Another Lazy Day

Hi Blog readers this is Jeff and this is my first entry.  For those of you who are under the impression that this trip is just a never ending relaxing cruise I thought I'd tell you about yesterday. Not to complain, just to enlighten.  We got up at 6:30 so we could be ready for the first lock at 9.  The lockmasters had an issue and we didn't lock through till 10.  Our destination was Orillia Ontario, a scant 30 some miles away.  We set off and in a short while we were in the Trent Canal.  A narrow rock lined and shallow "drainage ditch" that stretched for miles until the Kirkfield lift lock.  So narrow that Joy could touch the leaves of trees on the bank we were passing.  If you stray even a little bit out of the center of the channel you could seriously screw up your props, etc and therefore have to maintain 100% focus the entire time.

 We finally got to the lift lock which is different than most locks and is completely amazing.  It would be our first lock down after lifting the boat to 840' above sea level through about 40 locks and the highest elevation we would attain this entire trip.  The lift lock is like two parallel pans on water with one which goes up and one down at the same time.  We got in the pan to head down and were basically suspended in a shallow pan of water about 40' above the canal below.  Then our pan went down and the next door pan went up.  You can see how far down the canal is below us.

Shortly after exiting the lock we hit bottom and scraped over who knows what.  Rock? Tree stump? Whatever.  We were exactly in the middle of a channel marked 7' deep on our charts but somehow we hit bottom with a boat 4 1/2' deep.  Go figure.  That was the first of 5 times that day we found the bottom.  Every time you touch bottom and feel the boat scraping there is a few moments of extreme anxiety.  Are we causing serious damage (read $$$)? Will we get stuck (read $$$)? Etc.  We carried on and crossed a shallow man made lake with lots of stumps showing and knowing that if we deviated even a little out of the narrow channel we could hit something or hit bottom again.  This is white knuckle boating at 5 miles an hour for hours at a time.  Nothing stress free about it.
After a rapid fire 5 more locks, which we went through with 4 other large boats with just a few feet between us, we went through a very narrow and twisted exit of the canal between 2 rock jetties to Lake Simco. It's the largest lake on the Trent-Severn waterway.  Every lock is stressful and a bit of a challenge especially entering and exiting with a large boat.  Finally some relief!  A big, wide, adequately deep lake we needed to cross for 22 miles.  It was really nice.
After 9 + hours of travel time through 7 locks and miles of very narrow, shallow and treacherous waters we finally arrived at our destination for a calm and relaxing night in a marina.  Or so we thought.  We don't go to marina's often cause they're expensive and a bit of a splurge but after a day like yesterday we wanted to.  We called ahead and made a reservation and when we got close we called again for directions to our slip.  As we were heading into the narrow breakwater to the marina some shmuck right in front of us stops his boat and goes out on his foredeck to deal with his fenders and had no one at the wheel.  As we pass him he is drifting right into us and I start honking and speed up to avoid a collision.  So with anxiety ramped up we enter the small confines of the marina and start trying to follow our instructions to our slip.  As we pass one row of docks the depth gauge starts reading very shallow depths and we are slowed way down as we begin to hit the soft bottom of the basin.  In a state of high anxiety I ask Joy to call the office to confirm our directions.  They say we are going the right way and we "should have enough water, it's just weeds".  Basically thick seaweed growing almost to the surface.  We continue on and begin our left turn to go to the slip assigned us.  Again we slow way down and come to a dead stop! We are basically aground and the boat is not responding to the throttles!! There are a row of boats to our left with dozens of spectators and we are dead stopped in the narrow fairway adjacent to the docks with the wind picking up and very slowly moving us sideways toward the docks.  Are we all relaxed and having fun yet?!?  After literally 40 minutes of slow motion maneuvering and High High Anxiety we FINALLY get to the new slip assigned us and tie up at about 8PM and after almost 10 hours of travel.
And now you know what a typical day on the Great Loop can be like.  And btw almost every day has its moments of high anxiety and stress.  Should have gone on a Crystal cruise! JK. We are loving it and it's all part of the adventure.

