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 via the identical lock possibly 72 hours earlier on our approach north in our 42-foot Le Boat craft, and one of many Parks Canada lock staff acknowledged us on our return journey.
“Hey, guys! It’s Jim and Barbara, proper? How’d it go?”
There are numerous issues I’ll bear 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 thought 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 prime deck. But it surely was the individuals 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 massive 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 just a little too quick on the subsequent lock.
“Slightly sizzling, sir. Again it off. That’s it,” one of many staff known 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 evening.
“Sorry we’re so near the deadline,” I mentioned to Nick, one of many staff.
“No drawback,” he replied. “Look ahead to me on the prime, and I’ll allow you to tie up.”
Coming 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 elevate lock on the planet (65 toes). Different locks on the route normally 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 toes, 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 prime, I took pictures of the lock at nightfall and chatted with a stunning couple from Ottawa who stopped – one in every 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 prime of the lock, which sits excessive on a hill and gives 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 beautiful rooster kebabs that the Le Boat individuals had purchased for us (together with a whack of different native goodies, resembling cheeses, contemporary bread and tortilla chips) and dined on the highest deck.
It was a superbly quiet, tranquil evening in late Might, and we didn’t hear a sound. We woke as much as a sunny morning with a kayaker practising 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 consider 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 massive boats tied up on the appropriate facet once I pulled up. I swear the opening was not more than two or possibly three toes wider than our boat. The lock employee waved me in, and I used to be abruptly sweating like a nervous bridegroom.
The oldsters on the opposite boats clearly wished to keep away from a collision, so 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 staff.
“First time I’ve needed to pull in with different boats,” I mentioned. “That was not a variety of enjoyable.”
“Fairly good 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
Fairly 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 check out the Lakefield Marina so we may go searching and see what marina life was like, and likewise strive a pleasant, native restaurant known as The Loon. It was a stable plan, however there’s a fairly sturdy present on the Lakefield Marina, and it was windy that day.
I couldn’t make it into the spot the marina employee had known as out to me as we approached. Our boat was 42 toes, and the instructed opening appeared like 42 toes and 6 inches to me. I wasn’t certain 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 massive and really expensive-looking boat. I moved slowly ahead and again and tried to guage the present, and I used the thrusters to maneuver the boat nearer to the open dock house. Lastly, I obtained inside a number of toes and Barb tossed a rope to one of many individuals on the dock.
I feel it took 4 adults and a useful lady of about eight years to tug us in, however they managed. One of many fellows who did a variety 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 evening to cost our batteries.
“Don’t really feel unhealthy,” he mentioned. “When the present’s sturdy like this it may be very robust. See that slip over there? No person ever tries to dock there. No person.”
It’s All About Confidence
With a chilly native beer in hand and the solar dipping in 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 do know you have been apprehensive. I get it. However ‘dreading’ is a fairly sturdy phrase.”
“I truthfully wasn’t certain you may do it,” she mentioned. “However I used to be mistaken. You’re fairly good at this.”
The subsequent two days have been implausible. We made it previous Younger’s Level, admiring a small marina with a gorgeous restaurant/patio. We puttered (prime pace on Le Boat craft is about seven mph) alongside huge Clear Lake, after which made our approach via 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 fairly church on one of many bigger islands known as St. Peter’s Church-on-the-Rock, which, oddly sufficient, is barely a brief distance from a slender, fairly passage known as Hells Gate. (It’s not very tough, reality be advised, but it surely’s obtained a very good identify.)
Pleasant Locals
We had a little bit of hassle discovering the lock at Burleigh Falls, however a pleasant native escorted us many of the approach there and advised us the place to seek out the doorway.
“It’s a bit hidden,” he mentioned. “But it surely’s proper over there, close to that fancy cottage.”
We sailed via the lock and into Lovesick Lake, a gorgeous physique of water that was apparently named for a heartbroken settler or maybe an Indigenous lady who was unfortunate within the affairs of the guts.
With loads of time on our facet, we made all of it the best way again to Younger’s Level that evening and docked on the far facet 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 reside 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 shortly studying that these are a few of the deepest form.
We made it again to the Peterborough Raise Lock that evening. 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 approach via Peterborough. A line of boats was coming upstream, and we needed to nudge our boat to the facet of the canal to allow them to via. But it surely was a wonderful sunny day on a fantastic boat, and I wouldn’t have cared if they’d taken an hour.
Fairly quickly, we have been via Little Lake, dwelling to the brand new Canadian Canoe Museum. After going via 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 remaining 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 visitors.
“Rattling,” I mentioned to Barb because the automobiles crowded round us. “I miss that boat already.”
Simply The Info
That is the primary yr Le Boat has had ships for hire on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The corporate has been renting vacation boats since 1969 and has 18 locations world wide, 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 hire 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 good friend’s boat, possibly 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 usually 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 suggestions, and explaining the bells and whistles. After that, they take you out with an skilled boater to evaluate your abilities.
Alan, our boating trainer, took us out on the Otonabee River south of Peterborough and confirmed me the way 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 assume you’ll have any issues on the market.”
Simply in case, we had an emergency quantity that we may name anytime. And we had the fabulous lock staff and fellow boaters to assist.
The Boat
The boats don’t go quick (prime pace is 10 km/hour), and there are bumpers galore. In addition they offer you detailed charts that will help you navigate the waterway, in addition to helpful info for potential stops alongside the best way.
We went in early June when it was not as busy as it might be on the peak of the summer season season. For those who’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 backward and forward with ease. For those who can drive slowly right into a lock at a mile or so an hour, and it’s not arduous, the thrusters ought to allow you to with the remaining.
For those who’re nonetheless leery, Le Boat is floating a new “Skipper for Rent” 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 shall be expanded onto different Le Boat routes.
The oldsters at Le Boat have a wide range of boats accessible. Ours was a 3-bedroom Horizon 3 Plus mannequin. The principle mattress was spacious, with a small, en-suite tub with a bathroom, 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 bathroom, 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 individuals for $3,272. That’s lower than $500 an evening. Mooring charges typically apply, and also you’re answerable for your individual gas, any added electrical energy you could want, and further water, and for any price for pumping out your boat’s bathrooms and used water from doing dishes or having a bathe.