Salt Shaker on the Loop

Friday, July 30, 2010 to Sunday, Aug 1 Bayfield, Ontario to Bridge Harbor Marina @ Port Huron

2012-01-11T21:55:00.028-05:00

Now to the project of clearing US customs. Prior to leaving Bayfield, I called the US customs by phone and explained that we were unfamiliar with the process and could use any advice they could offer for our return to the US at Port Huron. The gentleman on the other end was most helpful and gave me the "what to do items". I followed his instructions when we arrived point by point. Two agents, the "team" arrived at the boat and asked us for passports etc. They completely wrecked my notion that this was going to be a nasty process. They were complete but not overbearing. What a nice surprise.

To get to the marina you find the entrance to the Black River off of the Saint Clair River and enter. It is a long way up the Black River to the marina we selected, thru a number of bridges and past a bunch of yacht clubs, boat clubs and other marinas. Bridge Harbor Marina was at the end point of the river that a boat of our size could easily navigate and true to its name it was right next to a very big local bridge that carries I-94 across the river.

We are getting some of our last looks at the Canadian shoreline as a Canadian visitor. Thank you Canada for your hospitality and friendship to us as we traveled your waters. In a couple of hours we will lower your national flag from our "starboard yard arm."

Still on Lake Huron and encountered our first "Salty" A big freighter from across the ocean. You can tell it is a salt water boat from her general shape and features. Among them is the single large orange life boat half way up the "smoke stack" structure at the stern, pointed down at the water. It is arranged this way to simplify deployment in an emergency. You may have to enlarge the photo to see it.

This is a "laker." Different features. The evolution of lake freighters took a path to optimize the designs for these waters. There are some lakers that are near 1000 feet in length. This partially explains why there are many fewer boats on the lakes that in the 50's and 60's when I was familiar with Great Lakes shipping when a 600 footer was regarded as "giant."

Another "laker"

Coming up on the Blue Water Bridge that connects Sarnia with Port Huron. Pretty structure and it is a main artery between Canada and the US. It just so happened that we went under the bridge on the Canadian side. It was an easy choice because that was the side most of the boats going our direction was on. No traffic on that side was going the other way. Turned out that was because the river current going south was intense on that side. We could pick up the uptick in speed on our GPS equipment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Water_Bridge

The traffic that is stuck in place is US bound. Do you imagine that US customs is checking carefully?

The railroad bridge that carries some tracks across the Black River. We are at the entrance. Railroad bridges are always left in the up position, unlike highway bridges. Since trains are infrequent and very predictable, they are left that way for the convenience of marine traffic. They are only put in the "down" position when a train is about to need to cross.

A highway bridge opened for the river traffic, including us. They open on a schedule. If you miss the opening by just a little bit you will have to wait for the next opening cycle.

An 18 foot Chris Craft run about of the early 1950's vintage. My dad had one exactly like this one in 1955 give or take.

A tiki party barge. We encountered this one a couple of times.

A building along the river with Walcon Siding that was built probably in the mid 1950's. It might be a municipal incinerator.

View from the main building of the Bridge Harbor Marina. We are in there somewhere.

http://bridgeharbour.com/

A fellow Floridian.

A dog with his own ramp to the boat. More about him follows.

I guess this handsome dogs really likes boats!

And here are the dog's owners, Bud and Judy. They keep their boat at the slip that just happened to be on the other side of the dock from us. They were a treat to get to know.

The dog is at home on any boat. Bud took Pat and I on a river tour aboard this Zodiac, sans Fido. It was very scenic. We got up to the entrance of the Black River Canal that was dug in 1908 to divert water from Lake Huron directly into the Black River as an attempt to flush sewage out of the Black River. Remember, this was 1908. We took the Canal almost to Lake St. Clair. There is a control gate at that end of the canal which turned out to be closed. That ended our travel down the Canal.

http://www.voicenews.com/articles/2011/06/11/news/doc4def724ad3d20642704964.txt

Departing our marina in the Zodiac

A classic sail boat under what looks like continuous restoration.

Interesting name for a Bay Liner boat.

Back on shore. Lots of horsepower here. Look at where the driver sits.

We are once again headed to another port, this time to see my brother, Tim and his wife Kathy aboard their boat kept at Jefferson Beach Marina. Should be fun. The pilot boat ahead of us moved before he became a factor.

Thursday July 29, 2010 to Friday, July 30, Tobermory to Bayfield Ont.

2012-01-09T13:21:00.001-05:00

This is our last leg in Canada. It was my first visit to Lake Huron, in spite of the fact that I was raised in the Detroit area so many years ago. This part of the trip was down the Canadian side of the lake from Tobermory to Bayfield.

We had in mind to link up with Ron and Sally aboard their Summer Star at Bayfield. But alas, not to be. They got as far as Goderich, Ontario and called it a day. They were beat up a bit by following seas. Not so much effect on us because of our speed, allowing us to stay ahead of the wave chains.

A note about waves. It was this ride that gave me the incentive to explore on the Internet a bit about waves and their speed. I found an excellent surfing site, (water surfing) that explained waves and their movements in terms usable by the surfing crowd. NOAA in their weather forecasts and data gives two parameters for waves. One is their expected or measured height and the other is the time between crests. It is the time between crests that is interesting. It turns out that if you multiply the time period between crests in seconds times 3, you get the speed of the wave along the surface in knots.

So if a wave forecast is for 5 seconds between crests, that means that the wave chains are traveling at 15 knots across the surface and if you can not go at least this speed, you can not stay ahead of the waves chasing you from behind in a following sea. 15 knots is about 17 miles an hour.

Bayfield is just a bit north of Sarnia, Ontario. Sarnia is right across the St. Clair River from Port Huron, MI The marina we visited at Bayfield was the Harbor Lights Marina. A most pleasant place to relax and regather your strength. http://www.harbourlightsmarina.on.ca/ .

Looking back at the north end of the Bruce Peninsula with a large ferry boat heading toward Tobermory. There are a lot of ferry boat routes that serve the many ports on Georgian Bay.

Looking back at the many islands at the north end of Bruce.

Looking ahead as we begin turning south down the shore of Canada on the east side of Lake Huron.

Here is a definite charted hazard to navigation in the form of rocks just breaking the surface. They are far enough off shore that they would be unexpected were it not for the excellence of the available charts. Any photo can be enlarged for better detail by clicking on it.

"On Plane" We are traveling at 22 knots, nicely ahead of the building following seas which are not really visible in the photo. We traveled at this speed from 11:17AM to 4:33PM when we arrived at the entrance to the Bayfield River. The marina is located on the north shore of the river about half a mile in.

A view of Goderich, Ont. as we passed by. Goderich is home to a large Compass Minerals plant and mine. They mine the huge salt deposits deep down, providing the majority of the salt used for deicing roads in the winter in the entire Detroit, Windsor, Sarnia, Port Huron area. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goderich,_Ontario .

In port. Safely tucked in

Different view of the harbor from the deck of the Salt Shaker

A big stanchion to the left of the Salt Shaker. It was once used to support a roadway across the Bayfield River.

The entire marina grounds were park like and well cared for.

A museum fire truck that resides at the marina.

Leaving Friday AM after fueling up and passing our slip on our way out. The trip from Tobermory to Bayfield used 485 liters of gasoline or about 128 gallons. Notice the stanchion mentioned earlier. Next stop Port Huron, a visit from US customs and officially back in the US.

Monday July 26 2010 to July 29 Parry Sound to Tobermory via Wingfield Basin

2011-10-08T16:30:00.005-04:00

Time to depart and head west back to Georgian Bay and thence to Tobermory located on the western side of the north shore of the Bruce Peninsula. Bruce Peninsula separates Georgian Bay from Lake Huron all of which is on the Canadian side. Our intention was to visit, anchoring overnight in Wingfield Basin which is at the east side of the north shore of Bruce on our way to Tobermory.

This basin was recommended by folks at Parry Sound so we expected to have an uneventful overnight. Story in pictures below.

First marker out of Parry Sound Muni.

Sail boat encountered along the way.

Going toward Georgian Bay.

Red Rock Light with Georgain Bay beyond. It is about 50 miles from there to the Bruce Penninsula. Total trip about 80 miles.

We are in the Wingfield Basin. The entrance is via a narrow channel and then thru a narrow cut in the rock and once inside you are in a pretty body of water. There are a set of range lights to guide you to and thru the cut, it is that narrow, but look what we found. The place was was beautiful but absolutely crowded. We found a place to anchor so we went thru the process. Not holding, drifting back. Try again. Not holding drifting back. One more try. Same thing. About then I remembered what Einstein was reported to have said about insanity. He defined it as trying the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.