Back in Business

We finally left Peterborough. Tuesday morning Ralphie the master diesel mechanic who installed our new pump finished up and we were on our way. Excited but a little nervous that we would be okay again we went through the famous Peterborough lift lock. This lock is a pan lock that acts as a two way elevator for boats. It takes boats on top and bottom of the lift. When boats tie up to the sides the bottom moves to the top and the top the bottom. It's hard to explain so here is a picture. Maybe Hilary can provide another YouTube:)

We went through 6 locks for the day taking us 5.5hours to go only 9 miles. We happily tied up to the lock wall in Lakefield and we relieved to be back loopin and done for the day. 

After we were securely tied up a man came by who was a few locks back with us and asked if we got our part and how the boat was doing. I kind of recognized him but he knew all about us and remembered us. He was really nice and recommended that we walk into town and try a restaurant called the Canoe and Paddle. "Town" was a very short 5 minute walk from the boat and consisted of about 3 or 4 stores/a restaurant/gas station. We went in to the Canoe and Paddle and got a couple of cold Canadian beers, some fried pickles and calamari and were happy for the recommendation. We made an early night of it because tomorrow was going to be an early and long day. 

We were up and on our way by 8:30 on Wednesday on our way to Buckhorn in order to make up some of the time we had lost in Peterborough. Also, this is where the shop was that fixed the boat and Jeff owed them some money. We had planned to stay at the lock wall there but when we arrived it was full. We continued on to Buckhorn Yacht Harbor where Jeff paid his bill, met the service manager he had been dealing with for a week on the phone and Ralphie hopped aboard to inspect his work and make sure everything was okay. After the 15 min stop we continued on through Stoney Lake. This was such a unique place. It has so many little stone islands all over the place and we just made our way through tiny channels some of which were very narrow and kind of hairy.

Finally 7.5hours later we were tied up at the lock wall at Bobcaygeon. It was a long and exhausting day going through 5 locks and constantly navigating with Jeff on the charts, depth finder and GPS in order to insure we didn't go aground in the slim rocky channels. We cooled down for a bit in the air conditioning before venturing out into the town. Compared to Lakefield, Bobcaygeon was a "real" town. It probably had 20 different business and much more charm to her. We went to lock 32 pub and grill in search of cold beer. 

We had another quiet night back on the boat. I made dinner and we read our books and went to bed early out of sheer exhaustion from a long and tiring day. Since we were only traveling two hours today we deiced to not set an alarm and have a leisurely morning. I got to sit and drink my coffee slowly in the chair while I stared out the window instead of throwing it back as I made breakfast. It was slow and peaceful and not rushed. Today's destination was Fenelon Falls which has hydro (power) and water for only 13 dollars at their lock wall. A real treat I was looking forward to. It meant we could run the a.c. without worrying how long the generator was on and just gave us the security of power that being on generator power doesn't. Well I guess we weren't the only ones who felt that way because when we got to the lock it was packed full of boats. When we asked the lock master if we could stay he looked at us like we were so stupid and said, "it's 1o'clock." Jeff asked him if that was late and he told him they had been full since 10am. Damnit! When we inquired about a marina in the town they told us they couldn't handle a boat of our size nor was the water deep enough. We would have to go onto the next lock which was 3 miles away. No Fenelon Falls for us. Needless to say I was not happy about that. I was looking forward to a short boating day after our 7 hour marathon yesterday and saw how cute the town of Fenelon was. What could we do? Not a damn thing so we proceeded the 3 miles to Rosedale (which keeps reminding me of Jeff's Memphis apartments - Rosewood, yuck!) and here we are tied up to the lock wall. While not a town it is in a serene park setting with lots of lush green trees and nothing else around besides nature and boats. Earlier we walked for an hour and went to the local trading post which consisted of a market, restaurant and general store all in one building. It was actually pretty interesting and sweet. Jeff got some Kawartha Dairy Ice Cream- the regional treat around here and we got a couple more butter tarts for later. Tomorrow is another long day 50 plus miles to Orilia. 

