End of the Tent-Severn
July 14, 2025
Before leaving Swift River Lock wall to enter Swift River Lock at 9:00, Lauren made home fries and served them up with eggs, toast (& homemade jam for B) and bacon. Lauren doesn’t eat toast if she has home fries; she mixes them into her eggs along with fresh spinach. Then she vacuumed and cleaned. Took about an hour and a half to arrive at the Big Chute to find out it was broken down with a number of boats already waiting. We tied up behind Lake Effect on the Blue wall and another smaller boat behind us. Pelican was able to tie up to a floating dock. Communication from the Big Chute was passed on down the line in both directions to lock attendants to hold up boats as they didn’t want a cluster of boats hanging out in the bay since they weren’t sure when the Chute would be operable.
At about 2:55, we received a call over a loudspeaker letting us know the Chute was in operation. The first boat on the blue line was called into the Chute and all other boats on the blue wall were told to move on up.
The Chute could take one large boat and maybe a smaller craft on one trip over. On its return, it contained a boat or two traveling in the opposite direction. Each time a boat was called into the Chute from the waiting line, the rest of boats moved on up waiting their turn. At 4:30 our boat and Lady G, a small motor craft entered the Chute. Lady G has transited previous locks with us. Lauren had no issues entering the Chute even though the winds had picked up a bit. Once in, we were instructed to turn off the engine. Brian sat on the bow of the boat to take pictures as we traversed the Chute. Lauren kept Heidi company in the pilot house. The ride was a tad exciting as we had never experienced anything like this; a bit jarring at first, but smoothed out once we were on our way across the road and hill. Brian took numerous pictures; hopefully the pictures will do our trip across justice. Overall, we both felt that it was actually a bit of a letdown. It is, though an engineering wonder. The Chute attendants told us to not bother staying on the lock wall after we got through because they didn’t want too much congestion with other boaters trying to enter the Chute from the opposite direction, though they were clearing out both sides rather efficiently. We decided we would anchor and found a wonderful, quiet anchorage in Herb Island Bay. Unfortunately, we thought we would be with Pelican one more night before we all went our separate ways. Pelican did not care to anchor and went on to a marina for the night. Once our anchor was down, swimsuits were on and in the water we went – so refreshing!!! Even got Heidi in with her new life jacket; her other one was a tad too big. She wasn’t too sure about being in the water, but it cooled her down and she quickly got over being upset with us once she was back on board. We broke out a bottle of Champagne that’s been in the fridge for about three months. We have one more lock to go through and that will be the end of the Trent-Severn Canal System. We will leave our boat at a marina end of this week and travel home. On return, we will be traveling the Georgian Bay and then the North Channel before returning to the states. Everyone we’ve talked to regarding the Georgian Bay say it’s absolutely gorgeous; you could spend all season there. It’s a shame we won’t have much time to enjoy the Bay as we need to stick somewhat to a schedule. To top off our evening, we have a Loon swimming near our boat; hopefully it will call out its mournful sound.
Brian reading: The Suspect by John Lescroart
July 15, 2025
We decided to spend the day here in the anchorage. It’s really calm and hazy; going to be another scorcher – today and tomorrow. Lauren made banana pancakes with blueberries. Then she tackled the closets, making lists of what needed to be provisioned. Brian transferred fuel from port forward to port aft tank to see if there will be any leaks. If it doesn’t hold, he will transfer the fuel back to the port forward tank. He also spent a bit of time whipping the ends of new lines so they don’t fray. He will be replacing the lines on our flopper-stoppers. Since we are only about 17 miles from our reserved slip at Hindson’s Marina, we may head there a few days earlier than planned. Lauren doesn’t want to get there and then feel rushed getting the boat closed up for when we head home.
