PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO TO MIDLAND, ONTARIO

Wednesday, July 5 th

Peterborough, Ontario to Lakefield, Ontario

Today we're back underway after a five day stay in Peterborough, Ontario. We're off the dock at 9:30am after refueling at the Marina. It's a clear blue sky, warm day but pretty windy. Getting off the dock is not particularly easy—we keep getting blown back into the dock. Things were made more difficult due to a series of rocks lying immediately ahead of us very close to the fuel dock. With some help from the dockhands and Jean's solid boat handling, we made it off with only some minor hits to the swim platform.

We're now on our way to the historic Peterborough Lift Lock that we showed you in our prior update. We went right into the lock with just one other boat which was a small boat. Since we had already checked out this lock we were familiar with how it worked. The ‘ride' up was fun and the view from the top of the lock was gorgeous. I saw one of the few golf courses I've seen on this entire trip. This lock is actually pretty easy to maneuver—it's the chamber that moves so there's no real ‘holding the line' in this lock—it was fun!!!!

From the Lock, we entered a very shallow and weedy section of the waterway—a condition that will repeat itself frequently. Jean may need to go swimming again to verify that the props are weed free.

Our views on this part of the trip are somewhat different than the norm. We went by Trent University which is a beautiful campus directly on the waterway. There are campus buildings on both sides of the water and the buildings themselves are very modern in design. The campus design itself had stone steps cascading into the water. Very nice. We also saw several of their crew teams rowing in their boats. Immediately after Trent University there were several huge farms which changed the scenery completely. There were cows, horses, silos and huge fields. This whole section of the waterway was very calming and serene.

Many of the houses sit on their own stand-alone island and there are small islands everywhere.

We've seen quite a few ‘for sale' signs along the way. I keep thinking that these are the cottages of great writers—pounding out their next great novel. These places are very remote and most of them are accessible only by boat. We've even see churches sitting on islands, right on the rocks.

We also went through a section with a large number of tree stumps sitting straight up in the water!!!!! This was pretty amazing to see. We were told that several of Canada's professional hockey players have weekend homes in the Hell's Gate area.

When we got to our next lock, we found that they were doing repairs in the lock and that we'd have to wait for about an hour. There were divers in the lock looking at the condition of one section of the wall. While waiting we were joined by several other ‘loopers' as well as many other boats. It's amazing how quickly the boats ‘back up' when the locks don't work on their tight schedule. We finally made our way through with no problems.

We passed through Deer Bay Reach and made our way into Buckhorn Lake. Buckhorn Lake was clear and wide with beautiful houses and cottages on either side.

It was an easy crossing with deep water through most of Buckhorn Lake. When we approached the Buckhorn Lock there were many boats in line waiting to go through. Luckily for us, the lockmaster called us in immediately behind a houseboat!!!!!

We headed back into the heart of town to have some lunch and to do some shopping.

While on one of the main streets, we came by a bookstore with spectacular flower baskets hanging outside. I took a picture since I thought it was so gorgeous. Bobcaygeon is also home to Bigley's—an amazing store with a HUGE selection of shoes—25,000 pairs. It was overwhelming—so overwhelming that I didn't even buy one pair!!!!! It's housed in an historic building in the heart of downtown.

Bobcaygeon is very charming and very busy—people like this town and there were a million tourists. After a late lunch we headed back to the boat and got ready for an evening of live theater. On our way back to the boat we took some pictures of the rock ledges in the water near one of Bobcaygeon's inns. I know that you're probably sick of seeing rock ledge pictures by now but…..

The Globus Theatre is a two year old theater company housed in a new location—the Lakeview Arts Barn. When I called the theatre to make reservations I asked if someone could pick us up at the marina and then drop us off after the play. James said that he would arrange for that to happen for ten dollars which I thought was a great deal. When James came to get us, Tom, the marina owner knew him and brought him down to the boat and introduced us to him. On the ride to the theatre we learned that James (Barrett) is the theatre's owner as well as one of its directors and actors. He and his wife, Sarah Quick, bought a barn on the outskirts of Bobcaygeon, renovated it completely and are also living there. This theatre was their dream and passion—you could see it in James' eyes and hear it in his voice!!!!!

