On Wednesday, June 29th we arrived in Peterborough, which is the largest city along the TSW. We timed our stay here perfectly as it was Canada Day (the Canadian Independence Day) on Friday, July 1st and the marina was adjacent to the park where all the festivities took place.
On the night we arrived, Keifer Sutherland and his band played a free concert in the park. It was great fun, but let's just say he should stick to acting!
The local harbor host threw a big party for all the Loopers in town, which turned out to be about 30 of us. The local newspaper even did an article about all the Loopers crusing into town for the Canada Day festivities. About 10 of us were in the picture featured in the article. Leann and I showed our support by wearing these festive head bands.
Peterborough is best known for the Lift Lock, which is the world's highest hydraulic lift lock. It was built between 1896 to 1904 and was considered an engineering marvel at that time, raising and lowering boats in two water filled chambers a distance of 65 feet. The day before we were to pass through the lock, several of us rode bikes to watch the lock in action.
We went to the top of the lock and watched a small boat go through the lock. Needless to say, we were all a bit nervous about the upcoming "ride".
Each of the "tubs" holds almost 230,000 gallons of water and weighs 1700 tons. The two massive chamber rams are connected in a closed water hydraulic system. Any movement of one chamber must force an equal and opposite movement in the other chamber.
After several fun days on the docks in Peterborough,
it was off to the lock for our "ride"!
It was a very strange feeling entering the chamber, knowing we were going to be raised 65 feet! Neither of us are crazy about heights, so we were way outside our comfort zones. Needless to say, it was amazing sight as we reached the top.
Also along the TSW are a few very old swing bridges. On this day, the water was like glass.
The locks are staffed with helpful, friendly people, who were a wealth of knowledge of where to stop and what to do along the way. There are so many little towns, but only so many nights to stay at them.
That night we stayed "on the wall" at a town called Wakefield. Staying on the wall means you tie up to the cement wall just before or just after the lock chambers. There we swam in crystal clear water . . .
and then walked into town.
The next day we entered an area referred to as Kawartha Lakes. This area has long been a vacation spot for Canadians. The terrain is rocky . . .
but very beautiful. The challenge of cruising in Canada is definitely avoiding a run-in with a rock, as you will lose! It is critical to stay between the red and green bouys.
It was amazing what we would see out in the middle of nowhere, like this church.
We anchored in Stoney Lake for the night and were entertained by water skiers.
The next morning while entering the Lovesick Lock, we encountered our first rental house boat. They are famous in this area and we were warned by many locals to stay as far away from them as possible. Apparently no boating experience is required to rent one and it shows . . . several fellow Loopers were actually hit by a house boat!
The shorelines in this area were lined with beautiful homes.
The Kawartha Voyageur is a large tourist boat popular in this area.
Also very popular are sea planes. It's common to see them flying overhead and it's really cool to see them land.
After a short day passing through only three locks, we decided to anchor in Buckhorn Lake where we were treated to a beautiful sunset.
Each of the "tubs" holds almost 230,000 gallons of water and weighs 1700 tons. The two massive chamber rams are connected in a closed water hydraulic system. Any movement of one chamber must force an equal and opposite movement in the other chamber.
After several fun days on the docks in Peterborough,
it was off to the lock for our "ride"!
And an even better sight when we were pulling away!
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