O God, thy Sea is so great and my boat so small

 

Monday July 25, 2022, Travel Day # 23, Trenton ON to Frankford ON, Total Distance traveled, 6 miles: Total Travel Time, 7 hours, Total Locks 5. We left the Trent Port Marina which was a fantastic marina in the heart of Trenton first thing Monday morning. We got to lock #1 at 8 AM which does not begin operating until 9 AM. Me, being an hour early to something is unheard of but the bottom line I should have been there at 7 AM, I guess. We were the eighth boat on the wall when we arrived (you que along a concrete wall in front of the lock waiting your turn). The locks only take 3-4 boats per cycle, depending on the various boat sizes locking through. Most of the boats locking through were loopers as weekends have a lot of recreational boaters and they pack the locks with little boats, kayaks, and canoes so its hard for us to travel then.

 We were lucky to get into the third lock however it was not until after 10:30 AM that we were able to enter the lock. Since the first few days have so many locks in such a short distance it turns out that you stay in the same rotation all day. The locks are every mile in the beginning It took us 7 hours to go six miles and five locks. We spent Monday night at Lock #6 in Frankford on the wall. We traveled with a nice couple on a Fleming (which is a beautiful boat) Never Land, and we both spent the night on the wall together. In fact, we spent the next day traveling with Never Land as well. The Trent Severn is very much like a river, with miles of bird sanctuaries, it is absolutely beautiful. It is not until you get into the lakes that you can break away from the crowd. Also, in the rivers the speed limit is 6 MPH, so it is slow going, great for fuel consumption!

Day 23 Track

 

Day 23 Pictures

 Entering The Trent Severn Waterway

Trent Severn Waterway 

Tuesday July 26, 2022, Travel Day #24 Frankford ON to Cambellford ON, Total Distance Traveled 21 Miles Total Travel Time 7 hours Total Locks 8: The preferred overnight on the lock wall, is to be on the northern (top) side so you can depart first thing in the morning and not have to wait until 9 AM when the locks open. Unfortunately, by the time we got to lock 5 Monday we had to stay on the southern (bottom) wall as top side was full of other boaters by the time we got arrived. Therefore, Wednesday we had to wait for the first northbound lock which was 9:15AM but was a lot better than Monday’s 10:30 AM start. Day 2 on the Trent was similar scenery, mostly a narrow river weaving thru beautiful farms and protected bird sanctuary. We traveled with Never Land again all day and arrived in Cambellford around three and spent the night on the town wall.

While in Cambellford we connected with a couple we had meet at the Trent Marina over the weekend and spent the next two days traveling with them, Nice Going which was fun. They also have a Meridian, and it is easier to raft up with a similar boat in the locks as our profiles match and it is a better fit. We went out to dinner with two couples and had a nice dinner, this was the first time we had gone to dinner with anyone else, we have had plenty of cocktails with fellow loopers but not broken bread with any.

Day 24 Track

 

Entering the Locks 

 In the lock

Top of the lock

Opening the gate , note the lockmaster turning the gates manually!

Wednesday July 27, 2022, Travel Day #25: Cambellford ON to Hastings Total Distance Traveled 20 Miles, Total time travel 5.5 Miles Total Locks 5. We originally planned to spend two nights in Cambellford, but the wall was nosey , we were right next to a bridge and the cars all night rolling over the expansion joint and it was deafening. Also we wanted to travel with our friends on Nice Going so we quickly changed plans and headed out at 8 AM, and caught up with our buddy boat by 8:30. It was a beautiful day excellent visibility and we traveled most of the day thru federally protected marshes and were mostly limited to 6 knots so it was a very pleasant trip. By this time, we were getting extremely comfortable with the locks Meredith on the bow, and I manage the mid ship line.