The play “Trying” was excellent. It's a two person, two act play depicting the interaction between Francis Biddle and his secretary in 1968. Francis Biddle was FDR's Attorney general from 1941-1945 and then went off to be one of the Solicitor Generals at the Nuremburg trials. The two starring actors were excellent. The play was a drama with quite a bit of humor. At the intermission we also had the opportunity to meet Sarah. We chatted with her for awhile. We had a wonderful evening topped off by the ride back to the marina with the owner/director. We are very lucky women!!!!!

Sunday, July 9 th

Bobcaygeon, Ontario to Fenelon Falls, Ontario

We spent a beautiful Sunday morning doing two things—giving boat tours and washing the boat. Some of the marina's permanent boaters wanted to see the boat and we had made arrangements for that to happen on Sunday morning. The weather was gorgeous—sunny and very warm. As we started to let some boaters on Ocean Flyer , more and more boaters came by for the ‘tour'. By the time we were done, almost twenty people had come on board—it was fun. The next two hours were spent cleaning the boat and by noon we were off the dock and on our way to Fenelon Falls. Staying at the Centre Point Marina was a real treat. Tom and his staff are very committed to making transients welcome and a part of the overall boating group. The boaters at this marina were particularly gracious and also very humorous.

One of the boaters asked a question that still has us laughing. When we first docked, there were two men who helped us with our lines and who were commenting on that fact that Ocean Flyer was being handled by a woman. One of the other men told his wife to ‘come out here', there's a woman driving this boat. When we got closer to him and had the boat docked he asked, very innocently… “do you have the men tied up somewhere?????” We laugh about this question whenever we think about it.

We got a great sendoff from the folks at Centre Point—Tom and his team were just wonderful. This marina is definitely a must-stop for any boaters!!!!!!

The run to Fenelon Falls was easy and fast. We were only going fifteen miles and much of it was through open waters. We were crossing Sturgeon Lake which was very wide, very open and had good depths. There were houses all along the shore which made for a picturesque ride.

We made it to Fenelon Falls Marina by 1:35 with overcast skies but little wind. Jean, once again, wowed the manager of the marina by backing Ocean Flyer right into its spot with no problems at all. Betty and Huddy Baxter from Hyannis were at this marina also and we made plans with them to go out to dinner after a quick tour of town. While still at the Marina we met with Fred and Judy from Texas, on Amarse, a boat that's always been either with us or near us from our start of the Waterway in Trenton. They were visiting with some local friends who are also doing ‘the loop'.

Fenelon Falls, Ontario to Orillia, Ontario

Today was to be a long and stressful day. We knew about the narrow passageway and we also had to go through seven more locks today. On top of it all, it was supposed to rain for most of the day. During the early morning there had been heavy rains and thunder. We were off the dock at 7:55am and headed for our first lock. Betty and Huddy Baxter were directly in front of us.

The first lock was easy—it was just us and the Baxters. Due to the bad weather, I thought that many boaters might stay put for the day.

Shortly after the first lock, we realized that there was a very big and very wide commercial tourist boat directly in front of us. The Kawartha Voyageur holds about forty passengers for extended, overnight tours of the Trent Severn. Its length is over 100 feet and it's 22 feet wide. It's an amazing boat that Jean first saw at the lock in Fenelon Falls. In order to make it through the locks, its radar arches are hydraulically lowered, its bow folds up and its pilot house/bridge also folds down leaving the captain's head exposed outside. It's pretty amazing to watch it go through the locks (we didn't get any pictures of this). We could see that the Voyageur was headed for the narrow passage and we could hear the captain radio other boaters that he was entering the narrow channel and that he would be taking up the entire width of the canal.

