Boat Ramblings 5

4TH July, but here in Canada it is just another day. We marched our way up the Ottawa River and are now in Ottawa, the capital of Canada, "parked" against the city wharf in downtown Ottawa. The city offers the wharf for boaters heading up or down the Rideau Canal, which begins (or ends as the case may be) here. Busy spot, with cars, cyclist, joggers, walkers and boat gazers constantly whizzing past, (well the boat gazers just sort of keep the park benches warm as they gaze) but this part of the city is extraordinarily beautiful. We arrived to find the entire wharf lined with boats and we were fortunate enough to grab the last tie up place for the night. Our initial arrival into the area was a frenzy of activity as we exited off the Ottawa River into the Rideau Canal via a series of 8 back to back locks, stepping us up some eighty feet into downtown Ottawa. This group of locks took us well over an hour (probably much longer, but I lost track of time) to progress our way through. There were least a 100 odd people lining the banks, observing our progress with interest and where it was occasionally possible, many engaged us in conversation. We were inundated with so many questions which was a trifle difficult to give them due courtesy as our progress through the locks required our full attention for most of the time. The first 3 locks must have looked like mayhem aboard to the onlookers, and it surely felt like it. We were not ready for the sudden transition into the locks that beckoned us straight on in. As Richard's finessing skills at the helm were being challenged, I found myself rushing up and down the deck, lines flying, fenders flaying, boat hook jamming and finally lungeing, with a good measure of desperation, (and just a little cursing) at a hold, any hold, within the lock to secure a line which would hold Halcyon before the force of the water filling the lock veered her off into the other boat who was riding the eight locks with us. All this while lock doors closed behind us then opened in front of us. The focused intensity of this set of locks made us keenly aware that there were only the two of us to direct Halcyon through, now that Barb had departed. What a huge difference another crew member on deck makes. By the 4th lock, however, Richard and I had all our ducks in a row, so to speak, and progressed at what certainly felt like and maybe even looked like, a more competent boat handling job through the remaining 4 locks...and we made it safely, but gee, golly there are only 41 more of these things to go in this canal. As comic relief, I might add, the entire exercise through that set of locks was accompanied by Walker's extremely vocal hound howls of displeasure at being banned from the deck, for we needed one more distraction on deck like a hole in the head.

7th July...tomorrow we reach Kingston, which is the end of the Rideau canal for us. We are now in bilingual Ontario, Canada where English and French are freely spoken.   This part of the world is truly a wonderful place to cruise on a boat and even to have a home on the canal would be most pleasant (in summer). It is green and lush with so many lovely homes and gardens along the banks, each with their own unique architectural style. Oh so different from the likes of Myrtle Beach in South Carolina where the homes on the ICW banks were expensive, lack luster, built within conversation distance of each other and were devoid of any style, flair and imagination, well in our opinion anyway.

Initially built as a means of defense against North America in the aftermath of the war of 1812, (although never used as such), the Rideau Canal took on a new role to become an important trade route. Today it is part of Canada's Heritage Waterways and is used exclusively by recreational boaters. It is 202 kilometers long, linking the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario through a system of lakes and rivers connected by channels, canals and 49 locks most of which have dams associated with them (these being small but of sufficient height to provide hydroelectric power....smart these Canadians)

The last two nights we have found just wonderful, quiet anchorages in tucked away protected bays on a couple of the numerous lakes. The bays are remote with dense forests, which drop steeply to the water's edge. I keep waiting for a bear or two to materialize out of the woods onto the banks for an evening drink, but alas I have failed to see even one....perhaps I have been looking in the wrong direction and all the action is taking place behind me. We sleep to the sounds of the loons at night and the otters (or maybe they are beavers) swimming past, who are busy with their own lives and appear to have no curiosity or even interest in us. For us the Rideau and the Chambly Canals along with the Richleau River have truly been the highlight of this trip to date.

