Midland to Moon Island Cove

JULY 17, 2006 (Midland to Moon Island Cove) We left in the morning and headed through the Georgian bay to an anchorage of Moon Island. I didn’t think it could get any nicer, but I keep getting amazed. The water gets clearer and greener and bluer…it’s really amazing. We entered into the 30,000 islands today….that’s 29,000 more islands than the 1,000 islands (for those of you counting). The homes, cottages and even boat houses were amazingly….beautiful. I keep using that word, but there really is no other way to describe it. We actually passed Long Island today, but it looked nothing like home. The channels got even “windier”, narrower and “rockier”. At 20’ of depth you could see bottom like it was 4 feet… a little un-nerving when squeezing through a 20’ opening and your boat is 14’6 wide! There were spots narrow enough to have to stop and wait for an on coming boat to come through first. The Georgian bay was a bit choppy and at times rolling the boat pretty heavily. We traveled way, way, way back into a hidden harbor and dropped anchor. Later that evening the wind changed and we new we were in for some rougher weather. The sky was covered with “mammatus” clouds (for all our USPS weather class friends) and we new there was more to come. The wind and rain came as we sailed around on our anchor. We saw some of the most spectacular lightening ever…followed by a sunset that would rival Key West! Tomorrow we hope to go onto Moon Island before we leave.

Beausoleil to Midland

JULY 14, 2006 (Beausoleil Island - Midland) Last night was our first night on the hook (at anchor). I think we had or best sleep ever. We woke up with our boat facing in the completely opposite direction, but it was a calm beautiful night and the same in the morning. Although we really liked this anchorage we decided to move on to Midland. It’s only about 10 miles and we heard has a really nice marina (with pool and Jacuzzi). When we were ready to leave our port battery was dead!!! We combined batteries and started within seconds, but it’s really bugging me why I can’t figure this out! I would hire a mechanic at the Bayport (Midland) Marina, but then I would be admitting I couldn’t solve the problem…and that would really bother me! We cruised to the marina and docked- the marina was beautiful (and pretty big-about 600 boats). We settled in and I went to work on the battery problem. After reading all the electrical notes I could find on the boat (not all being accurate) I found a receipt from a boat yard showing that the former owner had the same problem. After comparing his notes and multi-metering everything I could touch with my probes in every combination of charger/inverter/generator/shore power….I think I finally figured it out! Rather than get into details about a battery combiner, I’ll just wait until morning and see how the batteries do, but I’m feeling really optimistic and really think I got it this time!!! (by the way, John (TT) was over with his battery charger in hand to help out- before we even finished settling in- that was nice!). The marina drove us into town and camordered pizza and wings and ate them poolside in the gazebo…what a night! Jaycie met a lot of kids, we met a lot of people and found out that 45 boats are leaving about 9am tomorrow for a 9 day trip. We’ll try to be up to see them off. An interesting side note: In Canada, when you push the “walk” buttons on street corners…they actually work. Cars actually watch out for you, just about wherever you are- even in the wrong- and they don’t beep, curse or give you any hand gestures. People in stores are extremely helpful and friendly. It’s a really nice country. JULY 15-16, 2006 (Midland) We were awaken last night by heavy winds and down pour. Unfortunately we left our sundeck screens open (for the first time) because we were suppose to have beautiful weather for the next three days!? I guess the weather men up here are about as accurate as the ones back home. Anyway, we got up a little later and although the 45 boats got a late start…we missed them all anyway. This marina is first class. Probably the nicest marina we have been in so far. TT said we should take the dinghies and go to this really nice church which was about 1 ½ miles across the harbor and another mile up this small river (only navigable by canoes and (supposedly) dinghies. This would be our first venture out with our dink. The river/stream was so over grown with vegetation, it was like being in the Amazon jungle. We had to idle through and still stop about a dozen times, because we wouldn’t move, stalled or the cooling water stopped flowing on the outboard, to clean out/off the weed. There was a canoe just ahead of us when we started (which we never did catch up to and actually lost sight of somewhere along the way). The funny part was that when we got to the docks (just down the road from the church) there were “slips” big enough for 30’ boats! I can’t imagine that there was ever a time when they could have gotten in there. But it was really beautiful with birds, turtles and fish everywhere. The church was big and beautiful but was packed with, what appeared to be people of middle eastern descent, on some kind of pilgrimage. We didn’t want to intrude on their day, so looked around a little and then decided to leave. The trip back, although still cleaning weed from our prop and ports, was kind of cool because you could see our winding path cut through the greenery in the water (kind of like an ice breaker trail). You really had the feeling that you went somewhere very few people had. Coming across back across the harbor the wind had kicked up so it was a bit choppy and white capped. We got wet. But it was a fun trip and we wouldn’t have done it had it not been for our friends going with us. Back at the marina we went back to the pool where Jaycie had made friends from yesterday. We all liked the marina so much we decided to stay another day. Besides, I had bought blinds for the front windows and wanted to install them (I also have some projects I have been meaning to get to on the boat and could really use a non-traveling day. JULY 16, 2006 (Midland) We woke up and brought Jaycie to the pool. When we got back we went to work on my punch list (Joyce and Jaycie both helped - you should see Jaycie polish). Today was one of those days when I over optimistically put 24 jobs (ranging from very minor to veru time consuming) on my “to do” list and actually knocked off 20 of them… and without a lot of unexpected problems. WHAT A DAY! We went back to the pool for another swim and decided to stay another day.

