Last Days on the Trent Severn Waterway

Anticipation of the Big Chute

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Ok, we admit it. We are taking our time getting to lock 44, the Big Chute. Everyone has told us that it is the most unique ride on the Trent-Severn Waterway and we are delaying our gratification. We don’t want this part of the adventure to end. We have enjoyed puttering through canals, navigating rivers and crossing lakes. This final thrill of the TSW will be the icing on the cake and it is always good to save the icing for last.

So today we left Orillia, on a clear, crisp and calm day, and crossed Lake Chouchiching, stopping at the end briefly to top off fuel and get a pump-out. Our friends on Ta Ta left later, we saw them for a minute as we were leaving the fuel dock and they were pulling in, but for the most part we were traveling alone, experiencing new territory. We did meet the couples on the two Grand Banks that we got to know in Oswego and later in Trenton. They were on their way back after testing the waters in Georgian Bay. We wished we could stop and ask them how their trip had been but we just waved happily at each other as they passed by, retracing their path and heading for the Rideau Canal.

Here are a few photos from our day as we started the Severn River:



RR bridge workman walking across after making an adjustment

 

RR workman climbing tower to open the swing bridge, very impressive

This boathouse looks a little fishy

 

Unusual to see a sculler zooming by

 

Every rocky island had a cabin or house on it

 

Nice lines on this boathouse - but how do they get the boat in it?

We went through some very narrow and rocky cuts through the granite, including a section called McDonald's Cut. This is a heavily populated area in the summer season so there were lots of camps and boathouses.

Rocky ledge - more of the Canadian Shield
 

Captain’s Log: July 10, 2014

Departed: Port of Orillia 8.23 a.m.
Engine hours: 4.2 hrs.
Actual hours: 5 hrs.  5 min.
Nautical miles covered: 23.03
Locked thru # 42, Couchiching
Arrived: Top of Lock 43, Swift Rapids 1:30 p.m.
Wx: Clear, calm, nice cruising day
 
Big Chute Day

Friday, July 11

We stayed overnight on the wall at the lock at Swift Rapids, #43. At 47' this is a tall lock and it is fairly new and operated hydraulically - very quick ride down.

The doors on this lock were huge - 47 feet high

Another Mainship followed us out - looks narrow because of the high walls;
it was a smooth ride down and took only 8 minutes!

It was about 8 miles to the next lock at Big Chute and I had to snap a few boathouse pictures.

Serene reflection on the early morning water

 

Big 3 bay boat garage

Flower boxes and a cottage name sign - this one is charming

Finally we reached Lock 44 Big Chute, which is not your normal lock. It is a railway lift with a system of straps which picks up boats and transports them across land, road and eventually to the other side. It is driven by pulleys and cables. To satisfy our curiosity, we had to tie up at a dock first, get out of our boats and observe it before venturing on.

The chute rides on wide railroad tracks

Another boat comes up

 

Traffic is stopped as the chute goes over a road -
the lock workers ride the chute back and forth all day

Now it was our turn. We got back on board and went over to the wall with the blue line to indicate that we were ready to go. The lockmaster spoke to us over a loud speaker to let us know what to do.

Ta Ta waiting for the chute to lower into the water and release a boat

Going up with Ta Ta in front and Serenity behind

It's a roller coaster ride for boats!

Chute is going back in the water and getting ready to release us

It was a great ride, although a little disconcerting to have our boat hauled out of the water so quickly. The trip for the day continued for about 7 more miles through some narrows and lots of islands. We are spending the night at Starport Marina in Port Severn, just a stone's throw from the very last lock into Georgian Bay.

Captain’s Log: July 11, 2014
Departed: Upper lock wall, Swift Rapids, 9:05 a.m.
Engine hours: 3.1 hrs.
Actual hours: 3 hrs.  30 min.
Nautical miles covered: 13.68
Locked through #43 & #44 Big Chute
Arrived Starport Severn Marina 12:35 p.m.
Wx: Clear, cool - warming in afternoon, winds light and variable. Nice day.

Orillia, Ontario

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 8 & 9, 2014

The Port of Orillia has an offer of buy two nights and the third is free, so we are staying here until Thursday morning. They have put in new docks that can moor over 200 boats! This photo shows only a part of the docks that have been added to welcome visitors.

There was lots of room when we pulled in -
only a fraction of the slips were in use.

This turned out to be a very good thing because Tuesday afternoon’s weather brought us heavy rains, thunder showers and wind so we were glad to stay put. This morning, before the rain we walked into town. There were lots of art installations along the way - you can see one in front of Mariposa below.

Mississaga St. in Orillia - Mariposa Market was a great place for lunch
 

Having fun with the street art a la "Little Shop of Horrors"
Press foot down on lever and fly trap opens - there was a hand
in there already!

 

The waterfront is dotted with these boat sculptures -
each one with a uniquely decorated sail.
Chris was glad to find something his size.

 

Statue of Samuel de Champlain in the nearby
park - apparently he was here.

On Wednesday our boat friend Mary and I went to the Leacock Museum, the restored home of Stephen Leacock, Canadian writer, humorist and professor. He was often likened to writer and humorist Mark Twain. We had a wonderful guide who filled us in on a lot of the authentic details of the house which was built in 1928.

Leacock house with flowering catalpa tree in front - lovely gardens, too

The city of Orillia has commissioned several local artists to decorate replicas of a chair found in the Leacock house. We had seen a few of them around town and there were two on the front porch of the museum. One of them actually depicted the house and had flowers planted in the storage compartments located in the arms. Leacock used to keep his pipe and current reading in these compartments - good idea, don't know why we don't have chairs like that today.

