Day 154 - The Big Chute

We pulled away from the dock at 9:30 am and noticed the other looper boat right behind us.  Out on Lake Couchiching we turned west while the other boat turned east.  They may be doing the “reverse loop”.  Earlier, a boater posting a message on America's Great Loop Cruisers' Association forum reported that “more folks climb Everest each year than the 100 plus boats that complete the Loop”.  I am not sure how reliable this information is, but as the Captain says, “Don’t let the facts get in the way of the myth”!

Captain Randy started at a pretty good clip, but soon had to slow down as the water got shallow (what a surprise).  There were sharp rocks protruding within a few feet of the channel markers.  McGregor Marina marks the end of the lake and we were back in the Trent Canal, 2 miles from the next lock.  A railroad swing bridge was just ahead but did not open.  The bridge operator told us that 3 trains were on the way and we should lower our antenna to try to make it under.  Otherwise we would have to wait at least an hour for the bridge to open.  I got out our “feeler gauge” (a pole with a flexible top) and placed it on the bow as we approached the bridge slowly.  We did make it under, with only about 6+ inches to spare.

 

 

A boat was in Lock 42 when we got there at 10:46 am, so we tied up at the blue line and waited for it to come through.  We were out by 11:15 am, into the Severn River.  The river is narrow, shallow and weedy, leaving very little room for boats to pass (at least the size of our boat) for the next 4 miles.  Cottages and boat docks are on both banks.  The Hamlet Swing Bridge opened for us and we passed Lauderdale Point Resort and Marina as we headed into Sparrow Lake.  It was good to see the waters widen and again we sped up only to slow down for shallow water, granite mounds, and to weave through islands; some with homes on them.

 

 

 

The channel narrowed again as the Severn River continued and we waited for 2 boats to come through a pass before we entered it.  McDonald’s cut has walls of pink and grey granite, excavated by hand in 1905.  Another few miles and we arrived at Lock 43 where the drop/lift is 47 feet, the biggest in the entire system.  It operates hydraulically from a control tower.  The drop was fast and we were in and out in 15 minutes. 

 

We had eight miles to go to reach Lock 44, the Big Chute Lock.  There was more of the scenic Severn River, granite walls, pine trees and, of course, cottages and fancy homes.  By now we must have seen thousands of homes on the Trent-Severn! 



 

 

 

 

 

We docked at the Big Chute Marina at 2:45 pm and took a walk over to view the Big Chute, a marine railway that is referred to as a “lock”, even though it isn’t one.  The Kristin Says would get aboard in the morning.  Water rushes down a long granite chute between the Upper Severn River and Gloucester Pool.  The Big Chute Marine Railway (the current one was built in 1978) portages boats across land and down the chute on twin tracks.  The original railway was built in 1918 and the tracks and car are still there.  Due to WWI, there was a lack of materials to build a lock, so the railway was built instead.  When the current Big Chute railway was built, the choice was made to not connect the 2 bodies of water in order to keep lamprey eels, which are an invasive species in the Georgian Bay and other parts of the Great Lakes, out of Lake Simcoe.  The Big Chute Marine Railway is the only one of its kind still in use in North America.

 

 

 

 

 

It was another beautiful warm day, around 80 degrees and I decided to go for a swim off the boat; very refreshing.  Later, we had a casual meal on the patio of the marina restaurant.  The owner was the server, chef and clean-up crew that night.  He did it all with a smile and made us feel very welcome.  Captain Randy tried not to worry about getting the boat through the Big Chute the next day!