Some days we do 5-6 locks and relatively little mileage like 14 miles to Hastings on 7-17; other days we do 40 miles and only a few locks to get to the outskirts of Peterborough on 7-18. You can’t really do both easily. The big story this week is weather—thunderstorms and heavy rains that are swelling the dams and rivers, overflowing the banks and creating 2-3 mph current against us as we head towards Georgian Bay. Imagine my surprise when there was a tornado spotted in Hastings as I was reading Wicked, the real story of the Wicked Witch of the West from Oz.
The waterway locks raise boats 600 feet from Trenton on Lake Ontario and then lowers them 263 feet to meet Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Most of the locks so far have been hand-cranked simple locks with a 7-26 feet lift, a few double hydraulic lifts of 48-54 feet but on 7-19, we floated in a huge pan of water lifted 65 feet in the air like a ferris wheel in the Peterborough Lift Lock. This is all accomplished with the addition of a 1 foot of water on one side—amazing 19th century technology.
We continued in lock mode through 7 more locks on 7-19 and traveled with Loopers, Blue Max, Tadpole and Takitez. We had a rhythm going with the four boats entering the locks in an orderly procession, tying off lines, fending off as needed and then relaxing and visiting. We all dispersed to different lock walls for the night as there is simply no room for 4 boats traveling together on mooring walls filled with vacation boaters.
What do we do at the end of the day? Here’s a picture of Joe and Joyce on Takitez giving their dog, Rosie, a bath. We opted for special dinner out at the Old Bridge Inn at Lock 27 and the meal was fantastic. Lockside Trading Company is also located here and is a great place to browse.
The waterway locks raise boats 600 feet from Trenton on Lake Ontario and then lowers them 263 feet to meet Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Most of the locks so far have been hand-cranked simple locks with a 7-26 feet lift, a few double hydraulic lifts of 48-54 feet but on 7-19, we floated in a huge pan of water lifted 65 feet in the air like a ferris wheel in the Peterborough Lift Lock. This is all accomplished with the addition of a 1 foot of water on one side—amazing 19th century technology.
We continued in lock mode through 7 more locks on 7-19 and traveled with Loopers, Blue Max, Tadpole and Takitez. We had a rhythm going with the four boats entering the locks in an orderly procession, tying off lines, fending off as needed and then relaxing and visiting. We all dispersed to different lock walls for the night as there is simply no room for 4 boats traveling together on mooring walls filled with vacation boaters.
What do we do at the end of the day? Here’s a picture of Joe and Joyce on Takitez giving their dog, Rosie, a bath. We opted for special dinner out at the Old Bridge Inn at Lock 27 and the meal was fantastic. Lockside Trading Company is also located here and is a great place to browse.
