Peterborough to Bobcaygeon

Sunday morning we left Peterborough headed to the Peterborough Lift Lock.  

Moving into the left basin after the boat in front of us was tied.  

Still moving into place.

Roxie supervising. 

The left tub slowly moved up like we were in an elevator, while the right tub slowly moved down.  

Here we are at the top looking back to where we started below!

More views from the top.

Here we at the top, moving out of the basin. 

 

Looking back into the tub as we were leaving. 

Now headed to the Lakefield (Lock 26).  The plan was to stay above lock 26 however it was full so we made our way to Lakefield Marina....which was good because it was about time for a pumpout!   We had dinner in town and to bed early.  

Monday morning we left Lakefield Marina headed the Bobcaygeon Lock 32.  Had a little cloudy start, but the sun came out and it is 83 degrees!   This area is so pretty!  Lots of small islands and cottages.  Very much a vacation destination. 

This is St. Peter's on-the-Rock church, located on an island.  The first service here was in 1914 and the only way to get to it is by boat.  Services are held here during the summer months.  

As we were making our way across Pigeon Lake with a pretty good storm headed our way, an alarm started going off letting us know the engine was getting overheated.  Bill investigated and found that we had picked up some weeds in our strainer and he was able to clear most of them out with a good back flushing.   We made it to Bobcaygeon with normal engine temperature and the storm passed us by without a drop of rain.   

Once in Bobcaygeon, we found that the lock walls were full both below and above the lock.  We found a slip available in Gordon Yacht Harbor.

Tuesday morning, July 4th we went through Lock 32 and tied up so that I could take advantage of the shopping Bobcaygeon had to offer, including the very popular Bigley Shoes and Clothing store.  There are actually several Bigley stores in town.  I managed to find my very first pair of Birkenstocks! 

  

Canada Day in Petersborough

July 1st is Canada Day, which celebrates the anniversary of Canadian Confederation which occurred on July 1, 1867.  It's similar to our Independence Day, celebrated with parades, picnics, live music and fireworks....and of course cold beverages!   The Peterborough City Marina is adjacent to the city park where the parade, concert and fireworks were held.  

Getting into the marina was not easy.  There is a river that basically runs right into the marina and the current was so strong that our bow thruster could hardly work against it.  Luckily we had been assigned a slip at the end of a T dock and the current just pushed us right into it.....a little to fast for our liking but dockhands and captains from other boats help catch us as we were pushed in by the current!

The fenders were working hard the entire time we were in Petersborough!

We went to dinner at The Riverside Grill, which had cold beer, good food and live music.  Fun night! 

Saturday morning we road our bikes to the Peterborough Lift Lock to get a peek at what to expect Sunday Morning.  This will be the first time we have traversed through a Hydraulic Lift Lock!  It was great to be able to see this from land before doing the lift.

Here's the details on the the hydraulic lock. 

Being that today is Canada Day, the park was bustling with people and activities.  It was a fun day.  That evening there was a concert in the park that brought a large crowd, not to mention the fireworks that were to go off after the concert.  We were very lucky to time our visit to Petersborough with their big holiday. 

 

Starting the Trent-Severn Waterway!

 Happy to be starting on journey through the Trent-Severn Waterway!

The bridge is the gateway to the Trent-Severn Waterway. 

The first of 42 locks!   Waiting our turn on the "Blue Line".   All the locks have a place to tie up to wait while the lock is busy with other boats.

Here we are in the lock after filling, lifting us up 18 feet.  This pic if from the boat looking back down to the water before we entered the lock.   

Roxie making her rounds insuring everything is going smoothly.  

There are parts of the Trent that are really tight!

We landed at the top of Lock 6 just before a pretty good storm.   It was in a remote location and we had dinner on the boat.

This morning (Tues 6/27) we left Lock 6 long after the rush of the other boats headed out.  We like letting the pack head out before us since we move slower than others and we just like the tranquility of being out here by ourselves.  

Just beautiful....sun, clouds, mountains, water, narrow passages and wide open spaces.  

Heading into the next lock!

We made it to Campbelford and stayed here for two nights.  

Road our bikes to the Suspension bridge over the waterway.  You can see through the grates. Very cool!

View of the waterway from the bridge.

Monument of the Canadian 2 dollar coin. 

Concert in the Park!

On the wall with fellow loopers!

Thursday morning 6/29 we headed out to Hastings.  Went through 6 locks...it was a long day!  

We made it to the Hastings lock but unfortunately there was no space above the lock for us to tie up.  We really wanted to be above the lock so that we could get an early start on Rice lake.  The lockmaster offered to allow us to tie up on the blue line above lock if we were willing to wait until the last lock through!  Yes!

