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

 

 

 

 

 



Erie Canal and Oswego Canal

An early start on Friday June 24^th got us into the first lock of the Waterford Flight shortly after 8AM.  Two hours later we had cleared all five of the flight along with Canadian Flyer and India Jayne. We are now 169 feet higher than when we left Waterford.

Entering one of the locks of the Waterford Flight behind Canadian Flyer and India Jayne

 

Fending off the lock wall on our way up

Made it to the top

 

 The Mohawk River/Erie Canal traverses a very pastoral section of New York.  The greenery stretches from the hillsides and, quite literally, right down into the water where dense green mats of water chestnuts clog the shoreline, stranding small boats moored along the shore. The plant was inadvertently introduced to a pond at Harvard University in the late 1800’s. A native of Europe, Asia and Africa, the plant is kept in check there by native insect parasites which are not found in North America. With little nutritional value to fish or waterfowl, this nuisance invasive species is spreading throughout the waterways of New York and much of the Northeast.

 

Carpet of water chestnuts

When the Erie Canal was first in operation in 1825, the traffic consisted mostly of small commercial barges transporting goods and people and powered by mules and horses along the towpath.  By the turn of the century and the advent of self-propelled vessels, the canal was rerouted to follow the natural path of the Mohawk River. The present day Erie Canal was completed in 1903 and intersects many times with the original canal.  With the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway in 1959, commercial traffic rapidly declined on the New York canals and today the canal is used primarily by pleasure craft.

 

This week, along with modern motorized pleasure craft, the eastern Erie Canal also hosted the Mohawk River Bateaux, a group of reenactors navigating the canal in 18^th century replica boats.  These eight hearty folks began their journey on Rogers Island on Tuesday and will row their bateaux to Rotterdam, a distance of 65 miles to participate in a Revolutionary War Reenactment at Mabee Historical Farm on Saturday.  Their bateaux, Bobbie G and DeSager, are 23-feet long and about 5.5-feet wide.  These vessels are the 18^th century equivalent of today’s pickup truck.  We got a chance to talk with the crews when they stopped at Waterford and again today as they rested after locking through Lock E8 at Scotia.

The bateaux exiting Lock E8 - just a few more miles to row!
 

Approaching Lock E9 at Rotterdam



Mohawk River Bateau docked at Mabee Farm - they made it!!!

Just beyond Amsterdam Lock 11 is an interesting roadside (or in this case, canalside) curiosity.  A rusting red VW bug sits atop the smokestack of an abandoned carpet manufacturing plant.  This was a marketing gimmick erected by Gary Dudka over 40 years ago to attract business to his small auto repair shop.  Gary is no longer in business so who knows how successful this advertisement may have been.

Dudka's Advertisement

Town of Fultonville sits right along the Erie Canal

 

 As we travel further west on the Erie Canal we see less and less of the carpets of water chestnuts and more and more wayward tree limbs floating menacingly in the water, especially at the entrances and exits of the locks where they can do the most damage to unsuspecting boats.

Between Locks 13 and 14, the Erie Canal parallels the New York State Thruway.  Cars, trucks and RV’s race past me.  Wait, I am the one who is usually passing everyone on the highway. As I cruise by at a staidly 7 knots, I cannot get Sammy Hagar’s tune “I Can’t Drive 55” out of my head.  Ah, the irony of it all…

Lazy W cruising alongside the NYS Thruway

 

Next stop - the picturesque Canajoharie Riverfront Park.  We rewarded ourselves with ice cream from Stewart’s, just a quick walk across the bridge linking the towns of Canajoharie and Palantine Bridge.  Then it was time for a bit of culture so we perused the art at the Arkell Museum.  Bartlett Arkell was the founder and first president of the Beech-Nut Packing Company.  Within the walls of the museum bearing his name are the many pieces of art he collected including several pieces by Winslow Homer.  A special exhibit featured the circus-themed marketing materials used to promote Beech-Nut.  Also on display were the remnants of the mechanized miniature circus that traveled the U.S. in the 1920’s and 1930’s with the Beech-Nut “sample girls.”  These young ladies, dressed in the latest fashions or specially designed costumes, were employed for the sole purpose of distributing free samples of Beech-Nut gum.

