Good Morning!!  Are you keeping up with us?  Following the lock map??  We are just in front of the Bobcaygeon Lock – Lock 32.  Today we are going over 35 miles again to get past some skinny areas before we have to go through some more skinny areas tomorrow.  Split the stress kind of decision.  However, there is excitement in the air.  We will be on the 2nd biggest lift lock in the world…but going down!!  Wait for it!

Right out our back door we can see the wall near the lock.  But, is it the blue line or just the park it and rest line?  Looks like a houseboat is over there.  Must be the park-it wall area.  The boat next to us last night is leaving at 8am to be first in line at the blue line.  We will watch him go over and take our time.  No need to hurry up and then have to wait.

We must have been packed in with a bunch of boats that I didn’t get a count of.  Early morning cruisers will line up at the line.  Undoubtedly, we were in the back squeezed in with a few other boats.  😉

There is a thing about the “Cottages”.  As you can see in this picture some of the cottages are stacked one on top of the other.  Others are more spread out.  From what we gather in talking to the locals, many of these cottages along the Trent-Severn can only be visited by water.  You have to have a boat.  Store the boat in the marina during the week, pickup your boat on Friday, and head out to your cottage for the weekend.  Like your weekend cabin in the woods.  I get it.

With your cottage, you need a boat garage, right?

I think this is our friend “Aunt Aggie” locking with us.  Pretty darn close, don’t ya know.   We had to pull our fenders up so they could squeeze in.

You may ask why would anyone want to squeeze into the lock and not wait?  Well, the first come – first served rule along the popular places is ever present.  Fenelon Falls is supposed to have hydro (electricity) and water.  A very pop-popular place.

At the top I took a picture quickly as we were getting ready to vacate the lock.  What do I see??  Pizza and Ice-cream.  These Canadians really like their ice-cream.

The wind had kicked up a bit.  You can see that by the our flags on the front of the boat.  The boats ahead are looking for the hydro stations and whether they can squeeze into the space available.  Lots of folks watching the fun.  Another one of those chaos moments when we go very slow as not to cause more chaos.  Like a parking lot during the holidays, everyone jockeying for a space.

We only go up 4 feet in the next lock.  It seems so lame compared to the others of 24 feet and that 65 footer the other day.

Now we enter into the skinny waters of Talbot River.  Here the guidebooks scares the piss out of any boater by saying “any boat with over 4.5feet draft should go through this area at dead idle”.  Expect very shallow water.”    

Here’s the sign showing the warning.  These signs really should be larger so you can read it before you get there!

Going through at less than 5 mph.   See the rocks along the edge.  We can’t move too far out of the center of the channel.

Wayne gave his warning.  We are going through!!  We were taken aback when we saw 2 vessels coming toward us.  One was a little dinghy sized boat with several people.  Plenty of room for them. The other boat was bigger.  They didn’t look a bit fazed by the congestion.  We, however, held our breath that we wouldn’t get caught up on the rocky edge!

Through the first part of the shallow Trent Canal.  We arrived at the Kirkfield Lock.  The other Lock Lift that lowers us 49 feet rather than raises us.

The other significant thing about the Kirkfield Lock, is from here to the end of the Trent-Severn we will be going down.  We understand that the lock attendants will help us with our lines so we won’t be repeating the Oswego Canal difficulties.  whew!  Also, a note to boaters, the buoy color changes at this point.

Going Down!!

 

Wayne got some good shots from the front of the boat.

 

This bridge is known as the “Hole in the Wall” bridge.  It is over 28 feet high in the center although it doesn’t look like it.  It was made in 1905.  Very cool!

We stopped at Sunset Cove Marina, Bolsover for the night.  Fine little place with lots of local character.  Really.  I watched a dog ( forgot to take a picture ) who was looking at the water’s edge near the dock.  The owner explained the dog was fishing.  Every so often, he actually catches something.  Thus, the local characters.  😉