TRENTON, HASTINGS, PETERBOROUGH--June 24-July 2

TRENTON TO LOCK 8 ~ June 25, 2008

It was a little windy when we got up and we were still thinking about leaving Trenton.  Some of the boats there were quite large and the
idea of locking through with several boats was not very appealing.  The locks are small, so there could be a long wait in between lockings
to get a couple of boats in the lock, fill it with water, get them out the other side, drain the lock and get the next boats in the lock.  We
decided to leave that day and go as far as Lock 8.  We left Trenton at 2:15.  We filled the water tanks and checked the engine room, which
Phil does everyday, and we were ready.  It was windy and we were sort of trapped at the back of the dock by two big boats, but with Phil’s
skill and Craig’s help, as well as others, we got the boat out with no problem at all. We topped off our fuel, pumped out the holding tank
and we were on our way into the Trent-Severn Waterway!  We planned to go only twenty-five miles and tie up at the wall below Lock 8.





















The Trent-Severn Waterway is 240 miles long and has 42 locks, not including the Big Chute, which is more like a railroad roller coaster
with one hump and over land, NOT water!  Construction on the Waterway started in 1820 and it was finished in 1910.  Some of the locks
have been partially modernized.  The Waterway rises gradually via locks from the level of Lake Ontario at Trenton at 243 feet to 840 feet
above sea level and then descends via locks to the level of Georgian Bay.  The first 35 locks you lock up and from Kirkfield you begin a
steady decline until you reach Port Severn at 576 feet above sea level on Georgian Bay.  

We have been through many locks on this trip already, but never with the wind this high.  It was very windy in the locks and we had a hard
time, getting the boat where we wanted it and keeping it there.  Even with the engines, Phil had trouble getting along side the wall of the
lock.  After the boat is secured, you turn off your engines.  You use your own lines and put them around a cable, coated with rubber,
secured to the side of the lock, which is normally not too difficult, but with the wind, it added a whole new dimension to going through
locks!  We went through seven locks, went twenty-five miles and arrived at Lock 8 about 7:30, about five hours after we left Trenton!  I had a
difficult time catching a cleat on the dock to get us tied up because of, once again, the incessant wind.  Finally, we got tied up.  It was a hot,
windy, exhausting day.  We were tied up by a pretty park and we got off the boat, I cried and we walked through the park with a glass of
wine, which we sorely needed!   We ate dinner, went to bed and we were asleep in an instant!









































LOCK 8 TO HASTINGS ~ JUNE 26, 2008

June 26th was my birthday.  It rained all night, but by morning, the rain had stopped and it was overcast, sunny, muggy and cool
occasionally.  How’s that for a weather report!  Phil fixed breakfast and we watched the black squirrels in the park.


















After cards and gifts from our cats and from Phil. we left the lower lock wall at 11:00.  We went through the lock and stopped at the top to
see the Lockmaster’s little dog, Seymour.  He is the cutest dog.  His favorite toy is a plastic bottle and he tosses it in the air, chases it and
then unscrews the lid and plays with it!  He is a minature poodle, the runt of the litter.



















It cooled off and got cloudy as we left, so it was a nice temperature.  There was no wind which I figured was a birthday gift to me.  We did
the locks like old pros.  There was night and day difference between the windy day before and this day. Still, it takes a long time to go
through the locks.  The lock masters are so nice, they communicate with each other and, if there are no other boats locking through from
the other way, they have the lock doors open for you when you get to the lock. Many of the locks are still hand operated and the
lockmasters push a big handle in a circle to open and close the lock gates.






































The part of the Waterway that we traveled through this day was beautiful country, very placid with a lot of water-front homes, some large
and very pretty and some small and pretty.  There were cottages and mobile home parks.   There were also a lot of boats in the water, tied
to docks, so you have to slow down.  You are responsible for your own wake!  



















Today was an interesting day on the water.  The lock wall at Rainey Falls was so high it was intimidating.  We could see the suspension
bridge ahead but we turned to portside to enter the lock.  .  





















We saw two loons at different times, quite beautiful, with their black heads and black and white spotted bodies.  We also saw another
great blue heron. This one was standing in water up to his tummy, fishing.  He caught a fish and flew right by our boat.  An osprey flew in
front of us with his lunch in his talons.  It had a nest on top of an electrical pole by the waterway, apparently with babies.  We passed
through some remnants from the old logging days called cribs, which are square blocks of concrete secured to the bottom of the canal.
The Cruising Guide, Ports says that during Upper Canada’s early logging days, the cribs helped the lumbermen control log booms as
they raced through the river’s turbulent rapids and waterfalls.  A square timber was fitted into the square hole in the middle of each crib
and cables were strung between the timbers. The cables kept the center of the channel free of logs and debris, allowing steamboats to
pass safely between the logs.  Some of the cribs are under water just outside the marked channel; a few are visible above the water.  They
would not be pleasant to hit…   (PICTURES BELOW)








































We went through ten locks, 29 miles and arrived at 6:30, five and a half hours after we left.  It was raining lightly as we tied up at the
Hastings Marina.  We were across from the city park and the city band was performing a concert.  I figured it was for my birthday…We sat
on the back deck to listen and had wine and hors d’oeuvres.  We decided to eat on the boat because of the rain.  It was a nice day.

