LOVESICK LAKE - JUNE 1 & 2, 2016

Another perfect spring day full of sunshine and a light breeze lifting one’s spirit to new heights. After a crew meeting on Sir Tugley Blue over homemade muffins, Greek yogurt, strawberries and blueberries, we were underway across Pigeon Lake by 1000 hours. Our cruise took us through Buckhorn Lake & Buckhorn Lock & Lower Buckhorn Lake continuing our passage through the Kawartha Lakes. Next came Lovesick Lock and Lovesick Lake, favourites of my mother when my parents cruised the Trent during the late 50’s up to the 70’s.  

Lovesick Lake gets its name from the legend of a young First Nations man who fell in love with a beautiful Irish girl. When his pursuit of her was rejected, the grief stricken man went alone to die on one of the islands on this tiny lake. After some days, when he was at the point of exhaustion, he was found by his friends and persuaded to return home. According to Samuel Strickland, who first recounted the story, and to every writing who has told it since, this is how the lake happened to be called Lovesick. 

The Lovesick Lock is in a stunningly beautiful location. There is no road access, so after the lock closes for the night, it is among the most peaceful locations on the waterway. A local bear will make an evening and morning excursion across the lock gate making its rounds foraging for food.

We continued on past the Youngs Point Lock and on to the town of Lakefield, where we tied up at the lock for the night and enjoyed a lovely happy hour in the shade of some maple trees along the wall. Lakefield is a lovely town with all the services a boater would need, all within walking distance. 

House Boat Alert: Part of the tourist attraction of the Kawartha Lakes is House Boat Rentals. The are very accommodating in terms of size and amenities. However, they are very boxy and their pontoons are very shallow in the water, meaning the wind can easily catch a house boat making them very difficult to handle. Adding to that challenge is the fact that most renters have minimal boating experience so it can be a recipe for disaster. So, for the regular boaters on the Trent-Severn Waterway, when they spot a house boat, they think “House Boat Alert”, especially when entering or exiting the locks, which are very tight spaces to begin with. Lock Masters do a great job in coaching the skippers of house boats through the system and other boaters do their best to help to, while doing their upmost to protect their own boats too. “Life in the slow lane”.

Thursday June 2, 2016

What was to have been an all day rain day turned out to be quite respectable. A 5am thunderstorm and light showers around 8am were followed by quite a lot of sunshine. So, after a terrific breakfast at a local Lakefield restaurant called “In A Nut Shell”, we headed off on our way to Peterborough. Highlights of today included 

Today is another day of heavy weeds in the canal. Our friend Bert who cottages on Stoney Lake advises the heavy weeds are due to huge numbers of Zebra Muscles in the lakes and canals who filter the water of almost everything allowing the sunshine to penetrate further into the water encouraging the weeds to grow. Also, last fall, the ice was slow to cover the lakes and canals, also allowing the weeds more time to grow. Anyway, emptying the main engine water strainer is becoming a daily morning routine to help ensure good engine cooling occurs.

Peterborough’s Trent University is built on a perfectly lovely setting on the Trent Canal which we passed by this morning. Students were sitting out in the morning sunshine reading or talking to classmates. 

We enjoyed the experience of going down the Peterborough Hydraulic Lift Lock. Every time we do this, it is still a thrill. It’s construction was completed in 1904 making it 112 years old. It’s lift is 65 feet making it the largest lift lock in the world. It takes only 2 minutes to complete the transfer from one level to the next. The view from the top is spectacular - almost like being at the top of a very large ferris wheel. The structure around the lift lock is made of solid concrete with no rebar, which is kind of unusual. 

  

We spent a lovely evening tied at the Ashburnham Lock on Little Lake near the south east part of Peterborough. The lock is in the midst of two parks with beaches and playgrounds. It also happens to be a particular beautiful section of the Trans Canada Trail, which as its name implies, goes coast to coast.

Peterborough Hydraulic Lift Lock

View from top of Peterborough Lift Lock from our boat

Happy hour at Ashburnham Lock in Peterborough

The fleet moored at Ashburnham Lock, Peterborough

BOBCAYGEON - May 31, 2016

2017 will be Canada’s 150th Anniversary. One plan of our Federal Government to help celebrate Canada’s marvellous history is to offer boaters, cottagers and campers free access to The Trent-Severn Waterway, The Rideau Canal and Park’s Canada docking facilities and Island Campsites (such as The Thousand Islands or docking/camping at the locks) all for free for the 2017 Season. We think this is a tremendous idea which will generate a big boost in traffic, helping all communities along the waterways.

Today, as we left Fenelon Falls, the Lock Master asked if one of their staff might ride down the lock with us. He introduced us to Natasha, The Trent-Severn Waterway’s official photographer for the season. Natasha will help put together various brochures and literature on the waterway for next season.

After exiting the Fenelon Falls lock, we cruised down the Fenelon River with its high limestone cliffs lined with beautiful cottages and homes. Then it was out onto the boomerang shaped Sturgeon Lake where the winds quickly picked up to sustained 18 knots. The wind was behind us most of the way making for a very comfortable ride with increased fuel economy :-)) (putting a smile on the skipper’s face).

