Lock #19 Scotts Mills-Peterborough, Ontario to Lock #27 Young’s Point, Ontario

Date               July 27, 2011

Day                29

Departure     Lock #19 Scotts Mills-Peterborough, Ontario  8:50 am

Arrival            Lock #27 Young’s Point, Ontario  2:45 pm

Miles               12.5

Cumulative  706.5

Our journey today took us through the greatest number of locks so far in one day, 8; but we only traveled 12.5 miles!  After going through the first lock of the day, we came to the Peterborough Lift Lock.  This lock was completed in 1904 and was considered an engineering marvel at that time.  Each of the two pans weighs 1300 tons when filled.  With one pan up and the other down the two balance each other.  It does not 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!

Peterborough Lift lock #1

#2

#3

#4

Looking off the stern as we go up

Inside the lock

Looking off the stern from the top

We made it, now we can leave!

As we traveled the waterway, we saw many people out enjoying the day

Canoeing on the river

Enlarge the picture to see the rower

and came upon the first houseboat we have seen on the river.  These houseboats are rented by families so they too, can enjoy the waterway.

The first houseboat we have seen

After Lock 26 in Lakefield, Skipper Bob’s guide cautions on a very narrow gorge, with little room to pass another vessel.  He wasn’t kidding!  I hope we don’t meet anyone coming the other way!!

Doesn't look like anyone is coming!

Seaplanes seem to be another mode of transportation in this area

Boys having fun and cooling off in the wash below the dam at Lock 27

Our destination for tonight, Lock 27 Young’s Point lock wall.  Right at the lock is the Lockside Trading Co. which provides gifts and unique shopping as well as ice cream.  The Old Bridge Inn provides pies, French fries, pizza etc. and there is also a post office and general grocery store nearby.

Hastings Village Marina, Ontario to Lock #19 Scotts Mills-Peterborough, Ontario

Date               July 26, 2011

Day                28

Departure     Hastings Village Marina, Ontario  8:30 am

Arrival            Lock #19 Scotts Mills-Peterborough, Ontario 2:15 pm

Miles               35

Cumulative  694

When we left this morning, the sky was partly sunny with a slight breeze.  As we traveled along, we listened to the weather on the VHF radio.  It predicted possible thunder showers and winds to 30 kilometers per hour.  Should we have left; should we keep going?  We checked the Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob for places to stay should the weather get bad.  OK, now Plan B is in place, let’s keep an eye on the sky but keep going.  Luck was with us, we made it through Rice Lake and on to the Otonabee River and finally through our one and only lock today.  We are safely tied to the lock wall above Lock #19, Scotts Mills in Peterborough, Ontario.  Tomorrow we will experience the Peterborough Lift Lock, stay tuned!! 

This is the way most of the Otonabee River looks, very rural and narrow, except for the occasional home along the river bank.

Dam at Scotts Mills Lock

We learned today that the main function of the dams at the locks is to maintain the depth of the river below the dam.  The gates on the dam are used to release the water slowly, or more quickly, depending on the rainfall.  Today, the water is being released quickly as you can see by the turbulence below the dam.

Erika Lin tied to the lock wall above Lock 19 and adjacent to the dam

Still at Hastings Village Marina, Ontario

Date            Monday July 25, 2011
Day             27
Depart         No travel today
Arrive                
Distance        
Cumulative   659 Miles


Rainy weather, decided to stay at the marina where we have electricity!!
As the sun sets, it looks like the bad weather has passed; we will be on our way in the morning,
 

Lock #12 Ranney Falls, Ontario to Hastings Village Marina, Ontario

Date            Sunday July 24, 2011
Day             26
Depart         Lock #12 Ranney Falls, Ontario 8:20 am
Arrive          Hastings Village Marina, Ontario  1:15 pm      
Distance         19
Cumulative   659 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!

Finally the morning is cool!  Sleeping last night was difficult due to the heat and no electricity, which means no AC on the boat!  Today we traveled through another 6 locks, we are really getting good at this locking thing.  Today's journey took us through a lake, Seymore Lake.  The channel curved left and right through the lake.  There were many cottages along the sides of the lake with people enjoying the day on their beaches and jet skiis.  At times, we felt very large and out of place on this lake!  Some of the channel markers were very interesting...

They were a cement platform with either a black square (for green) or a red triangle (for red).

The Canadian coins are interesting and somewhat difficult to get used to.  There is a Loonie ($1.00 coin) which is gold colored and larger than a quarter and a Toonie ( $2.00 coin) which is silver with a gold colored center and just a bit larger than the Loonie.  You can have a pocketful of coins and have $20.00 in your pocket!  Above is a monument of the Toonie that is located in a park in Campbellford.

Bob manning the lock lines at the stern of the boat

Inside and at the bottom of the start of the flight lock

Leaving the first and entering the second lock in the flight

Seymore Lake

Cottages on Seymore Lake

The dam at Hastings Lock, Erika Lin is at the end of the dock

Depending on the weather tomorrow, we may stay here another day as rain is forecasted.  If the weather is good, we will head out to our first lift lock, the Peterborough Lift!

Lock #6 Frankford Ontario to Lock #12 Ranney Falls, Ontario

Date            Saturday July 23, 2011
Day             25
Depart         Lock #6 Frankford, Ontario 9:00 am
Arrive          Lock #12 Ranney Falls, Ontario 2:55 pm      
Distance         20
Cumulative   640 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!

Today, we are traveling with another couple,  Bev and Joe Paige on Wish Granted from Peterborough, Ontario.  The day is extremely hot (mid 90's) and we have traveled through 7 locks.  Two of the locks are a "flight" lock.  This means that you enter the first lock, it brings you up and as you exit this lock, you are entering the next lock.  A "flight" lock is used where a large lift must be achieved in a short distance.  Wish Granted left us at Lock 12 and continued on.  We stopped for the night and walked to see the nearby suspension bridge across Ranney Gorge.