The bottom is grass, weeds and mud. More about that later. The problem we had was the boat was equipped with the wrong type anchor for this kind of a bottom. When we get back, I will replace the "plow type anchor" with a "Manson supreme," a very popular all around good anchor. Thie Manson is made in New Zealand.

http://splitcrow.ca/2010/07/31/wingfield-basin/

Here is a wreck, one that has obviously been here in Wingfield for a real long time. A note about these waters, they are crystal clear, full of submerged wrecks, many dating back from the early 1800's This is an extremely popular diving area. Both amateur and professional.

Next issue. What we found out later, was that we were in the middle of a sailboat regatta. When we decided to take our leave, we could not get into the cut and the narrow channel leading to it because there was an endless string of boats arriving. Finally after about 20 boats, the way was clear for us to depart.

Now about the mud and grass. This what was left on the anchor after about 15 miles of 4 foot seas, each wave splashing past the anchor, taking a dose of mud and some grass from it and distributing it all over the boat.

Mud on the hatches and deck.

Mud on the windshied and the isenglass. We left this mess on the boat for a couple of days. Each passer by stopped at our boat and their question always was "how in the world did you do that? Did you turn the boat upside down and drag it thru a wet muddy field?" It was fun to tell the story.

This was the sign that greeted us in the Little Tub Marina. Even better, our friends, Ron and Sally aboard the Summer Star also happened to be there and heard us on the radio arranging for a dock. Them being there when we were was a pure concidence. They had a speghetti dinner prepared for us on their boat. What a treat after such a long day.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiPeninsulaki/Bruce_

Next day, they were on their way out, making their way back to their home in Sandusky, Ohio.

A 50 foot (approx) Chris Craft Roamer. Steel hull built in the early 1960's. This is a classic boat. My dad had a 1960 model 36 foot Roamer Riveria, an express cruiser, like the Salt Shaker called the Iron Lady. It was a fine boat, until she was allowed to sink at the marina where she was launched for the season with certain plugs not installed. Local incompetence at its max.

And this was an endangered species. One of the lock masters back on the Trent Severn offered us a dollar for every one we could bring him. They are beautiful creatures but in sufficient numbers they can become a pain in the transom.

Here is a swim platform used as a jet ski platform.

That is the Salt Shaker at the end of the dock.

Tobermory is a historic Lake Huron/Georgian Bay seaport. If you ask any boater on any of the Great Lakes they will almost always be familiar with what and where it is. In the summer, it really bustles.

The Princess Hotel up on the hill.

The "admiral"

This is a Four Winns express cruiser. About the biggest that can be transported on a trailer with out a permit. Big truck, big trailer. experienced crew as well.

Here is a boat reverse towing a section of floating dock past our boat on his way to somewhere where it will be secured and used.

The population of Tobermory really shrinks in the winter. However they have all the things you would expect.

Tobermory (Little Tub) Harbor from a ways up the road toward the entrance.

More history.

A fishing boat in a sort of dry dock.

This fellow was out there manouvering for quite a while. It was a bit windy and he seemed to be a bit undecided about what he really wanted to do. After a period of time he motored off.

An interesting plaque.

Another interesting plaque.

Another bit of historical information.

The upper deck of the Crowsnest Pub. A great beer and a great sandwich was had here.

A view of the harbor from the upper deck of the pub.

After loading up on many liters of Canadian gas, we motor out past a commercial fishing boat.

Henry's Fish Restaruant to Parry Sound--Sunday July 25, 2010 to Monday July 26

2011-10-07T17:46:00.000-04:00

This part of Canada just gets prettier and prettier. We depart Henry's to head essentially north and then a few miles east to Parry Sound. The waterways are as tricky and narrow in places as anywhere we have been. Our friends Bob and Sue aboard "High Maintenance" departed Henry's shortly after we did and they caught up with us while Pat and I were having a "navigation conference." We arrived at correct conclusions just as they arrived but it was nice to have someone who knew the waters along with us. They were also headed to Parry Sound.

34 minutes after departure. Navigation conference over, this IS the correct route.

The official identifier for Amanda Island. We noted the time for our log as we passed by.

Passing by what looks like a foot bridge.

Boats ahead, going our way.

More boats ahead but going the other way. Pass to the left please.

Still in the channel, so far no issues.

A remote campsite

Bald Eagle?

More boats

More rocks

We are getting close. This is the Two Mile Narrows.

High Maintenance about to come under the Pont Tournament bridge, just at the entrance to Parry Sound Harbor.

Bulldog Sally. Neat name. A mixed treat while we were just entering the marina waters, our friends Bob and Pam aboard their boat, the Mint Julep were departing. The treat was that we got to see them once again. The bummer was that they were leaving. Pam had the solar powered flower that we gave them at North Myrtle Beach in her hand for us to see. We were had enough time to holler greetings back and forth.

View from the forward deck of the Salt Shaker looking into the pass that takes you into the actual Parry Sound. A note about the Big Sound Marina, more than adequate and beautiful facilities. But the staff seemed bored. Maybe it was us.

Pat next to a retired buoy. I am her retired boy!

Pat pointing our a unique rock feature.

This is the Charles Stockley Festival Performance Hall, co located with the Bobby Orr hall of fame. You pass this facility on the road from the marina to town.

http://www.stockeycentre.com/our-centre

The main Street, entrance to the town of Parry Sound

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parry_Sound,_Ontario

A typical gift shop. We resisted the urge.

A local museum

A local eatery

A bit of local real estate trivia.

This is the Parry Sound float plane facility, one of the ones you can catch a flight to Henry's Fish Restaurant. Pat and I had our fresh supply of box wine (great for storing on the boat) and I took it into the office. I set it down on the counter and told the office staff I was delivering the order the pilots had placed. They did not think it was funny but I did. It pleased me at least.

Boat arriving. Note the canoe on the nose.

Sunset

Moonrise

Paul and Sue saying goodby to us before our departure on Monday morning..

Canadian Coast Guard boat, the Samuel Risley out of Ottawa, we passed on our way out.

Saturday July 24, 2010 to July 25 Midland Muni Marina to Henry's Fish Resturant @ Frying Pan Island

2011-10-06T18:15:00.001-04:00

After a fun evening at Midland Muni, we departed Saturday morning at 0940 for a leisurely ride north along a series of rock lined channels, to world famous, (among locals and loopers at least) Henry's Fish Restaurant on Frying Pan Island, a distance of maybe 38 miles.

I believe this is the Midland Bay Shoal light. Obviously it is an important light.

One of the several places to stop, gas up and get supplies. If you expand this photo you will see that regular gas is $1.20. Looks good until you realise it is 1.20 a liter so that is about $5.00 Canadian per gallon and since their dollar is currently worth more than ours, once you add in that fact, Gas in Canada is on a relative basis expensive!

I included several of these photo's since the view ahead is always pretty.

This is Delawanda Inn, well known in the area. At the left side of the building, out of the photo are boat facilities with a big sign---"open to the public" just to be sure there was no confusion.

The "iceberg." A climbing rock.

Volleyball anyone?

The name of the boat is "15 years." It has a "for sale" sign. The 15 years must be up.

Birds in flight.

One of many houses we saw built on a little more than a rock sticking out of the water.

View of the waterway

A view of another section of the waterway.

Beautiful rock with some really determined trees.

Dangerous rock.

Another view of our path.

Arrival. At 1:37 in the afternoon. Henrys has a great website.

http://www.henrysfishrestaurant.com/index.php

A view from one end. The land is all rock. Steep and rough rock. This is the best picture I could get without being an acrobat.

There is an air service from Parry Sound, to the north, that brings in people just for dinner. This would not be inexpensive. But I can see why the attraction. We had dinner at Henry's, their classic standard fare--Pickrel and french fries and cole slaw. Yes, it was really really good.

If you expand this photo, you will see that it says Henry's is 38 miles north of where we left this morning. Pretty good, I just used my hand spread on the three charts used enroute and counted the number of spreads along the route to arrive at my distance estimate given in the opening paragraph. Maybe better to be lucky than good.

The Salt Shaker. The docks at Henry's are quite long but they only have electric power at the shore end. Good to get there early if you need power. The dock hands at Henry's deserve special note. They were skilled at handling lines and assisting in getting the boat tied to the dock. Very nice fellows as well.

The boat next to us is named "High Maintenance." Owned by a very nice couple from nearby, Paul and Sue. Since Sue has blond hair, one of the other boaters asked them if it was her that the boat was named for. To our surprise she said it was him that was high maintenance. Paul agreed. So it must be.

Their boat is also a Rinker, the largest Rinker set up with a single engine. It is also the largest boat that can be trailered without a permit (most places). Both of these models are two of the most popular boats produced by Rinker from roughly 2000 to 2007.