Putzin Around Peterborough

We never left. Nope. Tomorrow will be 7 days in Peterborough, Ontario. We woke up last Thursday all ready to go and the port engine wouldn't start. It gave a warning that the fuel pump had an issue. We decided to play it safe and not risk leaving on one engine. The Trent River is very narrow in parts and very shallow as well. On our way to Peterborough I held the paper chart while Jeff drove and I told him to stay closer to one side depending on depths and hazards. No way we would risk being dead in the water in that scenario. Fortunately Peterborough is a very charming city that offers both city life of shops, restaurants, music and night life with vast amounts of parks, nature and bike paths. For the past 6 nights we have been tied up at the lock wall in the park which I showed you in the last blog. Just this morning we moved over to the marina across the lake and got tied up in the slip, plugged into power (which always makes me feel better), filled the water and I have laundry going. Our fuel pump which is being shipped over night from NY since Thursday is supposed to arrive today. The part has been sitting in customs since Friday trying to get cleared. Neither of us would advise breaking down when out of the country. It has been a real pain just to get the part here - endless phone calls, paperwork, fees. Jeff and I have made a good team while one is talking on the phone the other is looking up the next information that we have needed and somehow we have managed to not loose it (too bad) and keep our spirits up despite the delay. We have been staying pretty busy while we are here. First day we did a major cleaning inside and out of the boat. We went to Home Depot to get parts to do some little projects on the boat that have been on the "to do" list. We went to a very charming local farmers market where there were hundreds of vendors, live music and lot of great things. We bought some local maple syrup, honey and of course the beloved butter tarts. We rate Peterborough tarts second best to those of the bakery in Trenton. We have been going on long extended bike rides every day and visited the canoe museum yesterday. The biggest in the world. It was actually surprisingly impressive and interesting. Saturday night we rode our bikes into town and listened to a free rock concert outside in the grass along with hundreds of other locals. All in all it has been the best place we could have gotten stuck and we are making the most of it. Next step will be getting our part delivered and the local mechanic coming by to install it. That is all supposed to happen this afternoon and assuming all goes well (fingers crossed, knock wood) we will be on our way tomorrow. The plan was to go to Lakefield, Ontario but with the delay here in Peterborough we might try and go further onto Mont Julian/Stoney Lake. We'll see how we and the engine are doing as we go.

Tidings of Joy From the Bike Path

Muskrat Swimming by the Boat

Bike Path to Bridge Where Local Kids Hangout

Dinner Al Fresco

Free Concert in the Park

Locking Along to Peterborough

We have arrived in the big city - Peterborough, Ontario. We actually arrived yesterday. This is the biggest city we have been in since leaving New York City. Peterborough has 78,000 people according to their last census but more about here in a bit.
We have been a lot of place since our last blog entry. Since leaving Picton, Ontario we went to Trenton where we planned on staying on the lock wall but after finding out it was far out of town we decided to stay at a marina there. On of the loopers that Jeff knows on a boat called, "Rowe Boat" recommended a marina called Trent Port Marina saying it was so nice and their favorite marina to date. When we got there it was nice but we didn't see what was so special. We quickly learned after checking in and seeing all of the brand new facilities including a boaters lounge and laundry room with three washers and three dryers all which were free for boaters to use including detergent and dryer sheets. We were very impressed. We learned that they were having a street festive, farmers market and fireworks that night. We were very happy.

Fireworks from our boat

The next morning we got up and walked into town to a french bakery and had croissants and coffee. They were very good and reminded me of Izzy and his croissant phase. After that we went for a little hike up their mountain - Mount Pillian. It didn't turn out to be much of a hike but was good exercise non the less. It also provided a great view of the city and the waterway where we were staying.

