\Peterborough to Hastings

Peterborough to Hastings

Not too far on the map...7 hours by boat!

I finished up the laundry this morning so absolutely everything is clean and if it wasn’t so cold we could sail naked so everything would STAY clean! We’ll do that when we get back to the islands...not a pretty picture, is it? Let’s leave it there!

We left the Peterborough Marina at around 10:15 knowing that we might have to wait at the end of Little Lake, but apparently Ben called the lockmaster and told him to expect us and the bridge was open and the lock was waiting for us!

Once through the lock, we were into the river, a long winding river that was at times boring and others fascinating. We were at one spot where a small airplane kept flying past us an landing on a grass strip, then take off and fly over again. He did this three times, which tells you how slow we were going!!

Rick had an osprey drop right in front of him a scoop a perch out of the water. We tried to get a picture but it was too far away, sitting in the tree eating.

W played chicken with a huge flock of seagulls...we won.

There aren’t a lot of fall colours right now. Either all the trees that changed dropped their leaves already or the condition weren’t right in this area for colours this year. Might have something to do with all of the water around. Apparently, this area had a lot of floods this year.

This is a very small town nut we are park a half block away from the Legion, four restaurants and 3 corner stores! We had a fairly clear, sunny day today but now it is pouring with rain again. As long as it is over by the time we hit Lake Ontario...

There s a Mainship trawler parked on the wall behind us that is heading in the other direction. They are coming from Gananoque heading to Peterborough. They have done what we are doing...rebuilt a boat, sailed the Caribbean and southern States.

Well, tonight I’m tired so this is it. Liz will be calling shortly so here are some pics and goodnight!

Pictures

Here are some of the pics we took over the last few days

SUnday October 5

Sunday October 5,

Are we nuts?! We woke up and I swear there was frost on the grass in some places. The lockmaster (that’s a joke...most of these guys are students) arrived with his guitar and his lunch promptly and we waited and waited. Finally Rick wandered up to the building and the guy apologized. We weren’t sitting on the BLUE wall so he didn’t think we were ready.

Today was a day of wind and locks. We made 8 of them. After the first one,we caught up to a big Carver that was a captained charter (people hire the boat and its owner to drive them around.)We followed him through the canals and locks because he was familiar with the channels and would know where all the deep spots are.

When we got to the last huge lift lock at Peterborough, they were training a new girl!!! Now this is two great big pans about as deep as pizza pans compared to the boats they carry. We were at the top side with the Carver in front of us. (He would have gone over first in the wind!)  And we had to wait for 15 minutes for the bottom pan to load with a tour boat, and a couple of cruisers. AND they had the nerve to call us over the PA system and tell us to hurry up!

I don’t like heights so I’m not a fan of the big locks. It creeps me out when they stand looking over a 50 foot drop to chat with you! Most of the people today were great... they called ahead and got the next one prepared but a couple of them acted as if we were interrupting their cell phone calls. Two of them ambled around the stanchion talking and texting while they opened and closed the gates. I wanted to say something but we’re pretty distinctive so I’m sure they would call ahead to warn the next locks.

But the last little lock was very good.  Firstly, it was two women running it. One of them asked where we were headed for the day (it was only 3:00 p.m.) I said we were staying in Peterborough because we needed to do laundry and shower. She called the marina, arranged for a dock and sent us on our way over to the municipal marina to “Ben and Jen, really nice people.” She was right. Ben is going to pick up Rick in the morning and take him to get diesel (their pump is broken). And they were both very helpful.

So we are at the dock right in front of a Holiday Inn. I was SO TEMPTED to go get a room with a hot shower inside it!! But I am getting laundry done. I don’t think the hotel would do ten days’ worth for me. And we have to get the last load out of the dryer so we’ll have our shower at the same time. It will feel good to be hot for awhile! 

The forecast is for rain for the next three days, then sun. But the temperature is only going to 13Ÿ tomorrow. We have our rain gear and fleeces (thank you Geoff), and the windows are working well. The barometer is rising and that means a high pressure area of stable calm air is coming. Right, Brian? I need to get out my weather book and start reading again.

