Day 265 - July 17, 2013: The Oswego Canal and Brewerton, NY

The Erie Canal was fully opened today, and I'm sure the dozens of boats delayed there, some of which were with us from the start, are ecstatic to begin cruising again. 

We left Oswego Marina mid-morning, and went through the seven Oswego canal locks rather quickly, as there were no other boats going either way. This canal, which provides a connection from Oswego on Lake Ontario to the Erie Canal, is wide and deep, and the locks have been fully automated and sized for relatively modern ships. These locks take you up a total of 118 feet over high falls and rapids, and many locks have an adjacent hydroelectric generating station as well.

Oswego Canal running adjacent to the Oswego River

One of several hydroelectric generating stations

Phoenix is a small town along the canal, and they have established a volunteer program for their youth to promote the town. If you stop for a rest or overnight on the town wall, which is decorated with flags, tables and chairs, they will come up and offer services such as picking up and delivering groceries or fast food, running errands, or doing chores such as washing the boat. Any tips go to the kids. This might be a good idea for Grand Haven?

Boats docked at the Phoenix city wall

We made good time and pulled into the Winter Harbor Marina in Brewerton, NY mid-afternoon. This is a first class marina which specializes in large boats, maintenance, and heated storage buildings. It is here where Great Laker will spend the winter until we continue our Great Loop cruise next June.

We spent this day remembering all the good times we have had on this great adventure and thankful for our American Tug that took us through it so safely, comfortably and reliably. The next two days will be consumed with getting the boat ready for storage, packing, and getting a rental car for the drive home. Our daughter, Elizabeth, will be home in August, and we are looking forward to spending time with her then.

To all of our relatives and good friends across the U.S. and new friends met on the Loop, we will pick up our cruise again next year and continue posting here on "The Adventures of Great Laker." Tune in around early June 2014.

Captain Larry's last day this year piloting Great Laker

Day 264 - July 16, 2013: Kingston, ON, and crossing Lake Ontario to Oswego, NY

The Rideau Canal, after departing metropolitan Ottawa, is all about winding channels interspersed with broad lakes, small villages, shores lined with trees and farmland, all tied together by a series of 46 locks still operating as they were built in the 1830s. I believe it is the most peaceful and enchanting cruising ground we have been on to date. We did seven more locks today, which seems like a lot, but they are a major part of the character and history of this region and a part of the cruising lifestyle here.

The day started with cutting a hundred pounds of seaweed off the anchor with a long serrated knife. The grasses grow very heartily here on the bottom of the shallow waters. Our first challenge came as we encountered the Brass Point Swing bridge and were told it had broken last night and they were waiting for a repair team to arrive. After dropping the anchor, I swam to cool off. Fortunately, workmen soon arrived and had the bridge open about an hour later. What a relief as we had visions of being here days (as in the Erie Canal)!

Larry cutting seaweed off the anchor

The Brass Point Swing Bridge

As a curious engineer, one more thing I observed about the locks is that there are three different systems in use for opening the doors. The most common is a long wooden pole attached to the door, with a winch using chains attached to each end to pull the door open and in reverse push it shut. Much less common is an extension of the door out over the land, with a winch and chains pulling or pushing on it to open/shut the door. Very rarely, the door is controlled by a winch, with a cable over to the door for opening, and another strung down the lock wall under the water and over to a pulley on the door for closing. This last type was needed where space was a premium, but suffered from weeds and debris getting tangled in the cables. We entered the Kingston locks, which is the only set where all three types can be seen.

The Kingston Lock and Military Blockhouse

Pole style door opening

Swing arm style door opening

Cable style door opening

We arrived at 3:00 p.m. at the end of the canal in Kingston, Ontario, and found ourselves three weeks behind our original overall plan to start through the Trent/Severn Canal to Lake Huron. There is no way we can be home in two weeks to be with our daughter and meet commitments we made for the month of August, so our new plan is to store the boat in Brewerton, New York and come back next June for a leisurely completion of the Great Loop. It is a difficult but necessary decision, as we had envisioned crossing our wake this year and having a major celebration party.