After our hike we walked back into town to the local farmers market where we got lots of nice things - homemade rhubarb orange marmalade, English tea biscuits, hot sauce and homemade sea salt carmel chocolates. All in all it was a nice morning and good stop. Now it was time to head out. Around noon we pulled out of Trenton and headed toward Campbellford. The ride was scenic and full of lush green trees that lined the Trent River. While going through the locks we were talking to one of the lock masters whom all are so nice and friendly and want to tell you everything about their area and what to see and do and offer any help or advice that they can, told Jeff about all of these traditional Canadian things that we must try. One of them is Putine - french fries with cheese curds and gravy. Jeff being the adventurer that he is decided he needed to get some of these. When we tied up at Campbellford we went looking for a hardware store for a Canadian flag since we lost ours crossing Lake Ontario and low and behold in the parking lot was a food truck that made Putine. Jeff decided that this was his chance and got an order. I wish I had a picture to show you of this pile. He was a little confused and after a bit got really grossed out and ended up throwing half of it away. Oh well. The town of Campbellford turned out to be kinda blah and since it was a Sunday almost all of the shops and restaurants were closed so we came back to the boat, watched a movie and went to bed.

Another suggestion the lock master had told Jeff about was this bakery in Campbellford called Dooher's which has been there since 1949. A couple other loopers also mentioned this to us so we decided to check it out in the morning before leaving town. Boy were we glad that we did. We had really good bagels and coffee and got some other treats to bring with us. Everything was so fresh and delicious. 

With a good nights sleep and full bellies we were ready to head out. From here we would head to Hastings about 34 miles up the Trent River. Each day we go through 4-8 locks and cruise about 8mph. Hastings was somewhat uneventful. We tied up to a lock wall which was very close to town where we walked to the liquor store and got some wine for happy hour. Back to Jeff's lock buddy - she also recommend that we try this famous fish and chips place while we were Hastings. Jeff was all in. So that night we walked into town to Captain's Table to try their famous fish and chips. This place was quite the dump. You walk in and there were old ratty tables and chairs with really bright florescent light and tons and tons of friers which could all be viewed from each table. We sat down and ordered a Northumberland a Canadian beer and Jeff ordered his fish and chips. Needless to say when they came he was quite pleased.

After that load we had to go back to the boat and go to sleep. The next day (yesterday) we headed to Peterborough the big city. When we arrived early afternoon we planned on staying at lock 19  but after more conversation with the lock master she recommend we go up one more lock and stay there since it was in a prettier setting and a much nicer place to stay. She said it was also closer to town if we wanted to walk. As it turned out it was a great suggestion. We are in a lovely, lush green park setting right outside the lock wall and with a great view of the harbor.

Since we've been going at such a rapid pace I asked Jeff if we could stay here for two nights in order to settle in a bit and regroup. He agreed it was a good idea. We slept in this morning and had a slow morning of breakfast, coffee and reading. Late morning we got our bikes down from the boat and took off. We went to check out tomorrows lock which is the biggest lock in the world. It has a unique system of both up and down at the same time. We walked all around it and went into the visitors center too and saw a movie about it.

After this educational ride we returned to the boat had lunch then headed back out again. This time we rode all along this nature, people and bike trail that goes all through a green forest filled with trees and a stream and was so peaceful and quiet you thought you were the only person there. We rode on this for what felt like hours. When we returned to the boat, hauled our bikes back on top of the boat we were both pooped. We turned on the a.c. and settled in. We're pretty excited because tonight in town there is free live music and fireworks. We can see and hear everything from the boat and will be the perfect send off from this rejuvenating big city stop. Tomorrow we go only 10 miles which should take about 5 hours through 6 locks to Lakefield, Ontario.

OH CANADA

We have arrived in Picton Canada. As we pulled in I kept repeating the line "Oh Canada" the only line of their national anthem that I know. Yesterday morning we left Oswego, NY after getting a little weather, wave and wind window. The thunderstorms were not supposed to come until later in the afternoon. The lake had only 1-2 feet waves and the wind was only 10-15knots. Perfect. We locked though our last lock of the Erie Canal lock 8 and were on our way. Things started out fairly smooth and comfortable. That lasted maybe two hours of our seven hour journey and then the wind and the wave came. The angle that we had to take in order to make it to Picton gave us wave right on our port beam (left side) of the boat which got us rocking and rolling pretty good. Check out the salon (living room) while we were underway.

