Day 30 July 20, 2022

 Well, we've made it!  One whole month of travel on Eric's Inheritance!!  Every day has been a new experience and had it's challenges.  We have met some great people along the way too.  I think the best part so far has been sharing our experiences and learning about the people we meet.

We left Hastings Village Marina at 07:15, hoping an early start would get us ahead of the crowd of boats behind us.  We are able to see Loopers along the route using the NEBO app. It seems that most ACGCLA loopers are using it too, so their boat displays.  We also use it to search and message boater friends we have met.  It is fun to see their progress and can be helpful when you have questions about a location. 

Unwined had the same idea and left shortly after us.  They are a 48 foot Regal cruiser so it wasn't long before they left us behind.  Todays route had a lot more open water so they could travel faster.  We had to stick to our normal 7 knots. 

Fire tower

Hard to see 4 babies, Mom & Dad swans

 We traveled from the Trent River to Rice Lake and then onto the Otonobee River.  We were lifted 8 feet at Scotts Mills Lock 19, the only lock of the day.  It wasn't pretty -- a boat ahead of us lost their boat hook trying to catch a cable.  A gust of wind pushed us away from the wall and I couldn't reach the cable with my boat hook; we had to abort our port side tie and go to the other wall.    It stayed very breezy in the lock but that didn't phase the duck that came along for the ride!  Moments later we were out of the lock and in our slip. 

Local kids enjoying the river by diving off the railroad bridge.

Fountain in Little Lake was erected to celebrate Canada's Centennial in 1967.

Peterborough Village Marina

We took a walk to survey downtown.  We visited Boater's World, The Beer Store ($32.95 for a 15 pack of Mich Ultra), $5.59 for a half gallon of milk and back to the boat.  89 degrees, hot.

Dinner at Riley's Pub for a yummy Greek salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onion, olives and a block of feta cheese.  Jerry had a chicken Caesar wrap and fries, also good.

Peterborough MusicFest is taking place at the Del Crary park right next to the marina.  Can't beat a free concert.  The concert celebrated Ronnie Hawkins Day with a presentation of "The Last Waltz - A Musical Celebration of The Band".  Ronnie Hawkins was a Peterborough native and a rockabilly legend - "Who Do You Love?"

Kim Russo,, Director of AGLCA is doing the Loop with Michael Martin aboard The Perch.  They are currently docked here at Peterborough.

Day 28 and 29, July 18 and 19, 2022

 Day 28, Monday

RAIN.  Dooher's Bakery closed....   what a disappointment.  

I'm sure there are more bakeries and butter tart opportunities in Canada.  

Tough decision to stay put in Campellford but thunderstorm predictions decided it for us.  We walked in the rain across the bridge to pay another day of registration. 

                         Town offices in Campbellford

More beautiful flowers

 A visit to Canadian Tire was the highlight of the day.  Everything you didn't know you needed in one store.   Chilling on the boat in the rain, dinner and a nice phone call with Eric. 

This is  NOT how we talked to Eric!

Forgot to celebrate on yesterdays blog -- we hit 1000 hours on the engines!

Day 29, Tuesday

Woke up to a beautiful day.  Never know that it rained hard nonstop yesterday.  Lines tossed at 07:52 and off to our first lock of the day.  Locks open at 9am but we knew that many boats were delayed by the weather so we wanted to get ahead of the pack.  We were only 1.2 miles from Lock 13 and arrived at 8:15 with 2 boats already waiting in line.  Total 4 boats waited patiently for the lock opening at 9am.

Once the lock master arrived she informed us that all 4 boats would be able to enter the lock but we would have to raft together.  One boat catches the lines at the lock wall and a second boat ties to the side of that boat.  Another layer of anxiety added to the process.  Rafting increases the number of boats that can lock through while protecting the boat.  If the second boat didn't raft it would have to tie to the opposite lock side where the water can be quite turbulent as the water level is raised or lowered.  

