Trip Diary for June, 2011

June 1-11; Brewerton, NY: The delay in the children's arrival until the 10th allowed many boat projects to be completed.  We also enjoyed the extra time shopping, dining, etc. in the Brewerton area.  On Wednesday, June 8, we rented a car at noon and drove it plus our Lincoln MKS to Penetanguishene, ON (345 mi.).  There were numerous severe thunderstorms in the Toronto area, but we managed with only one stoppage.  Thursday morning we left our car at Bay Moorings Marina before heading back to Brewerton in the rental.  Crossing back into the US at Lewiston, NY entailed a 45 min. wait due to vehicle backlog at the 6 stations.  Friday, June 10th, we received Sandy's 8:30 AM call from Dulles airport that their United connection to Syracuse had been cancelled with no alternates before late Saturday (claimed to be "weather related" even though everything was beautiful at both departure and arrival locations).  They rented a one-way car for the 8-hr. drive (zero financial help from the universally unhelpful United).  We extended our rental another day, picking them up at as they dropped their rental at SYR at 7:15 PM.  Everyone relaxed to great dinners at The Waterfront in Brewerton before returning to the boat.  Saturday we turned in our rental and assessed the 2-day forecast for weather.  Sunday was forecast to be unsuitable to cross Lake Ontario, so we decided to spend an extra day in Brewerton to re-cooperate from travel stress and relax.

June 12; Oswego, NY: Finally, boating again!  Lines dropped at 8:40 AM after a pump-out.  West winds were 15-20 mph, but not a problem on canal waters.  Light rain fell through Oswego Lock 2; the high for the day was 62.  We passed the 7 locks (one Erie and 6 Oswego) for a 2:40 PM arrival at the wall above Lock 8.  After truly outstanding nachos and pizza for a late lunch/early dinner at Steamers we took a half-mile hike to Tim Horton's/Cold Stone to enjoy ice cream and purchase donuts for morning sweets.  The forecast for a Monday crossing was marginal, but the best of the next 3 days.

June 13; Canada!: We utilized the first opening of the day, 7 AM, to enter Lake Ontario at 7:20.  West winds, the worst direction for a due north crossing, had dropped to 10 mph overnight, but waves as we entered lake water were 2-3' beam with an occasional 4 footer.  We travelled at 10 mph, quartering the first 10 mi. to reduce discomfort.  Waves gradually diminished to 1-3 as we progressed the 40 mi. across to the protected Bay of Quinte.  Just after noon we encountered light rain until arrival at the super Fraser Park Marina at 5:10 PM; 103 mi. for the day.  Great dinners at Tomasso's provided sustenance and relaxation after a long day.

Tuesday, June 14; Campbellford, ON: Trent-Severn locks are still on their "spring schedule:" 9 AM -- 4 PM, so we had time to add 240 L of diesel fuel ($5.05 per US gallon) before departure.  The day started at a cool 55 degrees, cloudy with 15- 20 mph N winds.  At lock 1 we purchased a one-way passage permit ($218), before the actual opening at 9:15.  The plan was to make Campbellford, only 30 mi. away, but with 12 up-locks.  Since there was still little boat traffic, each lock coordinated openings so there was no entry waiting; we followed a Canadian Sea Ray, Wooly Bully.  Everything progressed as planned until lock 5.  Just as they closed the manually operated gate behind our two boats, the lockmaster informed us that hydro (electrical power) had been lost and they could not open the valves that fill the lock; 1.5 hr. later it returned.  Consequently, it was 3:45 PM when we entered lock 10.  Our request for an operating time extension at step locks 11/12 on the southern edge of Campbellford was refused.  We tied on the blue line below lock 11 and walked 2 mi. into town for great fish-n-chips dinners at Capers.

Wednesday, June 15; Peterborough, ON: The day began with an early, 8:55 AM opening of step locks 11/12, providing a combined lift of 48 ft!  The day was gorgeous:  70-85 degrees with 8-12 mph W winds.  The goal was aggressive: 9 locks and 58 mi. to the Peterborough Marina.  After passing through Hastings Lock 18 (still looking at 35 mi. across Rice Lake), we concluded it was too aggressive.  Thus, we continued at a leisurely 9 mph on the lake.  Wooly Bully traveled ahead at a much faster pace (45 mph).  Because we had been following a local boater familiar with the canal, Larry had not bothered to chart-plot the day's path.  That was unfortunate because he missed the turn for the tiny Otonabee River entrance and didn't realize the oversight for more than 5 mi.!  That mistake caused us to pass over extremely weedy zones; twice we had to stop and reverse props to toss an accumulation of weeds.  The Otonabee had many birds, including loons, blue herons, ducks and geese. It was 7:30 PM when we completed 69 mi to tie below lock 19 at the southern edge of Peterborough.  We then walked .5 mi. to Berc's Steakhouse for great, albeit slightly pricey, dinners.

Thursday, June 16: The plan was to dock at Reach Harbour's for an extended time while visiting the area before completing IN land obligations including attending the annual ASABE International Meeting: 12 locks (lock 29 does not exist) and 50 mi. The highlight of the day was the unique 65 ft. Peterborough Hydraulic Lift lock #21 with its twin "tubs". The view from the top was thrilling. Unfortunately, several following locks were not ready upon arrival.  Those 5-15 min. delays enabled us to clear no further than Lovesick Lock #30 just at the system's 4 PM shutdown time so we barely made it to Reach Harbour before staff left for the day.

June 17; Reach Harbour:  As scheduled, Pursey's Hauling Service arrived to haul the Lola Maria to facilitate future maintenance work (and minimize dockage fees).  After a few days exploring the area, we departed for IN; boating would not resume until after the Louisville ASABE annual meeting in August!

Water miles traveled to date on this second loop: 6,832; this month: 264

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