Sorry - we've been a little dark recently. Moving the boat and dealing with a few side issues have taken priority. We left the Thousand Islands on June 27 for a two-night stay in Kingston - a pretty big city on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Kingston is a big Looper stop so we met up with a bunch of other Loopers, got on a trolley tour ride around the city, had lots of meals out, and staged for our trip to Trenton.
A couple of tourists in Kingston
We had perfect weather to move to Trenton on Wednesday, June 29. Originally, we were thinking of a two-day trip to Trenton - anchoring out somewhere in the Bay of Quinte, but we're starting to feel that we're a bit behind schedule so we let Egret run and we made the trip in about 4.5 hours. On our approach to Trenton, we had our first "side issue." The chart plotter decided to stop giving us any detail. The microchip in the plotter obviously didn't cover Canada. I purchased the chip right after we bought the boat but before we made the decision to do the Great Loop. Bad move to assume the chip covered Canada. Fortunately, we have three tablets and a phone that can serve as chart plotters. We ordered a new chip sent to a marina that we'll be at in a few days - fingers crossed.
Trent Port Marina is probably the nicest marina that we've been in. Perfectly clean individual washrooms with rainforest shower heads, free laundry, kicking wifi, an herb garden for cruisers to enjoy, great walking paths to exercise Millie and us, and a nice cruiser's lounge were just a few of the many nice features.
Trent Port Marina - sorry no pictures of the washrooms.
We're obviously constantly faced with the "stay-leave" decision and the one at the Trent Port Marina was a tough one. On the "stay" side were the fireworks and an airshow from the Canadian Air Force on June 1 - Canada day. The Marina was also on the "stay" side - we could have stayed there for a while. And we had re-united with several couples that are doing the Great Loop. On the "leave" side were the two-day wait and the desire to push to the Georgian Bay, which is supposed to be spectacular cruising ground. We opted for "leave."
The Trent Severn Canal snakes between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. The locks are cleaner; the lock tenders and their summer crew are nicer; they are more efficient passing us from lock to lock - than either the Erie or the Oswego Canals.
We made it through the first four locks on Thursday, June 30. We had hoped to make it to Frankford (Lock 6), but the lockmaster told us that there was only room enough for one more boat, and we were the second of two boats moving together. We pulled over right after lock 4 at a pretty classic Trent Severn lock station. The Locks are maintained by Parks Canada and you need to buy a pass to use the system. The good news is that the pass gives you access to all the walls near the locks where we can tie up for the night. All of the locks have bathrooms and a few have free electricity. Lock 4 had a huge lawn for Millie to run on. The lock also presented another "side issue." Our generator decided to tell us that it had low raw water flow and shut down. A quick check of the strainer as well as opening the seacock while the strainer lid is off revealed that there should be water flowing. There was also water coming out of the discharge which means that this is an issue that's above Roger's paygrade. That's probably more detail than you need; I'll be sure to provide updates. And this meant sandwiches for dinner since we could do no cooking.
Another "side issue" has been the persistent accumulation of water in the bilge of the engine. We've taken out four to five quarts of water on each of the last few days. There's something about water intruding into a floating boat that tends to make us a bit uneasy. When we're in salt water it's pretty easy to see if the water source is the boat's own fresh water that we carry with us or the raw water that's used to cool the engine - you just taste it. That's not an option when we are in freshwater so all options are on the table. Without going into too much detail, we've ruled out the boat's fresh water and are focusing on the "dripless" shaft seal. Again, I'll keep you posted.
As long as we're talking about the "side issues," there's a small - and I mean - small leak of oil around a heat exchanger. I'll keep an eye on it but it doesn't concern me like water accumulating in our floating home does.
That's way too much talking and not enough photos ...
Chrisy working the lines on the way up in the lock.
The traditional photo at the beginning of the Trent Severn.
What fear of heights? Hanging on the suspension bridge in Campbellford
The view from the suspension bridge in Campbellford
at the bottom of a double decker lock, you rise 24 feet, then move to the second chamber
and rise another 24 feet
The view from the top is fun after a 25 foot lift. Those gates are all that's holding us back from a quick trip back from where we came.
A view of the Trent Severn Waterway canal
Parks Canada staff walk in circles to crank open and close the lock gates
on both sides of the lock
Roger hard at work keeping us on the wall inside the lock
Millie getting a ride across the suspension bridge.
Locks 11 and 12 at Ranny Falls are a double lock. As you exit the first lock you enter go immediately into the second lock. They each rise 24 feet.
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