 

Day 25 Track

 

Cambellford Wall

 Spending the night on The  Wall at the Cambellford Lock

Thursday July 28, 2022, (Meredith’s Birthday) Travel Day #26 Hastings ON to Peterborough ON, Total Distance Travel 39 miles, Total Time Traveled 5.5 hours Total Locks 3. We got up on Thursday morning and were able to cover a lot more ground as you can see Wednesday versus Thursday. In five and a half hours we did 20 miles and 39 miles respectfully. Two reasons: we did two less locks Thursday and traveled through Rice Lake rather than all rivers. It was again a perfect day and we enjoyed being ion the larger bodies of water as the navigation is much, so once again a most enjoyable birthday. We got into town early afternoon and decided that we would spend two days in Peterborough, do a few boat projects, laundry, shop and enjoy a nice dinner out to Celebrate Meredith’s birthday.

 

Day 26 Track

 

 

Saturday July 30, 2022, Travel Day # 27 Peterborough ON to Lakefield ON, Total Travel Distance 9 miles, Total Travel time 6.5 hours Total Locks 7. Well as you can see, we did not make much progress as we had seven locks to do through and they were all manual. The manual vs. hydraulic locks  can take 40 minutes vs. 20 minutes to go through each one. An awfully prolonged process as the Lockmasters must hand crank the actual opening and closing the flood gates. We started the day in Lock 20 and then went thru the famous Peterborough Lift Lock which, which has two amazing pistons that raises and lowers two huge cake pans full of boats. I will include pictures as I cannot do it justice. It took us an hour to get through the first lock and 20 minutes to get through the Lift Lock, so it was a slow start to the day. The walls at the Lakefield lock were full so we had to rent a place on the wall of Lakefield marina which was a terrific location right off main street. We also ended up having a front row seat to the which they had on the beach across from the marina. So, it was a fantastic way to the night, this was the third night we had great moorings to watch fireworks on the trip.

 

 

 

Day 27 Track

 

Peterborough Lift Lock 

View from the Top of the Life Lock

Sunday July 31, 2022, Travel Day #28 La

Our other mode of transportation

Front row seat from the top of the Peterborough Lift Lock

Lakefield ON to Buckhorn ON, Total Travel Distance 21 Miles Total Travel Time 5.5 Hours, Total Locks 4. Knowing the Lakefield lock wall was full the day before we figured, there would be several boats headed on the next leg, so we got an early start and left the dock at 7:30. Our first leg was crossing Clear Lake which was 6 miles so we wanted to arrive at the first lock of the day at 8:15 as they beginning locking at 9 AM. T We  arrived and tied up to the lower wall and had breakfast. This strategy worked great as we were first in the locks all day. Looping etiquette is you travel the same order most once established (there is always someone trying to beat the system) but in general that is the protocol. Sure enough, just before 9 AM four boats showed up and they only let four of us through the first lock. The four of us traveled all day together with Her Idea leading the pack. Sounds good but that also means we must do all the navigating and as it turns out today, we had a Hell’s Gate to go through and Hurricane Ally! We made it fine. 

We went through three lakes today and it was a perfect ride. Buckhead is an immensely popular lock and has tons of small boat traffic. In Canada Monday is a “Civic Holiday,” some call it “Family Day,” so the area is remarkably busy. This wall has Power and a nice set up, so we were lucky to find the only open space when we exited the lock and the other folks, we traveled with had to go another 17 miles, to the next lock with no guarantees they would find an open space so they would have to anchor out. So, the early bird did get the worm, I am still fighting this morning person thing, its just not me! So, we arrived ha lunch and the walked all around town this afternoon and even had an Ice Cream cone.

 

Day 28 Track

 

Buckhorn Wall for the night 

We have now completed our first full week on the Trent Severin, and we are halfway through the Waterway. We are at mile 121 of 240 total miles and we are staying on the Lock Wall at Buckhorn which is lock # 31 of 45 total locks on the Waterway. Another week to go on the Trent, and we will next be entering Lake Huron. We plan to spend August in Lake Huron cruising Georgian Bay and The North Channel.

 July Travel

PS RBC 3, this is us leaving the dock and you can see Meredith cleaning up the fenders, You think we are PWT??

Fair winds Enjoy