Day 378 – Trenton, Ontario to top of Lock #6, Frankford, Ontario - July 18, 2012

We have now officially started our trip through the Trent-Severn Waterway.  As we approached Lock #1 it already had two large boats in it, so we tied to the blue line (the waiting wall) and Fred hopped off the boat and headed to the lockmaster’s office to take care of purchasing our transit pass.  Just a few minutes after he returned to the boat it was time to cast off the wall and enter the lock.  It was a bit different than when we had Fred III and Taylor with us to help out, but our practice with them paid off and we had a good strategy.  I would use the second cleat back from the bow (between the bow cleat and the mid-ship cleat), wrap my line around the cable and secure it.  Then I would move to the cable that was next to the mid-ship cleat and be ready to grab that cable or put out the mid-ship line if the boat was drifting too far off the wall.  Fred would leave the helm station and head to the swim platform where he would grab a cable from the stern cleat.  Then he would go back to the helm station and turn off the engines (which is required in these locks).  After the chamber was full of water and the lock doors open, Fred would get the engines started and then release the stern line and give a good push off the wall.  Once he was back at the helm station I’d release the front line and with a bit of a push from the lockmaster, we’d be off the wall with no incidents.  This process worked great for all six of today’s locks.

We locked through all six locks with three other boats.  We were in the front of the group.  A 24’ runabout with mom, dad and five kids was behind us and then a sailboat, and a small power catamaran (who rafted up with the sailboat).  I don’t know the experience level of the boats we traveled with, but everyone did very well getting into and out of the locks.  The runabout and the sailboat went on past Lock #6, but the power catamaran stopped above Lock #6 like we did.  The town of Frankford has put power pedestals next to the walls above the lock, so we have power tonight – which is great for charging all our electronics (and the air conditioning isn’t bad either).

The most interesting boat we saw today arrived in the lock just after 5:00pm.  It was the Kawartha Voyageur, a small cruise ship.  Their current itinerary takes them from Peterborough to Kingston.  After spending tonight in the lock (that’s right – they are spending the night actually in the lock) they will head to Picton, Ontario tomorrow.  What is most interesting about the boat is how it is set up to handle the locks and the bridges it encounters.  Three different parts of the top deck can be lowered to clear bridges – the radar arch folds forward, the sundeck cover slides back and the bridge folds down on itself.  Then for the locks that are smaller length wise, the bow of the boat actually folds up to make the overall length of the boat about 20 feet shorter.  Many of the passengers are repeat cruisers on this boat and they say that like all cruise ships, they can’t stop feeding you and the food is amazing.  This seems like a pretty cool way to see the waterway.
 
            Miles: 6.6        Bridges: 6        Locks: 6

Lock #1 - the lockmaster is emptying the water in the lock so it is ready for us
to enter - you can see the water bubbling at the base of the lock doors

Lock #2 - the gates are open and they are ready for us to enter

inside Lock #2 - with four boats in the lock, Boreas is way up in the front
of  the lock chamber

here is Fred, working hard in Lock #3

an osprey nest with mom, dad and the baby birds (who appear
quite grown up)

the gates of Lock #5 are beginning to open for us

Fred found this turtle watering can floating in Lock #5 - when he pulled it out
it reminded me of the watering can that Frank and Carrie from Once Around
traded back and forth with some of the Loopers they traveled with - we gave
it to the kids on the 24' runabout that locked through with us

our locking companions for the day

approaching Lock #6 - we spent the night on the wall at the top of this lock

the Kawartha Voyageur - in this picture the radar arch is down, the bridge is
down (you can see the captain's head poking out) and the sundeck shade is down

the Kawartha Voyageur pulling into Lock #6 where they will spend the night -
the radar arch, bridge and sundeck shade are all back in their normal positions

the Kawartha Voyageur in Lock #6