Bev on "Wish Granted" manning her lock line and trying to stay cool

Ranney Falls

 

Bob carried Tucker and Willow over the suspension bridge.  The floor grid was too large, their feet would fall through!

Belleville, Ontario to Lock #6 Frankford, Ontario

Date            Friday July 22, 2011
Day             24
Depart        Belleville, Ontario  8:45 am     
Arrive         Lock #6 Frankford, Ontario 1:15 pm      
Distance         17
Cumulative   620 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!

We are now on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

 So far, we have gone through 23 locks on the Erie Canal, 20 of those locks raised us a total of 372 feet and 3 lowered us 57 feet.  On the Oswego Canal we went through 7 locks.  These lowered us a total of 117 feet.  The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles long.  It has 43 locks, 2 lifts (Peterborough and Kirkfield) and a marine railway (Big Chute Marine Railway).  The total distance lifted on the Trent-Severn Waterway is 852 feet.  Once the Trent-Severn is completed we will be in Georgian Bay and will travel to the North Channel.  With areas where the speed limit on the Trent-Severn is only 10 kilometers (6 mph), it will take us some time to complete this leg of the journey. 

Tonight we are staying on the lock wall above Lock #6 in Frankford, Ontario.  Town was a short walk and we went out for Chinese (the buffet was highly recommended; the variety was good and it tasted good too!).

Most locks on the Trent Severn are manually opened

Lock #5-Original Lockmaster 's House

Lynda waiting on Lock #6 blue line for the lock to open

Leaving Lock #6

Lock #6-lock wall, tied up for the night

Bob working to open the lock!

Lock #6-walking Tucker

Lock #6-Sunset

Still in Belleville, Ontario

Date            July 21, 2011
Day             23
Depart        No travel today
Arrive             
Distance         
Cumulative   603 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!


We had planned to leave this morning, but the bay right outside the marina looked like this.

The wind was averaging 20 miles per hour, with gusts to 25.  The waves on the bay were breaking on the dock, so we thought it best to stay put!  We took advantage of the lay day; Lynda did laundry and Bob took Bruce and Ann up on their offer for a ride to town to pick up a few groceries and go to the post office.  When he returned, we both retreated inside the boat where it was air conditioned!  The weather had become very hot and humid, in the mid 90's; it reminded us of the weather in the British Virgin Islands, without the palm trees!  Even though there was a strong breeze,  it was most unbearable outside of the air conditioning.
We invited Ann and Bruce for happy hour on our boat and discovered they have a winter home in Fort Myers, Fl.  They will be following this blog and hope to be able to connect with us in Florida!  It's now 10:30 pm, the wind has died down but it is still 86 degrees, looks like the AC will be on all night!!

Hope the bay looks like this tomorrow when we leave!!

Kingston, Ontario to Belleville, Ontario

Date            July 20, 2011
Day             22
Depart         Kingston, Ontario 8:05 am
Arrive          Belleville, Ontario 3:00 pm  
Distance         58 Miles
Cumulative   603 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!

We say good bye to Kingston and head out on Lake Ontario for a long day's journey.  We decided to go all the way to Belleville because the weather tomorrow may not be favorable and we wanted to get as close to the Trent Severn Waterway as we could today.  The water on the lake was smooth as glass for a good part of the day, making for a very comfortable trip.  By the time we arrived at our destination, Meyers Pier in Belleville, the wind had picked up somewhat.  The dock staff was on hand to help us into the slip and with Bob's excellent boat handling, made quick work of getting tied up!  We noticed a boat on our dock that had a looper flag and stopped to chat with them.  They, Bruce and Ann on Happy Hour, are planning their loop trip and hope to start next year.  A restaurant at the marina opened approximately three weeks ago, so we decided to give it a try.  We choose the fish and chips and a pitcher of margaritas, both were excellent!  On the way back to our boat, Bruce and Ann invited us aboard for a cocktail.  They are local to this area and gave us some information on our upcoming travel on the Trent Severn Waterway.

Goodbye to Kingston

Restaurant at Meyers Pier

Clayton, NY to Kingston, Ontario Canada

Date            July 19, 2011
Day             21
Depart         Clayton, NY  9:35 am
Arrive          Kingston, Ontario Canada 12:05 pm  
Distance         20 Miles
Cumulative   536 Miles

Note:  You can double click on any picture to view a larger image!

I think we have everything ready to enter Canada,  passports, boat info, dog's rabies info and oops, I need to dispose of the basil plant, can't have anything with roots!

We have made it to Canada!!  We arrived at Confederation Basin at 12:00 pm with our yellow quarantine flag flying.  Once the boat was docked, Bob went ashore to call customs.  A short time later, he returned.  He said checking in with customs was fairly painless.  They asked him a few questions, name, birth date, my name, birth date, how much liquor onboard, and the date the dogs had their rabies shots and that was about it!  We then took down the quarantine flag and replaced it with the Canadian courtesy flag.
This marina is right downtown.  A short walk will get you to an array of restaurants, banks and shopping.  This is the most civilization we have seen in three weeks!!
We will stay here tonight and then tomorrow head off toward the Trent Severn Canal and the many different types of locks/lifts that we will encounter.

Private residence at the tip of Wolfe Island, Canada

Down with the quarantine flag....

Up with the Canadian courtesy flag!

Our slip in the Confederation Basin

We stopped for a cold one, but the dogs couldn't come in

Fountain in Confederation Park - daytime

Fountain at night