On Thursday, we left Smith Falls and went to the Blue line to go through Lock 31, we were joined by 3 rental Le Boats—this being their first lock, 2 of the boats didn’t have a clue what to do or how to tie up.

The lockmaster was very patient with them and gave instructions.  We continued on as a group, and the locking staff at the Poonamalie lock, also provided instruction on locking and driving.   After this lock we finally got into one of the Rideau lakes, and lost our traveling companions, however in the Narrows lock, Newboro and Chaffey’s lock, we had another “Rinker” boat with thrusters that had a very tough time trying to lock and navigate.  We followed him out of the Newboro lock, and on two occasions he went the wrong way. We decided to stay at Chaffey’s lock for the night and tied up with power, the Rinker continued on so hopefully we’ve seen the last of him. We met a couple on Happy Daze, who are also Gold  Loopers, and had a visit with them. On Friday we left Chaffey’s and went through Davis lock with Happy Daze and one other boat, when we got to the 4 locks at Jone’s falls, we were with 4 large boats in total, we were on the Port side for locking at the back, in several of the locks, we had the dinghy rubbing on the abutment and the motor just inches from a metal ladder.  Once we got to upper brewers, we stopped and tied up and let the other 3 continue on.  After a shower, we decided to move on as well, as Upper Brewers was filling up fast, and lots of the big boats wanted power, and we didn’t necessarily need it. We went through Lower Brewers lock and tied up at the bottom with 2 of the big boats we had locked with earlier in the day and one other smaller boat.  We had dock tails at 5 with Happy Daze and Morning Sun and had a fire later in the evening with all 4 boats.  On Saturday morning we woke up to rain and thunder, we stayed put for the day, and caught up on chores.

On Sunday morning we left just before 8 as it was 10 miles to the Kingston Mills lock.  We got there just around 9, however there were 3 boats in front of us for the first lock down, so we had to wait for the Kawartha voyager, and another lock up.  We didn’t get into the lock until noon.  We were through the 4 locks by shortly after 1 Pm, and then it was off to Confederation Basin. We had to go through the Kingston Bascule bridge–on Sundays they pull out a section of the bridge, so large boats like ours can pass through- not the ideal solution!

  We tied up on the Break wall, and I went in and did a couple loads of laundry.  We then walked to Food Basics for a few groceries, and the LCBO.  We took a taxi back to the marina, as it was a hot day, and too far to walk with groceries.  Andy talked to Karl, and was assured that he would be coming to the boat in the morning to install the alternator, new MPPT controller and the 2 15 amp circuit breakers.  He arrived at 10:00 the next morning, and spent several hours installing the alternator and figuring out how to get RPMs to display.  He did the other installs as well, and left shortly after 5 pm, he was having issues, as the transfer switches that had been installed in 2019, seemed to interfere with the Norland analog to digital component, but finally got it working to Andy’s satisfaction. We had to pay for a second day at the marina, because the work was completed so late. 

On Tuesday, we were awoken by the wind howling before 5 am,  we couldn’t decide if we should go or remain in Kingston.  Around 6:15, we decided to go, knowing full well that there would be a couple spots that the waves would be hitting us broadside.  In the beginning it was a little bumpy, but once we were in the protection of Amherst Island we had more than an hour of shelter,  we then had another 30 minutes as we crossed the lower Gap, where it was ugly.  As we got near Adolphus town. The sun came out and the wind subsided, Shortly after Deseronto we had heavy rain, thunder and lightning, but made it to Belleville shortly before 1 pm.  We got a pump out, and fuel.  We decided to stay for 2 nights to relax, and wait out the rain and wind before heading up the TSW. On Thursday  we left shortly after 8 pm and headed down the Bay of Quinte to Trenton, and the first lock on the TSW.  We arrived at Lock one and there were several boats already in line to lock up.  We waited and went up in the 3^rd lockage with 3 other boats, that rafted, as they only allow boats to tie to one side of the lock, because of  the way the water comes in.  We went through 5 locks and arrived at the bottom of Lock 6; we were told that there currently wasn’t space for us on top.  Within about 40 minutes, a couple of the boats pulled away, so we were able to lock up, and get near to our favourite willow tree.  We made friends with the couple that was under the tree—Rob and Donna, so we could get a little closer.  By the end of locking there were 7 boats at the top of Lock 6.On Thursday, when Rob and Donna  left, we immediately backed up our boat to be in the shade of the willow.  Our friends Rick and Linda,  who we had originally met under the willow tree 4 years ago, drove up from Oshawa for lunch and a visit—Andy treated us all to Smash burgers , fries and onion rings from the food truck in the Lion’s park.  The burgers were amazing!

On Saturday, we left with another boat shortly after 8 am, and headed for the next lock which was an  hour away, we locked through 7 and then moved on to 8, which was another 8 miles away.  We locked through 8 and stayed on top where we joined Rob and Donna.  It was a very pretty setting, but busy with lots of people fishing and picnicking.  On Sunday we left just around 9 and went to the next lock which was about a mile away,  We locked through 9,10, and the flight lock of 11/12 before arriving at Campbellford town dock around noon.    In the last lock, Andy had an issue starting the Starboard engine—possibly a faulty battery   We tied up, and did a few chores.  I set off to Laneway’s Laundry to do a couple loads, returning around 2pm.  At 4 we walked over to the Legion for a drink;  there were a few faces there that we remembered from our May visit.  On Monday Brian and Helen came for a visit and brought me my Amazon package—a dongle for the MPPT controller, so it would show up on my Victron app on my iPad.

