoid any unwanted bumping on the way down. It was cozy and leisurely since the lock operators did everything gently to keep the waters calm for our ride down.  

Krogen 52 coming in behind us in Lock

This translates into a long day to travel not any great distance.  Oh, yes and the canals along this stretch are very, very shallow – going slowly, taking a lot of care to stay in the middle and announcing our progress to avoid meeting big boats at skinny spots.  

not where you want to meet this guy.....

Before stopping we also safely passed through the Hole in the Wall bridge where fellow boaters on a beautiful Krogen 52 took our photo. (This is one of the boats we were sharing lock space with.)

After sliding through the last two locks before the lake crossing – again with several boats and at a snail’s pace, we arrived in Orillia for a break from locking.  This town was gearing up for a major folk music festival and like Trent Port Marina has a sparkling new headquarters adjacent to major shopping.  We also walked the trail to visit the Stephen Leacock home which is a museum preserving this famous Canadian humorist’s work and memory.  The free music on main street was a bonus as was the rare treat of a cool matinee performance at the Orillia Opera House studio theatre of Neil Simons “Plaza Suite”.  A funny show delivered by a lively cast in cool airconditioned comfort.  The heat wave made staying three nights a great compromise. It also allowed a looper docktails with 5 other boats a first for our trip this year. Thanks to Gyspy for hosting this group on this Cat Upper Deck!

Home of Gordon Lightfoot??

Leacock Home/Museum

With the weather finally cooling off, we headed for the last thrill on the Trent-Severn Canal – the Big Chute. Rumors of mechanical problems at the chute had dogged our progress, but fortunately, all the problems seem to have been resolved and we arrived as they opened about 9:30 and proceeded to be loaded and transported over the edge with a smooth chug-a-chug and barely a wobble.  It is a little disconcerting to have our boat hauled out and carried over the road and cliff dropped back down the other side, but the professionals operating the Chute made the process smooth and flawless.  We not only did not have any delays, we were quickly in and out and on our way to the last lock in the system – Lock 45. 

At the docks before this lock we took a lunch break and lifted our mast that has been on the top deck since we left Trenton back in early June.  Our lady looks happy again to have her profile back to normal and we are happier having all the antenna and radar working properly plus having access to our dink!  For our last lock we again joined a full complement of boats – following a local through the tricky waters between the lock, the highway bridge and the Tug Channel until we reached open waters.  This area is especially tricky since the channel is NARROW, a wee bit shallow, can have currents, exposed to winds, and the color regs change from Red Left to Red Right – at least for the first section. We survived – even though two large boats were coming at us just as we approached the bridge.  Steve found he COULD stop on a dime if needed and we were able to wait for them to clear before continuing.  Our next adventure will be exploring the Georgian Bay and on to the North Channel…