Sun July 23: Peterborough to Lakefield lock wall

Rick here-Mel lost her mojo:  We were up and ready to go by 8:30 am so we could be the first to arrive at the lock.  First we had to go through lock #20 and then on to lock 21 - the big lift lock.  It was only about a quarter mile to lock 20. We exited the marina and made our way slowly towards the lock…only to be greeted by about a dozen other boats who must have been up and ready to by 8 am or earlier!  

Thought we were early- but they were all earlier.  Luckily we got to squeeze into the next cycle-we thought it might take   2-3 cycles.

So we waited and waited and waited.  It turns out that the locks today (other than the lift lock) are old and VERY slow to drain and fill.  It took us over one hour of waiting to get into lock 20 and then another 30 or so minutes for it to fill up.  

Finally we exited lock 20 and made our way to the lift lock.  It turned out to be very easy to enter and tie up.  And, as this time the whole thing moves up - boats, water and all, there is no turbulence from water entering and the whole thing was very smooth compared to a regular lock.  We were joined in the lock by a couple of other boats.  Once we started moving the whole lift was over way too fast - in about 1 minute we were 65 feet higher.  We thought about asking if we could just stay in the lift and go down and then up again, but when the door opened we exited and continued on our way. 

Looking up before we start our ride.

Looking forward at the wall we have to travel up. 

Our view from on top!

Looking down on the tiny person!

We cruised slowly through the suburbs of Peterborough and eventually came to the campus of Trent University.  The canal flows right through the center of the super modern university and it was kind of fun to be boating right past very modern buildings.  It was Sunday so there were only a few students around but a few were taking advantage of the water - swimming right in front of the building where tomorrow they will have classes.  A nice campus. 

The rest of the day was a slog.  Five more super slow locks in the blazing sun.  We had heard that it was so hot in Phoenix, that people were calling it “Satan’s Butthole”.  We felt like Satan was also spending some time in the locks on the Trent Severn Canal. 

We were stuffed into the lock with 3 to 4 other boats

This dad entertained his young passengers by “fishing” with a large magnet.  They brought up a number of interesting metal objects - an old battery, a flag pole, and lots of iron oxide flakes, aka rust

By the time we stopped at Lakefield (lock 26) we were tired, hot and sunburned.  We shut down the boat and relaxed for a little before putting tennis shoes so we could get off the boat and take a walk.  The small town of Lakefield has a trail around it so we followed it past homes, parks and the fire station.  It was a nice walk but rain was threatening (we’ve had a typical pattern of thunderstorms in the afternoon) so after a quick stop at the supermarket (of course) we headed back to the boat to shelter. 

In the evening I tried an experiment with a home-made smoker box and a piece of salmon. I just could not get the smoker pellets to light. I finally brought the whole thing down to the kitchen stove (Mel here-am I the only one who thinks this open flame on a wooden boat is a hard no?!). Still no luck overall but it was a good check on the CO and smoke alarms.  Both worked well.  Unfortunately the smoker didn’t.

Trying to light the smoker box. Don’t try this at home. 

Mel here-I have NO DOUBT he will try again!!

Good night!

Sat July 22: Hanging in Peterborough

We decided to stay two nights here, as we need a break every now and then from gathering no moss. So that meant I got to sleep in - hooray!!  And that Rick did all the work while I was sleeping, laundry, baking banana bread, filling up the water tanks, washing the decks, making me tea - double hooray!!

Then it was lunch time and he made avo toast.  So, once again, I managed to move exercise time to the hottest part of the day.  A perfect time for a 13-mile bike ride.  Canada is so committed to its trails programs, and they are much used in summer and winter (snow bikes, cross-country skiing, snow shoes, etc).

Our first stop was to see the big challenge that awaits us tomorrow-the biggest lift lock in the world.  In fact, there are only eight lift locks in the world, two of them in Canada - both of which we will go through this year. On this one, we will ‘float’ up the 65-foot vertical lift, and admire the town - while trying not to FREAK OUT!

The Peterborough lift lock was completed in 1904, and was considered an engineering marvel at that time. It’s a hydraulic lift that works like a simple balance beam scale. Each of the two pans that hold boats weighs 1300 tons when filled. With one pan (like a rectangular cake pan -but with 330,000 gallons of water that weigh 1,300 tons in it) up (65’ in the air)  and the other down, the two balance each other. The bottom of each pan is anchored to a giant piston. It does not matter how many boats are in either pan, each boat displaces its own weight in water. When it is time to lower one pan, and raise the other, one extra foot of water, 130 tons, is allowed to enter the upper pan. This extra weight allows the upper pan to push its piston down down and raise the lower pan up to the top level. The two pans are than locked in place and the extra water let out of the lower pan. Boats then exit, etc

You can see the upper pan hanging IN SPACE over Rick’s head.  You can see the grey swooping rails of the lower pan at water level just behind me. Several of us Loopers were gathered there getting intelligence for when it’s our turn tomorrow!

