Navigating the Trent Canal: A Boater's Delight

As the sun began its ascent on a cooler August morning, we set off from the Hastings Lock promptly at 9 a.m., becoming the first boat through the lock. We were joined in the lock by Red Rover (on its way to Halifax) and a 1999 Carver named Luxe ( shortform for Luxury), owned by a couple from Hamilton and we travelled through several locks together, until they left us at Campbellford. The day was set to be a memorable one, marking our final leg of the journey on the Trent Canal before meeting up with Jan, Cynthia and Kyle for the leg to NYC.

LUXE in front of us in the first lock of the day

When we docked last evening we noticed a Polaris Sea Doo tied up on the dock and we never gave it a second thought until this morning, when a gentleman was packing up his tent and loading it onto the Sea Doo. We found out later, that he is doing the entire LOOP on his Sea Doo. That's a big challenge for anyone, let alone on a personal watercraft.

The Looper on a Polaris Sea Doo

Our route for the day involved passing through 12 locks en route to Frankfurt. The canal, with its winding path and scenic beauty, provided a perfect setting for a day of exploration. Despite the long weekend having concluded, our dedicated crew remained at their posts, ensuring smooth navigation through each lock with precision and teamwork.

This is a typical view of an empty lock as we exit

Today, being the first day back to work after the long weekend, made it a challenge for our two man crew, to stay in touch with their office and complete some of their workload, so they took some time to make sure all was ok back home............... or ok at their work. Fortunately we had some long runs today where over 2 hours was simply cruising the canal system with no locks. Thanks to Starlink we have Internet service where ever we travel on the water.

Austin working hard............ or Hardly Working?

The natural world was in full display, adding to the day’s charm. Swans glided gracefully across the water, while a blue heron perched majestically in a nearby tree, its striking silhouette contrasting with the overcast sky, as well as cottages abandoned and docks with broken walkways sinking in front of a lighthouse.

Music filled the air with the familiar tunes of Supertramp and America, creating an uplifting and nostalgic backdrop for our journey. The cooler weather, a welcome change from the previous heatwave, made our time on the canal even more enjoyable.

A scenic view as we go down a double Lock a total of 54 feet

As we approached the town of Frankfurt, anticipation built up as we prepared to meet Cynthia, Kyle, and Jan. The mix of hard work, serene wildlife, pleasant weather, and the joy of having friends as crew, made for a perfect ending to the first leg of our Trent Canal adventure with further travel to NYC. Three more hours, and more 5 locks tomorrow will get us to our destination in Trenton Ontario.

Here is todays Nebo Log, with the details of our route and further information. Overall we were underway for 5.37 hours over 71.1 km's but it took a total of 6.03 hours to travel the entire distance at an average speed of 12.6 km per hour.

Tomorrow we switch crew for family and friends then head across Lake Ontario to Oswego, New York for the next leg of our journey to the Big Apple.

NO HALLMAN EXPERIENCES YET !

Footnote:

You will note that in this blog, the wording is a bit flowery, which was NOT written by the author. We sat at dinner tonight wondering what kind of Blog GPT CHAT would write if we gave it some details for what happened during our day. We did use some of the Flowery wording and added a bit more. GPT CHAT came up with the Blog Title so we kept that the same.

This is what we asked of GPT CHAT:

Write me a blog post regarding boating the Trent Canal containing the following points:

1)Leaving Hastings lock at 9am being the first boat in the lock. 2) Passed through 12 locks towards Frankfurt 3) Crew was working since the long weekend was done 4) Saw many swans and a blue heron in a tree 5) Had music playing (Supertramp and America) 6) Weather was overcast but much cooler than the days before. Also include that it's our last day and we are meeting Cynthia, Kyle and Jan.

This is what GPT CHAT gave us in return

As the sun began its ascent on a cooler August morning, we set off from Hastings Lock promptly at 9 a.m., becoming the first boat through the lock. The day was set to be a memorable one, marking our final leg of the journey on the Trent Canal.

Our route for the day involved passing through 12 locks en route to Frankfurt. The canal, with its winding path and scenic beauty, provided a perfect setting for a day of exploration. Despite the long weekend having concluded, our dedicated crew remained at their posts, ensuring smooth navigation through each lock with precision and teamwork.

The natural world was in full display, adding to the day’s charm. Swans glided gracefully across the water, while a blue heron perched majestically in a nearby tree, its striking silhouette contrasting with the overcast sky.

Music filled the air with the familiar tunes of Supertramp and America, creating an uplifting and nostalgic backdrop for our journey. The cooler weather, a welcome change from the previous heatwave, made our time on the canal even more enjoyable.

As we approached Frankfurt, anticipation built up as we prepared to meet Cynthia, Kyle, and Jan. Their company promised to add a special touch to our last day on the canal. The mix of hard work, serene wildlife, pleasant weather, and the joy of meeting friends made for a perfect ending to our Trent Canal adventure.

We hope everyone is enjoying our Blog and having a good day