Port Severn to Beausoleil Island

JULY 13, 2006 (Port Severn- Beausoleil Island) There is something about this “last lock” and town that we really liked. It was small, clean and not that “thriving”, but yet, something nice about it. The people at the lock were great. We really liked this one and what a way to end the Trent Severn Waterway. To give you a better understanding of what we have done so far, I have listed some statistics below: 718 statute miles 72 locks (ranging from 7’ to 65’) 2 flight locks (doubles) 2 pan locks (1 up and 1 down) 1 Railway lock (only 2 in the world) Ascended 974 vertical feet Descended 310 vertical feet Spent 39 days on the boat We all had a great nights sleep. We woke up ready to move on and were very excited because it is our last lock (for a while anyway). It was a small lock, so we had to go one “big” boat at a time (drop was about 14’). When we got down, TT was waiting for us just past a small bridge. This was the most winding, rocky, narrow channel yet. The buoy’s looked like a race course. Much of the first part of our days cruise was the same, with not as many rocks as the very first part (but they were still there). We arrived at Beausoleil Island and anchored out for the first time on our trip. It was a little strange after 6 weeks on the walls, locks and docks. It’s amazing how much “swing” the boat has. T.T. has been everywhere around us (or us around them). It definitely took a while to get used to the changing positions. And yet, there was something very nice and relaxing about it. We took the dinghy ashore (it ran like a champ) for a swim and hike. It was a really “nature” island. We ran into a park ranger who taught us about the only poisonous snake on the island (Massassauga rattler) which are abundant on the island, but shy (won’t chase you). He said there were many water snakes, but not poisonous (we didn’t see any- but everyone else did). We hiked to a rock peninsula where there was a large stone throne/chair at the top. What a view, and we could see 3 man made stone “towers” or sculptures in the distance on the point, later we found out they are called “carins”. We hiked down to see them, they were about 5’ high and made by stacking stones. We didn’t know who made them or why, but decided we liked them and wanted to add our own. So we chose to use a tripod bottom with a triangular mid section and single tower on the top. In true NY fashion, we made ours about a foot taller than the other three (you can take the boy out of NY but you can’t take the NY….). Anyway, we had fun and when we went back to the boat you could see it clearly in the distance! It was a beautiful night and we hung out under the stars on the fly bridge!!!