Top pan, on the right, on its way down. The bottom pan on the left is on its way up.

We’ve been on an elevator, we’ve been on a boat, we’ve even been on an elevator on a boat (cruise ship) – but this will be the first time we’ve ever been ON A BOAT IN AN ELEVATOR!  It looks so so cool-we can’t wait!!

This lock is so big that the road has to go through it instead of over it, like we are used to.

After that we road around on bike paths, ending up at this pagoda bridge - you will have to trust me that Rick is on the bridge.  I don't know why he's kind of hidden...

We learned that Peterborough was a major destination for Irish immigrants, even before the famine.  About 25% of the town claims Irish ancestry of some kind.  Maybe that's why  everyone is up for a party.

These people have been on the dock for the whole weekend - only ONCE has anyone ever gone out in their boat, and that was for about an hour!

From 7-9 we enjoyed the dulcet tones of a Canadian rapper from Nova Scotia - sounds like the beginning of a terrible joke, right?!  We like some rap, and admire the poetry and nimble verbal gymnastics, but we couldn't really hear this guy, so we sealed up, put the air on and enjoyed another episode of Attorney Woo.

Fri July 21: Hastings to Peterborough Marina

Hooray - Leftover donuts for breakfast and only one lock!!

But still a long boating day, with lots of fun navigational challenges:

"You want us to fit through there?!?"

The Chart: "stay in-between red and green or DIE" (The area on either side of the small channel has the remains of supports that once held a railway bed - of course it does)

"OH MY GOSH - what even are these symbols???"  They look evil  - we have never seen them before and they aren't explained on the chart. We drive by them at a walking pace, acting like something is going to jump from the water and throw itself into our path.  There was nothing to see, so we remain ignorant...but rattled.

We had rain on and off today - invariably it would start raining right after I opened the hatches, thinking it was done. What with one lock and a long lake to navigate, the usual clot of boats dispersed - which was nice and peaceful.  At the very last lock we talked the lock master into S Q U E E Z I N G us in beside a big Fleming (fancy nice boat).  This made the Fleming guy a bit nervous, but we were happy not to wait for the next locking. Possibly it would have been better to wait - during the short distance between the lock and the Peterborough Marina a microburst of wind suddenly occurred. During, and only during, the docking. Rick had to maneuver (I'm a fair weather driver....also, I don't do backing up) between a tour boat and a big cruiser, make a left hand turn onto the fairway lined with boats and back into the slip, which already held one boat. All while being blown about. Absolutely everyone was at the slip to help (and to protect the boat already in the slip) - all the neighbors and about 6 dockhands.  And you should have seen him give a master class in cool, calm rough-weather docking.  While we recovered from the adrenaline rush people kept coming up to complement him.  Good thing it's Fri and we can have a drink!

The whole fandango is pretty well summed up by this boat name -

Once settled in we took a walk around the area/town.  Halfway through the little downtown Rick had an epiphany.  We  have BEEN to Peterborough!  Last year, while the boat was hauled out at Hurst Marina on the Rideau Canal, we drove over to get a new propeller and spent the night in Peterborough.  We came in at night and left first thing in the morning, so I have NO idea how he recognized it. It seemed at the time like a dreary backwater, but it's actually the biggest city on the Trent Severn, and has lots going on. 

One of the things it has going on, as in much of the universe, is the Barbie movie.  We saw men and women coming out of the theater in full Barbie-Corps pink.  I guess that's quite the thing!

Sights from the day:

I've recommend to Rick that he try this fishing approach.

Read both signs - is it just me, or are they sending mixed signals?!

Besides Loopers, the marina is home to quite a number of locals, and they were embracing the fierce Canadian commitment to summer.  Young and old they were all camped out on and around their boats, in what seemed like a block party.  Almost no one actually went anywhere in their boat, but they certainly enjoyed the dock and each other!  Canadians don't really need a reason to celebrate, summer is enough in itself, but this 60th birthday was an extra reason...

As usual we could have gotten here by car much faster - in about 29 mins.  But it took us 6.5 hours, partly due to a slow lock, but mostly because we had to travel Rice Lake lengthwise, and at a slow speed as we aren't supposed to wake all the little vacation docks/boats along the way.

Anyway - we were pretty worn out (sun, wind, stressful docking) but stayed awake to watch an episode of Ted Lasso, and the pilot episode of Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a charming Korean series on Netflix.  Yvonne/Michael recommended it to us and it's super fun!

