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.