Big Chute to Port Severn

JULY 12, 2006 (Big Chute to Port Severn) Not the best dock or sleep, we saw no reason to stay another day, so we headed for the lock. Linda, from TT, doesn’t like heights and we do, so we would go in first. By this time, there was a good size crowd on the street watching us. I’m sure they don’t get boats our size coming using this railway everyday. We pulled in and all went smooth and easy. TT pulled in behind us and also, no problems. It started to ride out of the water and there was excitement in the air. We couldn’t believe how high we were (another looper took pictures from land and is going to e-mail them to us). As we came over the crest….WOW! The height and view looking down was SPECTACULAR! As we came down the hill and ended in the water, Jaycie say’s, “Let’s do it again!“ What an exciting “ride”. It was like a big amusement park water ride (only in slow motion). They told us to pull out and we did, heading to Port Severn (the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway, & the last lock for a while. Lots of small cottages on the lake we passed through and as usual, very scenic, tranquil and beautiful. We arrived at Port Severn and decided to stay the night. Did some provisioning for anchoring out (which we plan on doing tomorrow) and went to a local, little hotel (very nice) and used their wireless internet (3 of us sitting in a hallway with our laptops) and went through e-mails and updated (what we could) our blog. Went to bed early to be ready for the morning.

Orillia to Big Chute (railway lock)

JULY 11, 2006 (Orillia - Big Chute) Engines started fine (but we’ll wait to see if that cured the problem). Today, we’re all very excited because we are going to the Big Chute. That’s the lock which you drive onto and it lifts you out of the water on slings and then rides over a railway (on land) and puts you in another body of water. We have heard so much about it and can’t wait to see it. We are still cruising with Triton’s Trumpet (TT). The cruise was very scenic. We did 2 locks and had to wait for a railway bridge to open. We got to see an eagles nest, with the eagle in it, while we waited. When we arrived it we decided to stay the night at the lock dock and go watch the lock in action. It was really wild. We see, coming over a hill (on train tracks) a HUGE “boat hauler” (for non-boaters, picture four posts with wheels on the bottom, connected from front to back-on top and bottom- and from side to side only on the tops). It looks about 30-40’ high (we are told it will take both our boats at the same time, end to end- that’s 92’. As it comes over the hill and down the tracks there are boats waiting at the “blue line” (in case I didn’t mention earlier, the blue line is where boats wait to go through a lock). The lift enters the water and submerges about 1/3 if it’s height. The boats then drive into the middle and the people on the lift give them instructions on what to do. Slings (straps) are attached to the tops of the lift and (later we see) are crisscrossed under the boat, like an “X”. They lift the boat slightly to stabilize it from side to side (pressure is only put on the bottom edge of the hull - due to the X shape). When all boats are in the lift starts to pull out and allows the boats bow or keel to sit on the bottom (which is wood rail road ties perpendicular to the keel). The RR gates go down on the road above and any cars stop as this behemoth travels over land. There are people watching as it passes the management building (which it is a little taller than) and passes it with about 12” to spare! We follow it down a large and long concrete stair case. As it crests the hill the other side is much steeper and it goes all the way down to the other body of water and gently puts the boats back in. The lift is moved by cables running along the tracks. The whole process takes about 15-20 minutes. First times at anything are always a little uneasy, but we can’t wait for our turn! We go swimming at a marina next door, even took Boo in for her first swim. She did great, but when she came out she looked really scary, somewhat like a bat. After cooling off, we went to get fresh gas and plugs for the dinghy. We find dirt in the dinghy fuel tank (probably bad gas at Sylvan beach) and spend the next hour dumping, filtering and cleaning the fuel and tank. We finally get it squared away, hook everything up and take the dinghy for a spin…it runs great! We have a 9.8hp on ours, TT has an overpowered 25hp (with the hp numbers covered…of course!). He follows us to see that we run o.k., as we run at close to full speed and he “idles” behind us. It was fun. Later, when I question him about the size engine on his “dink” he replies, “It can get a little scary at times!”