Another view of the marina. Note the float plane at the right. Some guests were brought in by air.

Another float plane. The land visible is a small island between Henry's and the channel.

This is from the far end of our dock looking across the waterway. That is the only house over there. Not much man made light visible at night.

End of the day, moon after moonrise. The moon rose over the house in the previous picture. In the morning we will cast off our lines and motor on up to Parry Sound.

Port Severn, Ont. Friday July 23, 2010 to Midland, Ont. Saturday, July 24

2011-10-05T15:18:00.003-04:00

Working on the blog, once again------ And remember, you can double click on any photo and it will go to "large size."

Today, July 23, was my father in law, Joe's 102 birthday. He is at home with loving, qualified professional care in our absence. Happy Birthday Joe.

This was our first day out of the Trent Severn since we entered this beautiful canal system on July 10. The Summer Star and the Salt Shaker are headed across a Severn Sound (adjacent the south end of Georgian Bay) into Midland Bay and then into the town of Midland. Our destination is the Midland Municipal Marina.

Just out of the Christie's Mill Resort docks. Nice dinner last night at this upscale location.

This sign identifying the last of the 45 locks in the canal system. This is the smallest lock in the system which means that they can take fewer boats per lock thru than the others. Last night they had a large backlog of boats so if it had been our desire to keep on going instead of stopping at Christie's, we would have not made it thru this lock before dark. Sooo we made the right decision without knowing it.

The Summer Star behind us just out of the lock. Sally is very happy to be in relatively open water. No more locks. You can see the considerable turbulence in the stream.

.
Looking ahead at the short but narrow channel leading us out. There is not enough room for two boats to pass each other and I was criticized on the radio by a opposing boat that did not understand this. I took my half out of the middle and I am sure he did the same once we were out and he was in.

On the way into the marina, we passed a number of these interesting sailing vessels, also equipped with oars, like a Roman galley ship. When the sails and the masts were down, each side was lined with these oars and the oarsmen put their backs into it. These vessels were from a number of countries as indicated by the flags they were flying on their stern. A number of Scandinavian countries were represented. They were all participating in training and competitive racing.

At the entrance to the marina, at its right hand side is this big silo complex, with a beautiful painting depicting a meeting between a local native and Samuel de Champlain. More information about this and other Midland facts can be found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midland,_Ontario .

The marina office.

Finding this beautiful painting was a treat for me. This is of the long gone Great Lakes cruise ships the SS North American and the SS South American. When I was a teenager, we lived on Grosse Ile, Mi, right on the Detroit River. These two ships would pass our house on their way to their destinations with their loads of cruise passengers. They had the most unique whistles. They made a musical sound like no other vessel on the lakes. You would know that one of these ships was going to pass you long before you could see it.

http://wn.com/SS_South_American_Great_Lakes_Cruise_Ship_Video_Tribute

http://cruiselinehistory.com/?p=9336

The pavillion at the marina. We met lots of Canadians while sitting there and had many an interesting discussion about politics. It turns out that Canadians are just as passionate about their range of poliical views as any US citizen.

Always an event, as usual in the land of our northern neighbors.

A ship used for training and demonstration. It was loaded with young folks. She looks a bit worn.

Same ship, other end.

Local art.

On our way out of the harbor. A better look at the painting on the silo.

Orillia, Ontario Thursday, July 22, 2010 to Port Severn, July 23.

2010-10-28T13:49:00.001-04:00

We are almost thru the Trent-Severn waterway system.

We leave Orillia Thursday morning along with our friends Sally and Ron and travel some interesting and in places, "tight" waterways. We are out of Lake Simcoe. Orillia is associated with Lake Simcoe but to reach it the day before we went thru the "narrows" into Lake Couchiching. Orillia is at the southern end of this north-south oriented lake. Out of Lake Couchiching, we are in the Trent Canal and transit lock 42 and turn west into the Severn River. That takes us to Sparrow Lake. Just before entering Sparrow Lake we go thru a small rock infested/defined cut to the Lauderdale Point Resort for fuel. A nice place to fuel up or stay for that matter.

Pat, with her "travel agent" curiosity, asked the fellow running the gas dock, "what would you recommend for a destination near Port Severn that would be a really interesting place to spend the night? It does not need to be a marina, even better if it is not." He recommended a resort that happens to have a dock called Christie's Mill Resort. "Upscale but relatively reasonable and the staff is great." We made dock reservations for us and also for Sally and Ron.

The next never been done before by us item was the transit of lock 44, the Big Chute "marine railway" lock. This is just what it sounds like, they load your boat on a specially engineered and constructed rail car and the operator and his helper drive the contraption with your boat loaded aboard up and across the road, (crossing gates down of course) and the trip is completed by descending into the water called the "Glouster Pool" on the other side. This was truly interesting and it worked very smooth.

We navigated our way to Christie's and true to what we were told, we had good staff, good facilities and a quality dinner before retiring for the night. One other good thing about Christie's is that it is within sight of lock 45, the last one on the system. Sally among others was ready to hit the big water and escape the sometimes confined feeling that being lock bound for so long can produce.

Some websites to look at if interested.

Trent Severn canal system:   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_Severn_Waterway

Lauderdale Point Resort:     http://www.trentsevern.com/lauderdaleresort.cfm

Christies Mill Resort:           http://christiesmill.com/

Simplified map of area:      http://www.trentsevern.com/charts/severn_locks.gif

A few photos follow-----

Once again, the Summer Star is on her way out, us on her flank

Jammed into the chamber of lock 42

Cottages for every taste and pocketbook.

No more. I promise! But there are so many.

This is for my brother, Tim, who is a retiree of Grand Trunk which until its absorption into Canadian National was a subsidiary short line rail road in the Detroit Area. This track was near the canal for such a short distance that being there when a train was there had low odds.

It just keeps getting tighter!

This is the sign on each side of the road bridge for route 49 at the hamlet of "Hamlet." It is not a heavily trafficked road and when you sound the horn 3 times, you may have to wait a while. Maybe a half hour wait, the bridge operator sauntered in. I think he was at home having dinner.

Just a look at the end turned over the concrete servicing island as we head north looking at the west side of the waterway. This is a condo development sort of by itself.

A sign to advertise the condos. Just in case.

We caught sight of the "Tortuga" back in Orillia. Of interest because she was built by a Chinese maker of high end boats, Marlow Marine. Also of interest because Marlow Marine's entire US operation is within 2 miles of our house in Palmetto. And we saw the Tortuga there maybe last year being finished out.

We came out of the Severn River into Sparrow Lake, inadvertently bypassing the entrance to Lauderdale Resort Marina. Here we have turned back around. The entrance is between all the rocks on the right and the shore where the light colored building is. See why we missed it?

This is looking back into lock 43 (Swift Rapids) midway on the Severn River between Sparrow Lake and the Big Chute marine railway lock, and has a 45 foot drop. Notice the semicircular wall at the upstream end. The entrance gate is at the top of the wall. Big drop, ah?

This is a view of the entire lock complex. The lock on the left, the power generating station in the middle and the dam with one of the sluice gates opened on the right. For some reason the "High Spirits" who shared the lock ride down with has momentarily turned back toward the lock. Notice all the boats entering the lock for the ride up.

Out of the lock and on the Severn River in its relatively natural state. Dug canals have very few marker bouys since the depth and width are relatively uniform. But in a natural river, bouys are necessary because of shoals at bends and at tributary entrances. Note the green marker near the inside curve of the river. Shoaling can be expected on an inside curve. The marker just to the right of the boat is part of that set of markers.

The next few photos are of the marine railway lock. Not really a lock but a transport device to get a boat across a narrow strip of land between two river systems. Note the track. It takes only minutes to motor all the boats onto the railway platform and strap and block them to keep them stable during the ride.

This photo is from a different sequence but it is of the contraption crossing the road going to the water on the other side. Notice the small wheels and notice the three operators at the center top. Also that the crossing gate is down and the small life raft stuck to the side just to the right of the operators. There are several people on board because of the need to load and unload the boats.

There they are at the west side of the journey. The smaller of the two boats is just about to float off but the "contraption" needs to go just a bit further for the larger of the two to float off. It is quick and surprisingly easy.

All this to move a jet ski or two across? They will move it for a little as a single kayak. It will handle up to an 80 footer as I remember what I was told. The operator I talked with said that so far, they have not had a boat as big as it is designed to handle.

This photo has enough detail to point out why it works so well. The floor is slotted and each slot has a number of moveable/retractable stantions for supporting the back ends of the boats. The is a system of straps at the tops of these stantions that "cradle" and stabilize each boat. Each stantion is positioned "on the fly" so to speak to customize the support as required for each boat. I should note, there is a sign at each end of the ride that "disclaims" liability of the Canadian government for any damage caused.

