ORILLIA

Left Fenelon Falls after a cup of coffee at the local espresso bar. We decided to make a quick get away before the houseboaters revved up their engines. We went through Cameron Lake, then Balsam Lake, which was a high point of our trip, literally. This lake is the highest point on the Trent Severn Waterway, as the water starts draining the opposite direction. Instead of going upstream, we are now going downstream.

Kirkfield lift lock - Going Down!

The actual demarcation spot is the Kirkfield Lift Lock - another of the elevator-type hydraulic locks which, this time, lowered us about 45 feet.

On the wall at Fenelon Falls (IMPROV in back)

Not only does the direction of the current change here, but also the navigation markers change. Going upstream, the red markers are to starboard and the green markers are to port. As soon as the current changes direction and is carrying one downstream, the colors switch - green is to starboard and red is to port, unless, of course, you are heading into a marina, at which time the colors switch back again!

Another part of today’s cruise was the section of the Trent Canal known as “the ditch.” This is a 6 mile long, 6 foot deep man-made canal which is not very wide. Most of it is not wide enough for two boats to pass comfortably, especially a boat as wide as our catamaran.

"The Ditch"

Luckily traffic was light today, and we didn’t meet another boat going the opposite direction until we were just leaving the canal.

"Hole-in-the-Wall" bridge, ca. 1905

We had thought we would stop for the night at Lock #40, which had a nice, quiet area to tie up, but we reached it around 2:30, so we decided to push on and cross Lake Simcoe - the largest lake on the waterway - since the weather was so nice today. Tomorrow’s forecast includes chances of thunderstorms, and this lake has a nasty reputation for getting ugly when the weather turns bad. We made the 15 mile crossing without any issues and are staying at the Port of Orillia dock.

Downtown Orellia

Orillia is one of the larger towns around here, and has a nice main street very close to the marina. We got in around 4:30 or so, I cleaned up the boat for a while, we had dinner, then walked into town to explore. We found a bakery and coffee shop which, I think, will be revisited tomorrow morning…


Notes from Elaine


What is with these bugs?!

I admit, I am not fond of insects. In Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, they were almost a deal breaker. Three of the windows (and door) of the boat have screens, and they do an adequate job (okay, some screens are not flush) of keeping larger insects out but my nemesis are the no-see-ums - they are so small they fly right through the screen. And bite. And itch. And in South Carolina, we entered the boat one evening and hundreds (yes hundreds) of mosquito-looking insects swarmed into the boat. Luckily, they didn't bite. But we spent the evening swatting them; they left green bug juice all over the white walls and ceiling. Pretty. The next morning we vacuumed and scrubbed for an hour getting everything white again.

So north of the Chesapeake, the no-see-ums disappeared, but the mosquitos were rampant. And now here in Canada, I am getting bitten by some black flies that pack a mighty sting. Then welts, followed by intense itching. I slather up daily with sticky insect repellant - I cannot  imagine all that DEET is good for my skin - but I am so miserable from all the itching (and bruising from scratching) that I will do almost anything to keep them at bay.

We thought we were being so clever when we bought some very inexpensive solar light stakes - we mounted them around the boat, and they do a wonderful job collecting solar energy all day and emitting light at night. But they also attract bugs like crazy and in the morning, we wake up and the deck is speckled with thousands of dead insects lying in the morning dew. Plus we have the solar stakes just sitting in pipes, and when we are actively mooring or tying up lines, they catch and fall overboard. We have 3 out of 6 left.

I realize that insects probably play a role in the scheme of life - perhaps I just need to get a pet bat (and don't get me started on those)...

FENELON FALLS

Woke up to a boat totally covered with bugs - mostly dead, but some still very much alive. Small bugs, apparently attracted by our solar lights, medium sized bugs, apparently attracted by the small bugs and large bugs apparently attracted by the medium sized bugs. The struggle of life played out - the bigger ate the smaller, although I don’t know why the bodies of so many of all sizes littered the boat. The next struggle that played out was trying to get the boat clean. I pulled out the hose and used the anchor wash-down pump to spray off the whole boat, and wiped it down quickly before more bugs landed on it.

We finally got under way by around 8:30, went through a couple of locks and stopped at Bobcaygeon around noon. We tied up to the lock wall and looked around town, with it’s array of clothing and shoe stores. We both ended up buying shoes, Elaine bought a new bikini and we had lunch at a new cheese sandwich restaurant.

We are now, heavily in the area of rental houseboats. Since many of the operators of these boats are complete novices, going through the locks with them is a real circus. The good news is that the boats are built with a metal hull and are indestructible. The bad news is that this makes everything around them destructible. We followed one in to the lock at Fenelon Falls, and I am very glad that I was behind him, rather than in front of him. He cleared one wall of small runabout boats as he wandered toward them out of control, bounced off the lock wall, bounced off the lock gate, then when he left the lock, ran into a railroad bridge. The fact that it was Sunday, and there were a lot of boats out didn’t help, but I can’t wait until we are out of range of the rental houseboats in a day or two.

