Canada

After leaving Winter Harbor (NY) Marina, June 13, and traveling through 8 locks, we reached Lake Ontario at the end of the Oswego Canal. That's the most locks we've traveled through in a day. It takes an average of 30 minutes to get through each lock. We normally boat 4 - 5 hours a day, but this was a 7 hour trip, and we covered 28 nautical miles! We've completed Troy lock on the Hudson River, 23 locks on the Erie Canal, and 7 locks on the Oswego Canal. Over thirty locks. 

The next project was to cross Lake Ontario.

The weather wasn't good, but neither was the forecast for the next several days. Not much to Oswego but waiting for suitable weather to cross. The next morning, winds didn't look too bad, and it was only drizzly rain so we decided to go ahead and cross. The wind was on the beam which made the crossing rough with waves over three feet rocking the boat for the several-hour crossing. Everything in the cabin that wasn't attached ended up on the floor. Next time we'll stay put until we get smoother water.  

Canada

The far side of Lake Ontario is in Canada, so we had to land at a custom check point.

We cleared Customs at Prinyer's Cove Marina after crossing Lake Ontario and waiting without getting off the boat for about an hour until officers could drive out to (very) briefly search the boat. 

It was a very long day! Pictures of Prinyer's Cove Marina (a certified Port of Entry) pictures below. Not much happening there, but a peaceful evening once the ordeal was over!

After entering Canada, we spent the next day boating to Trenton , which has a very nice marina and town with all the modern amenities we enjoy! It is also the beginning of the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Trent-Severn Waterway

The Trent-Severn Waterway stretches 242 miles and connects Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay.

 It has 37 conventional locks, two flight locks (travel from one lock chamber to the next lock chamber), two hydraulic lift locks, and a marine railway. 

 Along the way you can stay at marinas, tie-up before or after locking at the channel walls, or anchor. Since we are traveling with Amira, we stayed at marinas or along walls where power posts, restrooms and sometimes water and showers were available. 

Locks close at 5pm for the day. Afterwards, boats can tie-off along the wall to stay for the night or wait for lock to open at 9am the next morning.

Lock 21- Peterborough Lift lock, opened July 1904. For many years the lock's dual lifts were the world's highest hydraulic boat lift, lifting boats 65 feet in the air. It operates on a balance principle. When extra water is let into the upper chamber, a connecting valve is opened and the heavier chamber automatically descends, forcing up the lower chamber to start a new cycle. An engineering marvel, it operates using mostly original parts more than 100 years later. 

Above: Lock 34 - Fenelon Falls.  A popular stop because the town is right there. Restaurants, shops, banks, grocery stores, laundromats, everything you need from town and re-stocking supplies. The early boats claim the power posts.

Below:  You can see the rocks along the narrow channel heading into Lake Simcoe. The depth went down to 4 feet (or lower), and there was a bumper crop of seaweed to get drawn into your intake or caught in your prop or drive shaft. 

In several places you announced across the VHF radio that you were coming through "west bound", so  vessels in the other direction would stay put until you got to a place to pass safely.

After the series of locks 36-41, we stopped along the wall and Keith spent a half hour or so in the water, pulling weeds off the drive shaft, before continuing to cross Lake Simcoe to the Port of Orillia. Port of Orillia - Canada Day, July 1. It is a destination for boaters to come celebrate and party!

The Big Chute Marine Railway

We left Orillia the next morning to get to Lock 44: The Big Chute Marine Railway. It is the only marine railway in North America. We had to wait until the next day to travel across because they only take  smaller boats on the weekend.

History of the Big Chute: The original Big Chute Marine Railway was completed in 1917, and could only carry boats up to 35 feet long, preventing navigation by large commercial vessels. In 1964 plans were made for a single lock at Big Chute. However, before construction began, the sea lamprey, which had been devastating the fishing industry in the Great Lakes, was found in the area and plans were put on hold. It was finally decided that locks would allow lamprey passage, but moving boats over land prevented this migration. In 1976, construction of the current railway began. The current carriage was opened to the public in 1978, and can carry a boat up to 100 feet long with a 24 feet beam. Our boat is 39 feet long and has a 14.3 foot beam. After the Big Chute, we are almost to Port Severn Lock 45 - the last lock on the canal, and done with the Trent-Severn Waterway. Georgian Bay and North Channel to Lake Huron will take us back to the US.