Day 4 - Bobcaygeon to Lakefield Lock # 26

Vista View of Lake Buckhorn

This was another awesome day on the water but over the course of the last 8 hours we have been through some challenges and personal frustration for the Captain and Jan. The blog will talk about the days activities later but most certainly, it is another Hallman Adventure Day with unusual things happening.

Our overnight stay at the locks in Bobcaygeon was without incident. None of us were hungry so we passed on dinner. Apparently our lunch meal consisting of burgers for Swabbie, Alice and the Captain, and Jan’s Asparagus Roll was enough to satisfy everyone’s appetite. With the leftover french fries from lunch, we ended up devouring them tonight with lightly grilled fish and fresh Asparagus.

Our cruise through the Kawartha Lakes was great. We passed through Pigeon, Buckhorn, Lower Buckhorn, and Lovesick Lakes during the morning with a short pit stop in Burleigh Falls for a walk, shopping spree (we bought nothing) and a visit to the tiny ice cream shop. We are all trying to watch what we eat but it’s not working. Treats on board seem to take over in the evenings, so trying to be wise during the day is not on our menu. We didn’t see many boats again, usually we are the only boat in the locks. Many times the Lock Master will call ahead to the next lock and advise them that we are on our way, so when we get there, the locks are open.

Then disaster hit!!!!!

We were passing Fairy Lake Island (on our starboard side) following the charted course, when we saw a green and red buoy on the north side of the island and decided that this was the way to go. As we approached the two buoys, we realized that this route was not the preferred one, so we stopped and Captain Paul proceeded to back up and turn around. As this was happening, the boat caught some winds and pushed us sideways onto a nice big rock, which was marked on our charts, but missed being noticed. It did enough damage to cripple our port engine. That totally sucked and has now put a damper on our plans and will likely disrupt our schedule. Too Bad So Sad!!

We quickly made some phone calls and have now scheduled a scuba diver (he is a millwright) to come and remove the prop and check the drive shaft for alignment. He will take the prop to Kawartha Prop Repair and hopefully get it fixed. Our fingers are crossed that it is repairable. The prop is a 24” diameter brass prop and it’s a heavy mother.

We will likely keep moving down the Trent for the next couple of days on one engine in hopes that they can get our prop back soon. If that’s the case we will make it to Scott’s Mill, Lock 19 by tomorrow night. We have our fingers crossed that the prop can be repaired but with Covid, nothing is soon.

Docked at Lakefield Lock # 26

Tonight we decided to relax. Cynthia had an online class from her work that she had to watch but we had no internet (again) so she decided to walk into town and steal the free WiFi at the Lakefield Library. Jan, Kyle and Captain walked into town to get some sweet provisions, as if we don’t have enough! Lakefield is a cute little town with many unique stores, but they were all closed by the time we got tied up, so the gals might just go shop hopping tomorrow morning and see if there are any good gets.

As we walked back to our boat from downtown we picked some wild flowers to pretty up the boat and pick up the spirits of the Captain. Along with a Canadian Club and Diet Coke, he may survive. We also noticed a true Canadian garden consisting of a canoe, plants and some hockey sticks. Very creative.

The Hallman Experience Day 4:

1. Yesterday we saw some ducks with their kids – Apparently, the Captain didn’t have all his "Ducks in a Row" today as he maneuvered through the islands in Stoney Lake. Solution: Sell the boat! This is me - Jan, adding this bit.

2. The Captain wrote this blog, 4 times but forgot to save it. He deleted it by mistake and had to do a re-write. He says the second version is better.

Solution: Save, Save, Save !