KINGSTON - OH WHAT A DAY - June 9, 2016

Kingston is located on the eastern end of Lake Ontario at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River, approximately mid way between Toronto and Montreal. The famous Thousand Islands are just east of Kingston. 

Growing European exploration in the 17th century and the desire of Europeans to establish a presence close to the local First Nations occupants to control trade lead to the founding of a French trading post & military fort at a site known as Cataraqui in 1673. Fort Cataraqui became a focus for settlement and after the British conquered New France, the village was renamed Kingston. 

Kingston was named the first capital of the Province of Canada on February 10, 1841. Its time as a political centre was short lived but it remained an important military installation. Archaeological evidence suggests people lived in the Kingston area about 9,000 to 3,000 years ago. The more permanent encampments by First Nations people (The Hurons) began about 500 AD. By the time the French arrived the area was occupied by the Five Nations Iroquois. 

In the early 1780’s, the area became a receiving centre for Loyalist refugees who fled north because of the American Revolutionary War. During the War of 1812, Kingston was the base for the Lake Ontario division of the Great Lakes British Naval Fleet which engaged in a vigorous arms race with the American fleet based in Sackets Harbour. In the 1840’s, the Upper Canada Government built Fort Henry to guard the entrance to the Rideau Canal. Fort Henry is a popular tourist destination today. 

Queens University was founded in 1841 and the Royal Military College of Canada was founded in 1876. Another other iconic structure in Kingston is the Penitentiary, established in 1835 and operated until 2013. 

On Thursday, we woke to a beautiful, but cool sunny morning. At the prearranged time of 0830. the six of us headed off to the Pan Chancho Bakery on Princess Street for lattes and breakfast. What a great bakery. Fran and I enjoyed the blueberry scones with our monstrous lattes and afterwards we picked up a loaf of freshly baked bread. 

While the crews of Wings and Sir Tugley were heading off on the Trolley Coach “get on, get off” tour of Kingston, Fran and I called long time friends from our Mimico Cruising Days, Ray and Rachel. They had just returned late last night from three days in Rhode Island attending a granddaughter’s graduation. We were thrilled to hear they were game for a get together. 

Ray and Rachel joined us on Tug’n for a tour and visit. Then we headed off to lunch at Sima Sushi on Princess Street. Wow, what a treat that was. Their Sushi was as good as we’ve had anywhere. We had such a wonderful time with Ray and Rachel reminiscing about our previous times together, including the 1997 Lake Ontario flotilla of 75 boats that went to Bonavista, Newfoundland to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot’s landing there. Ray and I participated as crew on a 27’ sailboat for two weeks of that adventure.

After lunch, they took us on a tour of Kingston’s Queens University campus as they wanted us to see what had changed since our daughter Ria and her husband Patrick attended in the late 1990’s. We saw the new Smith School of Business and its recently enlarged facility funded by a $50 million donation from an alumnus, the new Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts, the centre for teaching weaving, pottery & music, and much more. Ray is a 1951 grad from Queens Commerce and when we entered the business school building, he found a summer student in the office and convinced her to give us a guided tour. Along the way, we found a hall with photos of Ria and Patrick with their graduating classes from 1999 and 2000 respectively. What a treat! Queens certainly impressed us as a well funded school with amazing alumni support and their gorgeous campus with their limestone buildings are so very well maintained.

That wrapped up our great catch up visit with Ray and Rachel. It had been nine years since our last get together and today was indeed a very precious time together.

After dinner, we attended a Celtic concert at the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery Club House performed by The Kingston Ceili Band. They had an accordion player, a flautist, a fiddler, an Irish drum player and a guitar player and they sang a wonderful collection of Irish, English & Scottish songs as well as songs by Gordie Lightfoot and Sting. They also handed out songbooks for some sing along songs. An amazing rendition of Oh Danny Boy was sung by a member of the audience. Another member of the audience got up and danced to a great jig played by the band. We are hoping we hear a lot more of this type of music in Nova Scotia, Cape Bretton, PEI and Newfoundland. Here’s hoping. 

Oh what a day!

Ray & Rachel visit us on Tug'n


Stephen & Fran with weaver who made blanket we bought at Queens


Queens Centre For The Performing Arts

The Kingston Ceili Band entertaining us

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, COLLINS BAY & KINGSTON - June 7 & 8, 2016

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY, COLLINS BAY & KINGSTON - June 7 & 8, 2016

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Tuesday June 8, 2016

We had a lovely night at anchor by Green Point after the wind settled down. In the morning, the sun shone and with next to no wind, it was picture perfect (only I forgot to take any pictures). As Wings and Sir Tugley were three hours away, we got to do some chores. The first was to put our new water maker (reverse osmosis equipment) to the test. We hadn't had a chance to do this in Georgian Bay and the water quality in the Trent-Severn had us waiting until we were in Lake Ontario. 