We lucked out and got a spot on the wall at Fenelon Falls, one of the nicest lock walls we have seen. It even has water and electricity and is situated right in the middle of town (the rental houseboats going through the locks is major entertainment for the townsfolk). It’s a nice little town with coffee places, a supermarket, stores and several restaurants within a few blocks. There’s also a museum here right by the dock, although it was closed today. We may make a late start tomorrow AM, so we can see more of the town, maybe even find an internet connection…

LOVESICK LAKE

Another night without internet (other than the slow phone connection), but it’s worth it, considering where we are anchored out. We passed lock #30 into Lovesick Lake and it was clear we didn’t want to stay at the lock. It is the weekend, the weather is great, and the Canada Day Holiday is still going on in many people’s mind, so the lock was a circus. We are getting into the area known for rental houseboats, with not all the people who rent them being excellent boat-handlers, and the mix of large, slow boats with fast runabouts and jet-skis is just not our cup of tea. After the lock we found a quiet place to anchor behind a small, wooded island so we are here, by ourselves enjoying a peaceful evening.

This is the first time we have anchored in quite a while and it is nice to be able to jump off the back of the boat, clean the waterline and bottom, and make sure everything is OK down there. It’s not the warmest water, but I was working in it for about 45 minutes, without a wet suit, and didn’t get chilled. Reminded me of the days when I was a commercial diver - only, this time, I was working on my own boat!

Earlier in the day, we left the serene and peaceful lock #24 and waited an hour at lock #25 for them to adjust flows in the dams on the river. Later, we tied up to the wall at Lakefield (lock #26) and walked around town for an hour or so. It is a very nice little town, with many stores/bakeries/meat markets/hardware store/(ice cream shops) to get what you need and they happened to have a jazz festival going on this weekend. We marked this down as a place to stay on our return at the end of summer.

The further we got into our travels today, the more crowded it became (the weekend, remember?) and the locks were very busy. It was clear that the lock attendants had had a busy day, and they weren’t as friendly or helpful as they might have been. We’ll keep going tomorrow, expecting the worst, since we hate to just sit and not make any progress toward Georgian Bay. It would make sense to lay low on a nice weekend, just to keep out of the melee, but we really don’t want to loose too much time.

We had a great dinner of barbecued garlic pork loin and potato salad along with a nice Zinfandel (California), and will enjoy the sunset, if we can stay awake until 10 PM…

PETERBOROUGH SITES

(No photos today - only internet access is via incredibly slow phone service!)

Morning in Peterborough and have a to-do list for the day. One thing is to buy a new pair of deck shoes. I love the pair I’ve been wearing the past several months, but toes showing through the front suggest they are beyond repair. I have this thing about selecting great, comfortable deck shoes, but when they wear out, I can never find the same shoe. It has happened again, so I’ve got to buy something today while we are in a large town. Also on the list is a visit to the Canada Canoe Museum. The area in which we are cruising has been known for many decades as a center of canoe and kayak activity. Canadian Olympic gold medalists in both canoe and kayak actually live in Peterborough and several world renown canoe manufacturers have been based in this area.

So, after an unsuccessful quick trip to the local boat store for deck shoes, we rode our bikes over to the museum. It was a very impressive facility, with an incredible collection of historic canoes and kayaks as well as a hands-on approach to keeping the tradition of building them alive. They have restoration projects, children's workshops, educational outreach programs, a complete course in birch bark canoe building and much more. I was very impressed. But they didn’t have deck shoes, so after our museum visit we biked on over to the local mall where I found a pair of deck shoes, although not the same kind I had just worn out.

Back at the boat we got ready to head off again and left the marina about 1:30 in the afternoon moving on towards the lift lock. As impressive as it appears from the shoreline, I have to admit, it was a bit of a disappointment to go through it, only because it was so effortless. In many of the locks we have traversed, we have had to deal with severe currents, strong turbulence, other boaters with  questionable maneuvering skills, slimy walls. etc, etc, but this was a piece of cake. The approach was dead calm water, we locked through with a commercial tour boat, there was absolutely no turbulence or water movement, and the only issue was being side by side with the tour boat, with only inches to spare, and getting our fender board caught on his side cleat as we were exiting the lock. Elaine handled it well, and we got through the lock without issues. It’s really like going into a big bathtub and having the tub and all lifted 65 feet in the air to the next river level.

We moved on up the waterway, going though several more conventional locks and talking with the lock attendants as we did so. We always ask their advice on places to visit, where to tie up and what to watch out for. Today, we got the advice to tie up above lock #24. All the other lock attendants are jealous of the new washroom and shower facilities at #24. So we stopped on the upper side of #24 and are taking advantage of their new facilities. It’s really pretty incredible how friendly the lock attendants are. They helped us tie up to the wall, offered to move a picnic table over by the boat, and came back as they were leaving for the day with the keys to the new washroom so we could use it while the lock is closed overnight.

