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

June 24-26, 2016 Kingston,Ontario

The Great Waterway of South Eastern Ontario, Canada extends from the Thousand Islands of the St. Lawrence River west to Kingston, north in the Rideau Canal or further west to the Bay of Quinte and the mouth of the Trent-Severn Waterway. Our location in Kingston’ s Inner Harbor Marina placed us next to friends Judi and Alain in their Novi Boat RAMHA. It’s been two years since we came to know them in Sarasota, Florida, but time just fell away. We enjoyed sharing meals together and swapping stories. The marina operator’s primary function is to produce fireboats and military-style boats used by both Canadian and American governments. Borrowing bikes from the marina, we peddled uphill to the Ft. Henry  World Heritage Site. Dressed in period soldier attire, a young man led us through the fort as he told us the story of the War of 1812 from the Canadian point of view. We topped off our history lesson with coffee and strawberry shortcake in the bistro.

Created by Darcy Campbell