Day 150 - We Found the Boaters!

We had yet to see rain on this leg of the trip.  I thought we might get it today as the sky was overcast with some dark puffy clouds at 7:00 am.  We were only planning to go 20 miles and 1 lock to Bobcaygeon on Pigeon Lake.  Captain Randy called Gordon Yacht Marina, right in town, but they had no room for us until possibly after 4:00 pm.  At 10:10 am we pulled lines and arrived at Lock 32 at Buckhorn in 20 minutes.  An occupied osprey nest sat on a utility pole close to the lock.  A few small boats went in with us and we were in the middle of the lock with plenty of room, thank goodness  The lock attendant let us know that a cruise boat was coming from the other way and to be careful exiting.  She called the bigger boat to let him know about us, and it pulled over and stopped to let us pass.

Still in Buckhorn Lake, we travelled the length, through the Buckhorn Narrows.  I looked for the Bifurcation marker, a marker that is red and green.  It marks the point where 2 channels come together.  We turned right to Pigeon Lake, staying on the main route.  The lake got very weedy here and the Captain navigated slowly through them to the Gannon Narrows.  Pigeon Lake opened up beyond and we picked up speed again.  The shores of these 2 lakes were flatter than those of Clear Lake. 

 

Boat traffic got heavier as we made our way through the Big Bob Channel to Bobcaygeon.  This channel has beautiful homes and manicured lawns and reminded me of the ICW in Florida.  We hoped to be able to dock for the afternoon on government dock, right before Lock 33, but the lock walls were full and we had no choice but to go through.  There was another marina, Centre Point Landing, about a mile further and I called them to see if we could stay there since we were now on the other side of the lock (Gordon Yacht Marina was before the lock).  They had room and we slowly made our way to their dock, mindful of the shallow, weedy water.  The depth gauge did not register at all, the alarm was going off, but our charts and the marina told us the water was 7 feet deep.  We safely made it to the dock at 1:20 pm.

From the marina it was a 1.5 mile walk back to town and we set off along Front Street, a quiet residential road along the lakeshore.  The weather turned out to be gorgeous and I enjoyed walking.  Several shops and restaurants were open in town and I was happy to have my first shopping afternoon of this leg.  Captain Randy wasn’t as excited about it but he went along anyway.  I found the quality to be good, but the prices high for clothing and other goods I knew I could get cheaper in the US.  We stood at the lock wall and watched some boats lock through.

 

We chose the riverside patio of the Bobcaygeon Inn for a bite to eat before walking back to the marina.  I had a good Canadian white wine from Pelee Island, at the southernmost latitude in Canada.  Once back to Centre Point, I saw a crowd of boaters getting ice cream at the marina store and had to have some.  It was from the “famous” Kawartha Dairy and was delicious. So far, the Kawartha Lakes are like the Chain of Lakes in Illinois; lots of small boats, older cottages and some new, larger year-round homes.  Families are out having fun in and on the water.  Our marina has dockside grills, tables and chairs for boaters, who were gathered there.  Everyone was friendly and welcoming which is so nice when you are a long way from home.   

 

Day 149 - Lock Weary: Peterborough to Lower Buckhorn Lake

It was going to be another long day of locks.  By 9:20 am we were at the pump-out and cruised over to Lock 20 ten minutes later.  There was a boat in the lock so we had to wait on the wall next to the lock.  By the time the gates opened, 3 other boats tied up with us and another was on his way.  The lockmaster wanted all of us in at the same time.  We went in first on the starboard side and had to go all the way to the front so another larger boat could fit behind us; I grabbed the line and pulled us in, but an engine died on the Captain and the stern swung out before he could grab the line.  Three boats were loading in on the port and now our bow was heading towards a ladder at the front of the lock.  I tried to keep us off with the boat hook but we did touch in a couple places on the rub rail.  We were so used to moving through the locks by ourselves and suddenly we were packed in like a subway train at rush hour.  It was the start of a holiday weekend, so I suppose it was to be expected.  What a way to start the day!

 

 

The next 6 locks were close together and we travelled with our “group” through all of them. Luckily there were no further incidents although my hands and arms were tired from holding the boat in at the more turbulent front of the locks.  Each lock took 20-25 minutes as they had to fill them more slowly with the full load. 

Lock 21 deserves a special mention.  Lock 21 is the Peterborough Lift Lock and it operates differently from the rest of the locks.  Instead of the boats going up (or down) in a lock chamber, the whole lock chamber goes up (or down).  The two lock chambers are connected hydraulically so that when one goes down, the other goes up.  To make the upper lock go down, they add 1 foot of water (weighing 144 tons) to the chamber. The number, size and weight of boats in each chamber does not matter because boats displace their weight in water.  The extra weight from the 1 foot of water makes the top lock drop and forces the lower chamber (which is lighter) to rise.  Quite an engineering accomplishment for 1896.  There are only a few lift locks in the world (one more of which is on the Trent-Severn Waterway) and the Peterborough Lift Lock is the tallest – lifting (or lowering) boats 65 feet.

The area along this section of the Trent-Severn Waterway was still rural, with cottages and homes on the river.  Trent University is located just prior to Lock 22 and the rowing team was preparing to launch as we went by.  The cattle pastures meet the water at Lock 24.  I saw several young calves amongst the cows. 