Just managed to get ourselves tied up in a marina at Kingston before a deepening depression hit with considerable winds and rains. Next morning, with skies clearing but still 25knots of wind blowing, we tucked our heads down and headed out into Lake Ontario, destination, Trenton. Managed to get some shelter from the islands that we scurried along behind until we gained full protection from the winds in the delightful little town of Trenton, where we stayed for a couple of days to do laundry, stock up at the local Farmer's Market and of course enjoy some "fine dining"....fish & chips English style....yum! Trenton is the entry point to the Trent-Severn Waterway (yes another canal system) which will take us 260 odd miles across Ontario via more lakes, canals and rivers to Georgian Bay. The Trent-Severn is a comparatively recent addition, built in the late nineteenth century to enhance trade across the Great Lakes. Today it is also a part of the Heritage Waterway for recreational boaters. No less than 44 locks on this one, some of which are more than intriguing. Overall this water system will lift us to a staggering height of 850ft then slowly take us down again to Georgian Bay. Canada has done a great job maintaining the Heritage Waterways and to cover their costs they charge a boat like us who is transiting across the three, (Chambly, Rideau and Trent-Severn) $Can730.00 which gives us unlimited lockage and moorings alongside the locks (should we wish to stay overnight) for the full summer season. The locks close early November with the coming of winter. Occasionally the locks offer electrical hook ups (power) for the boats overnighting alongside the lock, but generally it is just keys to the restrooms (no showers) in a park like setting. The locks are sometimes located close to a small town but other times they are in quiet rural settings, which we love. When we consider how much we would pay to stay in a marina most nights and the scenery/lifestyle we are seeing as we wander the back blocks of Canada, we consider the system good value.

With blue skies and balmy temperatures once more, we headed under the bridge which marked the entrance to the Trent-Severn Waterway, in the company with no less than 3 other "Loopers". This part was short lived, however, as it now being the end of day two since leaving Trenton, we seem to have lost the others behind us somewhere. Everyone has their own idea of where they wish to stop over for the night and the locking system sometimes can only take two of we larger boats at a time, so moving as a unit of 4 largish vessels is not always possible or practical.

July 15th and we are 2/3rds of the way through the Trent-Severn Canal. It is quite pretty in parts, but not up to the previous canals in scenery. However, so far so good. It is now summer holidays here in Canada and houseboat rentals are extremely popular along the Canal. This makes for some very nervous making moments as many of the houseboats appear to have little directional control and combine this with some very tight areas to negotiate, and a boat load of adults and kids who are less concerned about the general rule of the waterways as having a good time. We were advised to not travel on the weekends along the canal, very good advice for the few houseboats we have encountered have taken our breath away....but no worries, have another beer is their motto. The lockmasters of the locks have some stories to tell about the holidayers in their houseboats who come through the locks. Mind you, they also have their stories about others like ourselves. Fortunately all events described have not been life threatening just money makers for the boat repairmen.

We passed by a small runabout with two men aboard one day. I thought one of the guys was waving enthusiastically at us, so I waved back just as enthusiastically. However, he continued agitating his arms back and forth, so we took a closer look and figured his actions were not one of a cheery hello, but rather one of HELP. They had no radio and were drifting on a large lake, their engine having failed them....it was totally kaput. We came alongside, and they requested a tow, back some distance in the direction we had just come...mmmmm...this was not in our script. Fortunately two other boats of about our own size were moving up the lake heading in the direction the adrift boat wished to go. Richard hailed them on the radio and asked if they could assist. To everyone's delight, they altered course and came alongside the stricken boat. We backed away and continued on our way, satisfied that they would indeed take the guys in tow. Last seen through the binoculars was the runabout being towed by the larger of the two vessels while the other rode shotgun behind, all heading in the direction each wished to go...all was well with the world.