Two other features to point out. Notice there are two track sets. One track set is for the front set of wheels and the other track set is for the rear set of wheels. The track sets each have their own ascent and descent profiles that are arranged in such a way that the "contraption" is always level. The other feature is the cable system that powers the thing (visible between the tracks,) just like what powers the San Fransisco cable cars. The cables are continuous and are routed into and out of the building just visible at the right. The motors and spindles that give the cables motion are in this building.

Time to suck it up and get loaded. The Summer Star went first. Here you can see the two seperate track profiles.

We are loaded, just about to go up. We share the "contraption" with a pontoon boat and a sport boat. The ride up is much less than the ride down in elevation.

We are at the road. Crossing gate is down and away we go!

At the precipice.

Entering the water on the other side. The pontoon boat is about to float.

We are motoring off, looking back. The "contraption that brung us" is already back up the hill. The track offset is visible as well as the cable mechanism between the rails.

Another tiny rock island that sports a cottage.

Another bird of the area.

We motored all day, got "lifted" and "carried" and refueled etc. and here we are here.

A nice resort. And it lived up to its recommendation. See: http://christiesmill.com/

Here we are again, ready to depart--off to the final lock and out into Georgian Bay. How do you like the tight squeeze? Ron docked second. He does have a good eye.

Fenelon Falls Tuesday 7/20/10 to Orillia 7/22/10

2010-10-17T16:19:00.000-04:00

This was a most interesting part of our water travels along the Trent-Severn. We traversed locks 35-41 for a total of 7, a very busy day. Lock 35 took us up an additional 14 feet for to an elevation of 840 feet above sea level. This is the highest point on the system and is the highest point we will reach anywhere on the trip.

Lock 36 was the second of the two lift locks. Its construction was different from the Peterborough lift lock. Instead of the exterior being made from concrete, this one is all open steel construction giving the boater a sensation of being more like on a carnival ride. You felt quit high and quite perched out in the open riding this thing down to the next lower level. It took us down about 59 feet.

The lift lock design was selected for this and the Peterborough lock due to the large rise between the levels of the waterway. A conventional lock just has to contain too much water for this amount of rise and the water pressures involved start to become a design limitation.

We crossed Cameron Lake were lifted to Balsam Lake, then lowered to Canal Lake then transited 5 more locks thru the Talbot River/Trent Canal System to Lake Simcoe, the largest lake in the system. Large enough that mariners are warned to be ready for large storms, winds and waves that can come up suddenly. The locals have the utmost respect for this lake. It is similar in size to Lake Saint Clair of the Great Lakes. My boyhood experiences on Lake Saint Clair tell me that there is truth to what they say about Simcoe.

A short way past the Kirkfield lift lock we reached Canal Lake. It kind of has a long length and a narrow width with a large island at mid length. There they built a road from one side of the lake to the other, using the island for part of the right of way. The bridge was built in 1905. It is called the "Canal Lake Arch Bridge." I think it is referred to as the "hole in the wall" bridge by some local folks. It is the first known reinforced concrete built bridge in Canada. More info on this bridge can be found by visiting: http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_JKL/Plaque_Kawartha16.html

These parts of the Trent Canal system are unforgiving. They were for the most part dug by hand out of the rock that makes up the area. They were very straight and very narrow over long lengths (in one case, a 7 mile stretch) narrow to the point that two vessels can not safely pass each other. The solution to this is to give a radio call prior to entry of the worst of the sections announcing your position and intentions.

The idea was that if there was already a boat making the transit, they would call back and let you know. We never heard a response to any of our "security" calls but it was local knowledge that many boats using the system do not monitor channel 16, the calling channel. We did encounter one oncoming boat in one of the "worst" sections of the channel, but it just so happened that we met in the only "wide spot" in the section so could pass each other without problem.

We were joined by our friends Ron and Sally once again for today's journey. We were a caravan of 2 but sometimes we would pick up a 3rd and sometimes 4th vessel for parts of this day's travel.

We spent two nights at Orillia. Too beautiful and too many folks there having too much fun to leave.

Here is a story that is not uncommon among the "looper" community. The American Great Loop Cruisers Association http://www.greatloop.org/ among other things is a great support orginazation for us all.

It was here in Orillia that that we learned of Pat's father suffering great decline in his health status. An AGLCA harbor host couple was at our marina and happened to hear about what was going on with us. They without hesitation offered their home dock for our use for any amount of time necessary to store the boat and offered to take us to the Toronto airport for travel home . It appeared likely these generous offers might need to be accepted. Fortuantly Papa Joe rallied in his usual fashion and we were able to continue our trip as planned. Papa Joe is at the young age of 102.

Becky and Byron, the official Orillia harbor hosts for the AGLCA, we say heartfelt thank you for these gracious offers of assistance.

For information on Orillia see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orillia

As, always, there is stuff to see along the waterway.

Another "bird of the north."

The "Trent Canal" looking ahead.

A look at the side.

And a look behind.

This looks like an "industrial sized" BBQ set up.

Kirkfield lift lock. This is looking over the nose of the boat, over the nose of the lift lock water container at the ground below.

Looking backward in our 'cacoon" of water. We are about half way down. You can see where the bottom of the "upper" canal is by where the upper door sill is.

The "hole in the wall" bridge.

Ron and Sally about to go thru.

Another nice looking farm. I bet it gets cold here in the winter time.

Crowded, you bet!

Our friends Woody and Judy, aboard the "Osprey" leaving as we are arriving.

Ole travlin buddies done after a long day.

Anyone for Ice Cream?

Or would anyone like to rent one of these for their annual employee appreciation day?

The modern and the classic.

Our two tourists.

Our two tourists, turned shoppers!

A young lad from a neigboring boat with his catch.

A stormy evening sky!

A group of us for a picnic up on shore. Each boat brought up a specialty. Our specialty was me cooking all the burgers on the "ships" propane grill. I did not know I could cook to "high rave" status.

Flowers everywhere.

An interesting way to display the Canadian flag.

The Summer Star has departed to be followed by the Salt Shaker

Bobcaygeon Monday July 19 to Fenelon Falls July 20

2010-10-15T16:18:00.000-04:00

Fenelon Falls is so far one of the prettiest areas we have visited. We tied up at the lock wall, Lock number 34 (second of the two we transited on this leg.) The falls are beautiful, there is an electric generating station there and we were able to share this location with our friends Ron and Sally aboard their "Summer Star."

Our barometer which reads typically 30.00 inches at sea level reads 29.280 here in the "falls" which, if you go by the standard 1 inch loss of barometric pressure per 1000 foot rise, means we are at approximately 720 feet above sea level at this point. We have been lifted all that way by all the locks we have been working our way thru.

For such a small town, so far away from any large metropolitan area, it boasted a grocery store comparable to a good Kroger or a Publix. This for a moment undid some of the time warp we are in the midst of.

Here is a redo of an information website for the Trent-Severn: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent-Severn_Waterway

And for lots of information about Fenelon Falls, look at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenelon_Falls,_Ontario

A few photos:

Kids at play in the waterway.

I wonder what an artist would create from a scene like this.

Our approach to the "falls." The powerhouse is in view but the lock is not.

We are in the lock, being lifted up by the inflow of water from the upstream end. The Summer Star is behind us in the lock. Notice that the doors have a sill underneath them. The sill is at the bottom of the upper level channel. Once we are lifted all the way and the doors open we will motor off in this new channel.

The lock master said we have the perfect place for you to park your boat. Here it is. When we get docked, the back of our boat will be at the stairs and the bow of the boat will be in the bush at the right. Since this is concrete, it has no give like wood pilings have so having your fenders in place is of prime importance to prevent damage to the side of the boat at the end of our approach.

As we approach, it does not look too big or too forgiving.

Made it!

The Summer Star at her wall on the other side of the canal.

One of the fun parts of this waterway is the number of unique boats you run across. This is a really pretty one as she was leaving.

As noted previously, the entire Trent-Severn waterway system is owned by Parks Canada and the whole thing is operated as a park. At each lock are camping areas, picnic areas, areas to fish and places to launch kayaks and other such craft. The entire areas are accessible to the public, including the locks. We have had many people looking over many a lock wall watching us lock thru. As we rise to a point where they can chat, many of them are eager to do so. The entire system is meticulously maintained. There were maybe, 5 groups of campers the night we were there.

A pretty view of a group of cabins for rent.

A typical small business/residence.

And a nice residence with out a business.

A bit of the business district along the wall.

A design feature of almost all locks. Notice that the gates when closed, they are not flat with each other but point a bit inward to the water. This helps hold them closed and secure against what must be tremendous water pressure when the chamber is full. Just look at this one and imagine the pressure.

Our friends Sally and Ron with Frank.