Tied up on the blue line!  

Leaving Hastings Friday morning the charts showed we needed to go between the green square and the red triangle.  Really?!?

As we got closer we could see that it was just an optical illusion.  We could get through there!

Coming into Petersborough the kids are celebrating their first day of summer break and the start of the  Canadian holiday weekend!

Kingston to Trenton

This morning (Saturday 6/24) we were up at 6am and left the dock before 7!  The forecast is rain without wind....good day for traveling up the northern shore Lake Ontario to Trenton.  About the time I got the lines and fenders put away the rain started.  It didn't last long and we were traveling in mostly cloudy skies and the water couldn't have been flatter.  

   

We made it Trent Port Marina.  The marina was very nice.....free laundry, including the soap and softener!  We had dinner at Wahoo in Trenton.  As the day went on more boats came in and tied up before heading into the Trent.  Were going to stay tonight and Sunday night to get provisions and clean the boat before we kick off our trip through the Trent-Severn Waterway!  

Sunday morning most of the transient boats left to start their journey.  We spent the sunny warm day doing laundry, washing the boat and gathering provisions.  Sunday afternoon, several boats came in for the night before starting the Trent.  One more night and we will be on our way!

Monday morning, I worked while Willy helped our fellow loopers off the dock.  Once I was off work, it was finally our turn to begin our journey!

 

Clayton to Kingston

Thursday was another sunny and warm day!  We did receive our package and we are headed to Kingston, Ontario!

The ride over was smooth.  Once crossing over into Canada we had to raise our yellow quarantine flag until we have cleared into Canada.  Clearing in was really easy, once docked a quick call to answer some questions and we were cleared.  Down came the yellow flag and up went the Canadian flag!  

We stayed in Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston, which is right in the middle of downtown.  There is a lively park just off the docks and it was bustling with live music, tourists going on ferry excursions, simply enjoying the park and dining.  Both days were warm with a nice breeze.  We enjoyed exploring the city.  Willy found Kingston had a McDonalds close to the docks and pick-up breakfast on Friday morning!

The park was built around the old train station, which was renovated and now the welcome and information center.  The original train was also on display. 

As we were coming in to port we noticed several of these towers specked along the shore.  We had the opportunity to tour one that was close to town, it was called the Murney Martello Tower.  It was the last of the Martello Towers built.  These were armed with guns and cannons.  There are three levels.  The basement had several rooms for storage and a jail cell.  The living quarters was on the main floor and a  very large cannon was upstairs.  The cannon was on a track which could be moved to fire in any direction.  

Interesting....but the ditch around the fort was not for water....it's called a dry ditch.  

The staircase to the top of the tower.  

The cannon room on the top floor. The roof could be removed for times of battel and rebuilt during quite times to protect the tower from the elements.   

There were several parks along the waterfront and I took the opportunity to see just how cold the water was.  It was chilly!

Cheers in her slip in Kingston!

Friday we had an early dinner at Dianne's Fish & Chips.  We both got fish and shrimp, so good!     

Tomorrow morning is going to be an early one.....we have a 10 hour ride to Trenton, where we will hang out for a couple of days to prepare for entering the Trent-Severn Waterway!

Trip Summary Sandusky OH to Clayton NY 2023

Our first leg of this years journey took us from our home port of Sandusky Ohio thru the Western Erie Canal, Oswego Canal, Lake Ontario and the St Lawrence River to Clayton New York. We covered 455.5 NM in 82.8 hours averaging 5.5 knots. We used a total of 145 gallons of diesel averaging 1.75 GPH and 3.1 NMPG.   

Date	Departure/Arrival	Miles	Hours	Locks
05/31	Sandusky to Vermilion	18.4	4.0	0
06/01	Vermilion to Cleveland	32.0	5.2	0
6/2-6/3	Cleveland to Buffalo	152.4	21.2	0
06/05	Buffalo to Tonawanda	12.0	3.0	1
06/06	Tonawanda to Gasport	20.3	4.5	2
06/07	Gasport to Albion	17.8	4.0	0
06/08	Albion to Holley	8.2	2.0	0
06/09	Holley to Brockport	3.8	1.0	0
06/10	Brockport to Spencerport	6.3	1.5	0
06/11	Spencerport to Fairport	20.8	5.0	2
06/12	Fairport to Newark	16.6	4.1	2
06/13	Newark to Lyons	4.8	2.1	3
06/14	Lyons to Baldwinsville	41.1	7.1	2
06/16	Baldwinsville to Brewerton	18.3	4.3	2
06/17	Brewerton to Oswego	26.9	6.7	8
06/19	Oswego to Clayton	55.8	7.1	1
		455.5	82.8	23