The high pressure tubes contain filters that were sitting in a long term pickling solution (preservative), so after start up, the instructions had us run it for 30 minutes to eliminate all this solution, before putting water in our tank. I’m delighted to report that the equipment started up and ran as it was supposed to and in the course of an hour, we made about 35 gallons of water. This will be very helpful when we get into salt water where we’ll be wanting to rinse the salt off the boat after a run.

Sir Tugley and Wings caught up to us around mid day and we continued our journey along Long Reach and Adolphus Reach (two parts of the “Z” of the Bay of Quinte). The body of land to our starboard side (between us and Lake Ontario) is called Prince Edward County. This land was long settled by First Nations peoples and they county has significant archeological sites including the LeVescounte Mounds of the Point Peninsula Complex people, built about 2000 years ago.

European-Canadians were settled here when the county was created by Upper Canada’s founding Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in July 1792. It was named Prince Edward County after Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent (Commander-in-Chief of British North America) and 4th son of King George III.

For many years, Prince Edward County was closely associated with Hastings County on the mainland. Its longtime militia unit called the Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment, known locally as the Hasty P’s. The militia’s most famous member was writer Farley Mowat. He wrote “And No Birds Sang” about his experiences with the Hasty P’s during the Second World War’s Italian Campaign.

Prince Edward County has long been a favourite of cottagers, boaters and retirees. It has also become a wine region in the past decade or so.

We made our way into Prinyer’s Cove on Prince Edward County for the night. This anchorage was a regular stop for us and most other boaters from western Lake Ontario making their way to Kingston and the Thousand Islands. It is extremely well protected from most winds and offers deep, clean water and a lovely setting to enjoy. We've spend many an enjoyable stay here with boating friends David and Joan, owners of a sailboat named Big Kanu

Wednesday June 8, 2016

We woke to a grey, cold day that clearly promised some rain. We were underway by 0745 for a 20 nautical mile run, first to Collins Bay to pick up some boat equipment purchases from the local chandlery and then on to Kingston. Most boaters rely on electronics today; chart plotters (like a GPS for a car, but with nautical charts on the screen instead of roads; auto pilots; radar; weather info; monitors for engine rooms, bilge pumps and on an on. Electronics can be a big help, like having an extra crew member or two. Electronics can also be a big headache. Here is an example of a headache:

• Auto pilots require a heading sensor. When they work properly they are properly aligned with magnetic north and they allow you to engage the autopilot to steer the point to a waypoint (destination) or a series of waypoints. Whey they are not calibrated properly, their functionality is less than desirable to possibly ineffective. Following installation last year, we had several months of trial and error in our set up and location of the heading sensor (free from other magnetic influences on our boat). By September it was all sorted out and working well
• Today, as we approached Kingston, it started to misbehave. It took five minutes or so for me to remember that just west of Kingston there is a well known “magnetic anomaly” that will throw off a regular compass, an auto pilot heading sensor and anything else that relies on magnetic north. Over the course of a few miles our heading sensor moved about to an unnerving extent. I have my fingers crossed all will be normal when we depart Kingston harbour.

This afternoon and evening the weather got cloudier and the showers came and went. We went out for a lovely lunch at the Aspara Ankor, a Cambodian/Thai restaurant close by the harbour. It was very authentic and wonderfully prepared and presented and was quite a treat. In the afternoon, we wandered around downtown Kingston picking up a few things here and there. On our way back to Tug'n, I looked over the harbour and saw a familiar boat and remarked to Fran that it looked like an Oceania 30 Trawler like the one my Dad used to own. Fran spotted a custom teak box on the upper deck, just like Dad had. We walked out on the dock to take a closer look and saw lots of confirmations that this was indeed "Celebes", the boat Dad owned between  ~ 1983 and 1996 . The cabin door was open, but a knock on the hull and a "hello skipper" yielded no reply. So, Fran snapped a couple of photos of me, standing beside Celebes, but don't look too closely as she isn't in the greatest shape. Still, it was a treat to see the boat again and savour a few great memories of her.

Happy hour was aboard Wings, followed by a take out pizza from Wooden Heads Gourmet Pizza and a movie on Netflix. Another great day!

