Trent Severn Waterway July 26 - August 2

by Ed Herndon

Our trip from Niagara Falls to Omemee started just fine. Although we were traveling in separate cars we all managed to find wineries along the way. We visited Crown Bench Estates and spent an hour tasting their wines. Peter Kocsis, proprietor/ wine maker, is one of several Kocsis brothers and cousins in Niagara who are making their mark in wine. We got a Free Education in wine making and learned about icewine. We also bought a few bottles of wine.

All the way from Hamilton through Greater Toronto we were in heavy thunderstorms and bumper to bumper traffic. It was not until we got up on the plateau away from Lake Ontario that the rain let up.

We arrived at Egan Marine before the other two car loads. This gave Marion and me time to survey the boats we were renting for the next week. Marion was in shock. Even I, who had spent five years of austerity in a monastery, felt disappointed.

The boats were smaller than expected and there were only three interior doors: One door lead to the Single Head/Lavatory/Bath and Shower. The other two doors were on the Hanging Closet.

The forward section of the boat had two couches that folded down to make beds. The aft section had a dinette that made into a double sized bed. The problem was the cushions were not deep enough to completely fill the space and there was about a six inches of space which tended to work its way to either your hips or your shoulders.

Privacy was provided by a curtain amidships, unless you wanted to spend the night in the Head or the Hanging Closet.

Soon after our inspection, the crowd arrived, and all repeated the same survey. I ran for cover. I was in fear of Mutiny.

Participants by boat:
            Hank and Sue Knippa, Granola II and Roy and Carol DeFee, Sunk Funds
           Marvin and Marion Briton, Time Out and Mickey and Carla Murphy, Warthog
            Ed and Marion Herndon, Remedy and Drs. Chris and Mary Stipp, my daughter and her husband

This was clearly a step down from the relatively modest accommodations we had survived last fall on the French Barge Canal.

Sue suggested renting motel rooms and just using the boats to travel. We were all at our Grouchy best when someone, I think it was Marvin, observed, .." that we all had good times in the past, on much more austere small sailboats." That broke the Ice and the first of many bottles of wine was opened. We resolved to Party Our Blues Away and Spend the first night as planned at the marina.

In the morning there was an emergency provisioning foray to the WalMart in Peterborough. Roy and Marion bought Egg crate cushions to make the dinette beds more comfortable. All were in high spirits.

We then waited for the fog to rise before leaving at around 1100.

We Checked Off two Boxes on Day One:

Find the WalMart,

Find the LCBO,

Buckhorn Lock July 27

We were about an hour up Pigeon Lake. The lower end of the Lake is Shallow and Grassy. We never went aground but the boat slowed from 5 mph down to 4 mph with no change in RPM's. They said this might happen... Grass gets hung on the prop... I idled back and went into reverse... then forward... then reverse.. then forward and up to 2100 RPM. The boat moved up to 5.2 mph.

I was glad that I brought my GPS and put in waypoints and routes for our trip. That way I knew where we were at all times and could easily locate us on the Charts that came with the boat. That's also how I knew we were slowed down by the Grass.

"Honey, stop fooling around with the GPS and steer the boat," said Marion, "you are all over the place."

"OK," I said, "I sure do miss the auto pilot."

Time Out was ahead and had already made the turn into Buckhorn Lake. We were back at the Gannon Narrows Bridge. Sunk Funds was behind us about 400 yards.

We were being observed.

"There is a group of three coming our way." said OPP#2.

"Anything unusual?" asked OPP#1

"They are spaced out more than a normal convoy, and the one in the middle is weaving around."

"That's enough evidence... I'll pull into that cove, and we will wait for them." said OPP#1, "Keep them in sight."

Marion came forward with a Bloody Mary. "Here, honey, is a helping of Vitamins in your own special Barney Mug." It was made with a pickle spear instead of a celery stalk. The mug was one of a set of four different colored plastic drink glasses with a cup handle . Mary dubbed it the Barney mug due to its vivid purple color.. These were $1 WalMart specials from the mornings emergency run.

I took a sip and said, "Thank you very much. That is very refreshing. By the way, store the liquor bottles out of sight. It is an offense to consume alcohol aboard watercraft."

I got back to steering the boat and corrected our heading to the GPS Route. As I looked up there was a power boat coming at us at high speed. It went right past Time Out and would soon be rocking us with his wake. At a range of about 25 yards the boat suddenly cut speed and the bow dipped.

