Port Severn, Ontario – Fryingpan Island, Ontario – July 21, 2008

It was overcast and cool this morning, with a brief rain shower before the lock opened. We went through the first lock opening at 8:30. Our last lock until we are in the river system. Hurray!! We were then out of the Trent-Severn Waterway and into Georgian Bay. Now the markers have switched again, red buoys are back on our starboard side.

Georgian Bay is comprised of mostly granite outcroppings, both above and below the water. Most of the islands are wooded and have a very thin layer of soil covering the hard rock. There are areas of very narrow channels and you must pay close attention because there are many rocks just below the surface outside the channel. Our route will take us approximately 168 miles along the northern edge of Georgian Bay. The area referred to as the 30,000 islands. Although it should probably be called the 100,000 islands since there are many pieces of land (rock) just below the surface

Shortly after entering Georgian Bay we went through a very severe thunderstorm. There was thunder and lightning along with high winds and heavy rain. We were fortunate to be in deep, open water. We stopped navigating and just rode out the storm. The worst was over in about ½ hour and we continued on our way. There was rain until 11:30 when we cruised into blue skies and sun.






We arrived at Fryingpan Island at 2:30. We are staying overnight at the docks of Henry’s Fish Restaurant. This is supposed to be the best place to have pickeral (walleye) in Georgian Bay. We docked, stern in, right up against the island. In 40’ of water.







See Bellissimo navigate a very narrow channel. Note how close the buoys are.

1 lock – total 75

Orillia, Ontario – Port Severn, July 20, 2008

We left a little after 7 this morning in pouring rain. We went past a large group of fishermen waiting for the start of a fishing contest. It was probably great weather for fishing.

Today we went through 3 of the last 4 locks of the Trent-Severn Waterway. The second was a 47’ drop. The last one, Lock 44 is called the Big Chute. The Big Chute takes the boats up over a small hill and then down more than 100ft to the lake below. You drive the boat into a very large partially submerged railway car travel lift. Slings are placed under the boat and the car travels out of the water, over land and back into the water on the other side. It’s like a huge travel lift on railroad tracks. The original railway lift was only 50 feet long and could carry only 18 tons at one time and was generally limited to 1 boat at a time. This one can carry 110 tons and vessels up to 100’ in length. More importantly it can carry more than 1 boat at a time.

We arrived at Lock 44 at 1:30 this afternoon. We stopped at the visitors dock and went to watch a couple of the transports. We also checked in with the visitor center. We found that this has been the busiest week-end of the season and, while we were there, about 10 more boats showed up. Depending on the size of the boats sometimes only 2 can go at a time.

We got in line at the blue line about 3:00 to wait our turn. Bellissimo and L’Attitude Changer were too big to be in the lift together. There were 6 boats in front of us and it took 3 trips before it was our turn. They took 2 small runabouts and put them side by side in front, then Bellissimo in the back middle. The next trip was 2 small ones in front and us in the back middle. The ride was certainly interesting. We will probably never experience anything like this again. The pictures show Bellissimo going up the chute and L’Attitude Changer coming down.

We stopped for the night at the top of Lock 45 at Port Severn. That is the last lock of the Trent-Severn Waterway and we will go through it tomorrow at 8:30.

3 locks today – total 74

Gamesbridge, Ontario – Orillia, Ontario, July 19, 2008

We were underway at 8:30 this morning and through the lock by 8:45. Two more miles and we were in Lake Simcoe.

Lake Simcoe is the largest lake on the Trent-Severn Waterway, 20 miles long and 16 miles wide. It can be dangerous in bad weather. There were thunderstorms forecasted for early afternoon and we planned to be through it by then.

We didn’t have the GPS navigational charts for Canada, so have been using paper charts. The only difficulty with this is keeping the wind from blowing them away.

We arrived at Orillia at 11:45 and met up with Bob and Margaret. Orillia has their 31st Annual Scottish Festival this weekend and we arrived just in time for the parade. There were 20 bagpipe and drum bands in the parade. It was interesting to see the different plaids that were worn. It was also interesting to see that this spanned generations. There were teenagers in the bands along with seniors. There are also Shriners in Canada!