Orillia Stay

JULY 9, 2006 (Orillia) I had to tackle my electric problem (starboard engine not starting). Running at such low speed for so long (between locks) and stopping and starting the batteries in every lock put’s an enormous strain on the starting batteries and not give them enough recharging. John (from Triton’s Trumpet) came by and helped me try to figure out the problem. We also had to try to figure out my alternators, starting batteries, house batteries, genset batteries, inverter/charger and battery charging systems and how they integrate with one another. It wasn’t easy and I still haven’t figured it all out (since the former owner died, we don’t have the convenience of asking him how he set things up). We figured, for starters (no pun intended), that it is a bad battery and lined one up a new one for tomorrow. Temporarily I bought an additional, but separate, battery charger until I can figure out what’s going on with my system. The starting battery weighs about 100lbs and was not easy to get out (or in)!!! It was a long and trying day. Luckily it rained most of the day, so at least I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything. JULY 10, 2006 (Orilla) Luckily, Linda’s (Triton’s trumpet) brother-in-law showed up with a car today (they live nearby) and gave us a lift to the store to pick up the battery. There’s no way I could have gotten it here otherwise. They computer tested our battery (under load and everything) and confirmed our decision. The battery was shot. We picked up the new battery and installed it. I pushed the start button, for a split second, just to see if it had juice and it started- the fastest it ever did! I will check the other battery voltage during the night and hopefully it hasn’t been damaged from the “bad battery” we replaced. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that everything starts fine in the morning (then all that will be left to figure out/troubleshoot will be my charging systems). Jaycie made friendship bracelet’s with Linda and hung out on Triton’s Trumpet for a good part of the day while we finished doing our electrical work on the boat. Although everything is “nice” here in this town, we’ve had enough and are ready to leave. We have found that we tend to like the little towns better than the big ones. They’re more friendlier, more comfortable, and quieter.

Kirkfield to Orillia

JULY 8, 2006 (Kirk field - Orillia) We left around 8:30 and headed for Orillia. Again the starboard engine wouldn’t start today without combining. Today we traveled lots of tight and rocky channels. Again, if you stayed within the markers everything was fine. When we got to Lake Simcoe the water was unbelievable. It looked like we were in the keys. Three shades of blue-green and crystal clear. It got very hot, so we went on the bow and used our wash down system to cool off (the wash down pumps water from overboard and since it was so clean…) and it was great! I used our travel time to wax some of the boat. When we got to Orillia our slip was a really long dock walk to shore. The place was really hopping! Lots of boats and tons of people. We went to the local beach to swim, but got a feeling the town was a little rowdy. When going back to the boat we noticed four kids sitting in front of our boat drinking. We were still far from the boat so I stopped to watch them. As they stood up, two of them bent over and started “playing” with my dock lines. I raced back to the boat to check the lines and they were still attached. Joyce saw them throw their beer cans into a boat as they were coming back to shore (it definitely confirmed my feelings about the town). We notified the office and found out that John & Linda saw them too and also spoke with the office. They assured us that they had security during night hours, but we retied our boat so all lines terminated ON our boat instead of shore. This makes it a tougher to untie from shore and not quick and easy. They would actually have to climb onto the boat in order to completely untie it from the dock. Met a lot of new people on the dock who were very interested in what we were doing.

