Chapter One – TSW Done! Next: Georgian Bay

Allen and I are having a debate – is Georgian Bay part of Lake Huron?  He says no, it’s just Georgian Bay.  I say yes, it’s a bay in Lake Huron, the same way Toronto is a city in Canada.  I don’t want to waste precious data researching this, so if anyone out there has the correct answer, please share.

Monday, June at 13:20 we cleared lock #45 in Port Severn, after 17 days and 43 locks (lock #29 was decommissioned and #33 in Lindsay is off the route), we officially left the TSW and motored into Georgian Bay.  The last few days in the TSW were quite eventful, in some wonderful events, and some not so wonderful

From Rosedale lock we motored into Balsam Lake, the summit of the system.  At that point, we had climbed 182 meters above our starting point from Trenton/Lake Ontario.  In those first 33 locks we “locked-up”, and the in the next 10 we would “lock-down” as we descend toward Georgian Bay.

Kirkfield Lock, #36, at 65 feet, is the second highest lift lock in the world, second only to Peterborough.  When locking down and driving into the lock, it feels like you are going to drive off the edge of the earth, a little unnerving; however, the staff are there to grab your lines and tuck you in.  A beautiful smooth ride to the bottom, and then we bumped bottom as we exited the lock.  A build-up of silt so no harm, but an omen of things to come. When planning this journey this winter, our biggest concern was water depth of the Narrows in Lake Couchiching.  Charts show that for about 200 critical feet, depth is only 4 feet (we need 5’5”).  We were assured Spring levels would accommodate, so we took the leap of faith.  HOWEVER, we did not know about Canal Lake! 

Canal Lake was 4 nautical miles (over an hour of travel) of stomach-churning hell!  We knew it wasn’t going to be good when we saw the weeds floating on top of the water, downed trees, and branches poking out.  We hit bottom almost immediately. Then again. And again.  In fact, we never floated in Canal Lake.  Throttle down, we dredged the entire lake.  We got through, but felt a bit nauseous – sailboats are not meant to dredge lakes.

Then came Couchiching and those first 200 feet.  The high water currently plaguing the Great Lakes was the advantage we needed, and with more than 9 feet beneath our keel as we easily glided into Orillia.  Orillia has beautiful city docks and facilities (similar to Trenton), so we took in a show at Rama (David Foster), a movie (Rocketman), topped-up water tanks, restocked the fridge, dined out and even had attended the Orillia Boat & Cottage show.  With warm and sunny weather, Orillia was a much needed break.

After 3 days off, “back to work”.  The trek from Orillia to Port Severn is slow going due to heavy cottage country boat traffic and several swing bridges plus the locks.  We dined and overnighted at the lovely Waubic Inn (boat access only).  Tasty, simple food and incredibly friendly, gracious hosts – highly recommend you’re ever in the area.

Big Chute Marine Railway!  Wow!  We were a bit nervous going in – putting the boat in a giant cradle and having it driven across a ROAD, down a big hill and plopped into a lake!  Easy-peasy!  Smooth, steady ride and a free keel inspection to boot!  The lock masters were happy to check the bottom and they confirmed all we lost was some paint, no damage.

So Chapter 1 is done.  Would I do it again?  In a heartbeat.  But maybe not in a 42’ sailboat.

Coming up next: a technical blog from Allen….stay tuned!