Me and Pat. Notice the building at the left, high up. This is a great restaurant for viewing the falls. Especially if you get a table on the front porch you see there. Oddly enough, the name of it is the "Falls View Restaurant." We went up there and had a couple of brewskies and a great pizza. The view and sounds of the falls from there was captivating and we lingered longer than usual.

The view. The sounds would add a lot if I could include them.

A bit of info found in the restaurant.

Ron and Sally, departing Fenelon Falls, We were right behind them. We were not eager to leave this beautiful place.

Buckhorn, Ont, Sunday July 18, 2010 to Bobcaygeon, Ont. July 19.

2010-10-07T15:16:00.002-04:00

From Buckhorn, we traveled to Bobcaygeon, Ontario, still on the Trent-Severn. Only one lock today, number 32 at our destination. We were accompanied by our friends Ron and Sally aboard their boat, the Summer Star.

Unfortunately as I went thru our photos, I discovered that we took none in or of the town. But I do have a funny story.

At the Center Point Marina in Bobcaygeon we were greeted by a young and full of life dock hand. He tied up our boat as if it was his very own and toured us thru the marina and showed the things they had for sale if needed such as ready to cook steaks and things to go with them.

Center Point Marina did not have a courtesy car available like so many of them do but our dock hand offered to drive us to town (me, Pat, Ron and Sally) and then pick us up at an appointed time at the provincial liquor store. The time came and the time went. And more time came and went. We waited and waited until we decided it was insanity to wait any longer.

So we began our two mile hike back to the marina. After all the walking we did in town. We had all of our purchases etc. We hoofed it along past some nice cottages and wooded areas, (thank you for the wooded areas!) and in an hour or two we were back at our boats.

We expected to find our dock hand there, properly embarrassed for forgetting to pick us up. But, no dock hand. He was nowhere to be found. As it turned out, he did not show up for his shift the next morning to boot.

I would have been worried about this young lad but it was my experience during the years I ran my small business in the US, that frequently, you would have a new hire, young and lively and seemingly very interested in their employment and the work at hand. Then one day they would leave for lunch (usually within 5 days or less of being hired) never to return. No phone contact, no mail, nothing. Since I had experienced this type of thing in my hiring days, it seems that it does not matter, the country, young people just do that sort of thing. My apologies to him if I have any of this wrong.

For info on Bobcaygeon, you can visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobcaygeon,_Ontario

What follows are photos, mostly without comment of some of the scenery we passed along the waterway.

Summer Star doing her thing.

Relaxing with a book on a nice summer afternoon.

We are almost there. The Summer Star at the lock wall waiting to go thru.

This is it from Bobcaygeon. This is the marina taken from the foredeck of the Salt Shaker

Littlefield, Ont Friday July 16, 2010 to Buckhorn, Ont July 18.2010

2010-10-04T08:37:00.001-04:00

We are still working our way thru the canal and locks westward to Port Severn, Ont. We did locks 27 thru 31 and got go Buckhorn Marina late in the day on Friday.

Information about Buckhorn can be looked up at : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buckhorn,_Ontario

The national bird of the north with a boat.

And another

Rentals

Or you may like this.

As we discovered earlier, this part of the country in part of the Canadian shield, which is all granite. There are many cottages like this one on the numerous outcroppings of granite in the waterway.

And for services, you may need to walk on water to get there.

Another cottage on another rocky island. Could this be the pastor's residence?

Now here is a cottage designed by a guy with a sense of humor! Click the image for more detail.

This area is so beautiful!

The image is not really that good. It is a bird on a rock that is just under the water at the side of the channel. I know I have labored a bit much on this point.

We just could not get enough of views like this.

Electric boat. Very understated compared to the fenders and the Canadian flag etc.

Here we are, at Buckhorn. This is the first covered well we were ever in. As you can surmise, I forgot to lower the radio antenna. Lots of noise, yes. Fortunately no damage.

The couple on the "Way of Life" next to us were great neighbors. Lots of fun to talk with.

A parade of houseboats. Rentals with small engines to protect the operators. Just in case any of them happen to be inexperienced.

Buckhorn is home to a great repair and maintenance shop. They were able to repair the middle step leading to our cabin that "big foot," me, stepped on with far too much force and broke it off a couple of days earlier at Lakefield. But their specialty is the repair of propellers damaged by unintentional contact with the granite in the waterway. From this location they cover such repairs for the entire waterway. They repair thousands of props every year. Our good friends Don and Rosie left some $$ here. Their boat with its 5 foot draft is a prime candidate for finding this rocky bottom, and it did. We only missed seeing them by less than a day, they left with their fixed props just before we arrived.

The prop shop currently has 11 techicians and 5 vans to cover their service area. At this particular moment 3 of the vans were apparantly on the road.

The website for the marina is :

http://www.buckhornyachtharbour.com/

If you would like to see the scale of their prop repair operation click on the prop repair button.

Pat relaxing with a favorite book in one of the "park like" areas of the marina.

Even though we missed out on seeing Don and Rosie, other good friends met on the loop did arrive while we were there. Here are Ron and Sally from their boat "Summer Star." We were on hand to help them dock their boat.

Pat and Sally enjoying a romp in the cool waters near the Buckhorn Marina.

Me and Frankie (the dog) aboard the Summer Star. Round in places, Ah?

Ron and Sally and us went to a great Chinese resturant at Buckhorn. The lock on the waterway is right there. And kids being kids were doing what is fun but quite illegal. Swimming in the lock. They could pull it off since it was closed for the night and the staff was not there.

The Cody Inn, Chinese Resturant. The friendly staff at the Buckhorn Marina loaned us one of their cars so we could have an evening on the town. This is an eatery that did not disappoint us. It was great.

Buckhorn was named for this elegant animal.

Peterborough, Ont Wed. July 14, 2010 to Lakefield July 16

2010-10-01T14:16:00.002-04:00

Wednesday, today is the day we depart Peterborough and we get to do the first of the two "lift locks" we will encounter along the waterway. This was an experience for us since we had no idea what to expect. I hope the pictures adequately describe this unique system that raises boats from one water level to another.

The lock story begins with the third photo down.

For information about the lock visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough_Lift_Lock

As we proceed west out of Peterborough, we are getting into "house boat country." There is large industry in this part of Canada that rents these things to both the experienced and the inexperienced. The thing that we noticed was they are equipped with outboard motors for propulsion of such small horsepower that even the most inexperienced user is unlikely to do much damage. That was not said by anyone but we did suspect that this is the strategy.

This was a small tug being put into the water by the cranes you see. This was outside of lock 20 or 21. It was an interesting delay for us.

This is our first close up view of the lift lock. Notice the piston system has the lift chamber on the left pushed up to the upper water level while the lift chamber on the right is at the lower water level. The system uses a clever technique for causing the upper chamber to force the lower chamber up, so the chambers trade positions after all the boats are in them and secured. The process is described in the link posted above. Notice all the concrete work which makes this a most photogenic lock system. And note the red light. This is the signal that the chamber is not yet ready for entry.

A plaque with some interesting facts. This is one of the hundreds of things on display at the lock welcome center where we spent almost an hour before taking our turn to be lifted to the upper canal.

A simplified diagram of the physics that makes the system work.

The piston is huge. The pan full of water with boats weighs some 1700 tons. It is interesting that if there are no boats or 10 boats in the chamber it weighs the same 1700 tons. Archimedes's principle at work.

Yours truly with the Salt Shaker in the background moored at the wall at the welcome center.

A typical garden. Welcome center in the background.

Going toward the low chamber, the one on the right.

In the chamber, looking back at the entrance canal. The door is closed making our chamber water tight, ready to lift with us in it.

Looking at the descending upper chamber, with its piston forcing water into our piston and pushing us up in the process.

Still on the way up, looking out the side of the chamber thru the arch framework at the countryside below.

We are now on the upper channel looking back, having exited the lock chamber that brought us up to this level. The door is already closed. Too bad, we were the only boat in the chamber for this ride. It would have been good if there were companions to help show scale and the fun all participants have when using this lock.

Canoes in the channel, crossing in front of us. Tiny, aren't they!

Getting closer to our destination of Lakefield. This is Trent University as seen thru the very interesting bridge.

More information can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent_University

A view of a different part of TU

Pretty view of one of the narrower sections of the canal.

A view of our marina at Lakefield. The administration building is a redo of the original very old structure that originally was the passenger station and waiting area when this was a steamboat terminal for the area.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakefield,_Ontario for lots of stuff about Lakefield.

Lakefield is on the eastern edge of "granite county" the huge geological formation that is called the Canadian Shield. There is granite everywhere. They make park benches out of the stuff. The rocks we had to avoid in the canals and channels earlier were puny compared to this stuff!

