Listerine, Railways, Burgers and Beer - what a day !

Holly Cow !!! Our second day on the Trent was a scorcher - hot again - humid again - but an uneventful day with lots of home grown activity on board, plus some interesting sights along the way. We left the Swing Bridge on the Severn River this morning at 9 am only to travel 1/2 mile to the next lock before we get into Lake Simcoe.

We passed through the lock in record time, and then were given the news by the lock master, that the Railroad Swing bridge, which was 1 mile ahead, had 3 trains expected to pass within the next 1 1/2 hour and the bridge would be closed until they passed. We ended up tying to the dock for the wait time, and after hearing the trains come and go, we knew thst we were going to be able to move forward. At 11:30 AM we finally were able to pass the bridge and were on our way to our 2 1/2 hour boat run, through Lake Couchiching, the Narrows in Orillia and south through Lake Simcoe to the opening of the Trent Canal system which runs through the eastern part of Ontario. We made good time and enjoyed the flat water and sunshine.

The Narrows at Orillia

We had clear sailing down Lake Simcoe on water that was as flat as a pancake - meaning no waves................. but hot as heck. We knew the sun would get the better part of us so we drank as much liquids as possible..........but during the day no Alcohol. We are good Sailors.

In our experience, if you are on a boat for a long trip, you will always find things to do, which may include making meals for the next day, simply reading a book or cleaning the boat because cleaning the boat always is the last chore. We have an old Chart Plotter on our boat that shows us the route we are taking including water depths, obstacles in the water, marinas and gas locations. It is kinda like a GPS in your car. Our oldest Chart Plotter is 18 years old and it has a protective coating over the screen, similar to your Apple iPad or Tablet. It gets used a lot the screen eventually gets scratched when fingers rub the screen and our Chart Plotter is indeed, badly scratched and the worst part is it makes it nearly impossible to view. I did some research on You Tube on how to get rid of the scratches and you will not believe that there is a solution. So today I cleaned the Chart Plotter with my MAGIC FORMULA and ELBOW GREASE!

All Listerine'd UP and Looking Mighty Fine .... again

After passing through Lake Simcoe, we entered a smaller canal section of the Trent and passed through 5 locks - all within a few miles of each other. We never had to wait for any one lock to enter, as the gates were open for us when we arrived. It is a very narrow canal - mostly man made - with not much room to pass should you come upon another boat heading towards us. Fortunately today was a quiet day so we didn't pass many boats.

Gas Docks UP THERE ???? We decided that this way for fuel was not on our Radar.... Who goes there EVER ?

After Canal Lake, where it is shallow with weeds, stumps and floating junk, we arrived at the Kirkfield Lift Lock located, close to Kirkfield, Ontario. This lock is the 2nd highest Lift Lock in the world with a lift of 40 feet. This lock is situated at the highest point on the Trent system and was constructed between the years 1900 and 1907 and was intended for commercial traffic. Now it is 100% recreational boaters that use the lift lock. It is simply two basins of water.......... one goes up while the other one goes down on hydraulic columns. It is fast, easy and provides great views as you travel the lift. I believe we went up in less than 1 minute. Enjoy the video clip.

Various pictures of the locks

Our Quick ride up the Lock

During the day we passed a few funny looking yet interesting places and things. We thought you might like some ---- OR ALL --- of these. If you click on the image they will enlarge and make it easier to view them.

Todays route took us from Sparrow Lake to Rosedale. We went a total of 88.8 km's over 10.2 hours with an average speed of 8.9 Km's. Here is a log of our route with some more details

We decided to take a taxi (or Uber) to Fenlon Falls tonight and enjoy a Saturday evening in one of the most active towns on the Trent System. Uber promised us a pickup within 15 minutes for our 8 mile ride into the town. After waiting, Uber cancelled us, and we were left looking at each other asking - Now what do we do?

The answer - Burgers and Pasta Salad for dinner - and so that ended our day.

Stay Tuned - you never know what might happen tomorrow.