Good night...

Thurs July 20: Campbellford to Hastings free wall

Everybody got to do what they wanted this morning - I got to go for a walk, and Rick got to go get me/us donuts!

My walk took me back along the river to the big double/flight lock we passed through yesterday.  This suspension bridge overlooks the dam/waterfall and lock. Yesterday, when we locked through, it was packed with people - fortunately they were so far above us they didn't make me nervous.  Today I had it all to myself.

And there were donuts and tea waiting for me when I got back to the boat!  That boy.....

Dooher's Bakery is much talked about on the Trent-Severn.  The cruller, in particular, deserves the praise!

Second Chance (the boat) stayed behind in Campbellford, so today we are a group of three with the beeping boat, Motion Denied, and a little sail called Max.  This older couple is doing the whole loop on this tiny sail, with a big furry companion named Luna (Max was the original boat dog).  I bet that's tight quarters.  The first lock master asked us to 'raft' with them, so we did so the whole day.  It's easy enough - we get situated, and then tie them up to us.  Both boats have fenders/bumpers and they watch carefully as we are on the other side of our boat to keep us stuck to the wall - so we don't crush them into toothpicks against the other wall.  Rick and I were gobsmacked at how lights their boat is.  We are used to trying to push 25,000 lbs around, and they might weight as much as 3,000! In case you are all wondering about the beeping boat - since it was their carbon monoxide alarm that kept going off, and I, myself, wondered if they died in the night, they took a look last night and discovered a good sized hole in their exhaust pipe. So let that be a lesson to you - don't ignore the beeping alarm! (They fixed it)

Brave little lock person - she is riding the gate as it closes.  We have never seen anyone do this.  No wonder the lock hands look younger and younger - they probably keep falling off the door and have to be replaced.  The last couple of locks the young women looked like they were 12!

There were lots of hands to help tie us up at the Hastings Wall.  There is now a loose group of about 10 boats traveling at roughly the same speed, so we are all friendly at the evening stops. It's embarrassing how many different kind of floats we have on the side of the boat, we look like the Beverly Hillbillies (Rick told me to use that reference - whatever that means)...

I was so beat up by the heat I had to take a nap at 4pm! Rick decided he had to fix something that he broke when he was fixing something else. That's why I don't bother fixing anything...

In the evening we had a lovely thunder and lightening storm.  Gorgeous - but I was glad Rick insisted that we be on a wall, rather than anchored out like I wanted to do.  Occasionally it's worth listening to him...

We started season 4 of Ted Lasso... 💜

Wed July 19: Glen Ross Lock 7 to Campbellford Marina wall

We can't remember what happened today - it's all a blur of waiting for other boats to lock, waiting for the lock to cycle, waiting for the lock to open, locking through and getting to the next lock. Rinse and repeat…

Here I am in full locking regalia.  I drive in, Rick grabs a cable and walks it back, I make sure the nose is on the wall, turn off the engine and sprint outside to grab a front cable.  Sometimes I even have time to put my gloves on. None of this would happen without Rick's expert instruction. I'm sure he could lock better than I am doing, but we are like superstitious baseball players - except he can shave during the boating year - and want to keep to what has worked before.  Rick even packed the same red sweatshirt he has never worn, just in case …

Cutie-pea lock house - 1914.

With this many locks, and this many boats, you get pretty familiar with the group you happen to fall in with.  Only so many boats will fit in the lock, so you end up in little groups.  Our group currently is three boats, and we have to be ON TOP of this boat in front in order for the boat behind us to fit.  This set of locks is a starboard tie-up, which means we can all only tie to the right hand wall.  This is because the mechanism to fill the chamber is in a certain place such that when the water rushes in it creates such a bounce-back that boats on the port wall can't hold on.  Just to keep us on our toes, each lock is different, so the lock master tells you what to expect (port or starboard) in the lock coming up, and then Rick rushes around like a mad person on deck, moving floats and lines so that we are ready, while I drive.  Right now we are (slowly) doing 6 locks a day.

We spent the night on the wall last night with this boat, Second Chance, and they have seen us lock.  Which is good because they really have to trust us.  Our 20,000 pounds plus anchor have to get right up over their little hand-crafted dingy.  And we have to hold in place while the water filling the lock bounces us around…

This cute family joined us, locking up.  Once we were all in place they crept in and hung on to the boat behind us. The boat behind us, Motioned Denied Again (can you tell he is a judge), is much faster then all of us but can’t sprint ahead since then he would only have to wait while the group of boats in front of us lock through. Sadly for all of us, EVEY time he was in the lock with no breeze his carbon monoxide alarm went off LOUDLY and CONTINUOUSLY.

