Georgian Bay - Part 2

Other Loopers have often told us that "the best is yet to come" in describing Georgian Bay and the North Channel. We did not give it much thought because we were enjoying where ever we were at the time ... but we have to admit now that it's true. We saw far fewer cottages as we cruised to our anchorage in the Bustard Islands. We took the dinghy up this back channel with beautiful rock shores ...

... huge boulders and the pine trees grow right up out of them.

Steve found a wild blueberry patch and we had blueberry pancakes with Nan and Jack.

The next day we had an 18 mile open crossing with flat water and blue skies. We entered Collins Inlet, a 10 mile long narrow cut at the top of Georgian Bay. The rock walls were even higher...

... and higher.

... and the passages were narrow. I took a very short video and it's at the end of this entry.

The town of Killarney, Ontario is an old fishing village in the channel that connects Georgian Bay with the North Channel (both part of Lake Huron). The town was accessible only by water until a road was constructed in 1962. The road is 50 miles from a connecting road, so the town remains fairly isolated except for boaters and those who come to hike and camp in the Killarney Provincial Park. This lighthouse marks the entrance to Killarney Channel.

One of the highlights of a visit to Killarney is a fish and chips dinner at Herberts Fisheries. The fish is caught daily and unloaded from this boat ....

... and fried up with tasty "chips" in this bus.

Big portions and quite tasty.

Other than Herbert's there's not much to see in Killarney and the WiFi at the marina worked so poorly that we couldn't get a blog off, so we set off the next day for some North Channel cruising.

So check out the quick video and don't forget to read the second blog, as i'm again doing two entries.

Georgian Bay - Part 1

The southeastern end of Georgian Bay is only a couple of hours from Toronto by car and easily accessible from the TSW by boat, so is the most populated part of this incredible cruising ground. Beausoleil Island is the largest island in this section of the Bay and is a Canadian National Park, so that's where we headed for our first anchorage. We were a little surprised to find at least 70 boats anchored in the protected anchorage, but it was a Saturday and by Sunday night all but eight of them had left. We spent the next day hiking on the island and swimming in the clear water.

Georgian Bay is the land of 30,000 islands, not an exaggeration by any measure. The anchorages are plentiful and all the scenery is "drop dead gorgeous". We came through a narrow passage to enter this very pristine and isolated anchorage at Echo Bay. A cloudy day, but still beautiful.

There is a "small craft channel" that runs through the islands with an occasional short outside run. It is very well marked, but the captain must keep constant attention on the markers and the charts with all the twists and turns. Sometimes the channel is quite narrow, this is called Canoe Channel.

Our next anchorage was at Regatta Bay, where we stopped to visit Looper friends, Peter and DiDi We had met them on their boat, Moon Beam, way back at Hoppie's last fall and they invited us to their cottage right across the channel. We dinghy'd over and they gave us the royal treatment, feeding us a delicious dinner and letting us use their car the next day to go for groceries. It was great to see them and share Looper Tales. Here we all are on the deck of their beautiful cottage ...

... and here are the boats at Regatta Bay.

At our next anchorage, Bayfield Inlet, we stayed put for three nights waiting for the winds and waves to settle down enough for us to make an eight mile "outside" run. We had the anchorage to ourselves and did some dinghy exploring in the maze of channels. Most of the cottages are on islands, often only one cottage per island. The cottagers have to come by boat, so there are lots of little boat marinas where they keep the boats and their cars. Today dawned bright and sunny and the winds had settled, so off we went. The scenery remains spectacular. Here are several pictures of the shoreline we went by today.

After our marathon of nine days anchored out, we are in St. Amant's Marina in Britt, Ontario tonight, enjoying the WiFi. I've done two blog entries today, so if you missed the exciting conclusion of the TSW leg, be sure to scroll back. We're about 2/3 of the way up Georgian Bay and will blog again next chance we get.