Righto, moving right along....here we are almost to the other side of Georgian Bay, it being the 23rd July. Georgian Bay is Canada's answer to boater's paradise. It is impressive and just a little bit scary as it is riddled with boat eating rocks. The entire area is made up of massive rock formations, the long gone glaciers having scoured and scored clean the area all the way down to cambrian rock, the oldest known exposed rock type on earth. The trenches, fissures and wide gullies have since filled with fresh water creating a multitude of tiny and mid size islands with lovely, protected bays and coves where the conifers have found a happy place to thrive. It is all very pristine in that the environment has been left in its natural state, with just the occasional weekend cottage to be spotted tucked away under the trees. No garbage filled, murky, weed ridden or generally uninviting waters to be found here. The water is, however, cold. Our pool thermometer read the water temp at 68 degrees F....way too cold for us to venture in, but obviously not for the Canadians in their pleasure boats. In many of the anchorages we see them cavorting happily in the water or on their endless supply of water toys....you know, the paddle boards, jet skis, water skis, kayaks, and some way sophisticated "tubes". You name it, they have it on board or attached to their boat in some manner and are, quite rightly, proudly enjoying their little piece of paradise. We were told not to hurry through these waters but rather linger and enjoy, but once again we must move on to stay within our self appointed schedule....so many things to enjoy, so little time to explore them all.

Oops, spoke to soon, Richard took to the waters yesterday afternoon. Not by choice mind you and he assures me it is way colder than 68 degrees a couple feet below the surface. He elected to dive on the anchor to check how it was lying on the rocky bottom, (fortunately only at 18ft) as there was a nasty storm moving in. This was spurred on by the fact that we had limited swinging room before saying howdy do to the rocks around us and we had been unhappy with the way the anchor had set after we had launched it to its watery bed for the night. Upon inspection all seemed okay, but alas not so, for at 5.30am we scurried from our bed to hurriedly pull the anchor up and move to another location as bullets of wind swept into the little cove where we were anchored which regrettably was stretching out the anchor chain attached to the anchor, in the opposite direction. This, in effect, was driving us uncomfortably close to another lot of hungry rocks lurking just below the surface. Aah, the other side of boat life!

Fishing, we are not fishermen, don't even have a hook and line aboard, but our route to date has been dotted with an endless parade of hopeful anglers, except, surprisingly here in Georgian Bay where the fishing is reportedly excellent. The most alarming, to me, was in the Champlain Canal, NY. GE had, some years ago, dumped toxic waste of some description into the river system (not sure of the full story). However it came about though, it obviously was not good stuff, as a massive clean up operation was in full swing with tugs and heavy equipment working a 24hr shift. They had been detoxifying the waters and river floor for some years with still a few more years of clean up ahead of them.....at GE's expense. Meanwhile, I observed numerous keen anglers of all ages, gender and ethnicity casting their lines into these dubious waters....are they mad! Maybe they were kindly folk intent only on offering a quick passing to heavenly waters for the fish rather than a slow death by toxic waste.....I think I prefer this fantasy.

Having caught up with some other "Loopers" from the Hudson River days, we exchanged war stories and moved on into the North Channel, enjoying once more some lovely, quiet anchorages. When I say quiet I mean, no emergency vehicle sirens, no lawnmowers or leaf blowers, no car noises, in fact no people noises, just the wind rustling the leaves of the nearby trees, the waters lapping on shore and against the hull of the boat, birds calling or singing and nothing else....total quietness, not even planes flying overhead.....just total, beautiful, serene silence, what a great way to enjoy my evening glass of wine.

Yesterday we passed through United State Customs who officially welcomed us back into the United States......this also means we are back in phone and internet range again. Today, we are sitting in a marina catching up on administration neglected over the past month while in Canada and tomorrow we head for the Les Cheneaux Islands, for some more of those quiet anchorages before heading for Lake Michigan and a complete return to civilization. I head home for a week next week while Richard and dawg plan to hang out in a marina in Charlevoix, Michigan awaiting my return. So at this point I will close and get this away and trust all is well in your next of the woods, wherever that may be.