Fran beside a 4 wheel ad for Kingston Brewing Company & Dragon's Breath Beer


Stephen at Kingston's Centennial Basin beside his a boat his Dad
owned in the 1980's & 1990's

Stephen beside a great old Canadian Pacific steam locomotive by 
Kingston's Centennial Basin

END OF THE TRENT-SEVERN WATERWAY - June 5 & 6, 2016

Sunday June 5th was a “weather day”. The rain started in the middle of the night and continued much of the day, along with very high winds, so it was an easy decision to stay put at the Frankford Lock #6 and get some other chores done. Only two boats moved on and later in the day, two more joined us for a total of seven boats. This is the most traffic we’ve seen so far. Of the seven boats, we had three Canadian boats and four US boats. 

Mid afternoon, our gang gathered on Tug’n for a board game called Sequence. It was the ladies against the men and this time round, the men won it in a best of 15 rounds. The other big excitement of the day was a severe thunderstorm watch just after dark. Dave, from Sir Tugley came by to warn us and we put out extra fenders and checked the lines. The bulk of the storm passed north of us, but we did have a fair bit of lightening for about 15 minutes.

Monday June 6th, 2016

We were all up and organized in good time. Initially the sun shone, but then the strong winds returned and the clouds rolled in. Our short “crew meeting” at 0900 confirmed our plans to continue through the remaining six locks. We caught the first lock of the morning at 1000 hours and the remaining locks were well coordinated with each one open for us when we arrived. We were through the 6 1/2 mile run and six locks in just 3 hours. 

So, here are the Trent-Severn Waterway numbers:

• Total length - 240 miles or 209 nautical miles or 386 kilometres from Port Severn to Trenton
• 44 locks, lift locks & a marine railroad
• We climbed / rose 264.9 feet from Georgian Bay to Balsam lake (high point of the waterway)
• We descended 597 feed from Balsam Lake to Bay of Quinte / Lake Ontario
• An 11 day trip including one weather day

We all headed into the brand new Trenton Port Marina on the Bay of Quinte to help Wings raise their mast back into position. This job was completed within an hour. Wings and Sir Tugley had decided they’d stay at the marina overnight, while Fran and I decided we’d like to head out into the Bay of Quinte and anchor. The Bay of Quinte is very familiar boating territory for us as we boated out of Mimico Cruising Club in Toronto for 22 years and most years our summer vacations were in the Bay of Quinte and the Thousand Islands. 

The Bay of Quinte is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter “Z” on the northeastern shore of Lake Ontario. The name Quinte in the Mohawk language is the name of an early French Catholic mission located on the north shore of what is now called Prince Edward County. 

The Bay, as it is known locally, provides some of the best trophy pickerel or walleye angling in North America, as well as most of the other sport fish common to the great lakes. The Quinte area played a vital role in bootlegging during prohibition in the United States, providing large quantities of booze being produced in the area. It was shipped via boat on the Bay to Lake Ontario and finally arriving in New York State where it was distributed. Illegal sales of liquor accounted for many fortunes in and around the Belleville area. 

Fran and I headed out from the marina in Trenton at 1500 hours intending to anchor at Massassauga Point or Sandy Cove as the locals call it. The wind was 20 to 25 nautical miles per hour (Knots) from the south west, so this anchorage would be fine. As we made the turn at the point we saw one boat near the shore. Part way in, we found ourselves mired in an unbelievable weed bed in what was supposed to be 12 feet of water. The weeds had grown all the way to the surface and getting good holding with our anchor would be difficult. In all our years of boating in this area, we’d never experienced weeds like this. After a brief attempt at finding clearer water that was close enough to shore to be out of the stiff winds, we quickly determined this was not going to work. So, off we headed further east to look for an alternative. A planned 11 mile trip to an anchorage turned into a 25 mile trip, but we found a calm, comfortable anchorage at Green Point, at the northwest end of Long Reach in Bay of Quinte. The sun shone while we enjoyed a glass of wine and a lovely dinner at about 1830 hours. 

Around 2030, we got a text from Dave on Sir Tugley. They’d just had a squall go through the marina with winds up to 50 miles per hour. We saw the dark clouds to our west and quickly put out more anchor rode (chain). Twenty minutes later we got winds of 20 knots with gusts to 34 knots, some rain and a 90 degree wind direction change. Our sizeable anchor and all chain rode held us fine, but another look at the forecast shows we can expect high winds, some rain and possible thunderstorms up to midnight. In the end, we had a lovely night at anchor, enjoying the boat peacefully swinging back and forth, less and less as the wind petered out.

