Trent-Severn Waterway - Part II

Lock 32 Bobcaygeon was the first lock constructed on the Trent-Severn Waterway 160 years ago.  Today it is one of the system’s busiest locks.  The very narrow channel approaching the lock was congested with a flurry of activity - houseboats floundered amok buffeted by the winds and at the mercy of the limited skills of their newly-minted captains, jet skis stopped mid channel for casual chats with other jet skis, fishing boats seemed oblivious to the activity around them, and small and large pleasure craft vied for a place to moor along the wall.  Landlubbers of all ages stood above the wall licking their Kawartha Dairy ice cream cones, entranced by all the activity down below on the water. It was just another Saturday in Bobcaygeon!

Tim on Liquid Assets, joked that it was unfortunate that in Bobcaygeon (pronounced Bob Cajun) he could not find any place hawking Cajun food.  That was quite an amusing comment when told around docktails the following evening.  Not so much now…

Anyway, back to Bobcaygeon.  We were happy to transit the lock and get Lazy W out of the madness.  We headed towards Centre Point Marina where we had a place waiting for us beside the fuel dock.  Many of the marinas on this section of the waterway cater to smaller craft than Lazy W but are willing to make room for us on their fuel dock late in the afternoon.  We arrived in a gusty wind and the dock hands helped tie us up.  Upon close inspection, the aft cleat on the dock proved to be a bit wobbly so a guy with a wrench was quickly summoned to tighten it up.  All was well – for now!  And the marina held the promise of perhaps having the dinghy fuel line replacement that we so needed.

Overnight the winds picked up but we were still securely attached to the dock in the morning.  Using the hair dryer had tripped the marina’s shore power breaker so now we had to run the generator. Shortly after breakfast, I heard a snapping sound and looked out the cabin porthole to find that Lazy W was still attached to the cleat. And while the cleat was still attached to a wooden board, the wooden board was no longer attached to the dock.  A flimsy plastic rub rail stretching down the dock and across this board was all the attachment we had.  As the stern floated further from the dock, Frank jumped off and pulled Lazy W back in, securing us to a ‘sturdier’ cleat.  We purchased our replacement part for the dinghy and headed out before we did any more damage.  Centre Point Marina was probably glad to see us go!

It was quite windy as we cruised across Sturgeon Lake towards Fenelon Falls, another tourist town along the waterway.  Lock 34 bisects the town and a mooring space along the wall there is highly coveted real estate.  In recent years the local Chamber of Commerce lengthened the upper wall and installed power pedestals, making this lock the only one on the Trent-Severn Waterway with this service.  We secured Lazy W along the wall below the lock while Frank scoped out mooring availability above the lock.  Not surprisingly, there was no room for us up top so we stayed put.  Most of the boats up there were staying for the second day because of the winds that were stirring up the waterway beyond Fenelon Falls.  Our decision to stay below the lock was a wise one as we were protected from the winds blowing through the upper part of town.

Mighty Fenelon Falls

 

Moored below Lock 34 Fenelon Falls

 

A windy afternoon - so windy that docktails had to be moved from the park to onboard Near Miss

 

 

Five miles from Fenelon Falls is the entrance to Balsam Lake, the high water point on the Trent-Severn Waterway – approximately 840 feet above sea level or 600 feet higher than the entry point at Trenton.  After another failed attempt at anchoring, we moored to the pier at the entrance to the Trent Canal.  And once more we managed to pull a cleat out of the wall.  Our path of destruction keeps expanding!

After dinner that evening we enjoyed a pleasant visit from Jim and Lowanna whose house sits across the water from the pier.  While we were admiring their house all afternoon, they were admiring our boat! They walked around the bend to check us out.  They just finished building their home two years ago, spending summers up on Balsam Lake and winters in Phoenix, Arizona.

