July 26 and 27 Thurs and Fri - Bobcaygeon to Fenlon Falls to PortageLock Wall

July 26 and 27 Thurs and Fri - Bobcaygeon to Fenlon Falls to PortageLock Wall

By 0830 we moved over to the blue line to let the lock operator know our intentions of locking thru.  The day is sunny and comfortable and the ride on Sturgeon Lake is pleasant.  There are no sturgeon on this lake so the origin of the name remains a mystery.  The shoreline is lined with elaborate boathouse and equally elaborate cottage behind them.  With wide open water, we get passed often by large powerboats all zooming past.  This is one of the few places the large boats can go fast with no worries about their wakes and they all take advantage of the space.  After we go thru Fenlon Falls lock, we again tie to the wall. The town is nice, shopping, good dockage with hydro (electric to the Americans), a casual dinner spot and again rain for the evening.  At 2030 we see the sunset amidst rain clouds - the promise for a new day - praise to the Lord's glory.

The captain is slow to rise but we get away by 0915 and head to Kirkfield Lift lock which is the summit of the canal system  At that point the locks will begins to lower us to the Georgian Bay.  The first obstacle, however on the Trent Canal a long, claustrophobic passage with overhanging trees and rocks lurking below.  Prior to entering these passages, the captain gives a security call to warm oncoming boaters or others that a boat is in this narrow channel and please wait for a sighting until they pass us.  The captain goes slow and is highly skilled and we travel thru safely.  We enter the Kirkfield Lift lock, which is similar to Peterborough Lock, and we begin our descent.  At the bottom of our flight, the lock operator realized the tubs were imbalanced so we were informed they would finish the lift manually.  This involved dumping water into our tub from above - an interesting solution.  The technique worked, the gates were opened and we proceeded on our way.  The evening at the lock wall was a welcome peaceful end to the day.
 

Fenelon Falls used to be two locks but they removed them

and made one big (high lift) lock instead

Tied to the lock wall after the Fenelon Falls lock.

They had these large PVC pipes in the concrete so you

could pass your power cords thru the pipe and then the

cords weren't laying on top of the concrete so no tripping

hazard. First time we have seen these, but a nice touch. 

A cutie welcoming you to the Falls

The Falls for which the town is named

A charming couple enjoying the falls

 

We are so blessed to be able to do this trip and see

so many of God's works

 

This whole trip is scenic with unique navigational

problems

These guys do a tremendous job marking the channels

and keeping you off the rocks if you pay attention

A Big Dog lives here

The narrow channel which requires a Securite' call

on the vhf radio informing other boaters you are

entering this narrow section, your direction headed,

and your size so you don't encounter another large

boat in an area with limited navigational width and

water depth

They remind you before you enter

Short Vacation following us into the narrow

channel

As the saying goes: Sea gulls can not walk on water

so if you see one standing on the water there is a

rock probably under him and be careful

 

The Kirkfield Lift lock. Same principle as Peterborough

lock but made of steel so there is no concrete wall

in front of you as you pull in very slowly. You don't want

to find out how tough the gate in front of you is to stop you.

It is 60 feet straight down !

 

Colletta waiting for Short Vacation to enter the

pan with us to begin the locking process

Short Vacation entering the lift lock

On our way down we pass the other chamber on

its way up.

As mentioned there was a slight malfunction

in our locking process so more water had to be

added manually so the lock door could be

opened and we could exit the chamber. The had

both boats move all the way forward in the tub

so they could release more water into the tub.

 

Tied to the lock wall at the end of the day. sometimes

you have to improvise. They had just redone this lock

and they didn't put in enough cleats to tie to.