Windy Days and Crossing Lake Simcoe

This overgrown boathouse is almost camouflaged

Saturday, July 05, 2014 – Start of week 6

Jake left by taxi at 4:30 in the morning. We had a great visit and now it was time for him to get back to Montana and for us to get back to our Canada cruise. We were ready to go at 8:30 and headed out into a chilly west wind. Roger and Mary on Ta Ta had asked us if we wanted to take a side trip with them to Coboconk, a small town on the north end of Balsam Lake. The winds were supposed to build and it sounded like a good idea to get into a sheltered spot.



Ta Ta follows us out of Fenelon Falls

We crossed Cameron Lake, went through a short section of Trent Canal, locked through a quick 4’ lift at Rosedale and entered Balsam Lake, the highest body of water on the Trent Severn Waterway. When we arrived at Coboconk we had a walk around, but the facilities were not what we expected so we switched to plan B and set off back down the lake for the next lock which was the Kirkfield Lift Lock #36.

In park at Coboconk - bike sculpture with spine board - are they sending
a message?

Ta Ta in the Trent Canal

At the top of the Kirkfield Lift Lock
 

Ta Ta and Serenity in the pan - a little unsettling to be up this high!

We could walk through the lock and see the huge piston. Serenity
is parked below left.

View from our boat which is tied up at the wall
 

One side going up and the other coming down
 

To top off the day, we heard from one of the lock workers that the Kawartha Voyager was due to lock down at 7. It was a bit late, and we thought it was a no show until we looked up and there it was in the upper “pan” getting ready to come down.

The Voyager takes up the whole lock and gives the passengers
quite a view
 

The big river boat tied up on the opposite wall at the bottom of the lock. We were happy that the passengers, mostly seniors, had no loud parties and we all spent a quiet night.

Captain’s Log: July 5, 2014

Departed: Fenelon Falls 8.25 a.m.
Engine hours: 4.2 hrs.
Actual hours: 5 hrs.  20 min.
Nautical miles covered: 21.36
Locked thru # 35, Rosedale & #36 Kirkfield Lift Lock
Arrived: Bottom of Lock 36 1:55 p.m.
Wx: Clear, breezy cool northwest wind 10-15

Sunday, July 06, 2014

Kawartha Voyager was going to leave at 8 am and wanted to get ahead of it so we set off at 7:45. We had to cross Canal Lake, which was made just to provide a flow of water for this series of locks in the Trent Canal. It was known to have lots of deadheads and sunken logs and the Voyager would have stirred these up so we were glad to be the first boat going through that day.  

Ta Ta passes through the Hole in the Wall Bridge

Ta Ta about to leave Lock 37, the deepest hand-cranked lock on the
waterway. Roger and Mary call themselves the "Clampetts" with all of
their gear on the roof!

We stopped at lock 40 which was in a very isolated setting with no way for people besides the lock staff to drive in to visit. We were already tied snugly at the bottom when the Kwartha Voyager finally came through. The locks were close enough together that some of the passengers walked from one to the next. Notice that the Voyager has to lift it's bow to fit into some of these small locks.

The Kawartha Voyager about to lock down in Lock 40

We enjoyed the quiet, took a bike ride and later, eagle eyed Roger spotted an indigo bunting in a nearby tree which John captured with our camera.

Brilliant blue indigo bunting

Captain’s Log: July 6, 2014

Departed: Kirkfield lower lock wall, 7:45 a.m.
Engine hours: 2.3 hrs.
Actual hours: 3 hrs.  55 min.
Nautical miles covered: 9.14
Locked through #37, 38, 39, 40
Arrived: Lock 40, Thorah 11:40 a.m.
wx: Clear - west winds 10-20 kts, will wait for favorable winds to cross Lake Simcoe

Monday, July 07, 2014

The weather forecast was foremost in our minds today. We had been advised not to cross Lake Simcoe, the largest body of water on the Trent-Severn Waterway, with a high wind forecast because the waves can really get treacherous.

Mary, John, Christopher and Roger have an early morning
weather conference
 

Finally at noon it looked like things might be more favorable for a few hours. We entered the last lock before the lake #41 at Gamebridge on the Trent Canal, passed through a swing bridge and went out onto the lake. It was windy with lots of whitecaps. As we got out of the lee of an island we ran into 2 to 3, and occasional 4 foot rollers. We motored on with Roger and Mary on Ta Ta right behind us into the big water of the lake. John was driving from the lower helm to stay out of the wind, we almost lost our canvas for the upper helm when the winds switched to westerly, but finally made it onto Lake Couchiching and the town port at Orillia. No photos because we were too busy hanging on! We did lose our red and green clips because they went flying when the canvas was whipping.

Glad to be tied up in a place with power and an internet connection! The sun came out, winds died down and it was a beautiful evening. We will take some pictures of our stay in Orillia tomorrow and shop for some more bright colored clips.

Captain’s Log: July 6, 2014

Departed: Lock 40 lower wall, 12:25 p.m.
Engine h0urs: 3.5 hrs.
Actual hours: 3 hrs. 55 min.
Nautical miles covered: 18.96
Locked through Lock 41
Arrived: Port of Orillia  4:20 p.m.
Wx: Cloudy, patches of rain, wind SW 10-15 kts.Steered a more westerly course to keep waves on qtr bow. Half way across winds changed to NW 15-20, was able to steer direct course - rock & rolled quite a bit.