Day 26 July 17, 2022

We have really enjoyed traveling with FunIntended and Phase II.  Lovely people and happy to have met them.  Hopefully we will meet again somewhere along the Loop.  Today we left the Trent Port Marina at 08:20 to start our travel along the Trent Severn Waterway.  Our friends have opted to stay at the marina until Monday.

Gateway to the Trent Severn Waterway

Original Lock Keepers home.

Jerry is busy at the bow of the boat.  These locks have cables that you must hold on to while the water is raised or lowered in the lock.

"Sill" inside a lock.  Water is added to lift 0r lower boats, to match the water level outside the lock.

Doors inside a lock.

Jerry gives the lock master a hand cranking open the lock doors

The Trent Severn Waterway is 240 miles long and consists of 45 locks.  The first 6 locks, which we did today, are like a flight of locks since they are so close together.  We will travel a total of 540 miles from Trenton on Lake Ontario to Lake Michigan including a "pan" lock where boats are loaded in each of 2 pans like a balance. A foot of water is added to the top pan and that additional weight is enough to make the pan lower and the bottom pan raise.  We will also lock through using the "Big Chute Railway".  This marine railway actually lifts the boat out of the water, travels on rail over land and then puts the boats back in the water.  That should be pretty exciting. 

We left Trent Port Marina at 08:20 for Lock 1 opening at 9am.  Five boats were waiting for the lock.  The lock master directs who can enter the lock based on boat size and the number of boats.  We were delegated to wait for the second pass as not all boats would fit at once.  We traveled all 6 six locks with War Eagle, another Mainship, from Orlando Florida.

Passage through the Waterway requires purchase of a canal pass.  You can buy a one lock, one day, six day, seasonal or one way pass.  We chose the one way pass which allows us to travel the entire distance of the Trent Severn.  You can also tie up over night at the lock walls by paying a mooring fee - by the night or as a seasonal pass.  Save your receipts and Parcs Canada will convert you to a seasonal mooring permit to save you money.

We are moored at Lock 6 upper wall with 5 other boats.  We will spend the night, eat our leftovers and celebrate an uneventful day.  Tomorrow we will head to Campbellford 24 miles away.

We have been in search of the infamous butter tarts.  So far we have had raisin, custard and pecan butter tarts.  Crust is made from flour and lard.  Can't argue with that.  It's rumored that there is a can't miss bakery in Campbellford.  We will have to see what we can find!