Great Blue Heron on the Trent

Sir Tugley Blue on last stretch of the Trent

Sir Tugley & Wings passing under "Gateway to the Trent" sign

Wings is happy her mast is back up in its proper position

RICE LAKE - June 3 & 4, 2016

Leaving Peterborough, we headed south on the Otanabee River. This name comes from the Ojibwe language and means “the river that beats like a heart” in reference to the bubbling and boiling water of the rapids along the river. Of course, with the waterway dams and locks, the rapids no longer exist and the 17 nautical mile run passes through lovely cottage country as well as some very interesting natural marshland.

The river then opens up into the shallow Rice Lake for a 16 nautical mile run to the town of Hastings. Rice Lake was named for the wild rice which grew in it and was harvested by the First Nations people of the area. Most of the original stands of wild rice originally found here were wiped out when later levels were raised in the lake by the construction of the waterway. There are prehistoric burial mounds found at Serpent Mounds Park on the north shore of Rice Lake. 

The Cobourg & Peterborough Railway, completed in 1854, crossed Rice Lake from Harwood to Hiawatha, however, thick layers of winter ice damaged the bridge beyond repair and it was closed after only six years of service. Sections of the railway bed are still visible in the lake and it is a navigational hazard if one failed to pass between the red and green buoys that mark the safe passage through where the railway used to pass. 

Rice Lake is famous for its recreational fishing for Muskie, pickerel (walleye), large & smallmouth bass, catfish, perch, crappie and bluegill. The small village of Hastings (Hastings Lock #18, completed in 1844) plays host to extremely well attended annual fishing tournaments. Like many communities on the Trent-Severn waterway, Hastings got it start with logging, a saw mill, a grist mill and a lock, all contributing to attracting settlers, services and commerce. 

We continued our cruise eastward along the Trent River to Healey Falls Locks 17, 16 and 15. These three locks have a total vertical drop of 76’ . Locks 17 and 16 are “flight locks” meaning when you go down one lock, the doors open and you move directly into the next lock, which shares one set of lock doors. Then that second lock lowers you to the next level. When you are sitting at the bottom of the second lock and you look back up at those enormous doors above you holding a lock full of water (154’ long, 32’ wide and about 26’ high) you silently thank the engineers who designed the locks allowing your safe passage. 

After Healey Falls, it was a short run on to the town of Campbellford, where we tied up for the night. This was our longest day so far, starting at 0900 and ending at about 1845 hours and we were glad to set up our chairs in the park in downtown Campbellford, right beside our boats and enjoy a refreshment and appetizer to relax and discuss the day. This was followed by a lovely dinner at Capers, a local and very popular restaurant. 

Saturday June 4, 2016

Campbellford is in the centre of a farming district and we were pleased to be able to pick up some locally grown produce at the farmers market and some bread at a local bakery. 

Campbellford is also well known among the boating community for the lowest cost fuel on the Trent-Severn Waterway. There is one location that serves both vehicles and boats and offers boaters its fuel at road prices rather than the typical marine prices. We all took advantage of the 93.9 cents per litre price for their diesel. Now some folks are probably thinking pushing a 37’ boat through the water is pretty expensive and compared to a small, light car, it is a little. But it is far less than  you’d think. For our boat Tug’n, we started from Penetanguishene on Georgian Bay. To this point we’d travelled 200 nautical miles (230 statute miles or 370 kilometres). When we filled at Campbellford, we took 200 litres of diesel. For me, I’m thinking that is pretty efficient. Anyway, all three boats took on almost 1800 litres of diesel, so that Esso station had a good morning. 

We were underway rather late in the morning and over the course of about six hours, we made our way further down the Trent River and canals through locks with great sounding names like:

Ranney Falles

Hagues Reach

Meyers Lock

Glen Ross 

to eventually arrive at Frankfort, lock #6. This is a favourite stop for boaters on this stretch of the Trent. It was the first lock in the system to offer boaters hydro and water when they tie up for the night. Gradually more and more locks are offering these services. The lock is attractively maintained and tiring up on the upper side of the lock usually means you get a nice breeze which is great on hot days. Arriving on a Saturday afternoon, we experienced more cruising boats than anywhere else so far. There were six of us tied up for the night. Once again, happy hour under the welcome shade of some trees was just what we needed from today’s travels under the strong sun.

Wings in a narrow channel


Dinner at Capers


Healey Falls flight lock. There is a lot of water behind those gates!

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