Update 7/25/07- The Big Chute

Peterborough lift lock

Hello to all,

Narrow Trent Canal following a catamaran

Scene along the Trent Severn- notice space
between markers and shore

We completed the Trent Severn Waterway on Saturday. It was a great trip. The last section was just beautiful with rivers lakes and sometimes very narrow channels running between granite shores covered with pines and many camps. If this sounds familiar it was similar to Penobscot Bay without the tide and with fresh water that you could actually swim in.

After Orillia, we stopped at Lock 43 - Swift Falls. This was a beautiful spot with a significant drop in elevation- 47 feet. There is no public access and the lock staff comes to work by boat.

The Big Chute - a waterless connection between Lakes Ontario and Huron

The next day we went to Lock 44- the big chute. This is not a lock at all but is actually a railroad car which lifts your boat out of the water and transports it over land about 200 yards down to the next section of the waterway. We tied up to the dock there and then, because the weather threatened, decided to stay for the night. The next day was very windy so we stayed one more day, observing how the wind and current affected the loading of the boats and doing some needed cleaning.

The next day (Saturday) we awoke to find the blue line (where boats waiting to go through tie up) already full of large boats so we got into line as soon as the first boat moved. The trip on the rail car was somewhat thrilling but uneventful and the remaining trip to the last lock ws through some of the prettiest areas we had yet been through. However, when we got to the last lock it was backed up horribly and we had to wait over 3 hours to get through it. We spen that night anchored at Beausoliel Island (another of the Canadian Parks) with 60 or 70 other boats.

Time Out entering the Big Chute

Mascot and Sun Cat in the Big Chute

On Sunday, our next door neighbor, Dan Tipton and Merideth's cousin Lois delivered donuts from Tim Horton's to our boat and we enjoyed a cup of coffee with them before heading into Penatang Harbor where we have been for the last few days attending the AGLCA Rendevous with about 60 other boats which are doing the loop at this time.

Tomorrow is a day for provisioning and on Friday we start a trip through the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay on a Flotilla of approximately 25 boats.

Still having a great time!

Steve and Jean

Update 7/17/07 - On the Trent Severn

Hello to all.

We are presently in Orillia, Ontario at approximately mile 199 on the Trent Severn Waterway. Its been a varied trip up the waterway with lots to see and some very narrow and shallow spots. In the process, at Balsam Lake, we reached the highest point (above Sea level) anywhere in the world that a boat can travel under its own power.

After my last update, the next stop was Cambellford. There we visited the Chocolate Factory and the Military Museum. The Military Museum is a private collection of airplanes, vehicles and equipment of all kinds from WWI though the 1970’s. In addition, in the body shop across the way they manufacture cars to order. These cars have modern running gear but classic bodies such as 1957 Chevrolets. The bodies are copies custom built out of fiberglass. Very interesting!

From there, we stopped at Lock 17-Healy Falls which is peaceful and remote. We walked over to see the falls and enjoyed a quiet evening there. After that it was Hastings for the weekend. Hastings is a nice small town where the lock is located right in the middle of town. We enjoyed the farmer’s market and the Legion Yard sale and walked around quite a bit. Jean leaned about Poutine – a local dish consisting of French Fries, cheese and gravy and we had a nice fish and chips dinner with Ron and Angela from Jolly Tolly.

Sure hope they open they bridge!

Our Anniversary - Hastings Ontario

After 3 nights in Hastings we went to Lock 19 which is near Peterborough. We walked into town to find the Chamber of Commerce and Boaters World and to see the marina since we were staying at the lock. The next morning we went to the Peterborough lift lock where our youngest son Bill joined us. After a tour of the visitors center we went up the lock and proceeded on, finally stopping a lock 26 (Lakefield) for the night.

The pans of the Peterborough Lift Lock

The Peterborough lift lock is the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world. You drive your boat into a pan about 6 feet deep and large enough to accommodate approximately 6 boats like Sun Cat. A similar pan is 65 feet above and next to you for the boats going down. Each pan sits on a large column that essentially is a hydraulic cylinder like we steer the boat with. When the boats are loaded, the gates are closed and an extra foot of water let into the top pan. This makes the top pan 130 tons heavier than the bottom pan and a valve between the two columns is opened and the top pan comes down and pushes the bottom one up. Simple but still amazing!

After the lift lock we traveled through 5 conventional locks in the next 7 miles before stopping at lock 26 for the night. Bill got a quick but intense lesson in locking that day!

The next stop was the village of Buckhorn. Buckhorn is small and we walked around a bit. We did find the bakery and got to try some (more) local bread. After that it was on to Bobcaygeon, which was very busy. We walked around quite a bit, found the bakery again and also toured the museum which was primarily about the town’s start as a lumbering center.

Bill & Jean in Buckhorn

After that it was on to Fenlon Falls which is a very active tourist town with a pretty waterfall. We stayed at the top of the lock next to a very pretty park but right near the center of everything.

Docked in Fenlon Falls

The next day was probably the hardest we had. We went through our last “up” lock at Rosedale and went out into Balsam Lake which is 840 feet above sea level. Then we went into the Trent Canal. This was a real nail biter. It was so narrow we could not have turned the boat around if we wanted to and there were few places wide enough to pass another boat. The sides were rock lined and the whole canal was only 6 feet or so deep. We then started down beginning with the Kirkfield Hydraulic lift lock which is the second highest lift lock in the world. However for us it was a down so we drove into a pan which was over 50 feet above the canal below. That was followed by two lakes both of which had only narrow shallow channels with lots of weed. The second (Canal Lake)had so much weed we had to stop several times to reverse the props to clear off the weeds. We then went through a series of down locks, stopping at lock 39 for the night. Lock 39 is a quiet park setting with nothing but farms around it although we did get some train noise.