"Its The Cops." I hollered to the crew. "They are coming to check us out. Dump your drinks"

It was the Ontario Provincial Police OPP. They passed on the port side just as I dumped my drink out the starboard window.

They circled our boat, turned on the big Blue Gum Ball Light and signaled for us to stop.

We offered a line so they could tie off. "No line needed," said OPP#2 as she firmly gripped our bow rail.

"Will you be boarding?" I asked.

OPP#1 cut the engine and he came forward to conduct the Investigation. "No need for us to board; we just have some questions."

Marion quickly sensed that this was going to be a friendly encounter and said. "Would you like something to drink or perhaps a cookie?"

OPP#2 tactfully declined this gratuity, "Thanks for the offer but we are on duty."

OPP#1 asked: Where are you from?... Texas...
Are you in a group? ... Yes, Three boat loads all from Texas...
Were you trained in the rules of waterway operation?.... Yes, and I produced my certificate of attendance at the EGAN safety briefing.
Good Course? .. Yes, Very well done, I even attended a second time with the late arriving crew.
Then you are aware of our Liquor Laws... Yes, sir, that part was quite clear.

"Welcome to Ontario, and have a safe trip" he smiled and said, "we will be off now."

He started his 250 HP outboard, turned off the Blue light, and did not move up on plane till he was well clear of us.

The other boats in our party were idling nearby while all this was happening. When we resumed both Hank and Marvin got their shots at me on our walkie talkie network: "Ed, what do you do to attract Cops?" "I think he was attracted by your Winding Wake?"

"Well, I came here to check off some Boxes, and this is the First time in forty years of boating that I have been stopped on the water." I explained, " I think he just came by to check my box."

Stopped by the Ontario Provincial Police

We arrived late afternoon at the Buckhorn lock. I went in to scout for available places to tie up for the night. There was one spot vacant and I took it immediately. Forward of my location on the wall there was a small boat pulling out. I paced it off at 14 paces... that ought to hold a 40 foot boat ... I called Granola to come on in. It was a bit of shoe horning but with encouragement from the crowd we got her in.

Both sides of the channel were full so Time Out picked an anchoring spot in the lake and waited for a call.

I went to see the lock master. "Hi," I said, " I'm the captain of Remedy.. Were you working this lock two years ago?"

"Yes," he replied, " why do you ask?"

"When I came through, I gave you a beer coozie with the inscription 'Stolen from Remedy' and I wondered if you remembered the event."

He said, "As a matter of fact I remember you had a big yacht... Didn't recognize you coming on a houseboat.... Even got your card.... it's still up in the office."

"Well we just had to come back, so we brought three boatloads of Texans with us." I said. " We are in those two boats over there and I wonder if you could help us get our third boat a spot with us for the night."

"It's all first come, first gets... but those little boats on this side will not be staying much longer. They are the afternoon Ice Cream cone crowd." then he added, "Call your other boat and tell them to get ready... This lock is coming up right now and will be clearing to take boats down in about five minutes... The wall will probably open up."

His advice worked and we were able to get Time Out a spot on the wall.

It was almost Five and time to Party.

"You can go looking like that," said Marion, "put on a nice shirt."

"Right, this is not befitting a Cruise Leader." I answered, as I stepped onto the stern of the boat. I stripped off my Tank top in the Galley, and went forward to the Hanging Closet. There I found my long sleeve beige shirt on the third hanger from the end. I was putting it on as I moved forward into the salon.

"What are you doing with my shirt?" exclaimed Carol DeFee. She was standing near the front door with Roy.

"What do you mean," I said. "This is my shirt?"

"It is not," she said more emphatically, "and Take it Off."

Then things became a bit more clear, although the shirt came from precisely where I hung it, the sleeves were a bit short,. Then I realized I was not on my boat but Roy and Hank's. This was Carol's beige shirt.
I blushed and apologized, but they had me red handed.

I was caught in the act of Cross Dressing, and at the party that evening I was introduced as a latent Transvestite.

Daily Tally: 17 Nautical miles --- No locks.

Lakefield July 28

We were all up and ready for Buckhorn lock's opening at 8:30. The Scenery get better and better as you go along.

In the next few hours we did the locks at Lovesick and Burliegh Falls.

The waterway is more rock strewn as you move to the narrows between the lakes.

