We have been pulling right into a lock north of Peterborough after a number of days of navigating the Trent-Severn waterway in southern Ontario. We’d handed by means of the identical lock perhaps 72 hours earlier on our method north in our 42-foot Le Boat craft, and one of many Parks Canada lock employees acknowledged us on our return journey.
“Hey, guys! It’s Jim and Barbara, right? How’d it go?”
There are numerous issues I’ll keep in mind about our five-day, 20-lock journey on the Trent-Severn: my spouse admitting she was scared to loss of life on the concept of me piloting a large boat with nearly no boating expertise; majestic blue herons gliding over nonetheless morning lakes; night glasses of wine and night-time barbeques on the open-air high deck. However it was the folks we met alongside the best way that stood out for me.
First Timer
I used to be too busy navigating to maintain correct notes on our journey, particularly since there have been solely two of us on board and I did all of the “driving.” However a younger lady at Lock 19/Scotts Mills, the primary one I needed to maneuver our large boat into, gave me a large smile and a thumbs-up as I slide the boat inside. Observers lining the locks to see how issues labored – and to look at nervous boat operators – supplied extra phrases of encouragement.
I got here in somewhat too quick on the subsequent lock.
“A little hot, sir. Back it off. That’s it,” one of many employees referred to as out.
At one of many locks, a Parks Canada employee defined that there was a movable roadway/bridge forward of us that she must open earlier than we may head north. The highway was solely a brief distance away, so she hopped on her bike and rode on forward, then sounded a horn to tell us we may proceed. Charming.
Navigating Locks
We obtained to the Peterborough Raise Lock, Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn, about 5 minutes earlier than it was to shut for the night time.
“Sorry we’re so close to the deadline,” I mentioned to Nick, one of many employees.
“No problem,” he replied. “Wait for me at the top, and I’ll help you tie up.”
Getting into Lock 21 is just about the identical because the others. However the Peterborough Raise Lock, because it’s additionally identified, is the tallest hydraulic raise lock on the planet (65 ft). Different locks on the route often take 15-20 minutes to undergo, however this lifts you up or lowers you down in simply 60 seconds.
The highest of the lock appeared a quarter-mile above our heads, not 65 ft, however we virtually raced to the highest. It was a gee-whiz boating second if I ever had one, and I couldn’t cease grinning.
As soon as we had a docking place up high, I took photographs of the lock at nightfall and chatted with a stunning couple from Ottawa who stopped – considered one of many admirers we had alongside the best way – to take a look at our boat and listen to our story. There was just one different boat tied up on the high of the lock, which sits excessive on a hill and presents nice views of the encircling countryside.
What do You Do For Dinner?
Le Boat leases come outfitted with a fuel barbeque, so we opened a bottle of wine and grilled some pretty hen kebabs that the Le Boat folks had purchased for us (together with a whack of different native goodies, reminiscent of cheeses, contemporary bread and tortilla chips) and dined on the highest deck.
It was a wonderfully quiet, tranquil night time in late Might, and we didn’t hear a sound. We woke as much as a sunny morning with a kayaker training on the water, his paddle rhythmically dipping into the shiny floor as birds twittered within the close by timber. The retailers and houses of Peterborough have been only some blocks away, however on our boat, it felt like gentle years.
Rookie on the Wheel
There have been no different craft within the first few locks I pulled into as we sailed north on the waterway, and I believed I had the cling of it. However on day two, I imagine at Lock 22 at Nassau Mills (once more, with simply my spouse and I on board, my note-taking was past horrible), there have been already two large boats tied up on the suitable aspect after I pulled up. I swear the opening was not more than two or perhaps three ft wider than our boat. The lock employee waved me in, and I used to be out of the blue sweating like a nervous bridegroom.
The parents on the opposite boats clearly wished to keep away from a collision, in order that they eagerly helped with a pair well timed pushes. I pulled into the lock at a snail’s tempo and used the thrusters to push our boat sideways so Barbara may get our bow line tied.