The Beech-Nut Packing Company had been an economic mainstay in Canajoharie for 118 years. In 2009 the company closed their massive plant downtown and moved to a new modern facility in Florida, NY.  In its early years, Beech-Nut produced vacuum-packed hams, condiments, peanut butter, chewing gum and candies, and baby food.  (An unopened jar of baby food - liver and beef soup with carrots, rice and barley – was on display, yum!)  Today, doing business as Beech-Nut Nutrition Company, it is second only to Gerber in the production of baby food. Hopefully the liver and beef soup recipe has been permanently retired!

 Lazy W docked at Canajoharie Riverfront Park

 

While advertisements for chewing Beech-Nut gum promised it to be “a restful and relaxing experience,” our night at Canajoharie Riverfront Park was anything but restful.  The noise from the freight trains rumbling by on the opposite shore was LOUD and frequent all night long!  We were glad to leave the next morning.

Sunday, June 26^th (Happy Birthday, little brother George !) was the hottest day for cruising yet.  Unbelievably, it was 10 degrees warmer than Virginia Beach!?!?  We set our sights on Utica, 40 miles and 6 locks away.

St. Johnsville Marina - a 2002 stopover on our first Great Loop trip with Rich and Bryan Wills onboard

Approaching Lock E16 - St. Johnsville

Lock E17 - the lock gate is on the rise

Before long we were approaching Lock E17 at Little Falls.  This lock is the largest single step lift lock on the Erie Canal, lifting boats 40 feet.  It is also unlike all the other locks – it has a guillotine-like gate that lifts above the boats as they enter.

 

One of the few commercial vessels along the Erie Canal
 Governor Roosevelt, a canal work boat, docked at Little Falls
 

 

The Aqua Vino Restaurant in Utica hosts boaters along a long HIGH wall.  For the bargain basement price of just $1/ foot you get water and electric hookups.  An electric hookup would be essential for running the air conditioners on Lazy W this hot and humid afternoon.  We tied up, awkwardly climbed over the high wall and went in search of Trish to pay our docking fee.  Despite the restaurant being closed to the general public this Sunday, Trish graciously poured us some cold refreshments at the bar while the friendly staff prepped for two private graduation parties.  She even shared a platter of Italian cookies that were leftovers from the previously held bridal shower!

Leaky gates at Lock E21

 

Getting Lazy W away from the wall at Utica was challenging.  Even though the guidebook stated that there was five feet of water alongside the wall and Lazy W draws four feet, the stern of the boat was obviously sitting on mud.  Frank struggled to work her free while Tim from Near Miss stood on the wall and gave the boat a few good shoves.  Eventually we were on our way.

Five miles west of Utica we passed through Lock E20, the last of the locks on the Erie Canal that would lift Lazy W.  We were now 420 feet above sea level and ready to enter Locks E21 and 22 that would lower us 50 feet to the level of Oneida Lake, the largest body of water on the Erie Canal.

Approaching Sylvan Beach and Oneida Lake

 

Twenty miles long and three miles wide, Oneida Lake can be very choppy when the prevailing westerly winds are blowing.  The Captain had carefully plotted our course from Sylvan Beach on the east end to Brewerton on the west end and on June 28^th we left Utica under overcast skies, hoping that the calm Oneida Lake forecast would hold true when we arrived 29 miles later at Sylvan Beach.  And it did!  There were some issues picking out the rather small faded buoys along our route, but otherwise it was a pleasant cruise at 8+ knots.  WOOHOO!

We fueled Lazy W at Brewerton’s Winter Harbor Marina where we were warmly greeted by Trevor, the dock hand, and later, after tying up for the day, by Leslie whom we fondly remembered from our first stop here in 2002.  We reminisced a bit and were pleasantly surprised to find that the dockage fee was still the same as it was then – 90 cents a foot!

