The Trent-Severn Waterway - Part 1

                                       The Trent-Severn Waterway – Part 1

On July 17, we left the CFB Yacht Club and motored to
Trenton & the start of the Trent-Severn Waterway which will take us 240 miles west & north thru beautiful cottage country of Ontario to Georgian Bay.  Almost immediately we see another trawler – a looper boat – Gypsy Time- who is headed in the same direction as we are.  We went thru 6 locks on the TS with them & tied up at the north end of Lock 6 for the night at Frankford.  About an hour later, Miss Ruby, another looper boat tied up, so we knew that we were back in “looper land” after almost a month on the western end of Lake Ontario. 

The Trent Severn Waterway was built over a period of 90 years in the 1800s& early 1900s, as the Canadians were looking for a good route to send men & supplies from the north of Ontario to the southern border.  Today, because of rail & trucks the waterway is used strictly for recreation & hydroelectric power.  The canal mostly still consists of locks & dams built over 75 years ago that are still operated manually.  Most every lock has wonderful flower beds – I wonder if there’s a contest for the most colorful lock???

Going through the locks, Hank drives QAR & I handle the lines.  On this lock system we use a bow line and a midship line & wrap them around vertical cables lining the walls of the lock.  After I get 2 lines secure, Hank shuts down the engines & comes down to help me tend the lines & fenders as we go up the lock.  The more we do it the more fluid our movements are when securing; however, occasionally things don’t go smoothly, so we’re always very careful.  The lock masters on the Trent Severn are very helpful & often offer to help push off when we’re exiting a lock.  They tell you what to expect ahead of you & will even give restaurant recommendations.

At Lock 3, I was visiting with the lockmaster & told him that I was hoping to see a moose while in Georgian Bay.  He asked if I’d ever had moose.  “Of course not,” I said.  Next thing I know he’s handing me a frozen moose steak & telling me how to cook it.  He assured me that it doesn’t taste like venison!  I gave him one of our jars of Weber’s Mustard from Buffalo.

Night 2 on the Trent-Severn we spent on the town wall at Campbellford.  It had been another day with 6 locks to “navigate”.   A local, “Carl”, came by our boats & invited us to the Legion Hall for $10 steaks.  We walked over there with John & Pat off Gypsy Time for their very good dinner. We left just as the band was starting to warm up, explaining to Carl that boaters are “early to bed”.  Campbellford is famous for the “World’s Finest Chocolate Factory Outlet Store” (I didn’t make it there, but I got samples when we checked in at the Chamber of Commerce office).    The town is also famous as the home of the “Toonie”.  The artist who designed the Toonie is from the area & he & the Toonie are honored with a 20 foot tall replica in the park where we were tied up – the Toonie is the Canadian $2 coin.  The “loonie” is the $1 coin (has a loon) & the toonie has a polar bear.

We got underway about 8:30 this morning and had 6 more locks today before we tied up at the village marina in Hastings.  We’ve been going thru beautiful countryside with summer cottages on both sides of the water, but as we go further north the landscape will become much more rustic & the locks will be much further part.  Tomorrow we’re headed to Peterborough – a town of 60,000 with dockage & a 65’ hydraulic lift lock.

At Lock 13 today, I was telling the lockmaster (mistress) about having to give up my herb garden to enter Canada (no American dirt shall be brought into Canada) & she gave me cut herbs from the garden she keeps at the lock.  So, we’ll have an omelet in the morning with fresh herbs!