My coronary heart was pounding, however I obtained one other thumbs up from the lock employees.
“First time I’ve had to pull in with other boats,” I mentioned. “That was not a lot of fun.”
“Pretty nice job for a rookie,” mentioned the man within the fancy boat subsequent to ours.
By the point we obtained to Lakefield, I used to be once more feeling fairly good about myself. However not for lengthy.
Docking Can Be a Problem
Quite than having us dock simply previous Lock 26 in Lakefield, which is sort of protected, the oldsters from Le Boat had set us as much as go previous the lock and take a look at the Lakefield Marina so we may go searching and see what marina life was like, and likewise attempt a pleasant, native restaurant referred to as The Loon. It was a strong plan, however there’s a reasonably robust present on the Lakefield Marina, and it was windy that day.
I couldn’t make it into the spot the marina employee had referred to as out to me as we approached. Our boat was 42 ft, and the prompt opening appeared like 42 ft and 6 inches to me. I wasn’t positive what to do, however a bunch of pleasant boaters who had gathered on one of many Lakefield docks identified an open spot behind a really giant and really expensive-looking boat. I moved slowly ahead and again and tried to evaluate the present, and I used the thrusters to maneuver the boat nearer to the open dock area. Lastly, I obtained inside a number of ft and Barb tossed a rope to one of many folks on the dock.
I feel it took 4 adults and a useful lady of about eight years to drag us in, however they managed. One of many fellows who did loads of the grunt work and helped information us in, Perry, gave me a pat on the again, in addition to an influence wire extension for the night time to cost our batteries.
“Don’t feel bad,” he mentioned. “When the current’s strong like this it can be very tough. See that slip over there? Nobody ever tries to dock there. Nobody.”
It’s All About Confidence
With a chilly native beer in hand and the solar dipping in the direction of the horizon, we sat on the highest deck and relaxed. It was about then that Barbara confessed she had been “dreading” the journey.
“Dreading?” I replied. “I know you were worried. I get it. But ‘dreading’ is a pretty strong word.”
“I honestly wasn’t sure you could do it,” she mentioned. “But I was wrong. You’re pretty good at this.”
The subsequent two days have been incredible. We made it previous Younger’s Level, admiring a small marina with a lovely restaurant/patio. We puttered (high pace on Le Boat craft is about seven mph) alongside huge Clear Lake, after which made our method by means of slender passages in Stoney Lake, which is dotted with small, fairly islands in shades of beige, pink, and orange. We took a minute to understand a reasonably church on one of many bigger islands referred to as St. Peter’s Church-on-the-Rock, which, oddly sufficient, is just a brief distance from a slender, fairly passage referred to as Hells Gate. (It’s not very difficult, fact be instructed, nevertheless it’s obtained title.)
Pleasant Locals
We had a little bit of bother discovering the lock at Burleigh Falls, however a pleasant native escorted us a lot of the method there and instructed us the place to search out the doorway.
“It’s a bit hidden,” he mentioned. “But it’s right over there, near that fancy cottage.”
We sailed by means of the lock and into Lovesick Lake, a lovely physique of water that was apparently named for a heartbroken settler or maybe an Indigenous lady who was unfortunate within the affairs of the center.
With loads of time on our aspect, we made all of it the best way again to Younger’s Level that night time and docked on the far aspect of Lock 27, the place we chatted with pleasant locals out with their rods and reels and once more dined on the highest deck.
The subsequent day we pulled as much as the Lakefield Lock a couple of minutes earlier than it opened for the day. A pair who stay an hour or so away, Ken and Jo, have been on their boat and got here aboard for a look-see as we chatted concerning the space, and about our journey.
They have been a pleasant couple, and once more, my spouse and I discovered ourselves drawn to individuals who had been full strangers a minute earlier than. However we shared a boating bond, and I used to be rapidly studying that these are among the deepest form.
We made it again to the Peterborough Raise Lock that night time. It was Barb’s birthday, so we had a particular toast on an excellent, quiet, late spring night.