The final lock of the day was a ‘flight’, so the upper door is huge. That door opens directly into the lock above-so it is holding back a whole pool of water. 

FINALLY we arrived into the cute, and very welcoming, town of Campbellford. We have never had a harbor master greet us with a personalized sign! The ‘marina’ is the walls of the town, but there is power and we are happy to be here….

This is the largest number of looper boats we have seen; and while we did a lot of talking about missing the ‘companionship’ of boaters in the early days, now…..well-the jury is out.  I think it would be different if we weren’t spending so much of our time waiting on boats to lock through. We have been spoiled by traveling out of synch and/or out of season with other loopers in all the other canals, and have so often been alone on the water and in the lock.

We had a nice little walk around town-with the requisite stop to take a pic in front of the giant Toonie. ($1 Canadian coin = Loonie, $2 = Toonie).

Then off to the grocery store.  Can you tell we were HUNGRY whilst shopping?!

Good night!

Tues July 18: Trenton to lower Glen Ross Lock wall

We started the day by dropping our American poop off at the pump-out station for the Canadians to deal with!  Then it was up the Trent-Severn Canal - we've been waiting for a couple of years to get here, and were pretty excited.  Especially  since there weren't many other boats around..

These cute Canadian peoples were operating the first lock, and were very patient as we carried on about our excitement.

This wall running across the front of the lock is called the 'sill'.  The pool of water has to lift us high enough so that we don't hit the sill with the bottom of the boat as we exit.  Looking from the sill to the water line I always feel a little nervous that we aren't going to be high enough.... I mean ---we've got a BOTTOM on us, so we do.

A close-up of the invasive zebra/quagga mussels the Great Lakes, and now other waterways, struggle with.  We are listening to a fascinating book my cousin Peggy recommended, 'The Death and Life of the Great Lakes', that talks about what a disaster such species have been for US waterways. It would be interesting anyway, but is especially so since it deals with so much of an area we saw last year, and will see more of this year. Plus the invasives that come into the US via ballast in the ships coming up the St Lawrence Seaway have now spread as far as Lake Mead, or further-clogging up water treatment plants, decimating native fish populations and even causing liver infections.  OK-possibly not a CHEERful book, but worth reading…

We tied up to a shaded peaceful spot just below Lock 7, Glen Ross, and I made Rick go for a walk with me.  At the hottest possible time of the day.  See what nice places I find for us to walk?! There wasn't much to Glen Ross, but there was a tiny store selling Kawartha ice cream, which is apparently great ice cream.  EVERY. SINGLE. LOCK HAND at EVERY. SINGLE. LOCK. told us we had to try it.  Who are we to argue?!

 

As the sunset we had a lovely, almost cool breeze, and a nice chat with Jim/Cindy on board 'Second Chance'.  I fell in love with the boat, an American Tug, and decided that is what we will buy for doing the West Coast/Alaska - which is in the future.  I think my co-captain is up for this plan, but I'd better ask him!

Rick made a friend for life - Peanut.

She LURVS him....

Sweet Dreams!

Mon July 17: Whitlow Pt to Trentport Marina

Yup - it was bug carnage this morning on deck.  Because we were anchored, the navigation light at the top of the mast was lit all night (to warn others away from us) and it called in bugs from most of the provinces of Canada, and probably the NE parts of the US. While Rick was bemoaning his dirty deck, I was grumping about the weed beard the anchor was wearing.  Oh well....all part of boat camping...

 

It was a very windy day, which was sending the smoke to WY, apparently, but you can still see the Canadian haze in the distance. My eyes were a bit irritated, but Claire has it much worse in Chicago.

I ended up using my fleece jacket for most of the 4.5 hours of the trip - the wind was that fierce.  The sail boaters were in heaven!

In Trenton we enjoyed the Trent Port Marina.  It's a gorgeous facility - one of the nicer ones we have been in.  The bathroom/showers were nicer than what we have at home.  And....FREE LAUNDRY.  I know, it's ridiculous that we have dirty clothes, having just done wash at Michael/Yvonne's house - but what can I say, we had sweaty undies. Swamp Ass is real, people!

We immediately walked 1 hour to the first Trenton Lock, to see what tomorrow would bring.  We were relieved to see that there were not lines of people waiting to lock through! I’ll stop worrying and let the universe do it’s thing.

There wasn’t much Trenton to see. But at least we confirmed that I am an total angel! 

People raved about the Italian restaurant, but I have the best chef possible all to myself, so we feasted at home and then tried a candy bar new to us:

Um-YUM.  We will have to try it again just to be sure…

After dessert we treated ourselves to the Making of The Witcher…. Also, YUM.

Good night🙃