For more info about the Canadian Shield, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Shield

The water in the harbor was clean, clear and not too too cold for a dip. This is right behind the boat. Note the cushion tied to the boat with a light cord. The cushion is part of our coast guard required safety gear. As such it is called a "throwable cushion" which needs to be immediately accessible to throw to someone in case they should fall off the boat into the water. The cord is my idea. If I throw it and I miss the unfortunate chap, I need a way to retrieve it so I can try again. It would also be handy to have a way to pull the "victim" back to the boat. This thing turns out to be very bouyant.

The "captain" was coaxed into the water. Burrrrr!

End of a fun day.

Another sunset that needed to be photographed.

Hastings, Ont Tuesday, 7/13/10 to Peterborough, Ont 7/14/10

2010-09-20T08:19:00.002-04:00

Today we leave Hastings to venture on to Peterborough. Peterborough is a college town and is home to some auto plants and other large plants. They have an excellent marina. This is where we were introduced to a product called Bug-Tek. This is the most effective spider elimination stuff we have ever run across. Unfortunately it is available only in Canada. It is worth the trip just to get a liter of this stuff.

Information about Peterborough can be found on: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peterborough,_Ontario

Sue and Joe aboard their trawler Quixote, passing Hastings as we were just getting underway.

As we noticed earlier, signs is small towns are more for information than for marketing.

Nice boathouse along the way.

This appeared to be one of the early built houses, one that has a stately "farm house" feel to it. Most of everything else we saw near by was probably built on parceled out pieces of the original property that belonged to this particular house.

And one nearby that was not so stately. But it IS for sale.

There were many like this along the way.

A group of waterway buildings.

And just up a ways, what else but flamingos?

Fenders and waves!

It does not need to be elaborate to be a functioning marina.

I bet these folks have kids. (or maybe grandkids?)

Looks sort of like an alligator.

Little Lake Marina harbor entrance at Peterborough.

From the fore deck of the Salt Shaker. Some lucky kids going to get some kayak training.

Sailing lessons for the older kids.

This fountain is near the harbor entrance. It is especially pretty at night when it is lit up. We are back on the waterway.

Campbellford, Ont Monday 07/12/10 to Hastings, Ont 07/13/10

2010-09-19T11:58:00.000-04:00

The trip from Campbellford to Hastings went from noon to about 5:00 PM and involved locks 13 thru 18. There will only be one or two pictures of locks in this set, I promise. Hastings is a little bitty town that boasts a beer store and an ice cream store on our side of the river and most of the rest of the town is on the other side of the river. To get there, you walk across a bridge that is right at lock 18 and then another long bridge that reaches the other shore. Once there you can purchase sandwiches. Sooo- we had it all, beer, ice cream and sandwiches. This was my first time for a Canadian ice cream cone. Ice Cream seems to be a passion for all folks Canadian.

Information about Hastings can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastings,_Ontario

This is a view of, most likely lock 13. We are heading toward the doors which are in the process of opening. There is the dam and associated falls on the left and a power house on the right.

Since there are so many of thest things, I nominate it for the national bird of Canada. I am sure Pat thinks at times that I miss a lot. And I do. She sees lots of things before I do and does not hesitate to point this out. However, when it comes to float planes, I always see them first! No matter how obscured from view they are. This is from my past life as a light plane pilot. Also my dad had float planes during his life.

Scenes like this are one of the many reasons for doing the trip. We could not get enough of it.

There were thousands of these colorful chairs along the waterway.

There were many of these along the waterway. And some even larger.

There was no shortage of small business to serve you along the waterway.

This kind of art is common on the doors of boat houses and such. Like this one, it is all very well done.

Back among the rocks. So far, so good.

This is from the back of the Salt Shaker, moored along the city wall. If you know exactly where to look, you can see Pat walking across the bridge bringing sandwiches from the shop on the other side of the river. The boat with the two fenders hanging down is moored along the "blue line" at the entrance to the Hastings lock. The blue line is where you wait for the next lock opening. It is the same lenght as the lock so all boats that are at the line are assured entry on the next opening. Very little communication between boats and the lock masters is done by radio as it is elsewhere. Along the Trent-Severn it is all visual and position related.

This was our only neighbor at the wall. A Canadian couple with their dog on a multiday ride thru some of their countryside. I think the dog is on the forward deck checking us out. This is in the morning as we were about to depart.

Trenton, Ontario 07/10/10 to Campbellford, Ont. 07/12/10

2010-09-11T12:04:00.002-04:00

These are our first two days exploring Trent-Severn. We are at the extreme east end of the winding back and forth, north and south but ever working its way west canal, river and lake system. The canal system is a part of Parks Canada. Each of the 44 locks includes a public park. They are all very well designed and well managed. People come to them to see the locks, to picnic, to fish and to camp.

There is so much to tell about this beautiful part of Canada that it is easiest for me to put up a lot of pictures of our journey but give a website really goes into the detail.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trent-Severn_Waterway

Once we get turned around, we will head thru the "welcome" gate.

First lock of a set of 5 in fairly rapid succession. Notice how much smaller these locks are compared to those of the Erie Canal system. Since the Trent-Severn never saw commercial service, there was never any pressure to enlarge them as there was on the Erie. The doors for this lock, like most on the system are hand operated. There is a turnstyle type set of handles at each door that the operator grabs hold of and walks around pushing on it, which is what makes one think of a turn style.

After all the description above, here is one of the turn styles that opens the doors.

Out of the set of 5 and we are now "on the system."

Just to throw another lock photo, the is looking at the level we just left and are just waiting for the front doors to be opened so we can motor out.

Everything along the waterway is neat and tidy. Typical of the sign that greets you at each lock.

This is a reminder to stay in the channel. If this is one you can see, how many are there that lurk just beneath the surface.

We are in cottage country. How pretty is this?

We are also in farm country.

This lock 11 of 11 and 12, a set of staircase or "flight" locks. We will be lifted to the waterline in this chamber and once there, they will open the front set of doors and we will then be lifted to near where the top of these and then be let out into that upper level of the waterway.

The Summer Star of Ron and Sally (and of course Frank). They are from Sandusky, Ohio and are doing a cruise from Sandusky via Lake Ontario to the Trent-Severn and then back to Sandusky via Lake Huron and Lake Saint Clair. We have linked up once again here at Campbellford.

I must have just heard a "funny." We are helping Don and Rosie "undock" so they can get a jump on their schedule. We are staying one more night.

"Just Rosie" motors off. Notice the 3/4 size fridge/freezer combo on the screened in portion of the stern deck. It is from the kitchen department at Lowe's. Lowe's honored their delivery policy, even to a boat at a marina. They had fun getting it on board Don tells me.

Pat smiling at me. We are on the bridge that crosses the Trent River at Campbellford. Pretty town.

Also from the bridge. View of the sea wall and park. Notice the large coin among the trees.

This is the "coin." Canada discontinued both their $1.00 and the $2.00 bills. In their place they have the coin for the one dollar amount called the "looney" and the two dollar coin affectionately known as the "tooney." The tooney was designed by Brent Townsand who hails from Campbellford. This statue was erected in honor of that event.

Interesting facts can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coins_of_the_Canadian_dollar

The front window of an antique store. It looks like they have some unique and hard to find items. Good thing for us, It was closed this day.

We chose Campbellford to do a test assembly and launch of our Porta-Bote. If anyone wondered what that surfboard looking thing on the port side of the Salt Shaker is, here is the answer. As you can probably see, I was a little optimistic about the motor. It was actually a freebe that came with a West Marine "blow up" raft. I was curious if it would be adequate to push the "bote." It did a great job pushing down stream. Upstream was a different matter. Lucky, the boat rows good.

Laundry out to dry prior to departure. Note the Porta-Bote is once again folded up and stowed on the port cat walk.

Oswego, NY 7/7/10 to Brighton, Ont 7/7/10 to Trenton, Ont 7/8/10

2010-09-08T18:13:00.003-04:00

We departed Oswego on a beautiful morning and crossed Lake Ontario to Brighton. The distance across the lake was about 67 statute miles and took maybe 3 hours to cross. The seas were uncommonly light, maybe 1 foot becoming 2 feet as we neared Canada.

We cleared customs, long story there, but the Canadian customs people were helpful and we entered the country on terms we were both happy with. The next morning we traveled the short distance from Brighton thru the Murray Canal to the Bay of Quinte and up to Trenton.

Never saw so many weeds in the water. As we neared Trenton, I got the dreaded overheat alarm on the port engine and of course shut that one down. Once at the dock at Fraser Park Marina, we got our heads together with those in the know there (Craig, the most able dockmaster and Dave, a most able mechanic) and decided that we must have picked up some weeds that covered the water intake on that engine. Took apart, examined, a swimmer went under the boat to check for obstructions to the water intakes etc. No trouble found and things were all once again normal. We took this opportunity to have the engine oil changed.