Trent Severn 12-13

We got a late start out of Orillia and stopped for a pump out since we located a marina with $10 pumpouts. It's best to ask in Canada what the charge will be; one marina quoted us $45 for this most necessary service, so the $10 was looking pretty good. The western end of the Trent Severn Waterway was the last part to be built. The biggest cut through the granite rock is at McDonald's Cut; imagine excavating this cut by hand in 1905. The day was again cloudy, so the picture does not quite show the beauty of this section of the canal.
We went through Swift Rapids Lock, the tallest one on the TSW, with strong rapids at the bottom end. Our goal was to secure a tie up at the Big Chute, a highlight of the TSW. The lock tender at Swift Rapids called ahead and told us there was room.
These are the rapids next to the Big Chute. Again, cloudy day. The next day was clear and was our last day on the TSW.

The Big Chute was the last lock completed on the TSW. It was originally designed as a "temporary measure" in order to finish the waterway. As you can see, it's really not a lock at all, but a giant "travelift on rails" that you drive your boat onto and they lift it over the land. Here's a 47' Bayliner coming onto the chute car on the upstream side. They tighten the slings to hold the boat in place. They can also divide the slings into two or three abreast to take the smaller boats through. We were there early on a Saturday, so no crowds yet, but they are very efficient.

Once the boat is secure, the Chute comes up on the tracks. The back wheels and front wheels each ride on a separate track, so the boat stays level as it travels uphill to the top, which just happens to cross a road ....

.... and then down the other side, where they lower the slings and you cruise away.

Most newbies, like us, stop to watch it work a couple of times and go to the Visitors Center. We learned that in the 1970's, they were going to replace it with a regular lock. At this time, the lamphrey eel was invading the rivers, so Canada decided to leave the Chute as is in hopes of keeping the eels out. Next it was our turn. Here's the view from our flybridge at the top of the Chute. Notice the two separate tracks. Cables are attached under the lift to pull it up and lower it down ... slowly.

We drove off with Eschaton close behind.

Below the Chute are more narrow, beautiful rock gorges, with some swift current. It is advised that you give a "security call" on the VHF radio when you enter these cuts, so that you don't meet another large boat head on.

The last lock on the TSW is the busiest lock on the waterway. At just 80' long and 22' wide, it's also the smallest. On this busy Saturday, we had to pull up to the crowded "waiting wall" and wait our turn. The lockmaster tells each boat when to come in and in what order. They can only take one big boat at a time, and then bring as many small boats in as will fit. As you can see, they really pack 'em in. It's now a historic site, so they couldn't make it any bigger if they wanted to. Oh well, the whole place had a festive air about it and everyone shows patience and good cheer.

We got through and it had been a long day of cruising. We weren't done yet, we had an anchorage on Georgian Bay picked out so off we went. We had thoroughly enjoyed the TSW, but were looking forward to some "lock free" cruising.

As you know, we're depending on WiFi to blog from Canada, and it's been 10 days since our last, so i'll do a separate one on our first half of Georgian Bay after this one is published.

Trent Severn Days 9-11

The "Kawartha Lakes" region of the Trent Severn Waterway has a shoreline that reminds us of a large northern Minnesota lake. Although a "luxury" cottage that pops up occasionally, most of the cottages are modest in size, but many have really cool boat garages like these two.


The town of Fenelon Falls is at the center of the action. This is the falls ...

... and our tie up along the lower lock wall right around the corner from the falls. The two cruisers on the other side of the wall from us were families who were having their summer vacation on their boats.

The garden on the other side of the lock approach had "Fenelon Falls" spelled out in a topiary of shrubs.

On the other side of the Fenelon Falls lock were these neat boat houses. Many of them were for rent as part of a resort.

Between the lakes are some very narrow canals. We met a 53' cruiser on this one, but we managed to sneak on by.

We were glad we didn't meet this Canada Waterway Cruise Boat in a narrow section. They were docked for the night, with their 40 passengers aboard down the wall from us above the Kirkfield Lock. We've really enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere at the lock walls.

We had passed through Balsam Lake, the highest point on the Trent Severn. At 840 feet we had read it's the highest elevation that you can drive your boat to (without carrying it) in the world. The remaining locks would take us down to Georgian Bay (part of Lake Huron) and the first "down" lock is a hydraulic "pan" lock ... except this time we are entering the lock on the top ...