We rafted 3 times with Unwined.  We met them in Kingston, had traveled with them on Sunday and were with them in Campbellford.  Gail and Larry normally boat on Lake Simcoe in Ontario and are headed back home.  

 

Travel today was only 20 miles and included 6 locks.  The first 5 locks were only 4.3 miles apart.  14.6 miles later was the last lock and our marina for the night -- Hastings Village Marina.  HOT and humid day with 6 hours 48 minutes travel, we are glad to be at a marina and able to use our air conditioning.

The cruise boat also had to use the lock.  It fills the entire lock.

Tomorrow we will travel 37 miles with 1 lock. We are aiming for an early start to be sure we can make it through the lock before closing time at 5:30.  We should be able to make better time since we only have 1 lock.  We will be staying at the Peterborough Marina for the night.   Maybe they have a bakery.........

Day 27 July 17, 2022

 Another beautiful travel day of sunshine, temp in the 80's and calm breezes.   We spent a pleasant night on the upper wall of Lock 6 in Frankford with 6 other boats. 

We bought a one night mooring pass but will upgrade to a seasonal pass if we spend enough nights on the lock walls.    We were 6 miles from the next lock which should take us about an hour travel time.  Two of our boat neighbors left at 8am hoping to make it to Lock 7 for the 9am opening.  

We left at 8:55 opting for a later start.  We traveled Lock 7 and 8 alone.  At Lock 8 we picked up another boater and traveled the rest of the way with them.  

We saw several pairs of swans.All of the homes along the water take so much pride in their property.  There are a lot of red chairs and beautiful flowers.

Is this considered an island?

We traveled 6 locks and arrived at Campbellford at 2:45.  Twenty four miles in just shy of six hours.  Better yet, only 4 hours of that was actual engine hours.  The rest was spent waiting for or within the locks.

Each lock is a bit different due to the river terrain.  Some are built to bypass rapids others travel past dams.  Most offer areas to moor overnight or stop for a few hours to walk to the local town at both the lower and upper walls.  Not all offer power.  

A few lock doors are hydraulic while others are hand cranked. 

Waiting at the blue line for our turn to go into the lock.

Entering the lock.

    Water filling the lock.

That's a long way up!!

Frankford Lock 6 had easy walking access to groceries, laundry, pharmacy, bank, liquor store and hardware. The fabric store was closed.  

The most memorable locks today included Lock 7 at Glenn Ross and the paired Locks 11 and 12 at Ranney Falls.   Glenn Ross is only a 10 foot lift but includes a 3 foot clearance swing bridge that must be opened to exit the lock.  The Lock is named after the lockmaster who started work at the lock at the age of 3 with his family.  Families lived at the lock; locks were open 24 hours a day.  At night boaters would ring a bell to notify the lock master for passage.  Glenn Ross worked at the lock until the age of 78!

Blue Swing Bridge

 Jerry actually got wet while the lock was filling.

The Ranney Falls Locks are done as a pair.  Each is a 24 foot lift.  Once you lift in the first lock the doors open and you travel immediately into the second lock for another 24 feet.  Then, you must wait for them to open the swing bridge.  All a very coordinated affair.  Less than 2 miles later we reach Campbellford Town Dock at the Old Mill Park, run by the Chamber of Commerce. 

Town docks are on each side of the Trent River.  We are tied to the East wall with 50 amp power and close to the town center and Dooher's Bakery!  That did mean that we had to walk the bridge over to register -- in the 80 plus heat.  It also meant that we got directions to the local ice cream shop!!  Refreshing and tasty.  Back to the boat to enjoy the air conditioning and talk to Dad.

Tied to the Campbellford Town Dock Wall.

Shout out to Chuck Perry, our friend in Texas, who is scouring the internet for pics of us during our travels!! He found us on the  NYS Oswego Canal and the Trent Severn.                         Thanks Chuck!!

Tomorrow's plan will be dictated by the weather.  Regardless of our decision we are definitely visiting Dooher's Bakery!

X

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!