Done Digging docked on Balsam Lake

 

Leaving Balsam Lake for Lock 36 Kirkfield presents the boater with new obstacles.  The Trent Canal is an incredibly narrow rock cut that runs for three miles to stump riddled Mitchell Lake then continues for another nail-biting three miles to the Kirkfield Lift Lock.  The narrow canal is barely wide enough for two cruisers to pass each other and boats entering must broadcast a VHF radio alert announcing their entrance.  Kind of like “Watch out! Here we come!” 

 

Shelves of rock along the shallow and narrow Trent Canal

 

 

Lock 36 Kirkfield is the second highest lift lock in the world at 49 feet, Peterborough being number one at 65 feet.  While the superstructure of Peterborough is brute-like concrete, Kirkfield resembles a child’s erector set construction.  Our entry into Kirkfield is a bit more exciting than our entry into Peterborough.  Since we have reached the high water point of the Trent-Severn Waterway, all the locks from here on down to Port Severn will lower Lazy W.  So we entered the top chamber of the lock  suspended 49 feet in the air.

Lazy W in the upper chamber of Kirkfield Lift Lock preparing for the ride down

 

Looking back after transiting Lock 36 Kirkfield Lift Lock

 

 

A few miles after transiting the Kirkfield Lock, we came to Hole in the Wall Bridge over Canal Lake. This lake is overrun with thick long weeds swaying just below the surface of the water just waiting to ensnare Lazy W’s props.

Hole in the Wall Bridge

 

 

We spent a pleasant quiet evening moored at Lock 40 Thorah.  While much of the U.S. was sweltering with high heat and humidity, we were enjoying the mild daytime temperatures and cool evenings of Ontario.

Lock 40 Thorah

 

After transiting 41 locks we were headed for the open waters of Lake Simcoe, the largest lake on the Trent-Severn Waterway.  It is notorious for being extremely rough in bad weather – thunderstorms can sometimes kick up waves of eight feet!  The weather forecast was benign so we stuck our bow out about 10AM July 21^st and headed for the town of Orillia at The Narrows between Lake Simcoe and Lake Couchiching.  The lake gave us a rather bumpy ride and we had some difficulty with the wind and the current and the shallow water at the Bridge Port Marina dock. 

Fourteen years ago Bridge Port Marina was known as Hot Knots Landing Marina.  We spent close to a week here then due to a malfunctioning railroad swing bridge that was stuck in the closed position keeping any boat taller than fourteen feet from leaving town.  This trip we are choosing to spend three days here just because we really like Orillia.

Frank will be disappointed if I don't include these pictures of the rest room doors at Bridge Port Marina.  He remembers them fondly from our last visit here.  Hmm, he probably couldn't remember what he had for dinner tonight, but this he can remember...

 

 

Orillia is the birthplace of legendary singer/song-writer Gordon Lightfoot.  Many things in town proudly bear his name including the Lightfoot Theatre in the Orillia Opera House and the Lightfoot Trail, a paved bicycle/rollerblading/walking trail that connects Orillia with Atherley Narrows.  One short section of the trail goes through Tudhope Memorial Park to Barnfield Point where the large sculpture, Golden Leaves – A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, has been erected. 

 

 

Each song on the 1975 album Gord's Gold has a leaf depicting a scene representative of that song. All of the leaves combine to form one gigantic maple leaf shape with a young Gordon Lightfoot strumming his acoustic guitar in the centre.  The thirteen-foot tall bronze sculpture by figurative artist Timothy Schmalz was unveiled in October 2015.

 

 

Golden Leaves - A Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot

 

 

 

Nearby is The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald bronze leaf.  A duplicate leaf was unveiled at the Dossin Great Lakes Museum, where it will remain on display until it is moved to its permanent location at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum at Whitefish Point, Michigan. That location is just miles from where the Edmund Fitzgerald was lost on November 10, 1975.  The shipwreck was the inspiration for the 1976 Lightfoot song of the same name.  The artist intends to scatter other bronze leaves across selected locations in Canada and the United States that are in some way associated with the music of Gordon Lightfoot.