The marina is right next to the park where the festival is being held and there was much activity. There were bagpipe and drum competitions, Scottish dancers and even a country western band in case you got tired of bagpipes. There were many vendor tents and tents titled MacLeod, MacFarlane, Clan Young, Clan MacKenzie, Clan Hunter, and MacMillan, just to name a few. This area of Ontario had huge numbers of Scottish immigrants settle here.

As an interesting note - We’ve noticed many Adirondacks chairs up the east coast and now in Canada. Along the east coast they are all in pastels. In Canada they are all in primary colors.

1 lock today – total of 71

Buckhorn, Ontario – Gamebridge, Ontario, July 18, 2008

We had a huge thunderstorm during the night. It sounded like it was centered right over our boat. Lucky for us that Darrell had just finished fixing the aft hatch. Not a drop of water came through.

We got underway at 6:15. The first few hours were very quiet and peaceful. We saw only a few fishermen on the lakes.

We arrived at Bobcaygeon and our first lock at 8:40. The locks open at 8:30 and we were afraid we had missed the first opening and would have to wait. Today there had been no one on the blue line waiting for the lock to open, so we were the first of the day. We were fortunate, because if you miss an opening it can be up to a 45 minute wait.

Bobcaygeon is the birthplace of the Trent Canal. Work began on this lock in 1833. This lock and the lock at Buckhorn are 2 locks that get most of the houseboat traffic. Most of the houseboat rentals are from this area so the first lock they go through is one of these. The staff at these locks do an amazing job of instructing and helping them get through the locks safely.

We went through 2 more locks before entering Balsam Lake. Here we were more than 840 feet above sea level and at the highest point of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Until now we had been locking up. For the rest of the trip on this waterway, we will be locking down.

The Trent Canal was next. It is a narrow, man-made canal cut through rock. It is so narrow and shallow that it is suggested you make a security call prior to entering. You do not want to meet another boat in this 2.6 mile stretch. If you do you must be extremely cautious and possibly come to a complete stop. We met 2 boats in the Trent Canal. Luckily they were both small.

The Kirkfield lock is a lift lock, like the Peterborough Lift Lock, only the pan is not enclosed and there’s more of a feeling of “hanging out there”. Since we were going northbound and locking down, we had to drive the boat into a pan that was nearly 5 stories in the air. We had to go to the end of the pan, with only a short gate to stop us. This gate is what opens to let you out and you can only “hope” that it stays closed. The view was spectacular and the ride felt like an elevator going down pretty quickly. The ride top to bottom takes less than 60 seconds. This is definitely the fastest way to go through a lock.

The Kirkfield lock is also where the green and red markers change sides. North bound green is now on your starboard side (you are returning to the sea). It’s a little difficult to make the transition. Beth taped a piece of red tape on the left side of the console in the flybridge to help her. You don’t want to get confused at a critical time.

We went under the Hole in the Wall Bridge. This was constructed in 1905 and has a vertical clearance of 28 feet.

Our last lock of today was at Thorah. It had been overcast all day and started to look very ominous while we were in the lock. The wind picked up and there was a lot of thunder and lightning. Suddenly we were in a huge storm with torrential rains. We had already locked down so were protected from the winds by the high walls. We did, however, still get rained on. They don’t open the lock doors in heavy wind so we got to stay in the lock until the winds let up.

We stayed at the top of lock #41, Gamebridge, tonight. We will be first to go through the lock tomorrow at 8:30 when they open. Today 8 locks, total of 70.

Peterborough, Ontario – Buckhorn, Ontario, July 17, 2008

The diver/millwright/mechanic did not get back to the boat last night. The job he had to go on took much longer than he anticipated and he didn’t finish until 9 p.m. He was unable to come today due to a previous commitment. Darrell had been working on aligning the engine yesterday afternoon and evening. He needs a jack and some additional muscle power to finish it but felt it was OK to continue our trip.