Artist's rendering of the Leacock house on chair

Except for some raging thunderstorms and a very windy night we have had a pleasant stay in Orillia. The Kawartha Voyager is parked here tonight and is about to embark on a ten day cruise to Kingston, Ontario. We are headed in the opposite direction and only have 4 locks left on the Trent-Severn Waterway and that includes the great chute railway. If you haven't heard of it we will fill you in when we get to Severn.

 

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.

 

Fourth of July in Fenelon Falls, Ontario

Thursday, July 3, 2014

We motored from Bobcaygeon to Fenelon Falls cruising Sturgeon Lake on a cool overcast day with John steering from the lower helm until we entered the Fenelon River. We did greet Mary & Roger as they came in with Ta Ta and were glad to see them. No pictures, not much to write home about but looking forward to being in Fenelon Falls tomorrow.

Captain’s Log: July 3, 2014

Departed: Bobcaygeon 10 a.m.
Engine hours: 2.3 hrs.
Actual hours: 2 hrs.  25 min.
Nautical miles covered: 13.7
Locked thru # 34 Fenelon Falls
Arrived: Top of Lock 34 12:25 p.m.
Wx: Overcast, cool east wind 5-10

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Fourth of July! It’s a much nicer day to get things done – sunny with a cool west wind. This morning was for laundry and provisioning. This afternoon we greeted several other Loopers and explored the town a bit. Here are some photos from our day.

Serenity tied up to wall, newly rebuilt with power
(they call it hydro in Canada)

Jake and Chris take a break on their walk. Behind them is the bridge to
nowhere - bike path but the bridge is always swung open for boaters.

 

Lots of tourists in town to visit the lock

Kawartha Dairy ice cream is offered everywhere in the region -
we love their new flavor - salty caramel truffle - great!

John takes his usual afternoon nap. Chris never sleeps.

There are lots of boats here, at least 5, which are heading west in the morning. We may have an armada!

 

 

 

Canada Day and cruise to Bobcaygeon

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

It’s July 1^st, Canada Day! We are still at Buckhorn Yacht Harbor for several reasons. One, its Canada Day and everything is closed but boaters are out and there are few places to tie up. Two, it is warm and humid and we can stay plugged in with the A/C, and three, thunderstorms are forecast for all day – it started raining before 11am – and it looks like it will stick around. Finally, we needed a down day to chill and relax and recharge our personal batteries.

Another first - covered dockage at Buckhorn Yacht Harbor

The day wasn’t a complete bust, though. John had some time to clean the deck and the gunnels. Jake had the luxury of reading a book and I got caught up on my internet surfing. The rain stopped after lunch and we walked the mile or so into the town of Buckhorn where Jake was hoping to find a place where he could watch the USA soccer team play in the World Cup. We checked out the lock there and were surprised to see that there was now plenty of room to park our boat, but decided to stay where we were. While we were there, who should lock through but Dave and Di on their catamaran, Phat Cat. They tied up on the wall for the night; we had a short visit and decided to get together for dinner later that evening.

Di and Dave join us for dinner at Main Street Landing in Buckhorn

Jake got to see his game and we got a walk and a bike ride for a little exercise. It is wonderful to see familiar faces as we travel along and we have already met so many wonderful people. I am sure there will be many more along the way.

Jake, Kathy and Di check out the power dam near the lock

You can't imagine the intensity of the water you feel standing this close

Wednesday, July 02, 2014

With the promise of a good day ahead we left the marina at Buckhorn and headed west toward Bobcaygeon. At least I think it was west because this waterway is such a zig-zag route that it is hard to tell which way we are going. We cruised down the length of Buckhorn Lake, went through Buckhorn Narrows and as we were about to go through another narrow passage we saw the Kawartha Voyager coming into view. This is a relatively large cruise boat carries passengers on a tour of the Trent-Severn Waterway. It started near Orillia and ends in Peterborough and we had been warned that it takes up a lot of space. We didn’t want to get caught in a tight spot with it and so John pulled back to idle and let it pass.



Kawartha Voyager closing in on us



Up close and personal

The sun came out as we glided onto Pigeon lake, a wide expanse of water and Jake took over the wheel for a while. Of course, we have auto pilot, we call it Otto the Auto Pilot, so it didn’t really challenge his driving abilities.

Jake says, "Piece of cake! I could do this in my sleep."
 

Couldn't resist - boathouse, balcony, birdhouse and a slide!

In no time we were entering the narrow passage to Bobcaygeon. They swung open a bridge for us and we entered the only lock of the day, #32.  It is a great little town to explore and shop. They are known for Bigley’s store which has thousands of shoes. Fortunately I have no room left for shoes, but there are lots of other curio shops.  Also, our friends from Phat Cat are tied up below the lock and we had a good visit with Mary and Roger from Ta Ta who are getting some work done at the local marina. We also met a couple from Pensacola doing the loop. Their 44' trawler is named SNAILMALE and I am sure we will get to know them better as we go along.

Captain’s Log: July 2, 2014

Departed: Buckhorn Yacht Harbor, 8:50 a.m.
Engine hours: 2.8 hrs.
Actual hours: 2 hrs.  50 min.
Nautical miles covered: 14.36
Locked thru # 32 Bobcaygeon
Arrived: Top of Lock 32 Bobcaygeon 11:40 a.m.
Wx: SW winds 5-10, dark clouds to SE – sun came out  - winds increased 10-15