I have wifi...report on Canada...

Hello family and friends-

We are in Parry Sound right now and will be for a short time.  They have wifi at this marina so I'm doing a catch-up report on our adventures so far in Canada.  I might split it into several parts so that I don't lose too much data if I mess up...been there-done that!

Here goes...


Saturday, June 4
We got a very early start because we were anxious to get across Lake Ontario before any waves or naughty weather kicked up.  As a result we saw the most beautiful sunrise.

This is the Lighthouse at the entrance to Oswego.  One day earlier there were whitecaps breaking all over the place...we were happy to see this calm sight.  

Can't get this to straighten out...me piloting on Lake Ontario...it was cold

 It took us 6.5 hours to cross Lake Ontario and the waters were wonderful, calm and clear.

Good bye for now, USA

Hello, Canada

 We landed at Picton, Ontario at 2:15pm and cleared Customs over the phone at the little shack that constitutes Picton Harbour Marina.  The officer was not all concerned about liquor on board so we didn't have to lie about anything...he was concerned about tobacco... go figure.

Bonjour, Warren

We spent the night tied to the wall in Picton.  We traveled 58.8 nautical miles today and decided to stay over a day to look around the town.
Picton is a cute little town with quaint homes and shops that are reminiscent of an English village.  We walked around and, much to my delight, I found chocolate digestives, Chocky-Bottoms", my favorite cookie on Earth.

Picton Harbour

The trawler "Rosebud"

Sunday, June 6

We woke up early, anxious to get to the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway, which is a series of Lakes and canals crossing Ontario to the western shores of Georgian Bay and eventually Lake Huron.  The waterway has over 40 locks, many of them standard type but there are also two Lift Locks and one Marine Railway that are very unique features of this canal system.

Leaving Picton

Is that Camelot in the mists of Avalon?  Sorry, a power plant.

Jig-saw Puzzle Scenery

 

After motoring by the towns of Deseronto and Belleville, we came upon Trenton at about noon.  We bought a transit pass for the waterway ($167 Canadian) and started off.  We were very happy to be starting this portion of the trip because the Trent-Severn waterway experience that Dan shared with Kerm last year was very special and it fired up our ambitions to do the Loop.

You can stay the night tied to the walls by the locks for a small fee and many people do that.  The lock masters' buildings all have washrooms making it very convenient.  We decided to stop at Frankford, the sixth lock in the system.  Traveled a total of 42 nautical miles today.

The locking chamber

Southern Belle tied to the wall for the night

One of the Lock doors

The lock masters open and close the lock doors manually using these handles that go round and round

The lock gates

Calm water by Lock #6

 Tuesday, June 7
After a pleasant night we left Frankford Lock at 7:45 am, heading for the next lock at Glen Ross.  The locks open at 9am so we had lots of time to putt-putt along.  When we got to Glen Ross we learned from one of the lock masters all of the places in the vicinty to get ice cream and bakery goods...he was very keen on 'sweet treats' as he called them.

We cleared nine locks today, including Percy Reach, Meyers, Crowe Bay and Haig's Reach.  By 3:20pm we were tired out so we stopped at Healy Falls for the night.  Only traveled 25 nautical miles today but the locking slows down the average.

Geese enjoying a swim

Wednesday, June 8

Today we are going to have a short day because we only have to go to Peterborough tomorrow to meet up with Mary and Cecil.  Nice to have a little relaxation.  Left Healy Falls at 8:18, went through three locks and stopped at Hasting Village Marina by 12 noon.

Very nice, clean marina with very helpful manager

 We took naps and lazed around in the afternoon and then the weather started to look stormy.  Within 10 minutes we were totally involved with a major storm.  It was pitch black outside even though it was still afternoon.  The winds came through in huge gusts and the rain was pelting down. The noise was awesome. Southern Belle was tied up to a sturdy dock but she was tossed about like I have never experienced.  I was scared but we didn't even have time to get off the dock...we would have been blown into the water.  When it passed we discovered that the canvas on our bimini top had been ripped off the frame work.  We were not alone in terms of damage.  I boat on another dock had his fly bridge structure ripped off the boat by the ferocious winds. Others had canvas damage also.  The entire town was without power. 

Canvas was ripped but framework was not damaged

 Thursday, June 9

We left Hastings at 6am because we wanted to get to Peterborough early enough to check it out before picking up Mary and Cecil.  Along the shores of Rice Lake and the Otenobee River we saw many downed trees.  When we approached Lock#19 at Scott's Mill there was a tree down in front of the lock door  and the power was not working so we tied up and waited while they cleared up the problems.

We cleared the lock at 12:43 and pulled into Peterborough Marina soon afterward.  The marina is in a big park and the tallest fountain in Ontario lies in the harbour.  We cleaned up the boat to prepare for our guests and we decided to walk to the bus station to meet them.

Mary and Cecil were happy to see us and we all stopped at a pub on the way back to the marina for a bite and a beer.   Good food and nice atmosphere.

The Centennial Fountain

Peterborough Marina

Friday, June 10

Went out for a hearty breakfast and did some provisioning at the local No Frills Grocery.  The grocery carts had a locking mechanism that unlocked when you inserted a quarter and when you were done and returned the cart you got your quarter back...fascinating.

After storing provisions and a safety briefing for Mary and Cecil we left the marina, heading to the famous Peterborough Lift Lock.

Captain and rapt audience

Peterborough Lift Lock

 I have to confess that after taking this picture I was so amazed by the rest of the locking procedure that I totally forgot to take any pictures.  Sorry.  The lift lock is like two enormous loaf pans that raise and lower like the two sides of a scale. 

 Here is a link to learn more about it-

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_Lift_Lock

After leaving the lift lock we cleared five more locks and arrived in at the Lakefield Marina.  We had a wonderful day, traveling 9.4 fabulous miles.  Having Mary and Cecil on board is fun and they are wonderful crew.  Their prior experience with canal boating in England is most helpful.  Plus Mary makes the most wonderful spaghetti with clam sauce.

Dock staff wishing that more boats would turn up

Yin Yang, a Canadian cruiser coming home from the Bahamas

That little break in the trees is where we go through tomorrow

Saturday, June 11

Left Lakefield Marina at 10am (please note the very civilized hour) heading for Burleigh Falls.  When we got to the very next lock  at Young's Point we were told that the lock at Burleigh Falls was not open due to power outages from the storm.  There were lots of boats stacked up there all waiting for the lock to open. Some had been waiting for three days.   As it happens, there was a Blues festival going on at the trading post right next to the lock the following day.  We opted to stay here rather than pushing ahead.  Hey, stay where the party is, right??

As we were locking through we encountered Ross and Nancy, friends from Oddysea, fellow Minnesotans from Northfield, who are also doing the Loop.  Ross helped us squeeze into a premium spot on the wall.  They joined us for snacks and we all had a great time.

Unfortunately, I must have been having such a great time during this whole episode that I forgot to take any photos.  I am hoping that Mary got some.   The Festival was very well attended and the music wafted over the canal to our boat all day long.  Food and drink was also available so we didn't have to dirty too many dishes.  Although this was not in our plans we all had a fun time.

 to be continued