... 5 stories above the river below. We drove in, tied off, and enjoyed the view.

This is the "hole in the wall" bridge" that was built in 1905.

Yesterday we had another run of five locks in about six miles. Like the previous few days, it was over 90 degrees out and sunny, so we didn't go too far before we decided to find a shady lock wall and swim. The water is 80 degrees, very nice. We ran the AC with the genny for a while and were able to sleep after we turned it off. Today we crossed Lake Simcoe, 20 miles long and 10 miles wide, it's the biggest lake on the Trent Severn Waterway. Here's the view as we approached the opening to the lake.

Lake Simcoe has a reputation for being quite nasty in a storm, but she was as calm as could be today. We had a gnat attack, however, that made an otherwise lovely cruise almost unbearable. They were swarming the entire boat and landing all over us. By the time we left the lake and came into the "narrows", there were piles of dead ones covering the whole boat. Check out the gnat bodies on the captain's feet.

The crews of both Shingebiss and Eschaton were ready for a marina stop. We needed some WiFi time and a night of AC, so we had plans to stay at the Port of Orillia Marina. Amazingly, the gnat attack stopped as quickly as it had come. We've cleaned the piles of dead gnat bodies off the boat and are enjoying all the amenities that come with a marina stay. When we come into a marina everyone tells us where the shopping and restaurants are, but we are usually more interested where the grocery stores and laundromats are located. So we're stocking up again and preparing for another stretch. Just 60 miles left of the TS and then Georgian Bay.

Trent-Severn Day 4-8

We spent July 1, Canada Day, in the fine town of Hastings, where the wall soon filled up with boats. The boats in the marina across the river had to all leave for the evening because the fireworks were set off from the their docks.

But first we enjoyed the Parade that included this impressive bagpipe brigade.

Later in the afternoon, we shared a Canada Day picnic and cookout with our new boating friends.

The fireworks that night were very good and we had the best seat in the house from the flybridge of the Eschaton. The skies had finally cleared on July 1 and we've enjoyed hot sunny days and cool nights since then. The next day we finally were able to put on some miles as we went through the first of many long narrow lakes that form the middle part of the waterway. We stopped in Peterborough, one of the largest cities on the waterway and walked up a half mile to take a look at the famous Peterborough Lift Lock in preparation for our trip through it the next day. This unique lock was completed in 1904 and considered an engineering marvel. At 65', it's the highest lock of this type in the world. There are two "pans" filled with water. In the picture, the pan on the right is up and the boats will drive into the pan on the left.

Once the gate is closed on the lower pan, an extra foot of water is put into the upper pan and the weight pushes the upper pan down and the lower pan comes up. Here's the halfway mark ...

... and now the left side pan is up. The far gate will be opened and the boats will drive out.

The whole thing is quite remarkable and there are always lots of tourists watching the proceedings. The next day we drove up and into the lower pan. Up we went and here was our view from the top.

The next section of locks are the most historic on the waterway. Some of the walls are the original limestone blocks (which have held up better than the concrete walls). The valves that let the water into the chamber are also operated by hand in these locks. The lock operators are all very pleasant, friendly and helpful.

Some of the canal sections are quite narrow.

We are currently in the Kawartha Lakes section of the waterway, where the long winding lakes are connected by the locks. The locks are much busier here and sometimes you have to move quickly to secure an overnight spot on the walls. We're starting to see some of the rocky shoreline and rock islands that we'll see in Georgian Bay, many with just one cottage.

The locals know how to navigate their way through the rocks and islands, but we stick to the well marked channel. The water is clear so it's easy to see the rocks on the edge of the channel just below the surface ... although these are clearly above the surface.

Some spots are quite weedy and occasionally they wrap around the prop and Steve has to stop and run a burst of reverse to pop them off.

Today we are in Fenelon Falls, a busy resort town with the lock right in the center of town. I'm blogging from a combination internet cafe and hair salon !!! We're about 150 miles into the 240 mile waterway and have gone through 31 of the 44 locks. The Trent Severn is a delightful place to cruise and the towns and people along the way have been great.