Penatang to Bobcaygeon. July 2-14, 2019.

On Monday around 5 PM we left the Ojibway docks and headed for Pentang, Dave and Sue’s home port to watch the fireworks, get a deep charge on the batteries and do some laundry after 16 days.  The fireworks were very nice and the marina had us in a great spot to view them. 

It was hard to say good bye on Tuesday but we look forward to seeing all our Canadian friends in Florida this winter!  Thanks so much for all the great times over the last 6 days!!!

On Tuesday July 2 we entered the Trent Severn waterway at Port Severn.

Coming through Little Chute, a narrow swift current cut before arriving at the Big Chute Railway.

We went through two locks including the Big Chute Railway.  It was not nearly as exciting going up the hill as it was coming down last year, but was still a great ride. 

We stayed on the floating docks above the lock that night and enjoyed a short swim as well.  Not here though....a photo from our walk around the grounds of the lock and dam.  This rapids is what the railway gets us through.  An interesting note on the railway.  The authorities did not want to put in a lock as it would have allowed lamprey eels to enter the waterway through the still water.  It is a very interesting "lock".

We headed to Orillia on Wednesday.  Approaching the Swift Rapids lock.

Lake Couchiching, waiting on lock blue line.

Waited 45 minutes at this railroad bridge...no phone, no radio, the guidebooks just say be patient, it will open unless a train is coming.  Well a train did arrive about 30 minutes after we arrived and it finally opened 10 minutes after it passed.

Orillia had a deal, so we took them up on their “3 for 2” special and stayed three nights.  Met a few Loopers, had dinner with Pam and John (who we met last year at this marina), did re-provisioning at the local supermarket and performed our chores such as laundry and varnishing.  We also went back to our respective salons for haircuts and such.  Always a great stop in Orillia!  Even got to say hi to Wally the mechanic who worked on our boat here last year who was not surprisingly working on another Looper’s boat.  Thanks for coming out to see us Pam and John. 

We were also surprised when we arrived back at the boat on Friday evening after a walk.  On the table were freshly cleaned local strawberries and rhubarb!  Thanks so much Steve and Lauretta, another Canadian couple (brother and sister in law of Dave) we met last year.  They joined us earlier at Ojibway via dinghy so knew we would be in Orillia.  So kind.

After Orillia we threw off lines bound for lock 37, where we spent a nice day last year.  On our way we stopped at Bay Port Marina for fuel and a pump out.  We joined Dock Links to save 5 cents per liter and the savings has already paid our membership fee.  We hope to garner future discounts on marina stays and fuel to make the membership worthwhile.  Fuel was about $4.50 a gallon US even after the discount. 

After completing five locks and arriving at lock 37, we tied to the wall and both looked at each other thinking what did we miss?  This is not the place we remembered.  So after assessing how tight a fit it was there for passing boats (neither of us was comfortable with the width), we talked to the lockmaster and found out that lock 38 (Talbot) was actually where we stayed.  They had added a floating dock last August so it looked different to us as we passed through.  So, as we saw some boats heading north on the system we jumped aboard, untied and got into the lock with them to go back to #38, Talbot where we had a great spot on the end of the floating dock overlooking the dam pool.  This lock is special to us as this is where we first learned in June of last year that we would be grandparents in February 2019.  It was so nice to be back.

Note the large cruise ship coming through the lock.  Also note that maintenance is being performed on Sum Escape (starboard upper deck).

You may want to do this trip without the work!

We tested the water and it was 82.5 degrees!  The pool was open!  We spent two nights on the dock here and took a long walk back to lock 37 and beyond on Sunday morning.

We are enjoying our Verizon Canadian plan (no additional cost) again this year.  The phone has worked virtually everywhere, although sometimes the signal is too weak for good data access.  But we have been in phone and text contact essentially 100% of our time in Canada.  We only rarely go over the 500 meg daily data limit so this plan works well for us.  It is so nice to be able to connect with family and friends as we continue our cruising lifestyle. 

We have also been “discovered” by friends and family many times on Nebo, an app which we use that tracks our position.  It has been great meeting up with fellow boaters and family and friends through this free app.  It is also nice to receive a text from time to time over this app.  Even when it is "big brother" watching....

On Monday July 8 we departed bound for an anchorage in Balsam Lake.  To us, arrival here begins the best part of the Trent Severn experience.  It is the area known as Kawartha Lakes and the waterway winds thorough many lakes and small communities where beautiful anchoring and small town lock wall accommodations are available.  We intend to spend a great deal of time slowly moving through this section.  Unfortunately, the good comes with a challenge, the approximately 6-7 mile Trent Canal section of the waterway.  It is carved out of the Canadian Shield rock and is very narrow, quite shallow and littered with dead heads lurking below the murky surface.  As we entered this section (we are southbound on the system) we radioed a Securite’ as required by the sign entering.  All boats over 40 feet are required to announce their intention of entering the canal as it is very narrow with very limited passing space.  We heard a Securite’ call from two boats (a 48 and a 58 footer) heading northbound entering the canal at the other end.  I assumed (let’s not dissect that word just yet) that we would meet at the Kirkfield lift lock where there is ample passing space.  