Jeff had gone to the head (bathroom) and came up smiling and said, "you gotta check out the salon (living room)." After I went down one step this is what I saw. I started laughing and thought yeah I guess it is a little rough. Needless to say we made it safely over to Picton on our longest leg of the loop so far - 60 miles and 7 hours. Three guys met us at the dock to tie up the Tidings and we were relieved.  I wasn't allowed to leave the boat until Jeff walked up to the dock master's office and called customs and checked us in. He came back and rose the Canadian flag and removed the US flag. Apparently it's insulting to fly your own flag while in another country. Something Jeff read. We then cracked a bottle of proseco and before we drank it Captain Poot (Jeff, that poot) preformed a renaming ceremony on the bow (front) of the boat thanking the Dorthy D (previous name of the boat) for her service and honoring the old owners and officially giving her the new name The Tidings of Joy. He poured some proseco for her and poured it on the bow. We then went off the boat and poured some on the outside of the boat as well. It was a nice ceremony and we now hope that all of our bad luck and mechanical issues will be over. After our proseco we walked into town to a bar called Coaches at the recommendation of the dock master. It was a cute little restaurant/bar full or locals. We found a quiet little table outside under a shaded tree. We were so happy. We got Rickards Red a Canadian beer and sighed a sigh of relief. 

Picton is an adorable, quaint, laid back kinda town full of mom and pop shops. Today we took a stroll around town and went to the olive oil store, some health foods store and very charming dollar store. We also got the famous butter tarts. If you have not visited or know Canada they are famous for their butter tarts. Yum! We will be having one later after lunch. 

Jeff is doing a little bill paying and within the half hour we will be on our way to Trenton, Ontario. This is the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway where we will go through 44 locks. Shew! 

We Go to Oswego

So where were we? Several days have gone by and everything is starting to mash together. Today we left the Erie Canal and have been traveling up the Oswego Canal to where we presently are docked right before lock 8 right outside of Lake Ontario. Today's trip started around 9:00 from Brewerton and got us here at about 2. Short day for us with only 6 locks.

Yesterday we traveled from Utica, Ny to Brewerton for about 7 hours. The people at Shady Harbor Marina where we stayed were so nice. The owner had been in contact with me prior to us arriving and gave me his personal cell phone number in case we needed anything. When we arrived the dock guys were very attentive and helped us pump out and got us all securely tied up for the night. The marina also provided a courtesy car so I took one and went to the local laundry mat. Wow that was an eye opener. The place was hot as hell and had no air conditioning. Did I mention that it was 94 degrees yesterday? Bedsides the hot facility the floor was all cracked and several of the tiles on the floor were missing. The place was mostly empty except for a few older men. I thought it would be great to do all the laundry at once and not have to wait but really it was hot and miserable. The dryers were super slow and I had to keep pumping them with more and more quarters. We decided after  that experience that doing single loads on the boat will be just fine from now on. After the laundry mat I went back to the marina and picked up Jeff and we ran to Wal-Mart for boat supplies and then to the market for food for the next week. By the time we were done with all of our chores it was after 7pm and we were pooped. I made dinner and we got into bed early. After some boat checks this morning we were on our merry way. 

We are hoping to leave Oswego in the morning and to cross Lake Ontario but that will all be up to the weather. There are supposed to be thunderstorms coming through tomorrow morning into the evening but if we can find a window we will head out and make our way across to Kingston, Ontario. 

I've Got An Old Mule And Her Name is Sal

We have reached the Erie Canal. Hooray!! Yesterday (7/8/16) we lowered the arch on the boat in order to get through some of these low bridges on the Eerie. We have to be able to clear 19ft. Jeff had some wood structures made to support the arch while it's down and him, myself and two guys from Shady Harbor Marina (in New Baltimore) lowered the arch.

Once the arch was secure and a mechanic looked at our water pump (for the 4th time) we headed out around 12ish. We made our way up the Hudson to our first ever solo lock - The Troy Lock. I was very nervous trying to recall everything that Captain Bill had taught us. Jeff and I reviewed the steps, put on our headsets and headed in. I secured the mid line and held on as we were raised 14 feet into the air. It was a success and now I could breath a sigh of release we had completed our first lock and knew what to do. Thank god!!