Sun Cat at Lock 39

After that it was 3 more locks and then across Lake Sincoe, arriving at Orilla on Sunday afternoon. That evening we attended at “pot luck” with other loopers including Sea Knight, Irish Eyes, Sue Sea Q, Restless Spirit and Sequel. We also took Bill out to dinner to celebrate his birthday. The next day we rented a car and drove him back to Peterborough to get his car for him to start his drive home. It was nice to get in a visit with him and he was a big help going through the locks.

Today we are going to get the bikes out and play tourist. We're continuing to have a great time in Canada and are looking forward to the AGLCA Rendezvous coming up.


Steve and Jean

M/V Sun Cat

Update 7/3/07 End of the Erie, Oswego, Thousand Islands and start of the Trent Severn

Hello to All,

We stayed at Sylvan Beach one night after sending Steve on his way home. Sylvan Beach is a resort town complete with an amusement park and it was an interesting day walking around watching the tourists and the local boaters. By Sunday night, however, all was quiet!

We had planned to stay a second night there but the weather was favorable for crossing Lake Oneida so we took advantage and went over to Brewerton on the other side of the lake, stopping at the town docks. In front of us was a railroad bridge and it was fun watching the local kids jumping off into the water. Ginger and Laura on Stargazer were taking their pictures in action and giving them to the kids! We also walked around a bit. Not a lot to see there and most of the stores were over 5 miles away.

The next day we traveled a whole mile to the other side of the railway bridge, stopping at Ess Kay marina as the weather was threatening and I wanted to be near a source of parts. I spent part of the day disassembling the hydraulic steering cylinder to replace all of the seals. That part of the project went well, however it took several days to bleed all of the air out of the system. Another maintenance lesson! That afternoon, we borrowed the courtesy car and did some shopping and then the rains came!

The next day, as 4 more Loopers arrived, we left and finished our trip on the Erie Canal and turned north on the Oswego Canal, stopping for the night in Phoenix (NY not Arizona). Phoenix turned out to be a great stop. The town docks are in the middle of a nice parka and the town is good walking . We found a farm stand and got some more strawberries. It seems like we’ve been having fresh strawberries all year. That evening, Phoenix had its classic car drive in. People bring their classic cars into town, the local restaurants serve food & drink outside and they have music as well. We saw some really neat cars there.

From there we went to Oswego. Our original plan was to cross Lake Ontario on Friday (based on a favorable weather forecast). However, by Thursday evening it was clear that Friday and Saturday would both be bad and Sunday was sounding questionable. SO we shopped, visited with other loopers and played tourist as well as doing some cleaning and other light maintenance on the boat. Thursday night is the Farmer’s Market in Oswego but it’s not like any other farmer’s market we’ve been to. They block off a major downtown street and the city provides a stage with a live band. In addition there are food vendors as well as the normal farm stands plus a bakery and most importantly a winery. We also toured the Maritime Museum and Fort Ontario and walked around quite a bit. On Friday night there was a group dinner with some of the other loopers present and on Sunday night Ron and Angela on Jolly Tolly hosted a happy hour for the loopers. Jean and I also celebrated our 40th anniversary on Sunday. In all it was a good stay.

On Monday, we crossed Lake Ontario accompanied by Jolly Tolly... The seas started out flat but built to a little over a foot by the time we cleared the first islands (about 30 miles) and found some lee. We landed in Prinyer Cove near Picton, Ontario which is located in Prince Edward County which is really an island but is not to be confused with Prince Edward Island which is off of Nova Scotia. In any event, we stopped at our friends Ed Close and Deb Arnold’s house which had a dock right on the cove. From there, we called into customs and were cleared into Canada. That night, Ed hosted Jean and I and Ron and Angela for a nice dinner of “Cowboy Steaks” which are products of Prince Edward County.

On Tuesday, we borrowed a car from Ed and took a tour of the county. The county includes part of the Ontario “Taste Trail’ which leads one to various businesses that produce foods. Our tour wound up including a cheese factory as well as several wineries, a yacht club, resort and several parks.

The next day we left for Kingston where we stayed at the Confederation Basin Marina. We had several nice walks around the town and did some errands but unfortunately the Great Lakes Maritime Museum was closed. That evening there was music in the park next to the marina and we were treated to an air show by the Royal Canadian Air Force.

The next day, we made a short trip into the Thousand Island Park where we spent two nights at Beaurivage Island. We walked around the island several times and generally relaxed. The area reminded us a lot of cruising in Maine except that the water was fresh and there was no tide.

On Saturday we returned to Ed & Deb’s. On Sunday, we attended a Canada Day party at the local marina put on by the GHOST organization. (GHOST is either Geriatric Holy Order of Sailing Troubadours or Geriatric Horny Order of Sailing Troubadours) depending on who you talk to. In any event it was a good time with Ed and Deb and several of their friends.

On Monday, we left Prinyer Cove and headed for Trenton which is the start of the
Trent- Severn Waterway which will eventually take us to Lake Huron. We anchored that night in Sandy Cove, a popular anchorage about 10 miles from Trenton. Incredibly, it was the first time we had anchored since Sandy Hook.

From there, we got off early (for us) about 7:30 and headed for Trenton and started up the waterway, stopping at lock 10 for the night. Almost all of the locks have parks near them with “moorings” along the lock walls that one can spend the night at. Lock 10 was out in the country and very peaceful and quiet which we needed after all of those locks. We are now over 200 feet above Lake Ontario and still going up.

Start of the Trent-Severn Waterway

Typical lock - note lock tenders opening gates manually

A navigation mark

Healey Falls Lock

As you can see, we are staying very active and continuing to really enjoy this cruise. Happy Fourth of July and best wishes for an enjoyable summer to all.

Steve & Jean