This passageway turned out to be VERY narrow and VERY shallow. We were all going at very slow speeds and the Voyageur captain was giving us tips on what was ahead. He actually hit a few large tree trunks and was able to warn us about them. I was positioned out on the bow for much of this journey in order to help Jean avoid any problems.

I took a lot of pictures to give a perspective on just how narrow this passageway really is. I could easily touch the trees alongside the canal and the rocks in the water were very visible. Having Voyageur in front of us was a blessing. We would travel like this for over ten miles!!!!! I'd like to say that it was picturesque but…..

Within this section of our journey we also crossed Mitchell Lake. This Lake is infamous for is shallow depth and for the amount of tree stumps and rocks in the water. It's very important to stay inside the channel markers at all times. We came across another section where tree stumps were very evident—very weird.

The next lock was the Kirkfield Lock another lift lock like Peterborough—where the boat goes in a chamber and the chambers move up and down. This lock marked the end of the narrow passageway—thank goodness. This lock was also a stop for the Voyageur 's passengers to get out and watch boats go through the lock. So the captain pulled Voyageur to one side and motioned the Baxters and us to go through and we immediately were in the lock. Once again, these locks are very interesting. Until this point in the Trent-Severn, we were raised at every lock to a final elevation of over 840 feet above sea level. At the Kirkfield Lock, we start the downhill journey. At this lock, we are lowered 49 feet and the views are great.

We kept moving and things got better but not easy. We even passed a Great Blue Heron trying to stay perched atop a tree. I took a picture but…..

We were now in Canal Lake which provided us with a bit more room. As we entered the Talbot River we could see many cottages, boathouses and small boats. The houses are so pretty and nestled in among the trees and ledges. In some pictures you can see that some of the ledges have a pink hue which comes through nicely.

By Lock 37 (which was only the fourth of the seven we were going through today) we met up with four other boats that we know. Three 42-foot Krogens and a 36 foot sailboat, all traveling together, were just starting their day at Lock 37. We split ourselves up into two sets of boats in order to go through the locks in two groupings. The first group consisted of two of the Krogens and the Baxters. We then followed with the other Krogen and the sailboat. We would go through the next three locks in this order and in the same placement inside the lock. The lockmasters thought we were pretty funny—knowing exactly who went where. By this time, it also starting pouring rain—so on went the rain gear—ugh!!!!

We made it through the last lock in the rain and then had eighteen miles to go in open waters across Lake Simcoe, one of Ontario's best known lakes. It's big, wide and deep and we were finally able to go fast. We were in Orillia in no time and tied up at a huge, long dock which was a welcome sight. We docked in the rain and got settled in by 4:55pm. We saw that a family from Long Island, NY, whom we met in Peterborough and who are also doing the loop were currently in Orillia. It was nice to see Matt, Joyce and their daughter, Jaycie, on Trinity. By 6pm we were back on the boat and ready for dinner!!!!

Dinner was light and easy—leftover stuffed pork, salad and some chicken. Ice cream and strawberries for dessert and right to bed.

Tuesday, July 11

At port in Orillia, Ontario

This morning the weather is just fantastic. The rain's gone through and the skies are clear. We're headed to town to see the sights. There's a superb Opera House in Orillia and we're interested in seeing if there's a performance in the next few days (there is a performance, but not one that we want to see).

This town is very cute and the main street is lined with very cute shops. There are clothing stores galore along with food stores and unique boutiques. I'm pleasantly surprised at how many ‘home decorating' boutiques there are here. I have been ‘off my shopping' game in most of these towns. This town could give me a much needed shopping spree.

Dinner is early—grilled rosemary potatoes, chicken and a grilled vegetable medley of tomatoes, onions, zucchini and summer squash!!!!! After dinner, the Baxters and Jean and I are going to Orillia's gambling casino for some fun. We'll try our hand at the slots and some blackjack!!!!! Here's the Casino update---Jean and I lost not one penny—because we didn't play a single hand or game!!!!!