July 16, 2025
Lauren spent quite a bit of time cleaning both inside and outside windows yesterday while on anchor; still having a problem with deerfly. The rest of the day was cooling off in the water, reading, napping. This morning, we brought up the anchor at 8:05 and headed to our last lock on the Trent-Severn. We arrived before the lock opened and there were already a number of boats waiting. We hovered in the bay until the blue line on the dock wall was available. The lock was rather small and could only take one boat at a time depending on width and length. When it was our turn to enter, we told the lock attendant to go ahead and take the three smaller boats that were also waiting; he could fit all three into the lock. The boaters were thrilled. We didn’t have far to go today and were no hurry. Once through the lock it was about 2 ½ hours out from our reserved slip. We arrived just outside the marina at 1:05. Lauren called the marina on the VHF letting them know we had arrived, but wanted to fuel up first. She was told the fuel dock was full and would we mind hovering; no problem. About 45 minutes later we were called into the marina to the fuel dock, except another boat cut in front of us. Lauren was a bit upset knowing we had to go the full length of the main dock towards the office marina, hook a left and then turn the boat 180 degrees and bring it into the fuel dock. So, when the other boat jumped ahead of us and we had only seen one boat come out, Lauren was thinking, there was no way she could get in. BUT, she did so smoothly. It took 2 hours to get our tanks filled because the configuration of our pipes from the deck fittings to the tanks make for a really, really slow fill. This marina does not allow the boat owners or guests to stay on the boat when it’s being fueled. Thankfully, they had several chairs in the shade, though it was another stifling hot and humid day. We finally pulled into our slip at 4:45. Pelican is here and we will get together with them on the dock early evening.
July 17, 2025
We met with Paul and Jill at 7:00 last night on the dock. It was still muggy and hot, with a slight breeze, but overcast, so could have been more uncomfortable with the sun blazing. Knowing that last night might have been our last time together for a while, Paul made Little Beers and served them in a clear, plastic shot-sized containers. Little Beer consists of two ingredients, Liqueur called 43 from Spain and heavy cream. When they are poured into the cups, the cream is supposed to set on top the 43 leaving the drink with two distinct layers. Jill said the contrast wasn’t as sharp as it could be. The drink smelled delicious, like creamsicle and actually tasted a bit like one except for the tiny bit of heat (mellow). Paul made a toast before we tasted: Here’s to good ships and wood ships, and ships that sail the sea. But the best ships are friendships, the way it ought to be. Awww When we head back home in a day or two, Paul and Jill will be moving on, but they also will be heading home early August for about two weeks. It would be nice if we could meet up with them again on our Loop journey.
This morning, we put up our mast and boom, now that we have no low bridges to contend with until we get to Chicago. It was a fairly straight-forward job and went smoothly. After another one of Lauren’s hearty breakfasts, Brian called the company that he was buying the chocks from; they still hadn’t arrived at the marina. When he questioned the delivery date, he was told they hadn’t even been shipped yet and maybe they would go out this week. When these chocks were first ordered, Brian explained where we would be with the boat and our travel plans. He was assured the chocks would be here well before we had to leave the boat. Brian wanted to go over the job with the marina in case they had any questions or concerns during the installation. Brian then told the rep to cancel the order; the rep hung up a on him without saying a word. Brian called the rep right back and let him know how unprofessional the rep was and would post on social media a poor review of their company. The rep didn’t say one word, but did hang up on Brian again. Geesh! After that lovely incident, Brian picked up our rental vehicle. About mid-morning, the heavens opened up; torrential downpour and high winds. A few days ago, we had checked the weather forecast and knowing this front was coming in, decided to come to the marina a day early. It’s at least 10 degrees cooler, but still a hint of humidity in the air. Late morning, after the deluge, Brian scrubbed the fly deck, now that the mast and boom were up and out of the way. This afternoon, we may put up the posts for the flopper stoppers. Brian bought new line for the flopper stoppers. He will whip the ends, attach the new line to the old line and pull it through the flopper stoppers. This new line is slightly more flexible.
Lauren is catching up on laundry and started packing for home; cleaning out the fridge, staying out of Brian’s way, changing out linens and keeping Heidi company, except she’s been napping most of the morning; probably because of the weather – it’s a gray day. Paul and Jill are having a water pump issue, so instead of going to visit a Fort as planned, we will most likely get together tomorrow. Tomorrow’s weather will be low 70’s but sunny; so a good day to take a tour.
July 18, 2025
Pelican opted to leave Hindson’s Marina early this morning as it was going to be a great day for traveling. After breakfast, Brian used a paste on all of the stainless steel, both lower and upper decks. Lauren went behind him, wiped it all down and then used furniture polish on the stainless steel; we found the polish helps protect the stainless, plus gives it a nice shine. We also unfolded the bimini and got that up. Lauren was going to use the marina’s laundry facility to do the bed sheets and bath towels, but all of the washers were taken first thing this morning. Instead of taking the bulkier items along with miscellaneous articles of clothing home, she broke it down into small loads and it did onboard; all except for the sheets. Next was vacuuming and wiping down the inside of the boat. When we return to the boat, we’ll stop for groceries, unpack and continue our trip on the Loop.
Brian reading: Maximum Bob by Elmore Leonard
Lauren: The Oath by John Lescroart
Hope all is well and stay safe out there.