TERI ANN: Trent Talbot Marina

Today was the most stressful day of the trip. The canal was narrow & shallow, and we made a bad decision on where to spend the night.

We went through 7 locks, numbers 35-41, and traveled 27.1 miles. The first lock of the day was Rosedale Lock 35. This is the last lock that will bring us up in elevation. This is the highest point in the system & is 840 feet above sea level. This marks the highest point in the world that a boat can reach from the sea under its own power. It's all downhill from here.

We then entered the Trent Canal. This canal is a land cut through the Canadian Shield, a geological feature that covers half the country. The whole canal was dug by hand & is only 6 ft. deep, and in many places shallower. The channel was so narrow because of its sheer rock walls on both sides that we did not pass through the water as much as it was pushed around us. It felt like we were going through a long, thin water trough, forcing us to travel slowly at about 5-6 mph, and it seamed like it would take forever to get to the other end of the cut. Even when we left the canal & went through several lakes, they were also man made and shallow. Our eyes were glued to the depth finder all day, just expecting to hit bottom, but we never did.

The high point of the day was the Kirkfield Lock # 36. It's the second highest lift lock in North America. It's the same kind of lock as the Peterborough Lift Lock, only not as tall, but this structure is less enclosed. You get more of a feeling of "hanging out there".

After a stressful day we wanted to pull into a marina for the evening and enjoy cocktails, but that didn't happen. We went to the Trent Talbot Marina, which was a big mistake. A couple on a smaller boat that we met in the lock told us this marina would be ok for us. Bad advice! The channel to the marina was narrow, shallow, and full of weeds. We should of turned back, but it was too narrow to turn around. There were so many weeds on the rudder that it became tough to turn. The engine strainer got covered in weeds & the engine started to overheat. Luckily we were able to shut off the motor before it got too hot. We think the weeds fell off when we stopped. We'll be very nervous leaving in the morning. When Al tried to plug in the electric, the outlets were so old & worn that our plugs kept falling out. Al was able to make it work by holding everything together with a bungee cord. It's very buggy outside. At least the wifi works. We can't wait to leave this place. Hopefully we don't overheat tomorrow.

If everything is ok we'll cross Lake Simcoe tomorrow.

First lock of the day #35