So we are going to watch a movie tonight if we can stay awake long enough... probably not. Tomorrow we go through Lock 19 first thing so w can’t leave here until 10am or 10:30 when it opens, then 35 miles to the next Lock through Rice Lake. . I will post again tomorrow if we are near internet access. Sometimes we find areas in the wilderness where we have full service then we get to a town with minimal coverage??!!

Take care and stay warm!

Friday Saturday Oct 3-4

So, as soon as we left the river system onto Canal Lake the weather kicked up. The river was calm but the lake had white caps!! It was sunny but wild. We crossed three little lakes like that ...nasty, bumpy bits of water. We made it through Fenelon Falls and got to Lock 32 at Bobcaygeon ( and that stupid song by Kim Mitchell or whoever keeps going through my head!)

In case you are wondering, the locks count up from Trenton so we are going backwards.

It was raining when we got to the lock dock, but we parked and walked downtown for about  7 blocks, got some groceries and came back to do the 50 hour maintenance.

Well, THAT was fun. We spent a few furious minutes trying to fit the tubes together to suck out the oil. They were cold and old and wouldn’t go together. Finally with some persuasion and hot water they worked and then Rick punched a hole in the filter to drain it like some other DIY mechanic taught him.  No problem...I emptied the new sour cream container and we used that to drain the oil into. SO far so good... except that the filter was on so tight he couldn’t get it off!  Great! Now we can’t go anywhere because we have NO OIL FILTER!! After about a half hour of crawling around under and through the engine, swearing profusely and making tools, he finally got it off. I’m surprised he didn’t throw it overboard but he restrained himself. [It was supposed to finger tightened on]

So because there are no showers at the government facilities, he had a bath in the kitchen sink and we went to bed. It rained all night and it is damp and cold today.

October 4, Saturday:  We got through the lock at 9:15 a.m. and since it’s a weekend we can go through them until 5:00 pm today. With our luck, they are spread just far enough apart that we can’t get to one at 4:30 pm and will get stuck with another short day but we’ll do our best .

We bounced our way through Pigeon Lake and we are now crossing Buckhorn Lake. We have been eating a lot of homemade stew/soup because it is easier than preparing meals, and enough spices keep you warm!  So today I am cooking beets before they are too soft to eat...not sure what I’ll add this time but garlic fixes just about everything!

I keep smelling sweet baking in the air... it’s either Liz’s coconut Scentsy air freshener or I really need a cinnamon bun!! Still can’t find any good gluten free sweetbreads yet. I think Rick will make a spice cake today. I’ll get the carrots grated and he can turn it into a carrot cake.J [I don’t do baking on the boat. When it’s time to bake, I drive]

We got through the Buckhorn lock 31 and Lovesick Lake (30) then to the Burleigh Falls lock #28. (#29 doesn’t exist... gov’t agents couldn’t count?!?)

Unfortunately as we were approaching the lock, our hydraulics blew so we had to line the boat by hand into the lock and line it out on the other side. Luckily Rick had extra hose and ferrules so he fixed it. (We will be getting extra bits at the next hardware store we see!)The lockmaster called the next lock and told then we wouldn’t make it so leave a key to the washrooms between the doors and they did! It took an hour to get under way again.

Just as we were ready to pull out, a cruise ship, no, I mean, a tour boat went by so I pretty much followed him... mistake...I missed a turn and in the middle of a rainstorm I had to turn around and backtrack a few hundred yards to my course!  The rain finally stopped and we were able to find our way to the next lock.  There are monster houses along these lakes, some look like they have 12 rooms... who cleans these things?!

And now it’s evening and we are at Lock 27 called Young’s Point. We had a great dinner of salad and spaghetti and Rick did make a carrot cake (while I was getting us lost) and it was awesome. We’ll eat the beets tomorrow night with chicken and potatoes. It stopped raining as we docked but it will probably start again tomorrow.

I am attaching pictures from the last few days.  Have a good night everyone. Jack, hope you are feeling better, and glad to hear Geoff is home for a visit. Take care, everyone.

Friday -Saturday Oct 3-4

Burleigh Lock Sat. night

Meeting a boat coming in the canal

See! we're not the only ones out here

Are you kidding! How much room do you need??