Shortly after exiting the Troy Lock we veered left leaving the Hudson River and entering the Eerie Canal. A few miles in we docked at the Waterford Municipal dock. It was long and quaint and was within walking distance to the grocery store where they let us wheel our groceries all the way back to the boat. We were happy to be tied up, provisioned and ready to begin our locking adventures.

We set our alarm for 7am and got up and slowly started moving. Our first lock of the day - lock 2 was right in front of where the boat was docked and was scheduled to open at 8a.m. At some point while getting ready a man stopped by our boat and started talking to Jeff. Apparently they were going through the locks as well and wanted to know if we wanted to go through with them. Jeff said yes and we scurried to get everything in order in depart momentarily with them. They were the motor vessel Generals Quarters and it was 2 older couples aboard. We went through the first 5 locks together (locks 2-6) and after that they announced they wanted to speed up in order to beat the thunder and lightening that was supposed to be coming. We said our goodbyes and kept on cruising at our slow pace of 8mph. It rained the entire day while we locked with occasional thunder. We kept going and going until we hit lock 11( 7 plus hours for the day) where we are currently docked just in time for the thunder and lightening storm. It's an interesting place we're at. We are right outside of lock 11 on a wall that is filled with construction debris and junk and a train that goes by every 15 mins. At least we are out of the rain and secure for the night. Tomorrow locks 12 - 17 only about 4.5 hours. 

OMG We're In New B.

We can hardly believe it but we made it to New Baltimore today. After being trapped in Kingston, New York with engine issues for 7 days (we were supposed to be there for 2) we finally made it out today. I can't even get into all of the hassles we have had with our engine and the exhaust pipe but we made it here. The day started out waiting for the fabricators to finish up the new exhaust. Jeff was calling the shop every couple of hours for updates and to light a fire under their asses. We had had it at this point and were determined to leave today. Finally they told us the mechanics would be over to install the new one so we headed out to the local maritime museum which was 1 block from the boat. It was cute and quaint and something to do to get our minds off of the part being installed and how long that would take. We went back and checked on the guys then back out again for lunch. We went to some southern BBQ place called Old Savanna. Since neither of us eat meat we had salads and a veggie sandwich. Finally when we were done and back at the boat the mechanics were finished and ready for us to fire it up and go for a test run. We headed out Rondout Creek back into the Hudson and thankfully everything was working great and not leaking. We did a quick circle back and dropped off the boys. We were so relieved and happy to be leaving Kingston. Neither of us want to ever go back there again.
Our cruise up the Hudson was peaceful and mellow. It rained most of the way but we were more then happy to be inside in the air conditioning. Me especially. I really really really dislike the humidity. Its so thick here it's like walking outside and slamming your face into a brick wall. It's so heavy and sticky and draining. It makes me feel like a fat slug. Again I say, "Thank God for Air Conditioning!!!" As we arrived in New Baltimore and Shady Creek Marina a guy came out and helped us tie up and pumped us out. He then directed us to where we would tie up for the night and two more guys joined him and got us all tied and secured to our dock. We were so happy to be here and secure. As soon as we shut things down we got into our bathing suits and hit the pool. It was so cool and refreshing and a nice way to ease into our new environment. Tomorrow we will get up early (6:00a.m.) and get ready. Jeff has some guys coming to the boat to help us lower our arch. We need to be able to clear brides of 19feet on the Eerie Canal and with the arch up we are much taller. We will also do our usual departure prep and be all ready to go as soon as the guys are. Tomorrow we head out to Waterford and will travel through our first lock before we get there- The Troy Lock. I have all my books and charts laid out and have been reading and studying up on the route and the locks. The first one is a bit nerve racking and intimidating but I'm sure we will feel better and more confident once we get through it.

Lighthouse On Way to New Baltimore

Tidings of Joy Tied Up In New Baltimore