We are boater's too, and we share the same passions that you do and are often looking for our next boating adventure. Last year we were lucky enough to experience canal boating over in Scotland. This year we stayed closer to home to experience our sister canal to the Rideau - the Trent.
Joan and I are very lucky to have met some great boating friends from Cobourg Ontario. Dean and Liz dock beside us at our winter getaway in Fort Lauderdale and have become year round friends. Last winter we talked about never having cruised the Trent Canal so decided that we should make it happen this September. All of us are involved in the marine business one way or another so timing was important and the fall is one of our favourite seasons for boating.
We started out driving to Cobourg on Friday September 11th and moved aboard their 35 year old 36' Albin 
Trawler, Elizabeth Anne, and settled into the V berth area with our own head and private space. Their crew includes their little yorkie, Rosie, who fits perfectly into the mix. Joining us on their own boats were Marielle and Andy on their 1978 34" Marine Trader, Digby, and Donna and Ralph on their 36 Albin, Yolo. All three have the same power, single 120hp Ford Lehman engines so everyone is maxed out at seven knots.
Trawler, Elizabeth Anne, and settled into the V berth area with our own head and private space. Their crew includes their little yorkie, Rosie, who fits perfectly into the mix. Joining us on their own boats were Marielle and Andy on their 1978 34" Marine Trader, Digby, and Donna and Ralph on their 36 Albin, Yolo. All three have the same power, single 120hp Ford Lehman engines so everyone is maxed out at seven knots.Our first day, Saturday, was spent running from Cobourg east on Lake Ontario to Brighton, traversing the Murray Canal to the Bay of Quinte and into the new city marina at Trenton. It rained off and on all day and the 1-2 foot waves were on our bow so we rocked all day long. We had a traditional happy hour aboard Elizabeth Anne before returning to our vessels for separate dinners. Sunday we took advantage of the Fall weekend hours leaving the dock at 8:30 so we would be at lock 1 for opening and canal pass purchase at 9:00. We ran steadily upstream making above Lock 9 at Hagues Reach for the night. The canalmen and lockmasters were very helpful as it rained again most of the day and we fought heavy current flows from the water as they tried to decrease the levels in the lakes across the area. Experienced on the Rideau Canal, I was impressed with the size and height of the lifts. The lock walls are concrete, not stone blocks as in our system but most of the controls are hand operated, wood doors mostly well maintained. The staff kept us moving smoothly by calling ahead so the doors were open when we arrived at the next lock.
The shorter weekday hours meant that we left the top of Lock 9 to arrive below Lock 10 before opening at 10:00. We headed steadily up stream through this primarily river area cresting at Hastings above Lock 18. We decided to eat ashore so found an interesting restaurant specializing in fish and chips. The food was very good and plentiful and we returned to our boats full and happy.The town dock wall did not have power but generators and inverters powered our electronics and charged our batteries so we were ready to go the next morning for our run the length of Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River. Our one lock today, #19, brought us into Little Lake in downtown Peterborough, This city marina had excellent staff and facilities including power, washrooms, WiFi, and several restaurants within walking distance. After "happy hour" we walked up street for a great dinner.
The next morning, we were at lock 20 for opening, then on to Lock 21, the hydraulic lift lock, a highlight of our trip. Liz and Dean were with us when we did the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland last Fall. This is a similar experience but much older technology. The chamber lifts up 65 feet to bring us to the next level and we continued north on the Otonabee river to the town of Lakefield. There is a nice town marina here and although the staff had left for the day, the other boaters gave us washroom keys, WiFi password and made sure we got power for the chargers, lights etc. We left before the staff returned in the morning but knew that we would stop on the return to pay for our dockage.
Day 6 we entered the Kawartha Lakes area. Young's Point, Burleigh Falls, Lovesick Lock took us through Clear Lake, Stoney Lake, Lovesick Lake, Deer Bay to the village of Buckhorn and Lock 31. What a treat when friends of Dean and Liz showed up at our dockage with barbeque ribs and all the fixings for dinner. Our original plan had been to visit them at their home in Fenelon Falls but time constraints changed our expectations. But no worries, we made our connection just fine. There was some question about a bridge height between Buckhorn and Bobcaygeon but the female crew members all wanted to shop there so we took Andy's boat, the one with the lower clearance, up to the bottom of town for a few hours of retail therapy, then back to Buckhorn for dinner at the old resort Inn there.
Day 8 we turned around and started back down hill retracing our steps, lock by lock, till we arrived back at Cobourg on Friday afternoon in time to load the car and make the drive back to Portland. Along the way we spent a little time in the islands of Deer Bay where my family had a cottage in the 1950's, ran into a couple, Mike and Lynn Kingsmill who used to boat out of Len's Cove, and stopped at Lakefield to pay for our free night of dockage on the way up. Overall we passed through 62 locks and other than the first two days, the weather was spectacular, warm and calm. The adventure was made even better by the company of our friends. The only question is where to go next Fall?