Shown Right is the entrance to Hells Gate. The channel is well marked, but large boulders lurk on both sides of the waterway. It is too narrow for two boats to pass in some of the bends.

St. Andrews Church is at the downstream end of Hells Gate. It was Sunday, and an Outdoor service was in Progress.

We were Greeted by Santa on his modern PWC Sleigh.

Greeted by Santa on a PWC, at a Church, in Hells Gate.

On we went to Young's Point Lock. It was highly recommended as a place for us to tie up on our way back. We sent a landing party ashore to Check out the Neighborhood while we were going down in the lock.

Once underway we picked up the landing party and moved on.

" Ponpon, Ponpon, Hello TMCA Cruisers, Your Cruise leader Has Zero Oil Pressure. I am shutting down the engine... Come Help."

It was a bit of a Keystone Kop Act, but Marvin and Mickey of M&M Towing, came to the rescue.

When I checked the oil that morning, there was plenty. But I do remember using a lot of four letter words trying to re-insert the dipstick.

The tube was loose and jury rigged with a coat hanger wire to the Intake manifold. The engine block end probably came completely out when I was cursing the dipstick. There was oil everywhere but in the engine.

Mickey found the problem and deftly jammed the tube back in the engine block. He used fresh coat hanger wire to jury rig the top end. We used all the spare motor oil from the two boats to fill the engine.

"There," he said, "it is done."

Check off: Unplanned Engine Repair in Mid Channel

BLOOP!

"What was that?" asked Mickey.

"I'm afraid ..." I said, "that's the sound your pliers made, when I knocked them into the lake."

We made Lakefield by mid afternoon.

Tied up at Lakefield

We did serious Provisioning at the IGA and LCBO. The ladies did a great pot luck dinner.

Notice: Marion never moved from one picture to the next.

Daily Tally: 18 miles --- four locks

Peterborough July 29

"And now ladies and gentlemen, This is the day we do the Peterborough Hydraulic Lock: One of only seven in the world. It is the tallest but not the oldest." I said with a flourish. "It is the BIG ATTRACTION on the waterway."

The waterway for the next eight miles to Peterborough follows the Otonobee River. We go through seven locks and descend from 774 feet to 606 sea level. This 168 foot drop includes the 65 foot drop at Peterborough lock 21.

As you approach, It appears to be the edge of the world.
Top of the world

When you get into the big bath tub you can see Sue 65 feet below.

Sue Below

Here is what Sue saw from Below.

The boats ride down smoothly, cradled in their big tubs.
This is Warthog/Time Out riding down with us.

One of the favorite local attractions is a paddle wheeler that takes passengers up and down the two locks at Peterborough

At Left The Paddle Wheeler takes up half of lock 20. Two of our boats and two other boats round out the load.. I'm standing atop Granola

Below: The paddle wheeler has completed its descent. The near side tub is ready to deliver its load at the top.

Boat rising

.

The Trent Severn Waterway Museum is at the foot of the Peterborough Lock. Great exhibits of the construction are featured. Also a 30 minute story about the waterway system.

Do Peterborough Lock

At the Peterborough City Marina we fueled up our boats and got set for the night.

No sooner settled, than we got two hours of drenching rain .

Nothing like rain to create a party... you huddle together on one boat, and drink up all the wine from three boats.

We decided that one night in Peterborough was enough. The festival of lights was not for two more days so we planned to start back the next morning.

Mickey and Marion playing in the rain.

Daily Tally: 8 miles 7 locks

Young's Point July 30

We had planned on an early departure because there was a long way to go. When I went to check out at the marina office the harbormaster said, "I got a call from the lock, they are down for repairs until noon."

I carried this message to the others. "Noon?" said Hank.
"Noon!", said Marvin.
"Noon#@%", said Roy.
"Is there an echo?," said Mickey.

Sue solved the problem, "It's OK, we can just go shopping."

Turned out all right.There was time for Hank to get, "a real breakfast with bacon and eggs."

There was also time for us to go to the drug store and buy Claritin Over-the-Counter, AND there was a special Two for One Introductory Coupon!!

On this Deal we bought Claritin for 46 cents per pill. In the US, Eckerd charges $3.07 a pill retail, $2.35 with the Eckerd Discount plan. For the quantity we purchased, we saved $204. Not Bad for a couple of hours waiting for the lock to get repaired.