Our first view of the "big lake"

The magic screen. It shows we are making 22.4 knots over the bottom and we are just over a third of the way across the lake.

We were almost all the way across when we caught up with Don and Rosie. Got this picture of them making their way across.

And they got this one of us!

Arrived at our first Canadian dock. Note the yellow quarantine (Q) flag we are flying. It is customary to fly this flag once you are in the waters of a different country destined for one of their ports. Once you clear their customs, you remove it and replace it with a flag of the host country.

All dressed for Canada.

Jeni (of Bill and Jeni) who own and manage the marina. A great restaurant they have there. Lots of people from the locality also enjoy it.

When you are in a really small town, there is likely not more than one of anything. So signage does not need to be creative, just informative.

And if you need gas, it is here.

This is the HQ and restaurant of Bill and Jeni's marina. Very well laid out facility and is very unique in the area. The single word "cafe" makes it very inviting.

Another shot by Don. We are on the Murray Canal, just about to pass thru an opened bridge for which there is a $5.00 toll. Here is the bridge tender with his collection basket at the end of the long pole. Pat said to the bridge tender "there is a religious feeling to this." He laughed at the idea and asked her if there was anything she needed to confess. Then he noticed we had the season pass for the canal system and told us we could take the $5.00 bill back because the sticker covered the bridge as well as the canal locks etc.

Don and Rosie's boat against the far wall. Craig, like any good dockmaster/manager at a popular marina such as Fraser Park needs to get boats as efficiently packed in as possible to make the best possible use of the dock space. It may not be evident but the bow pulpit of the Just Rosie is overhanging the swim platform of the boat at the left and the swim platform of "Just Rosie is only about two feet from the seawall that the sailboat is against. The remarkable thing about this is that Craig took only a quick look at the "Just Rosie" and scarcely looked at the space and determined with the confidence of an aviator that it would fit.

Speaking of the boat to the left of "just Rosie" these are the props the owner of this boat has been waiting a long time for to replace the ones that need to turn the other way to be correct. Turned out these are the same wrong way! Lots more waiting I expect. These are big props. These are expensive props!

Canada has public parks everywhere there are people. This is one of the gardens of the one associated with Frazer Park. They are all manacured to the 9's. Very pleasant to be around.

We had the good fortune to be docked behind the Summer Star, a pretty motor yacht from Sandusky, Ohio. this is Ron (of Ron and Sally) with Frank.

This is a night view of the Bridge over the Trent River at night. This has wetted our appitite to get going in the morning.

Brewerton, NY to Oswego, NY 7/6/10 to 7/7/10

2010-09-07T20:08:00.003-04:00

Oswego is at the end of the connector Oswego Canal which connects the Erie at about it's midpoint to Lake Ontario. From Brewerton, it is just a few miles to the Oswego Canal and then north to the "big lake."

We depart Brewerton and pass "Just Rosie" at the fuel dock.

Boy, you CAN'T get lost, can you.

This looks like fun!

At some places the waterway receives water----

At other places it donates water.

We are at the north end of the Oswego River/canal system. This is a sign that greats boaters who enter the system from Lake Ontario.

An interesting boat moored beside a large motel, just south of the Oswego Marina we were headed for.

Another dock, the last one in the US for some time to come. Tomorrow we will be in Canada.

Boaters have a never ending sense of Humor!

View of part of Oswego from the harbor.

This is part of the US gov't heavy equipment. First time we were near enough a border area to see one of these machines. What is not evident is the amount of horsepower he is packing. There are four ea 275 horsepower Mercury motors attached to his transom. How fast can he go? I bet that is classified. We saw another such boat equipped with five ea 250 horsepower Yamahas. A total of 1250 horse power! This ought to intimidate even the most serious bad guy. Now, are there any of these on the Rio Grande?

Pat always likes it when I put in a picture of a great sunset.

Here is a sailboat getting its mast reinstalled, called "stepping the mast," likely after a return from the NY canal system where the bridges are too low for a sailboat with its mast in place.

We have left the dock @ Oswego and are headed for Canada. Pat is making things shipshape for the Lake Ontario crossing.

Little Falls NY to Brewerton NY Sat 7/3/10 to Tue 7/6/10

2010-09-06T19:58:00.001-04:00

We left Little Falls in the morning and did locks 18 thru 22 for a total of 5 more, crossed Lake Oneida and found ourselves in a zoo of boats full of 4th of July revelers in and around the lake. We tied up at Winter Harbor Marina at Brewerton, just behind our friends aboard the "Just Rosie." We were treated to a spectacular 4th of July fireworks display on Sunday and on Monday Don and Rosie rented a car and we all went on a side trip to Niagara Falls.

As a note, Winter Harbor Marina is one of those "class acts" in the set up and operation of a full service facility.

The canal, a short distance from Little Falls heading toward lock 18.

Settled into lock 18 for the ride up.

Looking back after lock 18 successfully negotiated.

Yup! Here is the evidence. The NY Turnpike authority does indeed own the canal system.

Some maintenance work being done on the canal.

Another guard gate. See what I mean about the spooky feeling going thru/under one?

The crowd of boats at the town of Syvlan Beach, at the east end of Oneida Lake. The crowd of boats we had to get thru at the west end of Oneida lake to get to Brewerton was considerable more packed. It took us only about an hour to cross Lake Oneida.

This is our full time neighbor at our dock at Winter Park Marina @ Brewerton, when they were not out on patrol. We enjoyed our particular dock as we had the opportunity to talk to the deputies several times. They were a really nice bunch of young fellows in the Sheriff department. They always laughed when upon leaving for the night I would volunteer to keep an eye on their boat.

One of our better images of the fireworks display Sunday evening as seen from our dock.

We are on our way to Niagara Falls. We are crossing the South Grand Island Bridge onto Grand Island.

So many pictures of beautiful Niagara Falls it is really hard to choose. We liked this one too.

This looks like fun. Since this was a 4th of July weekend, the park was really packed. This is the Maid of the Mist taking its next load of ponchos to get wet.

The newly weds at Niagara Falls

One of the Niagara River feeders to the falls.

The roar was considerable.

This is the view of the falls from the Canadian side. Better for panoramic shots. We walked across the Rainbow Bridge to get there, passports in hand.

Back on the American side of the falls. Statue of Nickola Tesla, inventor and mathematician. Tesla is not as well known as Thomas Edison but here is why maybe he should be. Edison was not a mathematician so could only invent by intuition and experiment. Tesla had a full grasp of mathematics and was able to predict the behavior of alternating current electricity. Edison could only work with direct currents which are much simpler and the principles of DC are more easily grasp by intuitive methods.

Big war of the currents but Tesla, who left Edison and went with Westinghouse Electric, prevailed in the financial world to make the new Niagara Falls electric generating plants so they would produce alternating current electricity instead of direct current, a much better choice.

The irony here is, as there often is, is that Westinghouse Corp. became extinct over the course of what is called "creative destruction" in the business world while, General Electric, which was created by a combination of two companies, one of which was founded by Edison is today, a corporate power house.

www.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_Currents

This is Pat returning from a successful day of shopping with "the cart." Ok, Mark and Sylvia, this is how these things are loaded!

The captain got up from his easy chair to take the previous photo. After that it was take down the grill, put the chair away and prepare the boat for travel to our next stop.in just a few hours.

Amsterdam to Little Falls NY Thursday July 1 to Saturday July 3,2010

2010-09-05T17:50:00.002-04:00

This was our part of the trip that took us thru locks 11-17, 7 in all. It was after lock 16 that we were really out of the Mohawk River and into a canal type environment. Little Falls is where there is a rapids that drops 60+ feet over the distance of about a half mile. Version 2 of the Erie canal used 4 locks to raise boats over this rise in water elevation. We are in the era of version 3. The 4 locks were replaced by a giant new one, number 17 in today's numbering system.

View of the Beech-Nut facility on the south shore of the Mohawk. This picture is for Frank.

We are behind Lock 16 and the Mohawk and the Canal portion of the Erie Canal have gone their separate ways. Here is the top of a dam at the side of the canal that allows surplus water to flow the few feet down to the Mohawk. There are a series of danger markers identifying the hazard such as the one in the picture.

Don and Rosie's "Just Rosie" entering the downstream gate of No. 17. Notice there are no swinging doors here. It uses a guillotine type gate that is hidden by the concrete structure that the Just Rosie is motoring beneath to enter the lock. This lock takes you up 40.5 feet. One of the highest lifts for any lock and the highest on the New York Canal System.

www.nycanals.com/Erie_Canal_Locks_2

We have the Salt Shaker settled in for the 40.5 foot lift. Pat and Don are discussing the fine points of catching the lines off the lock wall. And notice where we are going to leave out of the upper gate. The bottom of the upstream canal is at the junction of the top of the concrete and the bottom of the swing gates.

