PETERBOROUBH to BUCKHORN LAKE / June 29 - July 6 (Days 181-188)

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.

And an even better sight when we were pulling away!

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.

CANADIAN CUSTOMS to RICE LAKE / June 20-28 (Days 172-180)

After an uneventful crossing of Lake Ontario, we entered the Bay of Quinte and headed to Picton to pass through Customs.

We had heard through the Loopers' grapevine that Customs was a non-event ~ a quick phone call from the port of entry, a few questions asked and answered and you're on your way.  That was exactly the case for the boat we were traveling with, but Phase II was quarantined for two hours while Customs officers came from 50 miles away to question us both, separately!!  We thought we got "special attention" because of Dave's answer of 36 bottles of home made wine.  After an "interesting" session, it was obvious that it was a different DAVE MARTIN they were looking for!  Yes, it was the name, not the exessive wine!  The next day we shared Customs stories over docktails with several other Loopers at the Trent Port Marina.

We spent a couple of days in Trenton provisioning and enjoying the local restaurants.  We also converted our US dollars to Canadian cash, which was really exciting as we got $1.25 Canadian for each US dollar.  Then on Thursday, June 23rd, we entered the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW), which is the 240 mile long waterway that would snake us through Ontario and into the Georgian Bay.

The TSW starts in Trenton at 243 feet above sea level.   About two miles later, we hit the first of 43 locks that we would have to pass through.

This lock was the first of 37 conventional locks in the system, which acts as steps in a water staircase raising boats up 597 feet from Trenton to Balsam Lake and then lowering them down 263 feet to the Georgian Bay.  We tied up to the blue line and walked up to see how the lock operates.

While at the top of the lock, we got to help open the gates to allow boats at the top to enter the chamber by manually operating the turnstile.  We also got an idea of the distances we were going to travel to get to several of the quaint towns on the TSW.

 

We easily passed through this lock and continued on

through a total of seven locks.

We arrived at our home for the night, Blue Hole anchorage, where the sky and Rowe Boat reflected off the smooth water.

As soon as we dropped the anchor, Dave cracked open a beer and cast a line.  Check out the reflection of the clouds in the water.

Following a beautiful sunset . . . . 

and a great night's sleep, the very happy captains set out for some early morning fishing before we weighed anchor.

That day we experienced the first set of flight locks.  In flight locks when the boat comes out of one lock it is actually entering the next lock.  These are typically constructed where a large lift must be achieved in a short distance, 48 feet lift in this case.

Many of the towns along the TSW have "walls" for boaters to tie to for the night.  In Campbellford, we were one of many boats stopping to explore the town.

Again we gathered with fellow Loopers to share stories and compare crusing plans (and to eat and drink, of course!)

We even got "dressed up" and dined at a local restaurant.

Traveling through locks is not difficult, but it does make for a long day.  It takes an average of 30 minutes from start to finish, depending on how many boats are waiting and how much of a lift/drop it is.  Leaving Campbellford we passed through six more locks.

When you enter a lock, you never know what to expect on the other side of the lock.  It never fails ~ it is always so beautiful, as you can see here looking forward while exiting the lock . . . .

and looking back.

There are a lot of stretches where there is nothing but water and trees.  And then there are areas where the TSW is lined with homes and summer cottages.  Many of the homes have boat houses to store their boats.

Our next stop was a beautiful anchorage on Rice Lake, where our good buddies Ann & Mel on Morningstar II joined us.  We hadn't seen them since the Chesapeake Bay & were so excited they caught up with us!

Another picturesque sunset!