We did some shopping and went out for lunch, Andy and Brian also went to Canadian Tire to buy a spare marine battery- should we need it in the future. On Tuesday morning before we left I noticed that part of our dinghy had deflated, and found a fish hook nearby- maybe one of the fishermen on the dock at Percy’s reach had put a hole in it. We left Campbellford, and went through locks 13, 14 and 15.  We tied up at Lock 15—Tuesday forecast was for a 100% chance of rain and winds.  We didn’t receive any rain until almost supper time, and then again in the night. On Wednesday morning we locked through the flight of 16/17 Heally falls and then went the 15 miles to Hastings and lock through there as well.  Since we were the first on the lock wall, we tied up at the very end.  We visited the LCBO and grocery store.  In the afternoon, we stopped in at the local Legion for a drink.  About a dozen people were playing dart, Andy was challenged to a game.  People were very welcoming, and one guy bought us each a drink.  By the time we got back to the lock wall it was full- mainly of Loopers, and several also were tied up at the nearby marina.  On Thursday, we departed before 6:30, as we had 37 miles to the next lock, with the crossing of Rice Lake and then the Otonabee River.  We arrived at Scott’s Mills lock 19 around 10:15, and had to wait for a lock down before entering.  We were through and then got in line for Lock 20 that was only a mile away—there were about 5 or 6 boats, including some kayakers ahead of us so we had to wait about an hour for it to be our turn. We were joined in the lock by 3 other boats and some kids under 10 years old in a canoe—so it was a painfully slow lock up-  likely double the time it usually takes. Once through we were at the lift lock, there were only 3 boats in our group, and we were out of the lock shortly after 1 pm.  We then locked through 22,23 and 24, in order to get to the top of Douro.  We were meeting some boating friends- Randy & Judy who we had met at the Lakefield lock.  Andy had participated with them and some other campers in a trivia contest at the Canoe & Paddle pub back in July of 2016. It was great catching up on the past 10 years.

On Friday, Randy and Judy were heading for Peterborough and we were headed to Lakefield. 

We had to go through Lock 25, and then 26, we found room on the wall and plugged in to power.  Linda from Shala Mar, sent me some pics that she had taken in the lock, as well as from the previous day of us locking in Peterborough- it takes 2 minutes to go from the bottom to top of the lock.

At the lock we met cousins of Randy’s  and shared boating stories with them.  The walls soon filled up at Lakefield with more than 40 boats going through the lock on this long weekend Friday. We arrived at the top of Lock 26, and were able to get a power spot, which was wonderful as it was very hot and humid.  The place soon filled up with boats- mainly Loopers, some of which we had seen in the past few days.  We talked to a few and explained how large Georgian Bay and the North channel were—a couple of them thought they could get to the North channel in 6-8 days.  No concept, we told them it was still about 5 days before they would reach Port Severn.  We visited with Gordon and Tracy who were in the Parker boat next to us—they are related to Randy and Judy.

I also ordered two new headset for us from Marine outfitters, as one of ours only works sporadically, and we’ve come to rely on them so much for locking that we need a working set.  I’ve asked to have them shipped to Buckhorn, but because of the long weekend, are unsure of when they may arrive there.

On Saturday I started doing a good cleaning of the boat interior, washed floors, dishes, vacuumed the rugs and dusted.  While I was doing this Andy walked into Lakefield and went to Foodland for a few items.  He returned with Kawartha Coconut ice cream for me, and also a tub of Tragically chip for the Lock staff.  Rob and Donna, on Shoal survivor, locked up and tied up a few boats in front of us.  We visited with them in the afternoon. On Sunday we decided to stay in Lakefield, as it was predicted to rain most of the day and night. In the afternoon, we walked into Lakefield for a coffee at the cafe, and then a trip to the hardware store and Foodland, before returning to the boat. We did get a little wet, so started the heater in the boat to warm us up. We spent the rest of the day playing cards and reading.

We moved about 6 miles on Monday and tied up at the top of Young’s point with Shoal Survivor.  It was a sunny day without rain.  We went to the Young’s Pt Trading Post for Ice cream- I tried the Peaches & cream, wasn’t that impressed, will have to stick with Coconut. In the afternoon, I read a book, while Andy visited with the neighbours. 

On Tuesday we left at 8:30 and proceeded across Clear and Stoney Lakes to Burleigh Falls, we only waited a couple minutes for a boat to come out, and then we were on our way up. 

Next stop, was the Lovesick Lock, and again we got right in with another boat.  We followed him to Buckhorn, where we had to bobble and wait for a lock down.    We were through the lock and tied up by 11:45 with power next to JoKen, people we know from Buckhorn Yacht Harbour.  While we were crossing Lower Buckhorn Lake, Marine Outfitters called and said my package would be shipped, with a 1-2 day delivery.  We will stay here at the lock for the next 2 nights. We visited with people that we knew from Buckhorn Yacht Harbour in the afternoon and watched the concert by the lock in the evening.

We hope to go to BYH tomorrow, for a pump-out, water, and help with finding the hole in our dinghy, before we move on up the Trent to Georgian Bay for a month.