Sunset on Georgian Bay

Gets pretty narrow in here

Going over the Big Chute railway down to the river

So, as soon as we left the river system onto Canal Lake the weather kicked up. The river was calm but the lake had white caps!! It was sunny but wild. We crossed three little lakes like that ...nasty, bumpy bits of water. We made it through Fenelon Falls and got to Lock 32 at Bobcaygeon ( and that stupid song by Kim Mitchell or whoever keeps going through my head!)

In case you are wondering, the locks count up from Trenton so we are going backwards.

It was raining when we got to the lock dock, but we parked and walked downtown for about  7 blocks, got some groceries and came back to do the 50 hour maintenance.

Well, THAT was fun. We spent a few furious minutes trying to fit the tubes together to suck out the oil. They were cold and old and wouldn’t go together. Finally with some persuasion and hot water they worked and then Rick punched a hole in the filter to drain it like some other DIY mechanic taught him.  No problem...I emptied the new sour cream container and we used that to drain the oil into. SO far so good... except that the filter was on so tight he couldn’t get it off!  Great! Now we can’t go anywhere because we have NO OIL FILTER!! After about a half hour of crawling around under and through the engine, swearing profusely and making tools, he finally got it off. I’m surprised he didn’t throw it overboard but he restrained himself. [It was supposed to finger tightened on]

So because there are no showers at the government facilities, he had a bath in the kitchen sink and we went to bed. It rained all night and it is damp and cold today.

October 4, Saturday:  We got through the lock at 9:15 a.m. and since it’s a weekend we can go through them until 5:00 pm today. With our luck, they are spread just far enough apart that we can’t get to one at 4:30 pm and will get stuck with another short day but we’ll do our best .

We bounced our way through Pigeon Lake and we are now crossing Buckhorn Lake. We have been eating a lot of homemade stew/soup because it is easier than preparing meals, and enough spices keep you warm!  So today I am cooking beets before they are too soft to eat...not sure what I’ll add this time but garlic fixes just about everything!

I keep smelling sweet baking in the air... it’s either Liz’s coconut Scentsy air freshener or I really need a cinnamon bun!! Still can’t find any good gluten free sweetbreads yet. I think Rick will make a spice cake today. I’ll get the carrots grated and he can turn it into a carrot cake.J [I don’t do baking on the boat. When it’s time to bake, I drive]

We got through the Buckhorn lock 31 and Lovesick Lake (30) then to the Burleigh Falls lock #28. (#29 doesn’t exist... gov’t agents couldn’t count?!?)

Unfortunately as we were approaching the lock, our hydraulics blew so we had to line the boat by hand into the lock and line it out on the other side. Luckily Rick had extra hose and ferrules so he fixed it. (We will be getting extra bits at the next hardware store we see!)The lockmaster called the next lock and told then we wouldn’t make it so leave a key to the washrooms between the doors and they did! It took an hour to get under way again.

Just as we were ready to pull out, a cruise ship, no, I mean, a tour boat went by so I pretty much followed him... mistake...I missed a turn and in the middle of a rainstorm I had to turn around and backtrack a few hundred yards to my course!  The rain finally stopped and we were able to find our way across Clear Lake to the next lock. This part of the System is called Deer Bay Reach. Sound familiar sibs? There was no way I could find Grandma and Ted’s cottage.  There are monster houses along these lakes, some look like they have 12 rooms... who cleans these things?!

And now it’s evening and we are at Lock 27 called Young’s Point. The last lockmaster called ahead and this one left a key for the bathrooms for us. We had a great dinner of salad and spaghetti and Rick did make a carrot cake (while I was getting us lost) and it was awesome. He lit candles (mostly to warm up the cabin) and we had a romantic dinner. I drank the last glass of zinfandel (thank you Lois!) We’ll eat the beets tomorrow night with chicken and potatoes. It stopped raining as we docked but it will probably start again tomorrow.

I am attaching pictures from the last few days.  Have a good night everyone. Jack, hope you are feeling better, and glad to hear Geoff is home for a visit. Take care, everyone.