We left the marina this morning at 9:00. The locks started immediately, .1 mile after leaving the marina. The second lock of the day was ¼ mile further, the Peterborough Lift Lock. This lock was completed in 1904 and was considered an engineering marval at the time. There are two large pans, each weighing 1300 tons when filled. With one pan up and the other down the two balance each other. It doesn’t matter how many boats are in either pan. A boat displaces its own weight in water. When it is time to lower one pan and raise the other, one extra foot of water (130 tons) is allowed to enter the upper pan. This extra weight allows the upper pan to push down and raise the lower pan to the top level. The two pans are locked in place and the extra water is let out of the lower pan. Boats enter and exit the upper and lower pans and the process is repeated. You drive your boat into one of these pans and tie up just like you would to a dock. The lift lock really moves once it gets going. It feels like an elevator ride.

We caught up with a houseboat. There are many houseboat rentals here and we’re told one of the fun things to do is watch these houseboats go through their first lock. The houseboat we got behind was on its way back from a their rental and had already gone through several locks, so they had the procedure down pretty well. They travel slower than the speed limit of 6 mph on the canal, but it doesn’t do any good to pass them. We would have arrived at the lock first, but because the lock tenders talk to each other they would know there was also a houseboat coming and would wait for the houseboat to arrive before locking you through. Lucky for us they stopped along the way for lunch.

We left Rice Lake and The Ontonabee River and entered into Kawartha Lakes. This area is a vacation spot for Canadians and has many lakeside homes, cottages, boating and recreational activities. The Kawartha Lakes are a series of lakes joined by locks. The terrain is often rocky. Native Indians traveled these waterways by canoe more than 3 thousand years ago.

Clear Lake and Stony Lake are 2 of the lakes making up the Kawartha Lakes. Clear Lake was reminiscent of 1000 Islands in the St. Lawrence River. There were many rocky hillsides and small islands. Many have homes on them.

Between Clear Lake and Stony Lake is a 1 mile stretch called Hells Gate. Hells Gate is very narrow and has many small islands and mounds of rocks scattered throughout. There are many markers there to show the channel and it is absolutely beautiful.

We stopped at 5 p.m. at Buckhorn after going through our 11th lock today. 8 hours of travel, 11 locks (total of 62), guess how many miles?????? 31.6!!!!!!!!!!!

Peterborough, Ontario - July 16, 2008

The diver arrived at 8 this morning with a big truck and 2 helpers. Both props and the shafts appeared to be all right. The starboard prop was a little loose on the shaft. The props are 1.75" and the shafts are 1.5”. Machined bronze sleeves make up the difference. He tightened both props and that helped the vibration. It also appears the starboard engine is not aligned with the starboard shaft. They didn’t align it properly when the transmission was replaced.

Darrell did some work on the engine this afternoon in preparation and the diver (who is also a millwright and a mechanic) is coming back this evening to align the engine.

While Darrell was working in the engine room, Beth went to the grocery store to stock up in hopes of leaving tomorrow. Then she went on a long bike ride. There is a beautiful park and river walk here that runs along the lake.

Since our stay here was lengthened, we will be here for the Wednesday night concert and fireworks. Tonight we will be listening to Jim Witter in The Music of Our Lives. He sings classic rock/pop hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.

Peterborough, Ontario – July 15, 2008

Today was beautiful, a clear blue sky and cool to start but warming up. We took the boat out this morning to see if there was any improvement in the vibration after Darrell worked on it yesterday. There was a slight improvement, but not enough to cancel the diver.

Darrell spent this afternoon changing a secondary fuel filter in the starboard engine. He also replaced the vent on the aft hatch. Beth took a bicycle to Home Depot to pick up some supplies.

Today our granddaughter, Halle Rose, is 1 year old. We wish we could have been home to go to her birthday party last Saturday. She had her first large piece of chocolate cake, and loves it, just like her dad and brother.

Peterborough, Ontario – July 14, 2008

Bob and Margaret left his morning. We are staying a few more days. We have a diver scheduled to come on Wednesday to look at the starboard shaft/propeller to see if we can find out what’s creating the vibration we feel at cruising speed.

The day was cool, with storm clouds rolling in and out. You couldn’t tell if, or when it was going to rain. We stayed close to the boat. Darrell worked some in the engine room and Beth took a walk.

Peterborough, Ontario – July 13, 2008

This is the 22nd year that Peterborough has put on its Festival of Lights event. Every Wednesday and Saturday evenings throughout the summer there is a free concert and fireworks show at the park that is right next to the marina. There are many businesses that support this event and the 2008 show had been fully funded before the 2008 season began. They have a wide variety of music, from classic rock to country, opera, jazz, bluegrass, Celtic and even a tribal performance from Africa.