Fenelon Falls to Kirkfield

JULY 7, 2006 (Fenelon Falls - Kirkfield) Today Jaycie woke up (as usual we were already traveling) and called for Joyce. When Joyce came down from the fly bridge, there was Jaycie sitting at the table on the sundeck with all her pencils, paper and books…ready to go! We did a short run today. Left around 8:00, with Triton’s Trumpet, in clear, cool weather. Still had trouble with the battery starting the starboard engine. I think I will replace it at the next marina. Today’s cruise was perhaps the best so far. Beautiful nature, very rural, at times going for miles without seeing a man-made structure. We crossed lakes, traveled winding rivers, (what appeared to be) streams, and man made canals. Really spectacular! The most interesting part of the day was a NARROW passage of a few miles. It was cut from rock, so when you looked down either side of the boat into the water…you see rock! The sides are lined with tall evergreens and trees, so you feel like you are going down a green, narrow hallway. A securite was called in to the lock letting them know that we were to large (for the area) boats coming through. While going through this passage, I couldn’t help but think what would happen if you broke down. You are in this narrow passage, miles from anything. Anyway, we didn’t break down. As we were nearing the end of the passage a small 18’ boat came around the bend and caught me by surprise. We both moved over and the boat got through without a problem. I was talking on the phone with my father in-law at the time and telling him how there really wasn’t room for another large boat to pass….and then it happened! A boat almost exactly the same as ours comes head on. I yelled for Joyce and throw her the phone. We both slow (even though we were only going 5.6 knots) and they scrambled to put out fenders on the side that would pass us (as you may have noticed in our pictures, we don’t bother taking fenders in because the locks and docking walls are so many and so often that it really doesn’t pay. We just move extra fenders to the side that needs it most). So, I move over to my starboard (right) side and keep asking Joyce how close we are to the “rock wall under water”. He moves over to his starboard and is brushing the trees. We clear each other successfully with only a couple of feet between us. I quickly radio Tritan’s Trumpet and let him know what’s coming around the bend towards him. Whatever boating experience we didn’t have….we’re sure getting it now! After we settle down, we come around the next bend and the Kirkfield lock is right in front of us (those two boats must have just come out). It’s another “pan” type lock of 49’, only this time we will be going down. It’s really quite exciting, because as you pull into the pan and edge up to the end of it, it is a 49’ shear drop just past your bow! The view is spectacular…like you are looking over a cliff. Once tied off the drop is another rapid one which leaves everyone (at least on our boat) with a big smile on their face. When we get to the bottom, the water in the pan drops about a foot, letting the extra water our and leveling us up to the river ahead. We pull off to the starboard side and tie up. It’s again, very rural, but really nice. We are just ahead of the lock itself and get to see other boats going up and down…what a view. We do a couple of projects on the boat and then bike into town (about 4-5 miles away). We ride through farm lands, cows and country. When we come to a cross road, it reminds me of Tom Hanks in Castaway. We stop riding and listen. There isn’t a sound…except crickets. We continue on to town and when we arrive it is VERY small. We go to the library and it has, maybe, 6 isles of book shelves (plus 2 in a children‘s section). It was really small, but really comfortable and nice. Everyone was soooooo friendly. We used their computers (which had internet) and then …got ice cream, and headed back to the boat.

Buckhorn to Fenelon Falls

JULY 6, 2006 (Buckhorn - Fenelon Falls) Jaycie was very excited when she woke up today because it was her first day of (home) school. While we traveled, Joyce started her schooling and they both seemed to have a good time. We passed Bobcaygeon and it was so nice we would have liked to stop there, but we had only traveled for an hour or so and wanted to get closer to our weekend destination so we wouldn’t have to put in a long day of travel later in the week. Maybe we’ll see it next time around (just kidding!). We only did 2 locks and they were easy (30’ total). We saw some really scenic water falls and new we had arrived at Fenelon Falls. Due to lack of space, we had to tie to a railing on the “high wall”. Not really a problem other than having to climb over the railing to get off the boat (the shorter people ducked under or between). I stayed on the boat and did some business, while Joyce took Jaycie and went to the library and explored the town. It is another really cute town with lots of interesting shops. Later, we all went for a walk, went out to dinner and (I won’t say it!) and went back to the boat to watch a movie. At night some stores turn on white lights all over them giving it a fairy tale appearance. It was really nice.

