Port Severn

Well, folks, I've done it. I've made it to the end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. I arrived in Port Severn this morning right in between two thunderstorms. One storm I cought a piece of as I crossed Little Lake, the other kindly waited until I was safely at the dock.

L&L today N 44 degrees 48 minutes, W 079 degrees 44 minutes.

The real excitement this morning was riding the Bug Chute Marine Railway. Instead of putting in a lock to float boats up and down a 57 foot high change in water lever, they built this giant cable car that picks boats up and shuttles them across dry land. (See pictures this post.)

Yesterday, I ran lock 43 which is a standard lock, but it drops 47 feet. That makes it the highest standard lock I've run so far. In case anyone is keeping count: 23 locks on the Erie, 7 on the Oswego and 43 so far on the Trent, 73 locks total including the marine railway and the two "lift lifts" at Peterborough and Kirkfield. (Yeah, I know it seems like I miscounted. There's no "Lock 39" on the T-S system, so the marine railway, officially lock 44, is really #43.) There's one more lock on the Trent system, it's located right at the exit from the harbor where you enter Georgian Bay. It's just a stone's throw from where I am know, but I won't run that lock until my crew arrives next week.

On July 25, I crossed Lake Simcoe, reputed to be one of the more dangerous bodies of water around, prone to sudden thunderstorms that can produce 8 foot waves. I crossed early in the morning and found it to be a bit choppy, but otherwise the crossing was without incident. It really pays to pick the weather and time of day.

On July 26 I stayed at the Port of Orillia. I really nice stop. The marina was well managed and it was very convenient to shopping and lots of restaurants. A warning for fans of Chinese food - nobody in Canada knows how to make General Tso's Chicken - yuck!

For the next few days, I'm going to rest here in Port Severn and do some clean up, fix up stuff around the boat. I have to re-stow a lot of gear to make room for crew arriving in a few days.