Trent-Severn Waterway

At last post we were at Trenton and the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Two weeks later we are in Midland ON after a very enjoyable trip (minus one harrowing day). The waterway runs about 240 miles from Lake Ontario to the southern tip of Georgian Bay and has 42 locks, 2 elevator rides and 1 railway ride....

In Trenton we met up with friends Liz & Bob on Knot Sew Easy after their crossing of Lake Ontario. We're looking forward to catching up and traveling with them again.

Most of the locks have extra space above and below where you can tie up overnight. Some with power and water although power is called Hydro here for some reason. The lock crews maintain a park-like setting and some even have gardens. It's amazing to us the number of people that are at each lock just to have a picnic lunch and watch the boats go by. The lock workers are mostly college students on summer break and every one is pleasant and stops by the boat to ask a few questions as we're going up or down. The first day we only went 10 miles but went through 6 locks. After this they were spaced out a bit more until the end.  A few days in we came to our first double lock just bellow Campbellford. These are interesting as you go up quite a ways in a short distance.

Way Up Here!!

We spent 3 nights in Campbellford as they offered a buy 2 get 1 free deal. It isn't a very large town but had things to keep us busy while we were there. We went to the World's Finest Chocolate store. You'll remember this next time you see the little league team selling candy to buy uniforms...this is where it all comes from!! Also, another fantastic attraction is the worlds largest Toonie......

We got out on our bikes one day to visit the double locks as well as a swing bridge across the rapids and a very nice Provincial park.

Liz & Jill

Next big town and the largest on the waterway was Peterborough. We spent 2 nights here right at a very nice park where they have concerts twice a week. The place was a buzz of people and it's fun to hear the comments when they see Cincinnati on the back of the boat...most still can't figure out the name.

Saturday afternoon Jill & I rode our bikes a few miles to see the Peterborough Lift Lock. I wanted to see how it worked before pulling in in our boat. It's easier than the regular locks since you just pull in and tie up, the elevator does the rest. Just add a few more inches of water in the top than the bottom and the see-saw begins to move.

The next week was just spent moving from one small town to another and staying on lock walls. Each little town is an interesting place to spend an afternoon and most evenings we cooled off swimming in the river like the locals. We picked up a 3rd boat before leaving Campbellford, Deb & Mike on Moondance. They are originally from Cincinnati if you can believe that!! We now have a small flotilla as we move along.

One thing about this waterway is that there are many narrow and unforgiving channels. We are now traveling through the Canadian Shield and all on the man made sections were dug through granite over 100 years ago. The narrow canal sections are about 8 feet deep and very sharp on the sides. Below is a shot of the canal leading to the Kirkfield Lift Lock where we would begin going down in locks till the end. This lift is more scary since you are just looking over the edge as you pull in...glad we weren't the first boat!!

Don't Look Down!!

It was just past the section above where we had to move a bit right of center to pass an oncoming boat and heard the gut wrenching sound of fiberglass grinding on granite. Thankfully we didn't hit the props but I was pretty sure we had a serious gouge in the bottom of the boat. Traveling in a small canal behind others you stay back to let any debris they kick up settle back to the bottom. We still heard at least a dozen thuds as sunken logs hit the bottom....this was the worst travel day on the loop to date.

Rock Ledge

 After another series of down locks we crossed Lake Simcoe and stopped at a very nice marina for a couple of days to recover. While there I dove on all three boats to check on any damage from the previous day. Moondance had some weeds on the prop shafts that cleaned off easily, Knot Sew Easy was fine (they led) and then on to Chasing 80....I was amazed to find a slight scuff along the chine about 6-8 feet long...no large gouge as expected....whew!!!!

Along the entire waterway there are many very nice "cottages". Some are on islands all to themselves and some are on shore with road access. I really like the ones with a boat shed attached or built in.

After Lake Simcoe there were just a few more locks until we were into Georgian bay. The scenery became more like we expect to see in the bay. It's still very rocky and you have to pay attention to the markers but it's more scenic in my opinion.

The second to last lock was the Big Chute Marine Railway and I'll admit I didn't sleep too well the night before wondering if I could do this without wrecking the boat! We stopped above the "lock" the night before to see how it was done and several boats had issues getting in. Turns out the next morning the winds and current were calm and we had no issues at all.

Knot Sew Easy goes first

Over The Top

Along the entire waterway there are amazing sights and you always need to have the camera ready because you never know who or what you'll see...

Jake & Elwood Chillin'

Morning Commute?

Well I think I've used up enough bandwidth for this installment. Tune in to the tracker Tuesday morning as we start up the bay, I'll send out the Tweet before we head out. The plan is to take about 2 weeks up to the top of the bay and the North Channel and then back to the US near Mackinaw about the 15th. Two weeks to get down Lake Michigan to Chicago about Labor Day.

One last pic as we clear our last lock for at least a month!! Woo-Woop!!!!