Lakefield to Buckhorn

JULY 5, 2006 (Lakefield - Buckhorn) Again we traveled with John and Linda (Triton’s Trumpet- by the way, if I didn’t mention it, they have a CHB trawler sedan which is the same make as our boat). We did 4 locks in 21 miles. Again beautiful scenery. Small islands everwhere with houses on them. Many houses have boat houses and multiple lifts in them to get the boats out of the water. We saw a number of houses with their own sea/lake planes too. Unfortunately, we had a house boat cruising with us and had to travel SLOW. It was torture! There are house boats everywhere. They rent them up here and apparently you don’t need any boating skills to get one. They usually let them go into the locks first so if (when) they get sideways in the lock there is no one else to hit. John and Linda told us we missed it, but a house boat went up on the rocks and they had to push it off back into the water. It’s been over a month now and we’re still in shock that we’re actually doing this trip (due in great part to our daughter and son-Christy & Steven- who are doing an amazing job holding down the fort while we are away!) As usual, we went to the library (we do that as much as eating ice cream) to see if we could upload information to the blog (no luck!). Then I headed back to the boat to do some business and Joyce & Jaycie stayed at the library. When they came back to the boat she told me they billed her for her time on the computer-that was a first! We had dinner on the boat and watched some TV. We always end up going to bed late up here because it stays light until about 10:00 so we always end up going in late.

Leaving in the fog Going into Pan Lock Looking down, & back from in the pan Matt & Jaycie at beach

Peterborough to Lakefield

JULY 4, 2006 (Peterborough to Lakefield)I was up early this morning and it was not a pretty day. It was cloud covered and VERY foggy. I ran into Linda, from Triton’s Trumpet (another Looper), and said they were going to leave around 8:30. I said it looked like rain and she said they traveled all day in the rain before-no big deal. So we put the radar on and left right after they did. IT RAINED….AND RAINED! From a drizzle to an all out downpour with thunder rumbling over head most of the way. We figured we would only go a short way, about 6 locks in 10 miles, today. Most of the locks have become so regular that they teeter on boredom, but the Peterborough pan lock was AMAZING! It is the most interesting lift we have been in so far. It is like 2 huge pans that get filled with water. We pull into one pan at the bottom. The other pan is parallel to us, but at the top (about 65’ higher). We tie the boat to the “side of the pan”. A wall comes up from under the water behind us and closes “the pan”. The other side (up top) takes in an extra 1’ of water which makes it heavier than the one we are in. This extra weight makes us go up 65’ in just 2 minutes! THAT’S REALLY FAST! You really have to see it to appreciate it. Joyce has some video which we will try to send around. If this were built today it would be impressive, but it was built 102 years ago….INCREDIBLE! It was a little stressful pulling in but then fun like an amusement park ride! As we went through the last lock the weather started to break up and we pulled into the town dock at Lakefield. By the time we were done tying the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day. We got on our bikes and headed to the beach (river) and went for a swim. We keep having people tell us they LOVE our accents. It’s really funny to hear. We got a call from Cindy (Triumph) to see if we were o.k. She told us Peterborough (marina) got flooded from the rain and she just wanted to make sure we were o.k. (thank God we seem to be staying just ahead of things). We then rode into town to look around. This is one of the nicer small towns we have been in. It’s thriving, clean and friendly. It feels like a place you would want to raise your kid in. We had a really good time and…..yes, got some ice cream…and then went back to the boat. Good thing we brought our (exercise) bikes or all that ice cream would be catching up with me! Although we love this town, we talked with John & Linda, Tritons Trumpet, and decided we will most likely leave in the morning. As a general rule, we will try to travel during the week and settle in during the weekends. We do miss celebrating the 4th of July with our friends and family. Hope all of you had day!

Jaycie with Shawn & Cassidy Jaycie with Cassidy & Boo Parade on Canada Day