We are the only boat here, so we have had a quiet evening barbecuing steaks and sipping wine. It’s calm, quiet and so much more peaceful than listening to the ruckus at the marina last night…

PETERBOROUGH

Thursday, July 2

Left Hastings on a sunny morning, getting through the lock just after it opened at 9 AM.

Geese on the Trent River

We kept at our slow “trawler” pace all day since it was only about a 35 mile cruise to our next destination, Peterborough, one of the larger towns in the area, with a population of around 75,000. We crossed Rice Lake, which was very pretty, then up the Otonabee River which was not quite as pretty, but still interesting. The high water and high flows in the river made for interesting currents requiring good reflexes, especially through some of the narrow channels around bridges.

Challenging bridge channel with strong currents

Rice Lake

Only one other lock today, lock #19, just before Little Lake & Peterborough. The lock itself was not bad, only about a 2 meter lift, but getting into it was a bit challenging with whitewater flowing across the river from the dam at the lock. There has been so much rain up here lately that the rivers and lakes are very high, and considerable flow going over all of the dams. I received notice yesterday that the Oswego and Erie Canals are again closed for several days due to high water.

As we went through lock #19, the lock attendant called ahead for us to the Peterborough Marina to get us a slip so the dock master was waiting for us as we entered the marina, with a strong cross wind and a river crossing the entrance causing a current across the slips. The only slip they had available was a double slip (two boats) which had about 18 feet of width left for me. Our boat is 16’10” wide, so that left a good 7” on either side to play with in the crosswind and cross current. The dock crew was very good and gave excellent advice and assistance, so we made it into the slip nice and smoothly. Good thing, too, since there was an audience of about 10 other boat owners sitting on the dock watching.

Lift lock

Lock going up

We got the bikes down and rode over to the infamous Peterborough Lift Lock, the highest of its kind in the world. We watched a cruise boat lock through and toured the visitor center/museum associated with the lock in anticipation of locking through ourselves in a day or two.

After cleaning up at the marina, we walked into downtown and at dinner at a “Cajun” restaurant/brew pub, then back to the boat where the same 10 people were still drinking and talking on the dock. This they kept up until the wee hours of the morning. Thank goodness I had my ear plugs on board…

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Canada Day

Quite a celebration all day today in Hastings. The main street was blocked off and tents were up for a few food vendors, despite the threatening skies. Although it rained a bit on & off, the primary events of the day were pretty much rain-free. We started things off with a walk over to the marina to look for a cruising guide to buy. They told us they no longer sell them, but they did find a couple of older copies around and gave them to us. After a run the grocery store for a few things, we walked over to the main street for a fund-raising pancake & sausage breakfast and a look around the town which was well decorated with Canadian flags.

There were a lot of people out and around the small park right by the lock where we are moored with a lot of them fishing - and some of them catching! Many families picnicking and barbecuing throughout the day. We mostly read and did little things around the boat, waiting for the parade at 4 PM. It was a classic small-town parade with not just one - but two bagpipe bands, along with the classic cars, restored tractors, fire engines, etc. We came back to the boat for dinner, then returned to the main street for a demonstration of medieval fighting by a group complete with head-to-toe armor.

We had to wait for the finale - the famous Hastings firework extravaganza! It gets dark so late this far north, it didn’t start until after 10 PM. It was worth the wait, however. A very impressive show of colorful explosions lasting at least half an hour or more. A credible substitute this year for the lack of a 4th of July celebration… 

HASTINGS, ONTARIO

Tuesday, June 31

Rain. That about sums it up for the day. It started raining about 9:30 AM while we were waiting for lock #11 to open, and was still raining in the afternoon when we tied up at lock #18. 

Lock #11 is a “flight” of 2 locks, i.e., it’s a multi-stage process, going in one chamber, getting locked up to a middle chamber, then getting locked up again to the upper water level. Another boat was descending #11, and they locked them down first, before we could even enter the lock. So, even though the lock opened at 9 AM, we didn’t get to the upper side until almost 10:30. As nice as the Canadian locks are, one cannot be in a hurry around here. That’s not a bad thing, we are just traveling anyway, without a deadline, so it’s OK.

We’ve had a lot of great, fun times cruising this boat - well today was one of the “less fun” days. Although the temperature was not too bad (around mid 60’s), having to stand out on deck holding on to lines and cables as we went through all the locks in the rain still felt cold. I maneuver the boat from the flybridge while entering and exiting the locks, and many of the locks were so close together (500 yards to 1 mile) that I spent most of the morning in the rain. By afternoon, we had a stretch of water about 18 miles between locks and we could pilot from below, out of the weather. We even turned on the generator to make a hot lunch and heat up the cabin a bit.

Our destination for the day was Hastings, a small town known for their fireworks display on Canada Day, July 1st. They have a wall to tie up to on the upper side of lock #18, but it is usually very crowded on Canada Day since they set off the fireworks from the marina across the river and all the boats in the marina have to leave. They all go across the river and tie up at the wall, several boats deep. Rather than get caught up in all that mess, we tied up at the bottom of lock #18, right next to the lock where there is no room to raft together. That way, we can leave the morning after without waiting for the crowd to untie…