Day 386 – Portage, Ontario to Big Chute Marina, Big Chute, Ontario - July 26, 2012

The rain from last night was still going strong this morning.  It was a light shower when we first got up, but by 8:30 when the locks opened for the day it was an all out downpour.  Boreas is not all that fun to drive in the rain because we don’t have a glass window with windshield wipers to look out of.  We have our plastic windows and when they need the drops wiped off, whoever isn’t driving (that’s usually Julaine) unzips the window, sticks their arm out and uses a squeegee to remove the water.  Not only that, but who wants to stand out in the rain to manage the boat through the locks – both of us have to be out from under the protection of the canvas while we lock through.

So we waited for the rain to let up.  Although it is supposed to be on and off rain all day today, it is also a good day to cross the corner of Lake Simco because the wind is forecasted to be relatively light.  Lake Simco is the largest lake on the waterway at twenty miles long and fifteen miles wide.  This makes it a challenge to cross in high winds because the prevailing winds build decent sized waves that hit the boat on the beam – that is of course the least comfortable way to travel in waves.

The rain had slowed to a drizzle by 10:00am, so we shoved off and headed for the first lock of the day, less than a half mile down the canal.  Two locks later we were in Lake Simco and headed north.  The rain picked up again as we were crossing the lake, but fortunately the wind stayed down and our twelve mile crossing of the corner of the lake was uneventful (other than lots of manual “windshield” wiping).

The skies stayed overcast for the remainder of the day with the occasional light shower.  In the early afternoon we made a call to the marina in Big Chute to see if they would have room for us for the night and since they were able to accommodate us on the end of their dock we decided to push on.  Our friends John and Rita from Brandy IV (who we haven’t seen since northern Florida) have a summer home near Midland, Ontario and we let them know would be at Big Chute Marina for the night.  They said they would stop by and see us as it was only a thirty minute drive from their home.

Not long after our arrival at the marina, John and Rita came walking down the dock.  How great to see them after all this time!  We hopped in their car and went to dinner where we had a belated “Gold Looper” celebration for them.  We will be spending a few days in this areas so we should have lots of time to catch-up and reminisce about our travels together.

            Miles: 45.8      Bridges: 11      Locks: 4

just after we departed Lock #40 one of the many freight trains that
cross this track came through

a misty, overcast morning

a blue heron

the granite islands are simply spectacular, even on an overcast day

there are a few sections of the waterway just before Big Chute
where the waterway was cut through the granite

beautiful!

boats behind us exiting the Swift Rapids lock which has the highest lift of any
of the conventional locks on the waterway at 47 feet