Orillia hosts plenty of festivals throughout the year and we were in town for the Summer Block Party.  All along Mississaga Street the merchants were peddling their wares while musicians played on the street corners.  The party was in full swing all Friday afternoon but fizzled out around 6PM when the Night Market festivities were set to begin.  So we headed to a local pub before biking back to Lazy W.

From our tie-up at Bridge Port Marina we had front row seats for watching the constant weekend boat traffic through the Narrows as the locals made their way to favorite anchorages on Lake Couchiching. Large cruisers, excursion boats, de-masted looper sailboats, runabouts with music blaring, Seadoos, loud cigarette boats, jet skis – they were all out there on the I-95 of the Orillia boating scene. Alas, some transited the narrow, weed-filled waterway less successfully than othersL  As entertaining as all this was, it was time to move on so on Sunday, July 24^th we headed for Swift Rapids.

We met our "sister ship" in Lock 42 Couching

 

 

McDonald's Cut

After 24 miles of cruising we arrived at Lock 43 Swift Rapids, “the giant lock” of the Trent-Severn Waterway.  This hydraulically operated lock opened in 1965 and has a lift of 47 feet, almost double the lift of any of the other conventional locks on the system.  Its gates are huge!



 

Fellow looper Gracie and Moni Jean float 47 feet below in the massive chamber of Lock 43 Swift Rapids

 

Scene below Lock 43 Swift Rapids

Passing by Chad's Island after a successful anchoring in Lost Channel
 

 

 

We arrived at Lock 44 Big Chute about thirty minutes before operations started on July 26th and waited patiently along the Blue Line wall with Gracie and Moni Jean.  While the other locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway operate by raising and lowering the water levels within the lock chamber, the Big Chute is quite different.  It uses a carriage outfitted with slings that cradle and lift the boats from the water then transports these boats over a granite hill and deposits them in the body of water on the other side.  The total lift is 58 feet and the ride takes less than ten minutes!



Waiting our turn at Lock 44 Big Chute.  The rail carriage is over Frank's' left shoulder.



 

Gracie and Moni Jean are ready to go.

Our turn in the sling...

...over the roadway...

...downhill slide.
 

Looking back at the submerged carriage after we were set free.

 

 

After transiting Big Chute there was just one more lock to go before entering the Georgian Bay.  And what a traffic jam there was when we arrived at Lock 45 Port Severn.  This is the smallest lock in the Trent-Severn Waterway with a lift of just 16 feet.   It can only handle two large boats at a time and there were at least a dozen hovering in the pool of water leading to the lock.  After over an hour of waiting, the lock tender called Lazy W and Gracie into the lock. 

Our transit of the Trent-Severn Waterway was officially over after eighteen great days!  Now on to the Georgian Bay!

 



Trent-Severn Waterway

After a smooth crossing of Lake Ontario and a pleasant cruise along the Bay of Quinte, we arrived in gusty winds to Trent Port Marina in Trenton, Ontario, the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway, on July 6^th.  Frank checked us in with customs and we hoisted our Canada courtesy flag. By the end of the day, three other looper boats arrived, including India Jayne. Trent Port Marina is spoiling us all with their brand new facility that includes free use of the new washers /dryers (even free detergent!), free hot dogs and ice cream cones on arrival, a boaters’ lounge and beautifully tiled individual shower rooms (Frank’s indulgence).  It is a far cry from the marina that we visited here fourteen years ago!  However, the helpfulness and friendliness of the staff remain the same.

 

  

The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles of canals, lakes and rivers connecting Trenton on the Bay of Quinte with Port Severn on Georgian Bay.  The waterway took 87 years to build and is now operated and maintained by Parks Canada.  Construction of the first lock began in 1833.  Further construction was plagued by mishaps, missteps, miscalculations, lack of funding and World War I but the prospect of cheap hydroelectric power spurred things along in the early 1900’s.  Finally, in July 1920 the first boat completed the trip from Trenton to Port Severn and the rest is history.  Today the Trent-Severn Waterway is an outstanding tourist attraction and provides great cruising opportunities.