This event really draws the crowds and is such a wonderful idea, such a diversity of music. There were hundreds of people here last night, bringing chairs or blankets to sit on. They were of all ages, from retired couples to families with young children. Little kids were dancing to the music. There were vendors selling food. (The funnel cake with ice cream and strawberries was really good). It is really a wonderful idea.

Last night the performance was by Destino. The name means “destiny” in Italian and Spanish. 3 young men who had been pursuing solo careers joined together to form this group. Their style has been dubbed “popera”. They sing opera with a pop flair and only had a piano and violin to accompany them. They were very good. Unfortunately it started to rain during their performance and we went back to our boat so didn’t hear all of it.

This morning was spent washing clothes and getting groceries at a store nearby. This afternoon we went to a play. The Peterborough Theatre Guild puts on 8-9 plays a year, each one playing for about 10 days. Today was the last day of “Perfect Wedding”. The theatre had originally been a church and is small and intimate, with about 200 seats. “Perfect Wedding” is a highly successful comedy which has been performed all over Europe and America. We enjoyed it and laughed quite a bit.

Hastings, Ontario, - Peterborough, Ontario, July 12, 2008

The four of us had dinner last night at the “Captain’s Table”, a restaurant recommended by several locals. Everyone said the halibut was good, so that’s what we had. Margaret and Beth had a halibut plate and Bob and Darrell had a seafood platter, which had scallops and shrimp in addition to halibut. Everything was fried and was accompanied by homemade french fries and cole slaw. The food was good, but the servings so large that none of us could finish our meal.

It was very foggy this morning when we awoke, but had cleared by the time we left, 8:00. We only went through 1 lock today and it was more than 30 miles from Hastings.

For several miles after Hastings the shoreline was populated with resorts, seasonal homes and RV parks. There were many farms along the way as well as year around homes. Occasionally we would pass small communities. Very old stone chimneys were still standing next to the shore. Almost every home we see has a beautiful, well kept lawn. Most are landscaped with bushes and blooming flowers.

During our cruising the past couple of days, Darrell noticed some vibration on the starboard prop and thought something had wrapped around the prop or shaft. He tried various methods of getting it off including backing up to change the rotation of the propeller. Nothing worked, so Darrell went in the water to check. There was some plastic wrapped around the shaft. Darrell got as much off as he could. Today he still noticed the vibration, so he shut down the starboard engine and we ran only our port engine. We will try to get a diver to look at it when we’re at Peterborough.

We went through a large part of Rice Lake today before catching the canal again. Rice Lake is very large and very pretty. It was very quiet, not much traffic, only an occasional fisherman. There are several islands in the lake, making it very scenic. About ½ way through Rice Lake we turned north to Kent Creek to follow the canal route.

Our one and only lock today was just before our stop. It was a small lock with only about a 10’ raise in level, but a very popular lock. It connects 2 lakes and they have many boaters using it. There were 4 pretty good sized trawlers and 1 runabout in the lock. It was quite a tight fit.

We got to our marina in Peterborough and were tied up by 2:15. This is a very nice marina, with very nice bathrooms and showers. We have seen 9 other boaters with Looper Flags. We all got together at 5 for drinks and snacks. Everyone brought a snack to share.

We are right next to the park that is the setting for the Summer Festival of Lights, concert and fireworks event every Wednesday and Saturday. We are looking forward to it.

Campbellford, Ontario – Hastings, Ontario, July 11, 2008

We got underway this morning at 7:45 and cruised 2 miles to our first lock of the day. We were the first 2 boats there and we tied up to wait for the first lock opening at 8:30. While we waited for the lock to open, Bob tried to catch dinner for us. Nothing was biting.

We went through 5 locks pretty close together before we had a break of 14.7 miles until the 6th lock. The scenery was very pretty and there were a lot of homes along the way.


A cruiser had caught up with us on our 14. 7 mile stretch. In order to get all 3 boats in the 6th lock Bellissimo and L’Attitude Changer rafted together in the lock. That allowed the 3rd boat to get in behind us.