 

Winter Harbor is a very popular stop for ‘loopers’ and not just because dockage is so inexpensive.  The marina supplies two courtesy cars for the re-provisioning trip to Wegmans and the laundromat.  Their service staff is highly regarded and for those looper crews traveling without a great engineer onboard, it is a great place to have someone else attend to all those dirty engine room chores that have been put off for the past several hundred miles.  Luckily, Lazy W is lovingly cared for along the way by her captain!  None the less, the captain still found plenty to do in the engine room during our stopover here.

Since they are now boat-less, Patti and Alan, whose last visit to Winter Harbor was aboard their Monk, Fairways, found their way to Winter Harbor from Virginia by car.  After happy hour, we launched the dinghy for a short jaunt westward to Wild Horse Bar and Grill to partake in their Wednesday night ‘Clams and Cans’ special.  Several dozen little neck clams ($5/dozen), a plateful of wings, beer and wine – then back to Lazy W for a relaxing evening.  It doesn’t get much better than that!  As always, we enjoyed hanging out with these good friends and wonder - how long before they acquire another boat…

Looper boats lined up at Winter Harbor Marina



Winter Harbor was buzzing with activity as more and more looper boats arrived throughout the following day.  Boats were rearranged and tied up as close together as possible to maximize dock space.  Before the day was done, Winter Harbor was hosting a full house!  And no one seemed to be in a big hurry to leave anytime soon as there was a small craft warning issued for Lake Ontario in effect for the next two days.

 

Afternoon thunderstorms were in the forecast for July 1^st but several boats (including Lazy W) left Winter Harbor.  Some boats were continuing west on the Erie Canal, others joining the Oswego Canal at Three Rivers Junction where the Oneida, Seneca (western Erie Canal) and Oswego rivers meet.  From this junction, the Oswego Canal drops boats 118 feet through seven locks over 24 miles to Lake Ontario.

 

 

Our first stop on this route has always been at Phoenix, home of the Bridge House Brats. Throughout the boating season, this enthusiastic group of middle school kids maintains Henley Park, runs errands for the transient boaters, and delivers meals to the docks from area restaurants.  They will even walk your dog and clean your boat.  They are very professional and polite as they offer free lemonade and coffee upon your arrival.  We spent about an hour with them and visited the farmers market where we purchased some of the last of the season’s local berries. 

The Brat Shack

 Then we were off to Fulton where we would tie up to the wall north of Lock O-3.  It was a difficult tie-up as there are no cleats along these walls, just an occasional O-ring and some widely-spaced bollards.  The wind was forecast to pick up overnight and this lock would prove to be one we will long remember.

We awoke to gusty WNW winds of 16MPH.  And, while we should have known better, the decision was made to move Lazy W a mere six miles north to Minetto.  Frank went ashore to handle the stern lines tied around the bollard while I struggled with the bow line running through the O-ring.  A gust of wind blew the stern away from the wall a distance that even a professional long jumper would have difficulty spanning and Frank was no graceful jumper.  This would not be pretty!  However, he did manage to leap back on board at midship just as I was ready to lose the fight with the bow line.  Up at the helm now, Frank struggled to back Lazy W away from the wall and make a U-turn to head north to the next nearby lock.  Whether it was a strong gust of wind or miscalculation by the helmsman, Lazy W slammed her bow into the tall concrete unforgiving wall.  She now bears the scar of that ‘adventure’ until we get her to Lake Michigan for winter storage.  I guess, as Jalan Crossland would say, “we’re just creatin’ jobs!”

 

With adrenaline still pumping we entered Lock O-4.  The lock master there warned us that passage through the locks further north on the canal would be ‘tricky’ due to the blowing winds.  I had no intentions of going through any of those locks today or any other day until the winds settled down.  The Captain agreed and we traveled only six more miles to the floating dock at Minetto where we assessed the damage to Lazy W’s bow.

Minetto free dock

 

OOPS!

 

It's the 4th of July in Oswego, "Where the World Comes Together."  Where is everybody?  The town is deserted, the few shops in town are closed, and we found only one other looper boat waiting to cross Lake Ontario.  Tomorrow's weather looks ideal for crossing to Canada and the start of the Trent Severn...