The weather over Lake Ontario was showing increasing wave heights and thunderstorms are approaching over the next few days. So in order to avoid more Eric Canal-type delays, we decided not to stop in Kingston but keep going even though it was another 55 miles. This would put us in Oswego to clear customs at 9:30 p.m. and stay overnight at the Oswego Marina.

Wolfe Island, Ontario lighthouse

Oswego, NY harbor entrance lighthouse

Sunset over Lake Ontario and Canada

As we docked it was dark, and we were tired. Backing into the slip I heard a yell for help from Anne, rushed back to the cockpit, and discovered she had fallen backwards off the narrow high dock! Luckily, there was a ladder in that empty slip, and she crawled out wet, embarrassed, and with a nasty bruise and some minor scratches. We were both relieved as it could have been a more serious event.

Day 263 - July 15, 2013: The Rideau Canal and Morton Bay Anchorage

We backtracked from Westport to the Upper Rideau Lake, traversed the Newboro Lock, and headed for Jones Falls. There are many twists and turns in this area as the waterway follows the old riverbed, and the narrow channels that cut between peninsulas are an interesting contrast to the broader lake views. There are modest homes that are widely spaced, nestled into the trees, and face docks for fishing boats, small cruisers, and houseboats.

Narrow channel to Newboro lock

Modest home with lake-style boats

Bridge on original canal supports

Family with lots of toys

Jones Falls was one of the most challenging for the canal builders, as it had a 60 foot elevation drop and a need to maintain proper depth of pools on both sides. After several initial designs, four locks were installed with a turning basin in between.

It is Monday, and our expectation was that there would be few boats in the locks. However, as we arrived at Jones Falls, we learned that boats had just started locking down, and it would be two hours before the next cycle down would begin again. There were five boats ahead of us, but we were fairly certain we would make it in the next Canada Parks lock. While waiting, we enjoyed a park-like setting, relaxed, and had lunch, and I took a swim in the basin to cool off.

Packing seven boats into a lock

Looking down over the next three locks

Our destination was an anchorage in Morton Bay, considered the best on the Rideau Canal. That was too enticing to miss! The entrance is narrow and rocky but opened up into a long intimate bay surrounded by high, rocky, tree-covered cliffs.

Narrow entrance to Morton Bay

High rocky tree-lined slopes

It was the perfect setting to take a swim to cool off, put up the sun deck bimini, and set up chairs for reading and a late dinner during sunset. I set the anchor and swam over to shore and fastened a line to a tree to keep the boat from swinging and keep us out of the center of the channel. As it got dark, we heard a Whippoorwill singing its repeated call in the trees behind us.

Finally, a great place to swim

I knew I brought these fins for a good reason

Day 262 - July 14, 2013: The Rideau Canal at Westport

Today we traversed three lakes midway through the Rideau Canal: Lower Rideau Lake, Big Rideau Lake, and Upper Rideau Lake. Separated by three locks, these large wide lakes were surrounded by high dense trees and began to reveal evidence of rocky cliffs. The third lake, Upper Rideau, at 407 feet above sea level is the highest elevation of any water body on the Rideau Canal.

High rocky cliffs along the Rideau Lakes

Since it was the weekend, there were large numbers of local boaters enjoying spots on the lock walls and marinas, and many started for home this morning. We all lined up and competed for space in the locks, but it was friendly and relaxed.

Boats leaving and others lining up to enter a lock

Seven boats were packed into this lock

The unusual homes perched above the rocks still managed to get docks for water access.

Home with rocky beach

Log home with docks and houseboat

Our overnight stop was Westport, which is a little gem of a small city for cruisers. It has an intimate marina on a small pond just off the main street and has a bit of everything you might want. As soon as we got off the lake with the breezes, it was still and we felt the extreme heat and humidity. Despite that, we walked the town and washed and cleaned the boat. It took until after 8:00 p.m. before our air conditioning could bring the temperature inside the boat below 80 degrees.