We decided to stop at Hastings, Ontario for the day. We moored just above the lock, taking advantage of the $0.90/ft cost. We got there at 1:30. After yesterday we all needed a short day

Trenton, Ontario – Campbellford, Ontario, July 10, 2008

We got underway at 8 this morning. It was 2 miles to the first lock and the locks open at 8:30. There were 2 other boats at the marina that left when we did, making a total of 4 of us starting at lock #1.

The first lock would only take 2 of the 4 boats. We were #3 in line, so had to wait for the next opening. You figure about ½ hour to go through a lock. Bellissimo was #2, so we would be at least ½ hour behind them the rest of the day.

The boat that was locking with us was a 28’ sailboat with its mast down. The couple on it had previously owned a sailboat, but had just purchased this sailboat today, had never taken it on the water and had ever been through a lock before. This boat had wheel steering rather than a tiller which they had before. They had a lot of trouble with the first 4 locks. They didn’t have their lines in the right place and had no boat hook to help grab the cable. They lost control of the boat several times, were crossways in the lock and their mast hit the wall a couple of times. Darrell loaned them one of our boat hooks and had them move a line and they improved. The lock tenders keep in touch with each other and by the time we reached lock #5 the tender came over and asked us if the sailboat was getting any better at locking. The time it took for the sailboat to catch the cables at each lock put us even further behind Bellissimo. There were also several locks where we had to wait for the lock to open. We arrived in Campbellford about 1 ½ hrs behind Bellissimo.

There is a fee for use of the 44 locks on the Trent-Severn waterway. We purchased our pass at the first lock, a seasonal “Transit One Way” pass. The cost of this plan is $4.45/ft Canadian. Almost all of the locks on the waterway are opened manually. The dock tender must walk the controls around in a circle turning a gear mechanism to open or close the lock gates and the water valves.

The speed limit on the Trent-Severn is 10 kilometers per hour, about 6.8 mph. That helps the fuel economy, but also make for a longer day.

The canal system allows you to tie up to a lock wall to spend the night. The Canadians call it “mooring”. The cost is $0.90/ft. There are picnic tables, water and restrooms and a few of the spots have electricity. Some of the locks are located in very rural areas, but others are in towns and villages. This gives you a chance to spend some time in these lovely places.

Our last lock today was a flight lock. In a flight lock when the boat comes out of one lock it is actually entering the next lock. These are typical when a large life must be achieved in a short distance. After coming out of that lock we were in a beautiful stretch of canal leading into Campbellford.

We got to Campbellford, Ontario and were tied up at 5:45 p.m. That’s 12 locks (a total of 44 locks) and 31.1 miles in 9 hours and 45 minutes. We had had a long day!

Ram Island, Ontario – Trenton, Ontario - July 9, 2008

There was a storm last night, with a lot of wind. There were a few gusts up to 50 mph. We dragged about 150’ before our anchor caught again. Bob and Margaret started their engine in case they needed to break away from us. After our anchor dug in again, Bob dropped his anchor to help keep us in one place. The 9 boats that were rafted together started to drift and ended up breaking into 3 groups of 3.

We left this morning at 9:00 a.m. in overcast skies and light drizzle. Luckily, the heavy rain had stopped. We arrived in Trenton, Ontario at 1:45. We stayed at one of the marinas that was next to a park. The park was very pretty, with flowers, benches, memorials and a gazebo. Concerts are held every Sunday and Wednesday evenings throughout the summer at a band shell about a block away.

We went walking in downtown Trenton. We found a NAPA store where Darrell picked up a part for the boat. Then we had a late lunch at a café in the area. We stopped in the library where we checked our e-mail before going back to the boat. We played cards with Bob and Margaret tonight. Margaret and Beth are not having very good luck.

Trenton is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. The Trent-Severn Waterway is made of a number of canals and locks connecting lakes and rivers. There are 44 locks over 240 miles. Trenton is 243 feet above sea level. We will be locking up for the first 35 locks and will eventually reach a high water point at Balsam Lake at 840 feet above sea level. From then on we will be locking down until we arrive at Port Severn and 576 feet above sea level.

We plan on starting the canal tomorrow.