We left promptly at 11:30 and managed to get into the second batch of boats being locked through. Warthog did not make our batch because the paddle wheel tour boat was allowed to pass before them.
The picture above shows the Tour Boat in the lock with us; it was actually taken on our return passage. Remedy and Granola went on through the next 4 locks before Warthog caught up.

See explanation of how Warthog caught up.

Our day was pretty long because we stopped for more wine at Lakefield before heading on up to Young's Point. By now Warthog was the lead boat. Mickey and Marvin went ahead to scout out the docking situation. When we arrived the news was not good. Warthog was above the lock but there was no more room up there. Remedy managed to sweet talk a few small boats to retie and make room on the downstream wall. Then a break came at the next cycle of the lock. Two small boats pulled forward and we secured a spot for Granola.

Along the way we discussed dinner. Marion looked up Young's Point in the cruising guide and the General Store caught her eye. They advertised home maid pies and pizza. All agreed with this idea... no cooking tonight... Pizza and Cold Canadian Beer... Our heads, hearts, and appetites were set on it.

"Pizza Menu Please," Marion said to the cashier.

"Sorry, madam, but we don't do pizza any more, just our pies." to be helpful she said, "but we do carry frozen pizzas."

"I'm afraid we have no way to cook them." Marion explained, "we are on a houseboat with no oven."

"It will take a half an hour, but we will cook it for you," she said pointing to her oven behind the counter.

And so we did get Pizza and Beer, and it was very Good. They cooked it free of charge, and loaned us the Pizza pan and a big knife to cut it with too.

After dinner we walked across the dam and looked at the schools of giant Asian Carp that swim beneath the dam. These carp are three to five feet long. They eat large quantities of plankton to the detriment of the native fish. Since they have no local predators they may ultimately take over the Kawartha Lakes. It's a frightening thought.

Daily tally: 13 miles 7.33 Locks (one on top, two below)

Viamede Resort July 31

The resort is recommended as a great place to go on Wednesday nights. There is a buffet dinner and an after dinner show, that night pair of standup comedians.

We decided to live it up that evening . The trip was a very short run back up through Hells Gate and a turn into Stoney Lake. It is fine old resort with good facilities.

Those staying in the Marina have full use of the pool, sauna, health club, small boats, bicycles and more.

Here we are at the Docks

Ed Canoes on Lake

In the distance there is a Dinghy with a canoe on one side and a swimmer on the other side.

Ed Goes Swimming in the Lake

Followed by

Carla Murphy gets the credit for the lovely sign.

It captures the moment.

It speaks volumes.

Photo from the Roy DeFee Collection.

Here are all twelve in one picture.

Dinner at Viamede Resort.

Left to right:
Marvin and Marion Briton
Mickey and Carla Murphy
Roy and Carol DeFee
Sue and Hank Knippa
Marion and Ed Herndon
Dr. Mary Herndon and Dr. Chris Stipp

Daily Tally: 6 miles 2/3 lock

Bobcageon Aug. 1

Our last full day was not the best.

We went back through Hells Gate and through the last three locks. Instead of going South in Pigeon lake to the home base, we went North to Bobcageon. This medium sized town is home to the Kawartha Dairy: by reputation they produce the finest Ice Cream in the region. The lock is also the first one built on the waterway.

We arrived at mid afternoon and were unable to find a suitable place to dock. We found a small Marina in the cruise guide and called about space and fuel. They had both. It was located about three miles further North in Pigeon Lake.

There was nothing to do if you didn't fish. No traffic to watch on the waterway. No place to shop.

We decided to cook every last thing in our provisions and have a grand pot luck dinner.

That evening just as we were getting settled in we were treated to some of the most spectacular lightning strikes I have ever seen. At first they were in the distance. Later they moved right over us. The full fury of the storm had winds of 45 to 50 knots. Our boats were well tied to the floating docks but the stresses of three house boats all being blown by the wind made me worry for the docks.

The storm passed in less than an hour.

Ride out storm in a Houseboat.

Day Tally: 28 miles 3 locks

Egan Marine Aug 2

Shortly after everyone was awake we decided the party was over, and it was time to head for greater adventures.

We raced back to Egan Marine, turned in the boats, picked up our rental cars and split. The Remedy Gang went to Orillia. The others went to Toronto. All made it safely home.

Critique on Accommodations:
Along the way we saw some more spacious houseboats. They had better and more private sleeping . That was our main complaint about the Egan boats. They are fine for a couple or a small family. Will shop around more the next time.

Last box:

A great time with best of friends