You gotta love it when a plan works out as we were loaded into the lower pan and the lockmaster said it would be a few minutes as they awaited a couple boats to load into the upper pan.  Luckily it was the 48 and 58, both Loopers but we could not read the boat names.  So that part of the plan did work out.  

Not too much further down the canal we had our first deadhead strike in the canal.  We both looked at each other and said what was that?  Later, we had another harder strike so Tom will be diving on the props and rudders after we get anchored to assess any damage.  We also hit bottom as we tried to get around a 20 some foot boat traversing the channel with one disabled engine.  Not a good day in the Trent Canal.  

DeVere and Carole, take note as you traverse this area in August.  I know the propensity of the captain is to go fast and this is an area where 5MPH is the recommended speed, especially with a large boat that displaces a lot of water in a skinny, shallow channel such as this. Plan on a slow one engine idle for this section. But I will say, all is well that ends well.  The dive revealed only some scuffing on the edges of the prop blades, I could not see any bends or chips.  We consider ourselves very fortunate and are glad the worst of the Trent in behind us.

We anchored in Balsam Lake off Grand Island and near Greeney Island. We struggled a bit getting a good anchor set, but after three attempts we felt relatively secure.  It was dead calm when we anchored and we were almost immediately welcomed by a loon. 

As always in an open anchorage such as this we started a track on Navionics and will set and an anchor alarm at night to be sure we are alerted if we drag anchor.   We also had a wonderful late afternoon float in the water.  Even scrubbed the slime off the water line as we floated for a bit.  The wind picked up a bit as we retired for the evening and with the fetch to the NW it was a bit noisy in the stateroom.  We registered a high gust of 18 knots but winds were only 4 knots or so in the morning.  A nice spot albeit a little weedy in spots.  A nice sunset.

As we left in the morning, the loon was there with its partner and baby!  So cool watching them dive and surface and feed the baby.  They are beautiful birds bothin sight and sound.
Leaving our anchorage.

We only travelled through one lock (Rosedale) and then anchored in Cranberry Bay, Cameron Lake.  From there we were able to dinghy over to Fenelon Falls and meet a few Loopers and determine their departure times so we could slip into this really crowded lock wall (with power!).  We spent a few minutes talking with Bill and Mindy (Hearken) who we had last seen in Waterford NY in May of 2018.  We also dinghyed over to Rosedale and took a nice walk, picking some wild flowers along the way.  We had a nice afternoon floating and relaxing in the water later in the afternoon.

Bill and Mindy let us know they were leaving Fenelon Falls at 8:15am so we targeted arriving at that same time.  They were leaving the harbor just as we were approaching it.  Thanks so much for your help Bill and Mindy!

Success, we were able to take their spot on the now not so crowded lock wall.

We spent two days meeting other Loopers, the harbor hosts Gary and Pam and did some catching up on the blog with wifi there.  This is always a great stop.

We also enjoyed some wi-fi to update our blog and such.  But we especially enjoyed seeing videos of Lucy our granddaughter as well as some video calls.

On July 12 we departed with the hope that we could get a lock wall spot in the equally if not busier Bobcaygeon lock.  Calling ahead to the lockmaster confirmed that it was full, we chose a shoreline anchorage in Sturgeon Lake near Ball Point.  Upon arrival a jet ski circled us.  We went outside and a local cottage owner named Ron introduced himself and offered us a ride to groceries, etc.  He is also a wanna be Looper so had lots of questions including how did we choose to anchor here.  He seemed surprised but it was simply a protected spot from predicted winds.  He said in his eight years of living here, he had never seen anyone anchor there.  Hmm, worked well for us.
It was cloudy and cool so we again used the day to perform some needed maintenance and cleaning tasks aboard.  You can at least see the fruits of my labor in the sides of the flybridge!

Fisherman were around all day....but did not see them land anything.

And Julie is such a good cook.  Dinner aboard, turkey soup complete with Raspberry rhubarb crisp.  Thanks again for the rhubarb Steve and Lauretta!

Leaving our anchorage to time arrival at the Bobcaygeon lock just as they opened proved to be a good strategy.  The walls above the lock were full but a call to the lockmaster confirmed space below (which is where we wanted to be as there is power available).  Here is our prime viewing spot for all the traffic coming and going in the lock.  Quiet now...Saturday morning.

 But check this out!  First lockage Sunday morning.

They really pack them in! Sunday morning, first lockage.

We will be leaving here tomorrow.  We took good advantage of wi-fi, shopping, laundry and generally enjoyed this town.  And a visit to the Kawartha ice cream factory for fresh ice cream was pretty darn good too!
Boats arriving for Docktails organized by Greg and Nancy on Tx Au (OK got it figured out?....Texas Gold).  It was great to meet a number of Loopers, some will be in Florida this winter and we hope our paths cross there.

The ladies wanted a picture with the lockmaster.  Even after a day at one of the busiest locks on the system, while emptying garbage, he was still smiling!

Thanks for following.