Beautiful Westport Marina

Day 261 - July 13, 2013: the Rideau Canal at Smiths Falls

This morning, it was back to the coffee shop for a tea (Anne), decaf coffee (me) and a dose of wifi. The owner, who is a very nice young lady, has a father who came in to help in the store while we were there. He said he lived and worked for 15 years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and knows Grand Haven well. We have met several other couples in the last few days who have been to Grand Haven and loved both the people and the place. What a nice surprise to learn this from people here in the remote Ottawa Valley!

This was a light day - only five locks; however they were a bit unusual. The first lock had a small one lane swing bridge directly over the lock. As we approached the lock, the lock personnel let down the road gates, and with one push, the bridge rotated slowly 90 degrees where it was then fastened to a post. No crank, chain, machinery or motor of any kind.

The lockmaster told me it was designed in the mid-1800s, and like a record player platter, rotates on a single center metal spindle with a volleyball-sized bearing set in oil at the base. The four metal wheels that you can see on the base do not touch the ground. They are there only to stabilize the bridge in case of unusual or extreme loading. This is simple and elegant and has worked consistently for about 160 years.

Lock with swing bridge over the top

Bridge supported by a single center spindle and bearing

We waited at the next two flight locks for what was described as a "log" coming down. I was unsure what that was until the door finally opened, and a young man in a blue-topped kayak came paddling through. He could have easily picked the kayak up and portaged these two locks in 10 minutes! His desire to go through must prove that all boats are equal in the Canadian locks! A "log" is apparently lock-speak for a kayak.

Young man in kayak

We arrived in Smiths Falls, which long ago had beautiful falls and rapids until the dam and locks were built here to allow boats to safely navigate through. Now the name is just a memory of what was. We stopped at the basin just above the dam and found a spot on one of the Victoria Parks docks. This is a peaceful area with parks, fountains and flowers, a swimming area, and some families walking through. We walked to get some provisions (salmon, of course), had hors d'oeuvres on the sun deck, and ate a delicious meal of salmon, fresh corn, and fresh beans. The food was good, and life is great.

Unusually creative flower gardens

The peace and quiet of Smiths Falls basin

Day 260 – July 12, 2013: The Rideau Canal at Merrickville

Most people here get up in the morning and go to work. We get up in the morning and get into a lock! Today we traveled through another seven locks, making it 23 that we have negotiated so far on the Rideau Canal. We were first on the blue-lined dock overnight, and thus were invited first into this lock and all subsequent locks today. Three other boats joined us for the trip, and it went very smoothly. 

Merrickville is about 40% of the way through the Rideau and is a recommended stop in the guide books. It is also very popular with local boaters, as the town has a number of good restaurants and many shops. Our concern was that there are a very limited number of boat tie-ups on the lock walls, and we were arriving on a weekend night. We anxiously pulled in and were very lucky to get the last spot, which was admittedly an overflow area. We were across the dam tied to a floating work raft covered with weeds, and in the middle of a patch of thick algae with no electricity or water. "No problem," we said. "We’ll take it!"

On the way we encountered an unusual swing bridge in that it was operated by a young man turning a crank by holding a long handle and walking in circles around it.

Manually operated swing bridge

Great Laker in the overflow area (:-( 

The Rideau Canal is the oldest continuously operating canal in North America. The British military decided to build it after the War of 1812 as a safe way to get supplies to their outposts in southern Canada and the Great Lakes. They feared that in the future, American aggressors might try to close off their only shipping path along the St. Lawrence River. Col. John By was brought over from England to engineer and build the canal, and he completed this substantial and risky task in just six years, with the opening in 1832. There were a series of blockhouses built to defend the locks, and we visited one of them that remains here in Merrickville.

Merrickville blockhouse

We walked the main street, explored restaurants for dinner, found a coffee house with free wifi, and went back to Great Laker and returned with our computers to catch up with the digital world.

The Goose and Gridiron, circa 1856

One of the many country stores 

We ate at the Baldachin Restaurant, which featured European-style cuisine and a band. 