At the east end of Sturgeon Lake we arrived at the lovely little town of Bobcaygeon, known as the “hub of the Kawartha Lakes”. The name comes from an Mississauga Ojibway word meaning “at the very shallow currents”. Bobcaygeon is the site of the very first lock built on The Trent-Severn Waterway, which joins Sturgeon Lake with Pigeon Lake. Similar to Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon was first settled in the 1830’s with a grist mill and a saw mill being the first commercial enterprises to be established. The Provincial Government started construction of the lock in 1833. 

Today, Bobcaygeon’s primary industry is tourism, particularly related to recreational fishing. Bobcaygeon is also a hub for the region providing services unavailable in smaller neighbouring communities.

Below is a photo of Wings, one of the boats in our small flotilla. It is a Nordhavn 35. You’ll see it has a substantial mast that is in its lowered position. The Trent-Severn Waterway has a limiting height of 22’ to get under bridges and electrical transmission lines. Wings mast exceeds this by a few feet, so we helped lower their mast before we arrived at Port Severn. 

In addition to buying some groceries and other supplies, Judy had to visit a local dentist to repair a chipped tooth and Stephen visited a chiropractor to help with his sore back (too much work on the boat in early May). We are tied to the lock walls chatting with the many folks who come by to see the boats. What a marvellous community this is. It is especially great to be here now. It gets much, much busier in July / August where the walls will be full of boats and the noise levels will be noticeably higher.

Fenelon Falls Lock

Natasha - The Trent-Severn Waterway's Official 2016 Photographer

Exiting the lock at Fenelon Falls

Bobcaygeon - Lock Photos

Wings with its mast lowered

FENELON FALLS

An overnight thunderstorm with heavy rain presented the opportunity to wipe down the boat this morning to remove some accumulated dirt and pollen. We departed mid morning through a lengthy, narrow canal, through Cameron Lake (another flooded piece of land with many visible stumps remaining and the ever present danger of hitting one) and then into Balsam Lake. 

Now going from Port Severn in southern Georgian Bay to Trenton on the Bay of Quinte (north to south), the first section you are going up a series of locks, a marine railway and a lift lock. After that, you start heading down towards the Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario. Balsam Lake is the high point of the Trent Severn Waterway. For those with a nautical interest, at this high point of the system, the orientation of the buoys reverses. For the first part of the journey, red buoys were always taken on the starboard (right) side of the boat and green buoys are taken on the port (left) side. Starting in Balsam Lake and heading south, the buoys switch so now red is taken to port and green to starboard. To keep the boat safe, this is obviously a important change to pick up on.

Balsam Lake is a very popular cottage and camping location with great fishing for bass, pickerel (walleye) and muskie. We had a lovely passage through Balsam and on through the tiny village of Rosedale and down its lock and finally, across a small body of water to Fenelon Falls. 

Today, Fenelon Falls is a very popular spot for cottagers, boaters and tourists. But there is much more to its history. It was founded in 1833 by James Wallis, an Anglo-Irishman who had immigrated to Canada in 1832. He purchased land in Fenelon Falls in partnership with Robert Jameson (of the famous Irish whiskey distilling family) and they established a saw mill and a grist mill. These enterprises attracted settlers as lumbering became the lifeblood of Ontario in the mid 1800’s. Over the years, steamboat navigation also grew on the Kawartha lakes making this a growing resort destination. However arrival of the steamboats caused some conflicts between the steamboat operators and the lumbermen over navigation rights. Eventually by 1873 a compromise was reached when the government divided the channel with piers and booms linked together to separate the logs form the ships.

The Victoria Railway Company established a rail line to Fenelon Falls and by 1887 the Federal Government had built a two flight lock and swing bridge to overcome the 24’ difference in elevation between Sturgeon and Cameron Lakes. Like many areas of the province, excess logging ended the lumber business. Also, with the decline of steamboat excursion traffic after World War I, Fenelon Falls declined in importance as a resort destination. However mass cottages and recreational boating made up for much of this commercial loss.

In 1963 the two flight lock and swing bridge were replaced by a modern single lock and fixed bridge. To save money and preserve some evidence of the former flight locks, when you exit the lower side of the new lock you pass through the former stone walls of the lower of the two flight locks. The original limestone blocks weigh up to two tons each and were mined from the local area. 

Today the village offers a number of terrific restaurant choices, boutiques and of course the amazing and irresistible Kawartha Lakes Ice Cream. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at The Cow & Sow and a very pleasant overnight tied up by the lock

Fenelon Falls Lock

The boats tied at Fenelon Falls Lock

Lunch at The Cow & Sow

The channel below Fenelon Falls Lock

Steamships at the Fenelon Falls Locks. Formal attire only!