We went through the Lakefield Lock, #26 at 2:00 pm and this was the last one for the group of 3 that had been with us all day.  A marina and RV park with a swimming beach were just beyond the lock.  We were entering Katchewanooka Lake, the first of the Kawartha Lakes that run for the next 70 miles, connected by locks.  Small watercraft of all types buzzed around us as it was a hot, sunny day.  An osprey nest was visible at the top of a tree on one of the small islands.

 

 

Clear Lake was next, after Lock 27.  Although we were not the only boat in the lock, the others were very small.  Captain Randy did not have to put us up to the front gates which made things easier all the way around.  The beauty of the Kawartha region with its granite cliffs and numerous rocky islands was breathtaking.  The granite is leftover from the Precambrian Canadian Shield, formed by glaciers.  St. Peter’s-On-The-Rock Anglican Church was built on an island in 1914 and still holds services in July and August.  The church sits in a narrow, twisty channel called Hell’s Gate.  It was very tricky picking our way through here.

A small cruise boat, the Kawartha Spirit, toured passengers through the area.  We took a sharp turn to the port, past a pretty falls, to the next lock at Burleigh Falls, Lock 28.  Lock 28 is a fairly new lock and it replaced two older locks so now there is no Lock 29.  A couple miles later we arrived at Lock 30, the last lock of the day for us – yay!  This lock is at Lovesick Lake (or is it Locksick Lake?) and is on an island.  Lock attendants have to take a boat to work.  It is a popular tie-up spot for boaters with barbecue grills and picnic tables.  As the lock lifted us, I could see a large houseboat tied up at the exit.  Houseboats are available for rent to cruise the lakes; this one was filled with a group of young people who voiced their admiration for our boat as we went by them.

 

 

It was now 5:00 pm and we were lock-weary.  In another 5 miles was Buckhorn and we thought about tying to the lock wall there as the marinas were too shallow for us.  The Captain was tired and concerned that the wall would be full as it was a holiday weekend.  A small marina was ahead of us to port and I called to check on availability and depth.  Many slips were open as the occupants were out on the lakes for the weekend and the depth was ok, so we docked at Reach Harbor in lower Buckhorn Lake at 5:30 pm.  Captain Randy was very happy to relax with his cocktail after a long, trying day!  There was no town so we ate on board, chatting with our boat neighbors, enjoying this idyllic setting.

 

 

Day 148 - On to the Big Town of Peterborough

It was 48 degrees when we got up – brrr!  Fog rose from the land and water but burned off quickly in the bright sunshine.  We worked on the blog, downloading pictures and posting a couple entries.  The internet has been excellent at every port in Ontario; computers, iPad, phones all connect easily and work with good speed.  The US marinas have some catching up to do!

We pushed away at 10:26 am and continued 6 miles up the Trent River to Rice Lake, which is 20 miles long and 3 miles wide.  It is named for the wild rice that grows around the shores.  By now it is in the 60’s, sunny with a few patchy clouds and I have my shorts on.  The winds and water are calm, but as usual, the Captain has to be very mindful of shallow spots.  The “shore scape” is similar to the day before, small cottages and resorts.  The fishermen are out as well as some pontoon boats – a few have camper tops.  What we have not seen are sailboats, really since we left Lake Ontario, except for a few small ones.

Rice Lake is surrounded by Indian history and the Hiawatha have a large preserve here.  Serpent Mound Park has a dock but the water is too shallow for us.  Although the channel is marked to the south side of the lake, between the shore and Margaret Island, Captain Randy went to the north as his charts showed deeper water there.  He also kicked up the speed, slowing for small boats of course.  The lake has many small islands with names like Grasshopper, Cow, Sheep, East Grape and Fig. 

 

At noon we enter the Otonabee River and see more cottages and some farmland.  People were out on their small boats and wave runners.  I saw 3 turtles sunning themselves on a log but was not able to get a very good picture.  We passed Campbelltown, a small river community with some new large homes on the hill.  A small resort and RV park was at the foot of the Bensfort Bridge.  There were some type of "float bikes" at one of the docks.  A narrow winding section of the river followed to Wallace Point, another RV park and boat launch, where I saw a family with the parents in a canoe and the two young children paddling away in their personal kayaks. 

 

We were getting close to Peterborough and saw planes coming into the airport.  Heron were standing close to the shore all along the river.  Telephone Point has 2 marinas, the last stop before Peterborough.  We entered the lock at 2:45 pm and were out by 3:00 pm.  Peterborough Marina is on a small lake close by and we docked at 3:12 pm.  There is a fountain in the center of the lake and there were paddle boarders – the first I have seen in Canada!  Easy Water stopped here too. 

 

Peterborough was named for an Irish settler who led groups of his countrymen, who were escaping from the Potato Famine, to this land.  The marina sits in Del Crary Park, right downtown, next to the Holiday Inn.  We took a walk into the town of 76,000 and found a lot of empty commercial space.  A small enclosed mall has a few clothing and music stores, a fast food court and a bank.  There are few restaurants and we decided to head back to the Holiday Inn’s Riverside Grill where a blues band was scheduled to play.  We ran into Millennium Park adjacent to the river.  It is a park with riverfront trails dedicated to “First Nations”, aboriginal Canadians, mostly of the Ojibwa Tribe. 

 

 

No tables were available at the Riverside Grill, where boats were rafted off to hear the music.  We had pizza on the boat and could hear the band just fine.  We don’t know who they were but frankly, the music was ok at best.  At least there were people around and we didn’t feel so lonely.