Among boaters, one of the most talked about attributes of the waterway is the locks – 43 of them plus one marine railway called the Big Chute.  The first 33 locks raise boats almost 600 feet to the high water level of Balsam Lake.  The remainder lower boats 264 feet to Port Severn.  While the lock gates on the Erie Canal are operated hydraulically, many of the locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway are operated manually.  Parks Canada tries to preserve this heritage canal in as near to its original condition as possible so there has not been much mechanization added since the organization took over its operation in 1972.  Thus, even today, the lock tender must turn the gear mechanism by walking the control handle around in a circle!

 

Early Friday, June 8^th Lazy W, Liquid Assets, Near Miss, Lucky Lucky and Imagination left Trent Port Marina and headed out to begin the passage through the Trent-Severn Waterway.  We were the first to arrive at Lock 1, a mere two miles away, and, since the lock is only large enough to accommodate two boats, we were followed by Tim and Carol on Liquid Assets.  The others would have to wait their turn.  We secured the boat by looping our lines through the hanging cable and slowly rose eighteen feet.  After we purchased our one-way transit locking pass, the lock tenders manned their control handles and opened the lock gates.  We were on our way.



Lock tender opening the gate at the top of Lock 1

 There are 6 locks within the first seven miles of the Trent-Severn Waterway.  The locks do not operate if there is thunder or lightning in the area.  By the time we arrived at Lock 4 it had begun to rain – nothing like locking through in a downpour!  The lines are sopping wet and your work gloves are so soaked that they now feel like they weigh five pounds apiece. After transiting Lock 5, we heard thunder so it was time to moor at the lock wall and wait out the weather with Liquid Assets.  We stopped just long enough to make some lunch and then decided to move on.  After all, we knew before we started out this morning that there was a chance of rain all day in the forecast...

 

While the other boats in the procession decided to stop for the day after locking through Lock 6 at Frankford, we cruised on with the ultimate destination for the day at Campbellford.  The weather treated us well and we made good time transiting the next six locks.  As we experienced fourteen years ago, the Parks Canada lock tenders were a friendly bunch and always stopped to talk giving helpful advice and trying to entice us to stay the night at their lock wall (even if it was in the middle of nowhere!).  Several asked why it took us so long to come back. J

Lock tender at Lock 7 Glen Ross manning the control handle that opens one of the pair of gates (with the yellow railing).  There is another lock tender opening a gate on the left and out of the picture. The blue bridge beyond would also need to be swung open before Lazy W could proceed out of the lock.

Lock 8 Percy Reach

The sun was shining by the time we approached Lock 8 at Percy Reach.  Our first sighting of a loon was just before this lock.

The first set of flight locks (Lock 11 & 12) Ranney Falls. A boat exits the first lock directly into the next lock for a total lift of 48 feet. Lazy W is secured in the lower lock – Frank cozies the boat up to the lock wall, I loop a bowline around a hanging cable, he then hurries aft to grab another cable.  I turn off the engines and we ride the incoming water up.  It is a well-choreographed procedure performed at each lock on the waterway.  (Every lock wall is slimy, much slimier than the walls appear to be in this picture.)

The blue gate is the Lock 11 exit and the entrance to Lock 12. These gates are hydraulically operated.

Thirty-one miles, twelve locks, eight hours!  Finally we arrived in Campbellford.  Lazy W is the last boat on the left.  Lost in the trees is the ‘toonie.’

 

The ‘toonie’ is the two dollar Canadian coin.  Its depiction of a polar bear was designed by an artist from Campbellford.  A giant toonie stands in Old Mill Park.  Fourteen years ago, this toonie was quite visible as we approached the park on Sea Venture.  Today it has been gobbled up by the surrounding trees.