HASTINGS TO PETERBOROUGH, JUNE 27, 2008

We left Hastings at 9:40.  It was overcast, cool in the breeze on the boat and clearing to blue sky.  It was a beautiful trip once again.  Some
of the areas were much like the Dismal Swamp, lush greenery and trees leaning over the water and shading all but the silvery center.  
There was also a lot of marsh land and other areas where there was not a lot to see and Phil said reminded him of the trip to Double
Bayou.  We saw cottages and bigger homes at the water’s edge.  


















We passed through Rice Lake, which is fairly large, at 20 miles long and 2 ½ miles wide.  It is relatively shallow at about 12 feet, but since
we need only 4 feet, we thought that was great.  



















We had only one lock to go through and the lift was only eight feet.  However, it was one of the hardest locks because we locked through
with two other boats.  We were the first one in and the lockmaster had us pull all the way to the front, where, in this particular lock, there is
a lot of turbulence as the lock fills.  The water kept moving the boat forward, so it was hard to keep the lines moving on the cables.  The
lockmasters were not as helpful or experienced in this lock, so that made it harder still.  We were glad it was only eight feet!  The lock
doors had pots of flowers on them.  It was very pretty.  Immediately after coming out of the lock and passing through the swing railroad
bridge, we were in Little Lake, where the Peterborough Marina was located.  























Our docking was less than stellar. Due to a strong current   they failed to mention to us, a pretty strong wind and the fact that, in the midst
of the current, they wanted to dock us in a slip with a pontoon boat, we flat could not get in the slip.  Phil suggested the face dock which
was adjacent to the slip and where they should have put us to begin with and we tried to dock there.  It was a fiasco.  Too many people
directing and too much noise for him to be able to hear me and we did not have our headsets on!  If we had, and we will from now on, it
would have been much easier and probably saved us from scraping the side of our boat.  Still, no major damage was done, except to our
egos and we got tied up securely.

PETERBOROUGH, ONTARIO, JUNE 27 ~JULY 3

We loved the marina in Peterborough.  They have great bathroom facilities and a great laundry room.  There is also the Lighthouse
Restaurant, a good restaurant/café above the marina office.  The first night we walked to an Irish pub with another Looper couple, Ron and
Karen.  The food was lousy.  Phil and I had dinner another night at a Greek place, which was marginal, but close to the marina.  The rest of
the time, we ate on the boat.  We met very nice people and enjoyed visiting.  A lot of Loopers that we knew from Trenton came in June 30 to
be there for the celebration of Canada Day on July 1.  All week-end there were festivities in the big park next to the marina and even a
parade on "Canada Day", July 1  It was very different and a lot of fun.  There were beautiful fireworks on Saturday and, also, on Canada Day
from out in Little Lake right in front of the marina.


















There were about nine houseboats in the marinas.  They were all rentals and had to be returned further up the waterway on Friday.  We
did not want to go through the locks with the houseboats.  Once again we debated about leaving on July 2 or waiting until July 3 when it
was less crowded…




















We ended up staying one more night.  The wind was really strong on Wednesday, July 2.  We moved the boat to the fuel dock to top off our
tanks and get a pump-out of our holding tank.  Then they moved us by the lines to a slip right by the fuel dock and the marina.  Phil finally
decided to stay.  I was really glad because I did not want to leave in the wind.  We were really glad later that we did not go.  It got very windy
and rained later that night. We walked across the street to Captain George’s and had dinner with Mary Ann and Bill from Our Turn.   We
four came back to the little restaurant at the marina for a piece of Michellene’s dessert, strawberry-rhubarb pie, which they all three said
was fantastic.  I had a great peanut butter cookie.  


















There was, once again, a concert in the park that evening.  It was the Kruger Brothers, two guitars and a banjo, and they were outstanding.  
Phil and I went to the concert for a while after dinner.  The evening ended with our third fireworks show of the week.  They were absolutely
beautiful and right over our boat, it seemed!  Later that evening, Don, the marina manager, came to the boat for a glass of wine.  He was a
little miffed because we ate the last of the strawberry-rhubarb pie and he didn’t get his piece.  He is a good marina manager, actually lives
on site with his wife.  It is a big job because of the size of the marina and the park next to it, both owned by Peterborough.  There is a lot of
activity in the park during the summer months.  He said he usually gets about 4 or 5 hours sleep a night because he patrols the area!



















One thing that we've noticed is that float or sea planes are not an uncommon mode of transportation along the lakes and rivers of the
Trent Severn Waterway.  Frequently, we note the drone of an airplane engine only to see one taking off, landing or flying off as if on a
mission to somewhere.  The picture below is one of several we've seen parked along the shore near a home.






















Tomorrow, we depart Peterborough with mixed feelings.  We have so enjoyed our stay and the people who helped make it so special.  We
will also miss the twice weekly concerts in the park adjacent to the marina and the weekly fireworks.  Still we are excited by the prospects
that are surely ahead.
Harmony Travel Log 2008
Harmony locking up
Bayliner boat locking down