Feeling Like A Professional
The subsequent day, we made our method by means of Peterborough. A line of boats was coming upstream, and we needed to nudge our boat to the aspect of the canal to allow them to by means of. However it was a wonderful sunny day on a lovely boat, and I wouldn’t have cared if they’d taken an hour.
Fairly quickly, we have been by means of Little Lake, dwelling to the brand new Canadian Canoe Museum. After going by means of Lock 19, it was a straight shot down the Otonabee River to Del Mastro Horseshoe Bay Resort Marina, the place we had picked up the boat 5 days earlier. With the present pushing us alongside, our ultimate cease got here into sight far too early for my liking.
45 minutes later we have been heading again to the town on Freeway 401, with automobiles whizzing previous me and darting out and in of site visitors.
“Damn,” I mentioned to Barb because the automobiles crowded round us. “I miss that boat already.”
Simply The Details
That is the primary yr Le Boat has had ships for lease on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The corporate has been renting vacation boats since 1969 and has 18 locations all over the world, together with the Canal du Midi and Burgundy area of France, Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal in Scotland, northern Italy, Holland, Eire, and extra. They’ve been working on the Rideau Canal in Ontario for a number of years.
You don’t want a boating license to lease a craft from Le Boat. In order that’s one fear out of the best way. Does it assist to have some boating expertise? Undoubtedly. I’ve pushed my buddy’s boat, perhaps a 20-footer, many instances. However I had by no means tried to dock it.
A few weeks previous to our journey, the Le Boat of us despatched us hyperlinks to a number of movies that defined boating guidelines normally and their boats particularly. In addition they offer you a roughly one-hour intro on the boat earlier than your rental begins, going over buoy guidelines, providing navigation ideas, and explaining the bells and whistles. After that, they take you out with an skilled boater to evaluate your expertise.
Alan, our boating instructor, took us out on the Otonabee River south of Peterborough and confirmed me learn how to flip and decelerate (in case you’re a novice, there’s no brake on a ship, so that you simply kick it into reverse, which takes a 50-year car driver some getting used to). He turned the boat over to me so he may see how I dealt with her and requested me to take some turns.
“Doing good,” he mentioned. “I don’t think you’ll have any problems out there.”
Simply in case, we had an emergency quantity that we may name anytime. And we had the fabulous lock employees and fellow boaters to help.
The Boat
The boats don’t go quick (high pace is 10 km/hour), and there are bumpers galore. In addition they offer you detailed charts that can assist you navigate the waterway, in addition to helpful data for potential stops alongside the best way.
We went in early June when it was not as busy as it will be on the peak of the summer time season. Should you’re a first-timer, going early within the yr, or maybe in September, is likely to be simpler in your nerves.
One of many keys to my thoughts is the thrusters, which transfer the boat back and forth with ease. Should you can drive slowly right into a lock at a mile or so an hour, and it’s not exhausting, the thrusters ought to show you how to with the remaining.
Should you’re nonetheless leery, Le Boat is floating a new “Skipper for Hire” program on the Canal du Midi for subsequent yr. This system will see an skilled navigator assist out on the ship on the primary day and, pardon the pun, present newbies the ropes. If profitable, this system might be expanded onto different Le Boat routes.
The parents at Le Boat have a wide range of boats out there. Ours was a 3-bedroom Horizon 3 Plus mannequin. The primary mattress was spacious, with a small, en-suite tub with a rest room, sink and bathe. The opposite two bedrooms have been fairly small, however had two beds, some storage space, and likewise en-suite baths with a rest room, sink and bathe.
Prices
I appeared for September and located a Le Boat rental for per week on the Trent-Severn Waterway in mid-September for 4 folks for $3,272. That’s lower than $500 an evening. Mooring charges typically apply, and also you’re liable for your individual gas, any added electrical energy you could want, and additional water, and for any price for pumping out your boat’s bathrooms and used water from doing dishes or having a bathe.