 

On Saturday Campbellford hosted the Incredible Edibles Festival (“If You Eat, You’re In”) in the park on the east side of the waterway.  Live entertainment from the likes of Ken Tizzard and Taste Like Chicken, a goat derby and local foods from small scale sustainable farms in the Trent Hills region made for an enjoyable afternoon.  We sampled beavertails, butter tarts, Sprucewood shortbread cookies, lavender cookies and a cold one from Church Key Brewery.  We learned that peameal sandwiches are better known as Canadian bacon in the U.S. and that we really don’t care for water buffalo meat no matter how thinly sliced it is prepared!

 

 

 Much needed rain blew into Campbellford overnight dropping the temperature and humidity to a much more comfortable level.  By late Sunday morning, the mooring wall in Old Mill Park was a lonely place – all but one of the other loopers had left even though the third night of docking here is free!  We love free! In reality, we could not have left even if we wanted to since the port engine fuel pump was leaking. :(   While Frank replaced it, I walked to the World’s Finest Chocolate factory outlet store to stock up on sweets. :)

After three nights in Campbellford, it was time to move on.  We left Old Mill Park and headed the short distance to Lock 13 where Surf Dancer and Glorious Dei (Thad and Cindy) were already in position to lock through.  We were pleasantly surprised when the lock tender waved us in too!  It was a tight fit all along the waterway through six locks to Hastings Lock 18.

In Lock 18 Hastings

 Along the way we enjoyed a variety of scenery.

Here the cottages hug the shoreline and it feels like you are cruising through a subdivision...

 

...other times the trees grow right to the waterline and it's just you and the Parks Canada buoy tenders.

 

Hastings, “Canada’s Ultimate Fishing Town,” offers excellent fishing for walleye and bass.  We spent a pleasant evening moored along the wall above Lock 18 where we could watch all the fishermen – fishing from small john boats and pontoon boats, and fishing from the lock walls.  However, we never noticed anyone catching the fish that were jumping out of the water just beyond their hooks!

Eleven miles across Rice Lake (most fish per acre of any lake in Ontario), twenty miles up the Otonabee River, through Lock 19 Scott Mills and on to Little Lake – we were ready to dock at Peterborough Marina.  Patrick enthusiastically greeted us and expertly guided us to our mooring.  Situated on the edge of Del Crary Park, Peterborough Marina is just blocks from downtown with plenty of restaurants and shops. 

 

 Since July 13^th is a very important day for us marking 42 years of wedded bliss, we looked for a special place to celebrate.  St. Veronus Belgian Café and Tap Room fit the bill perfectly.   We were not quite sure what Moules Frites was but it was Tuesday and they were half price and all the locals seemed to be enjoying them.  So we ordered and feasted on a big pot of PEI Mussels with Belgian fries.  And an order of Frikandel. Oh, and St. Veronus is the patron saint of Belgian brewers!

Hey Rosetta!

Del Crary Park is the location of Little Lake Musicfest and Fireworks every Wednesday evening.  Tonight’s featured artist is Hey Rosetta! a Canadian indie-rock band from Toronto.  We had VIP seats compliments of the marina.

 

Peterborough Marina was host to quite a few looper boats all of which were heading to Lock 20 Ashburnham, a mere tenth of a mile away.  We delayed our departure from the marina until close to   10AM to avoid being part of a traffic jam at the lock which opened for business at 9AM.  Instead, we had to wait for the arrival of the excursion vessel Island Princess (which had been docked beside us at the marina) before we could enter the lock!  And we thought we had been so smart to leave before she did…

Inside Lock 20 Ashburnham

After looking back at my 2002 Great Loop blog, I found that fourteen years ago we transited this very same lock with Island Princess!!!

 Island Princess continued on with her load of senior citizen tourists into the Peterborough Lift Lock. We stopped short of the lock to peruse the exhibits related to the construction of this lock at the Lift Lock Visitor Center just steps away.  The lock attracts visitors from all around the world as evidenced by the guest log book in the lobby.