Wednesday, July 12 th

At port in Orillia, Ontario

Today was an easy day in Orillia. We did a lot of errands—food shopping at the A&P, laundry at the laundromat and some other small chores. For lunch, we ate at the Mariposa Market, the market I mentioned above. Jean had a veggie pizza with a Greek salad. I had a feta, tomato and spinach quiche with a Caesar salad. In the afternoon Jean found a few boat-related things to do and spent some time with our new neighbors, some wonderful Canadians on vacation.

Later, we skipped dinner and just had some ice cream with berries!!!!!

Thursday, July 13 th

Orillia, Ontario to Big Chute, Ontario

Today would be beautiful—clear blue skies and warm temperatures. We were off the dock at 8:50am and ready for a thirty mile trip to Big Chute. We would have two locks to go through today including the one at Swift Rapids which is a 47 foot drop. As we started the waters were calm and bright blue.

Our first ten miles would take us through some beautiful lakes and gorgeous areas. Lake Cameron is big, deep and easy to cross. It was easy traveling. Our first lock was very busy and we needed to wait before we could even get close enough to tie up to the blue wall—which is the official waiting area. The lockmaster at this lock really crammed everyone in and we knew that we'd get through in the next grouping. I took some pictures of the group before us. I also took a picture of boats waiting behind us—this lock was busy!!!!!

From the lock we headed into the Trent Canal, a narrow waterway lined with houses right along the water's edge. This led us to Sparrow Lake which was gorgeous—deep and wide open—a nice change for us. Throughout this area there were smaller waterways with tiny islands dotting the landscape. It still amazes me to see so many houses sitting on these small islands.

This area also marked the first time that we saw marsh land. We came through Sparrow Lake on our way to Severn Falls and saw canoers and cottages everywhere.

The waterway between here and the next lock was really pretty. The passages were narrow although not difficult. Things were rather picturesque—boathouses, cottages and small islands.

Further along in the river, we saw the Kawartha Voyageur again, this time coming at us in the opposite direction. It was making its return trip down the Trent-Severn to Peterborough.

We finally made our way to the Swift Rapids Lock and realized that we would have to wait before entering. Much to our surprise, coming out of the lock, we saw Soft Touch, the 64 foot Grand Alaskan that we had traveled with for a few days at the beginning of our journey on the Trent-Severn. It was good to see this boat again and its captain, his wife and friends.

We went through the lock with ease. I even managed to get a picture of the lockmaster from atop the lock and the dam from our vantage point of exiting the lock.

We continued on through the waters of Severn Falls and saw some small restaurants along the water's edge. This area had small cottages everywhere. We made our way to Big Chute Marina (which is immediately before you enter the Big Chute marine railway) and were settled in by 3pm. We decided to have some grilled salmon right away—since we had skipped lunch. But….in getting the dinner ready we blew the power of the electrical outlet on the boat and the dock. We cooked our dinner by using the boat's generator power. After consuming grilled salmon, grilled vegetables and rosemary potatoes, we then resolved the electrical problem on full stomachs. We spent quite a bit of time trying to restore the shore power and thus were unable to walk over to the Big Chute in time to see any big boats go through.

Tomorrow we're moving onto to Penetanguishene, another historic port and the kick-off port for our week long rendezvous with 43 other boats in the process of ‘doing the loop'. Since leaving Florida on 2 April, we have run over 2400 statute miles which represents about 40% of the entire journey in terms of mileage. During the coming week at the rendezvous we expect to learn a lot on how to travel the waters of Georgian Bay, the North Channel, Lake Michigan and the inland river system!!!!! Stayed tuned for our next update.

TO NEXT LOG

July 15th through July 22nd Penetanguishene, Ontario – AGLCA Rendezvous