Tues. July 26 and Wed. July 27: Making peace with the Marine Railway’s Big Chute

Along with the Peterborough and the Kirkfield Liftlocks, another oddity of moving from one level to another on the Trent-Severn Waterway is the railway lift called The Big Chute. In order for us to study how this contraption worked, we spent an afternoon and overnight on a Parks Canada dock and watched boats get transferred from the Trent River down to the Severn River. Early the next morning, Summertime, with us aboard, was strapped into the partly submerged railroad car, balanced with straps, trundled on tracks out of the water, across a roadway, rolled down a hillside amd placed “nice as you please” into the waters of the Severn River.  The entire operation, an engineering marvel for sure, took less than fifteen minutes! 

The marine railway awaiting a days work

The railway submerged awaiting our arrival

Slings awaiting

Summertime sitting high and dry on her keel 

The Admiral on watch

Almost back into the water

On the water again!

Created by Darcy O.Campbell

July 15, 2016   Thinking back on our Trent-Severn Waterway Experience so far.

For 15 days we have been making our way from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron by transiting the Trent-Severn Waterway. We have been steadily climbing through 32 locks. In 20 miles we will be at the highest point...840 feet above sea level! Then we begin to lock down. Following that steady decline, we will be arriving at Port Severn on Lake Huron at 576 feet above sea level. On average, our travel days find us traversing 6 locks and various lakes, rivers and hand-dug canals. By early afternoon we get tied up on a Parks Canada lock wall ($.90 Canadian/foot of boat length) or in a marina slip ($1.80 Canadian/ foot of boat length). If power is available near a lock wall, Parks Canada charges $9.80 Canadian/night of “hydro” usage. “Hydro” is included in the nightly rate at the marinas. After a rejuvenating nap, we stroll through the waterside village/town/city to get our bearings. We usually stay two days so we can have time to explore in depth... museums, galleries, concerts on the green, festivals, ice cream shops, coffee shops, bakeries, hardware stores for fix-it supplies and grocery stores for provisions. We have come to know Trenton, Frankford, Campbellford, Hastings, Peterborough, Lakefield, Buckhorn and Bobcaygeon quite well. The lock tenders, for the most part, are very welcoming and helpful. We especially enjoy being surrounded by the lovely park-like setting that the Parks Canada employees create complete with flower gardens, picnic tables, benches and shade trees. We, along with about 10 other boats, seem to be in the middle of the pack of this Looper pilgrimage.  As we cross each other’s paths, we come together to compare travel notes over afternoon beverages and snacks or ocasionally over dinner in a local pub or hometown restaurant. Some Looper boats have pushed on to Georgian Bay and the North Channel of Lake Huron; others are just arriving into the Lake Ontario/St. Lawrence River area. We are at Lock #32 out of 42 conventional locks, two Lift Locks and a Marine Railway known as the Big Chute.

Created by Darcy O. Campbell

July 12, 2016 An unforgettable anchorage experience.

In the Skipper Bob’s Cruising the Trent-Severn Waterway Guide page 32, we found a tip that we couldn’t pass up.  “Mile 110.6, Stony Lake. If you have time and want to spend time at anchor in absolutely beautiful pristine conditions, take the channel at “C200” to Stony Lake. Stony Lake provides the same background of rocky hillsides and islands that you will see in the Georgian Bay. Use Chart 2023, sheet 3 of 3. Fishing is great, the scenery to die for and the quiet mind-numbing. There are many quiet anchorages with just your name on it in Stony Lake.”  Our secluded cove was tucked in the granite ledges of Juniper Island. We swam from “Summertime” in refreshingly clear water...delightful. Wally woke me at 2am to go top-side and see the night sky.  The twinkling stars seemed close enough to pluck! 

Created and composed by Darcy O. Campbell