Looking back thru the way we came in. Note the guillotine style door. You get water dripped on you if you pass thru the opening just after it was raised. Entering is a sail boat with the mast removed and stored on deck followed by the Woody and Judy aboard the "Osprey"

We are all in, gates closed and water will pour in from the opposite side. That is why we are all on the side you see. We will rise up to the reddish line at the top of the concrete.

Safely moored at Little Falls. Nice facilities there.

Work boats for maintenance of the canal system, property of the NY canal authority. Actually the canal system was sold to the turnpike authority in order to make the state look like the deficit it had was less than it actually was during the period where it was possible for the state of NY to go bankrupt. Sort of money gerrymandering. As told to me by a fellow whose profession had him deep in the recesses of that era.

Guard gates. These are there to be able to regulate water levels in the canal for emergencies, failures or maintenance. The water can actually be drained from the canal for winter if desired. It feels funny motoring beneath them. Like maybe this is not the thing to do?

www.eriecanalway.org/Gallery-Structures/gallery-pg06.htm

Pat on her bicycle in front of the admin building for the marina. We did an extensive tour of the area by bicycle. It was very good for the muscles, etc.

Lots of good bike pathways associated with the canal system. This leads off to lock 17 and and to the remains of old lock 36.

These are the remains of lock 36, one of the original 4 that did the work of #17. You can see the difference in sizes. This one looks like a toy.

One more photo of #17. Discharging water, lowering the boats inside. They will emerge once all the water is out and they raise the gate.

Story here. The lady who was registering us into the marina asked me to make sure we visited the General Herkemer house. I asked her which war he was associated with and she expressed "shock" that I did not know who he was. I said I was familiar with General Washington, General Grant, General Lee, General Eisenhower etc. but not General Herkemer. I promised her that when I saw her again I would be more knowledgeable, which I was. We did not get over to see the house.

View of much of the town of Little Falls from the highway bridge that took us from the marina area to the town area over the canal and the railroad tracks.

Same bridge. Looking at some old factory buildings, we wondered what was their future. Once over there and we got a look, we discovered they had been acquired by some upscale art folks who have turned at least one of them into an art center.

Notice the shopping bags on Pat's rear wheel basket. When we were done in town and on our way back to the boat we had so much cargo from our grocery and beer store shopping slung from all handle bars and in the baskets the bicycles were almost to unstable to ride. We walked them much of the way.

Schenectady Yacht Club 06/30/10 & 07/01/10 to Amsterdam NY

2010-09-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

We are still on the Mohawk River portion of the Erie Canal. This day's travel took us to the Town of Amsterdam, NY where we stayed at the Riverlink Park Marina. The marina and restaurant are leased from the city by a nice young couple named Renee and Bob. This is a project they are undertaking at a youngish age and I think they will do well. They put lots of planning and effort into the venture while we were there.

To give an idea of what floats down the Mohawk. This is what accumulated at a support for a bridge we went under shortly after leaving the SYC.

Abandoned factory on the south shore of the Mohawk. Assuming a town was built around this shuttered operation, one wonders what that community is now like.

One of the many small highway bridges crossing the Mohawk. This one has the channel markers done differently than I have seen them. Notice there as a green marker on the left pillar and both a green and a red on the middle pillar and a red on the right pillar. Normally this would have only the green and the red markers on the center pillar and the right pillar only indicating that up bound traffic should proceed thru the right hand opening. The assumption is that the other side of the bridge would be properly marked on the left hand opening for downbound traffic to use.

This kind of scenery is one of the delights of the trip.

From the dock at Riverlink Marina looking at an old mill on the north shore of the river. Same question applies to this factory as was posed a few pictures up.

This is one of a side by side pair of towers/observation platforms that lead up to the walkway you see at the left side. At the right is the marina office and the restaurant set up for entertainment and outside dining.

This is the walk way (lenghty) that crosses a double set of very active railroad tracks and leads to the roof of a largely shuttered mall. The other end of the walkway is locked after dark. I did find a "hip pocket" sized empty whisky bottle lying about at the top of the left tower. I did all a favor and disposed of it.

View down of our end of the marina dock from one of the towers.

Pat with laundry basket. Wonder where she is taking that?

As we were leaving Amsterdam, we managed to get a picture of the Osprey. Notice the name of the dingy. We had been locking thru many of the locks with this couple from Maine. We finally got to meet them at Riverlink. Their names are Judy and Woody. Woody bought the hull surplus from the navy. He built this boat out of it.

Entering the Erie Canal--Waterford to Schenectady Yacht Club on 6/29/10

2010-09-03T18:37:00.005-04:00

The Erie Canal begins where the Mohawk River joins the Hudson. The Mohawk is navigable for long stretches but has a number of rapids and falls that need to be bypassed by locks and short man made canals. Much of what is referred to as the "Erie Canal" is really the Mohawk River for the eastern portion.

This a view inside lock E2 (the first lock in the system) looking back to the Waterford Welcome Center dock where we had spent the night. The downstream gates are still open and the boat you see is getting situated. This is the typical boat and the typical crew. The captain at the helm and his admiral on the bow catching hold of one of the many "slimy" lines hanging from the "slimy" lock wall. Once she gets hold of hers, he then shuts down the engines, leaves the helm, goes below to the back deck and catches the one most convenient to him and now the boat is ready to take the ride up as the doors are closed and the chamber filled to the level of the upper stream.

Lock E2 is the first of the set of 5 locks referred to as the "Flight of Locks." These locks take the boater up a total distance of 169 feet in just one half mile of distance. This is the highest lift over the shortest distance of any canal system in the world. Once you pass into the first of the five locks, you are comitted to do all of them as there is no place to stop in the spaces between them.

For more information, here is a pretty good source: www.nycanals.com/Erie_Canal_Locks#Lock_E2

The boat pictured is more typical of a loopers boat than ours. His is a trawler style boat. Ours is an express cruiser. The trawler style has much more interior room than the express and has much more living space. Great for entertaining as well. The advantage of the express cruiser is that it is much faster and can cut the travel time where it makes sense. They are also very good at handling various sea conditions.

Looking forward in Lock E2, my admiral has her line "in hand" and I have the engines shut down and I have my line "in hand." The reason for the engine shut down is to prevent the build up of exhaust gasses in the chamber that would otherwise occur.

The Shekinah ahead of us spent the previous night at Waterford where we were. She is an example of a "catameran" type boat. The two hulls house the engines in the rear and the sleeping quarters forward of them. The main deck house is ahead of the helm and houses a large salon and the galley and the other fun things that most boats have. Catamerans have many advantages, they are fuel efficient and they are stable in a variety of sea conditions. But they are wide and many dock slips are too narrow to accomodate them.

View going into the next of the "flight of locks." Notice the water squirting out from between the closed doors at the far end. There is a lot of water pressure on the doors from the head of water that is on the other side. Any imperfection that the water finds results in a pretty forceful steam.

This is the water falling over the top of a very long dam at Lock E7. This is the sum total of the water flow down the Mohawk near its lower end, less the small amount that is used to operate the lock and less any amount that is flowing thru a power station that may be located in the vicinity. The lock is just to the left of the photo, the trees mark the right side of the entrance to the lock. You can see that the water flow from the dam sort of makes a left turn toward the lock entrance. This is typical. The turbulance created, in many cases makes entering the low side of the lock difficult or at least interesting.

Camera swung toward lock entrance.

Yes! There was a power plant associated with the dam. Another clue from the previous two pics were the power lines visible crossing the river.

An impressive building (residence?) we saw on the north shore of the river/Erie Canal.

View of the Schenectady Yacht Club docks from our position at the dock. This is where we spent Tuesday night. This yacht club was unique in that you did not have to be a member of this or any other yacht club to use their facilites. Very nice. Dock manager was also very nice. He loaned me his car so I could go a couple of towns over to purchase a new boat pole at a marine store there. I lost one at lock E7 trying to violate some law of physics. They are important to have in the locks because they make it much easier to capture the lock line you are going to need to hold the boat with.

Skulling, there is a lot of it in the rivers. This is looking at the south shore of the river from the SYC.

A view from our dock just prior to departure of the some of the remains of the Rexford Aquaduct. This was an early system of an original version of the Erie Canal System of the early 1800's. Lots of info at this website: http://www.eriecanal.org/MohawkAqueducts.html . This was a system like the Romans created where water went over water.

This is what is left of the aquaduct on the other side of the river. The engines are running. We are about to depart.