Day 259 - July 11, 2013: The Rideau Canal to Burritts Rapids

We would like to have stayed in Ottawa longer, but also wanted to see more of the Rideau Canal, so we embarked on a day which included eight locks and some interesting countryside. The canal through Ottawa and its suburbs winds under low bridges and is bordered by walking and biking trails which a surprising number of people were taking advantage of this morning.

Rideau Canal leaving Ottawa

Three other boats joined us in the first lock and stayed with us throughout. These locks are narrow and short, and it took a shoehorn to get us all in each time. One of the captains was having trouble despite having headsets for communication with his Admiral. She was having difficulty getting the line on the bow attached to the side wall fixed ropes, and by the last lock she was quite tired and ready to quit. These are times we so much appreciate our boat with the easy access pilot house doors and cockpit. Anne can get around very quickly as needed.

Four boats shoehorned into the lock

In one of the locks we spotted a frog between the wall and our boat’s fender, swimming with great energy to make headway against the water rushing into the lock. He tried so hard, but never got far. Anne wanted to scoop him up and help him along, but we did not have a net to do so.

Frog between the fender and the lock wall swimming upstream

There continue to be float planes along the river, some just tied up to a dock or pulled a short way up a ramp, and one taxied out and waited to take off until we passed by. We made it to Burritts Rapids and tied up on the wall to enjoy the sun and one of the coolest days in weeks, as the wind had turned out of the north. The dock was next to a park, and we had shade in the evening. One couple came by in a rare Amphicar, built by the Germans during the 60s, and which I remember reading about as a youth in Popular Science magazine. You can drive it on the road or down a ramp into the water! Only about 4,000 of these were ever built. 

Float plane ready to take off 

Enjoying the sun deck

Rare Amphicar 

Day 258 - July 10, 2013: Visiting the city of Ottawa, ON

I grew up in Michigan near Canada and do not remember my family ever visiting there. I perceived Canada as thinly populated, cold in climate, a mix of English and French, and a country not wanting to get involved in world affairs, especially a war. Today was a great chance to update that perspective.

Despite cloudiness and a forecast of rain, we started out the day walking up to Parliament Hill, the home of Canada's democracy and a proud national symbol. The Center Block of buildings is home to the Senate, the House of Commons, the Library of Parliament (round structure), and the Peace Tower. They are all visible on top of the hill in the picture I took from across the river later in the day.

The Center Block on Parliament Hill

Our first stop was to witness the Changing of the Guard, performed on the parade ground every day at 10:00 a.m. There were bagpipes, a full marching band, several units of soldiers, security details, and special seating for dignitaries. The ceremony was elaborately played out in high precision in front of hundreds of onlookers. The troops sported high hats, that hung down over their eyes, and Anne was convinced they could not see directly ahead of them. I was amused that the number of participants and cost of this daily event must be why Canada typically does not send troops on overseas missions... (:-).

The Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill

Honor Guard with eye-covering hats

We followed this pageantry with a guided tour of the Center Block, and the timing was good as it was raining. Built in the Gothic Revival style in the 1860s, all but the Library burned down in 1916 and was subsequently rebuilt to the original design and materials. It is a massive stone structure, with elaborately carved interior stone walls, arches, and marble floors. The guide was excellent, very informed and excited to tell us all about the history and people involved.

House of Commons

Senate Chambers

Library of Parliament

Typical hallway ceilings

In the afternoon, we rode the bikes across the river into Quebec to the Canadian Museum of Civilization, which is Canada's national museum of social and human history. This very large and very modern building of four floors has a broad range of detailed exhibitions, exploring the culture and peoples of this region from the earliest inhabitants to the present. This could easily take a couple of days to fully appreciate, and we had to be disciplined to appreciate it all.

Canadian Museum of Civilization

Our final stop on this busy day was to go back to Parliament Hill and see the first summer showing of the Mosaika, a light show which tells Canada's history by turning the Centre Block into a giant screen, using vivid images and colors that interact with the building and bring it to life. There were several thousand people gathered for what turned out to be a beautiful and artistic chronology of Canada done in full motion video and hifi sound.

Sailing ship on the ocean with sea life

The provinces in Canada by 1867