Upon its completion in 1904, the Peterborough Lift Lock was one of the world’s largest concrete structures.  Twenty-six thousand cubic yards of concrete had been poured without a single piece of reinforcing steel. Eight years in the making, it was a true engineering marvel and it still holds the title of the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock.

The Peterborough Lift Lock is one of only eight of its kind in the world and is a unique way of lifting/lowering boats 65 feet in less than ten minutes. As you approach the lock, a traffic signal indicates which of the two tub-like chambers to enter – actually there is no choice since one of the chambers is 65 feet above the waterline and the other one is at the waterline!  After all vessels are secured in the chambers, the entry gates are closed.  The two chambers counterbalance each other no matter how many boats are in either chamber. One extra foot of water is pumped into the upper chamber and this extra weight (144 tons) pushes that tub down, creating pressure on the hydraulic rod holding it up which in turn raises the lower chamber up on its hydraulic rod.  When the two chambers have swapped positions, they are locked in place by closing the valve connecting the two rods.  The gates open and the vessels exit the chambers. The process is repeated about thirty times a day on a summer weekend.

 

It is slow going along the remaining stretch of the Otonabee River as there are five locks to transit in less than five miles.  Since it was getting close to happy hour, we quit after three of them, tying up above Lock 24 Douro.  And the next day we only traveled eight miles to Lock 27 Young’s Point.  Are we getting lazy?



The following morning we awoke to the irritating honking of dozens of Canada geese.

Carefully navigating through the narrow gorge after Lock 27 Lakefield

 

More loon sightings on the way to Young's Point

There's no escaping American politics - even in Young's Point, Ontario!

 

This point along the Trent-Severn Waterway marks the beginning of the area referred to as the Kawartha Lakes Region - a series of lakes (Katchewanooka Lake, Clear Lake, Stony Lake, Lovesick Lake, Buckhorn Lake, Pigeon Lake) connected by locks.  This is cottage country where the favorite water sport is ‘bumper boats.’ The local vacationers rent various sizes of houseboats and after thirty minutes of ‘training’ they are set loose on the waterway.  They are having a great time in their underpowered boats until they attempt to maneuver the vessel into a lock or alongside a mooring wall in a light wind – then everybody watch out!

St. Peter's-on-the-rock Anglican Church on Stony Lake

 
Stony Lake is aptly named – there are hundreds and hundreds of pink granite rocks haphazardly scattered throughout.  Some have cottages perched precariously upon them, one has a church with summertime-only services, others have cutesy names like Plum Pudding Rock, Polly Cow Rock, and the side-by-side Mouse Rock and Elephant Rock.  And then there are the numerous unnamed rocks awash just outside the channel.  Boater beware!

 

Along Stony Lake

 Fourteen years ago on Sea Venture we bravely attempted to anchor in Stony Lake without much success.  The captain was confident that Lazy W, with her bruce anchor, would be up to the task.  Wrong!  We slowly motored behind Woods Island, scoped it out and let the anchor loose.  It didn’t grab onto anything.  Undeterred, I Brought up the anchor and tried again.  Still nothing.  Downtrodden, the captain decided it was not meant to be.  And just as we did fourteen years ago we headed to a lock wall, this time at Lock 28 Burleigh Falls.  The revised plan of the day called for launching the dinghy and exploring the lake.  We lowered the dinghy, the captain boarded her and stepped on the fuel line, breaking the connection from the gas tank to the outboard engine!  Next revised plan of the day – clean up the dinghy and call it a day.  (We could not think about launching the kayak since the captain believes he has a broken rib suffered when he tried to wedge himself between Lazy W’s port engine and something else down in the engine room.  This would keep him from being able to lift the kayak back aboard – wimpy dude.  Just kidding, babe!)
 

 

Houseboat procession

At Lock 31 Buckhorn - the halfway mark along the Trent-Severn Waterway