The "falls" with a log chute on the far side

The Fenelon Falls lock between world wars

THE TRENT CANAL

After leaving Orillia, we crossed the bottom end of Lake Couchiching and passed through “The Narrows” into Lake Simcoe. While only a moderately large lake, it does demand a boater’s respect as it has a reputation for whipping up extremely uncomfortable seas in a very short time. Wise boaters will always check the marine weather forecast before heading out onto this lake. For Sunday May 29th, we had a good forecast for the morning, with increasingly strong south-west winds in the afternoon. As hoped for and expected, we enjoyed a very smooth crossing, entering the start of The Trent Canal portion of the Trent Severn Waterway, just north of Beaverton, Ontario.

Here you enter a series of canals and locks heading almost due east. This area of the system is all “man made” with Canal Lake and Mitchel Lake being flooded land where trees were taken down, but stumps were left. These stumps later became a concern to boaters and cottagers as they gradually broke free of the lake bottom and if disturbed by the turbulence of a fast boat, could float up dangerously close to the surface and damage propellers, shafts, boat bottoms and more. Cautious boaters will pass through these areas dead slow so as to not stir up dead heads (stumps) or worse, hit one of these.

Federal Government cost control measures have resulted in lock staff covering multiple locks that are in close proximity. In the first stretch of the Trent, five lock staff were covering six locks. So, we’d end up seeing some of the same friendly faces at multiple locks. The staff also do their best to coordinate the locks, so when you leave one lock, the next one has it’s doors opened and ready for you when you arrive. This can greatly speed up ones transit through the system.

Our last stop of the day was Kirkfield Lift Lock. This is a hydraulic boat lift consisting of two large tubs sitting on enormous pistons. One is in the upper position and the other in the lower. Gates are opened on each allowing boats to enter and tie up. The gates are then closed and the upper tub / chamber will lower while the lower chamber will rise, brining those boats to the upper level. It is a wonderfully designed and engineered system that was adopted / adapted from old canals in Belgium to suit our colder climate. The Kirkfield lift lock was first opened in 1907 and subsequently renovated and automated in the 1960’s. As the photos show below, it is quite a marvellous site.

Sunrise at Port of Orillia

Tug'n entering Canal Lake

Kirkfield Lift Lock

BOATERS HELPING BOATERS

Today was an extra special day. On the Severn River, there is a great spot to stop for a meal, called the Waubic Inn. The location was first settled in 1911 by a family who set up a remote inn, only accessible by water. They’d pick up guests by boat who’d come north by train for a holiday and take them to the inn. The family sold the property in 1944 and the inn burnt down a year later. Later, a restaurant was built and it continues to operate in the summers today to the delight and great pleasure of cottagers and boaters. We decided it would be our destination for breakfast and what a treat it was. We arrived and tied up on their docks in a fairly narrow section of the Severn River in serious cottage country at 0915 hours. We each had variations of eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, home fries and all the coffee you could consume. After finishing, we decided to call it brunch.

Continuing on our journey we went through Swift Rapids lock. This site was a significant power plant that the province established in 1917. For the Trent-Severn Waterway, it was initially set up as another marine railway. Later, in the 1960’s, the marine railway was removed and replaced by a very large lock that has a 49’ rise from one lake/level to the next. 

Following that is a lovely run through more of the Severn River, Sparrow Lake and on to Lock 42 at Washago, at the top of Lake Couchiching. Our final destination was Orillia on the south west shore of Lake Couchiching at the Port of Orillia. Dave, from Sir Tugley had arranged to buy some docking lines and anchor rode from Redpoint Ropes in Orillia and I had ordered some stuff from them too. Unfortunately, the owner changed his mind about delivering the purchases to us at the Port of Orillia, so we needed to find other means of picking them up. After a while, Dave and Judy met up with local boaters, Bob and Wenda on a boat named Endless Summer. They volunteered to drive Dave to pick up the purchases and later volunteered to drive me to Best Buy to replace our camera, which had died an unexpected death. 

I was raised in Orillia up to the age of almost 13 and when I learned Bob and Wenda had spent most of their lives in Orillia the dialogue got very interesting for me. We learned:

-Bob’s 1st cousin was partners with my uncle in a local insurance business

-Bob and Wenda are good friends with Fred and Cathy from Nova Scotia, owners of a sailboat named Winona, whom we’d met on multiple occasions in the North Channel. Bob and Fred worked together in police services

-Bob and Wenda know our good friends Randy and Audrey, owners of an American Tug named Heart Tug 

and on and on…

On a very personal note, on the way back from Best Buy, Wenda stopped at 216 Nottawasaga Street, where I spent the first 13 years of my life. Dave and I got out so he could take a picture of me standing in front of the house. The current owners (since 1997) were sitting outside and we sent and spoke with them and had quite a conversation about the house and what had been done to it over the years. I can’t wait to send a copy of the photo to my sister.

This blog is a round about way of saying, wherever you go on a boat, there are endless examples of how boaters love to help each other in any way they can. How great is that!!!

Wings & Tug'n in a lock

Brunch at the Waubic Inn

 

Tug'n and Wings in a lock

My childhood home in Orillia

Bob & Wenda on "Endless Summer"