Spring Thaw - Finally!

 After the worst winter in recent memory, Mother Nature has finally looked at the calendar and started the warming part of Spring. Ahhhh, that's nice :-)

 We took a drive up to the boat twice in the past week to check on things and it's so nice to see open water again! Nothing much on Lake Simcoe right now, but many rivers have begun to open up and flow again. Here's a pic I took where the Trent Severn Waterway enters Lake Simcoe, at Gamebridge;

Open water again :-)

 Not only is the snow and ice fading fast, but it was so nice to see the wild critters out again as well. On Sunday alone, we spotted deer, wild turkeys, lots of little creatures and tons of geese - although they aren't that pleasant to have around the marina. . . The most encouraging to see once again flying around and claiming their nests was the Osprey, returned from their southern wintering grounds.


 All of the above says that once again we are moving inexorably towards another great season on the water. Soon be time to head onto the Trent Severn Waterway and take it all in :-)

Swing bridge on the Trent Severn Waterway.

:-)

Boat Cruise on The Trent Severn Waterway 2013, Part Two

This part of our summer holidays voyage takes us through the hamlet of Bolsover to Canal Lake, up the Kirkfield Lift Lock and on to Rosedale. Not as sunny and warm as the day before, but a good day to travel, with no wind and the rain held off.

One of the many locks to pass through in this stretch;

Heading up through one of the locks.

The first of two swing bridges in Bolsover, this one had been operating by the staff from the Bolsover Lock. As a result, when we left the lock, we had to hang around at the bridge, waiting for the lockmaster to drive over by car to swing the bridge for us. Coming the other way, we had to wait for the same thing. This is something new that started in the 2013 navigation season as part of Parks Canada's cost saving measures. I will have more to say about that in the future;

One of the swing bridges at Bolsover, along the Trent Severn Waterway.

Passing by the gas dock at Sunset Cove Marina. A nice spot to spend a night.

Sunset Cove Marina in Bolsover.

 Midway through Canal Lake is this old bridge, commonly referred to as 'the hole in the wall bridge';

Hole In The Wall bridge on Canal Lake.

When initially built on 1905, the location was nothing more than a field. There is a really good book about the building of the TSW called ''A Work Unfinished : The Making of the Trent-Severn Waterway by James T. Angus' that includes the whole history of how it came to be and is full of many period photos. Included in that collection is a neat shot of this bridge under construction - in the middle of a dry field.
 Here's a close up shot of the build date for the bridge;

Hole in the wall bridge, Trent Severn Waterway

More healthy eating, even while travelling. This is my daily fruit intake. Lots of FRESH fruits and veggies every day. Good for the body!

Healthy fruit bowl snacks.

 Crossing Canal Lake we encountered this family of White Swans. A first for us to see the little young ones;

White Swans with babies on Canal Lake

 This sign sits at the easternmost part of Canal Lake, right at the beginning of the man made Kirkfield Cut, advising bigger boats that they must call a Sécurité, warning other boaters of their transiting this area. Reason being is that it is very narrow in spots and for two large boats to pass would be difficult & downright impossible in some areas.
 Trouble with this plan is that sometimes the signal may not reach boaters entering the cut, way over at Mitchell or Balsam Lakes (where there is the same sign for boats heading in the other direction). As well, many boats travel with their radios off (which it down right irresponsible) and wouldn't get the message any ways. My advice? How about if Parks Canada staff were to simply cut back the severely overgrown trees along this stretch? Too simple, I know. . . .

Warning sign for larger boats at Kirkfield

 There is a tangle of weeds as one enters into the Kirkfield Cut and one must stay within the more travelled middle of the channel, or risk becoming completely entangled in them. Right after this shot was taken, we clunked something (I'm thinking it was a bigger branch) at this spot. Fortunately, there was no damage. In a subsequent post, I'll share a video of a couple of scuba divers inspecting the running gear for damage, taken a few days after this incident.

Lots of Weeds

 A closer view of the weeds.

More weeds on the waterway.

 Here we are, just about at the top of the ride up the Kirkfield Lift Lock. This point marks the summit (highest point over sea level) for the entire Trent Severn Waterway. From this point, one is heading downstream in either direction. It's with this in mind that the navigation buoys change - green on the right from here!

Kirkfield Lift Lock

  After exiting the lock, I heard one of the aforementioned Sécurité calls from this boat. Unfortunately when I tried to hail them to discover their position or ETA for arriving at Kirkfield, there was no reply. To be prudent, I decided to tie off to the lock wall and wait for whatever was heading towards us to arrive at the lock. Good thing, too, as by the looks of the beam on this thing, we would have had a lot of fun trying to pass each other in the cut.

Wide beam boat in the Kirkfield Cut

 The lady on this boat was VERY grateful that we held back and waited for them to transit the cut.

A grateful boater

 This is what I am talking about - a very overgrown canal. Apart from a break at tiny Mitchel Lake, this man made cut runs all the way from Kirkfield to Balsam Lake - a transit of about an hour. It is pretty, though.

Narrow Kirkfield Cut.

 This is the tightest spot, with no more than 20' of clearance.

Approaching Balsam Lake

  Coming off of Balsam Lake and approaching the hamlet of Rosedale, at the south east part of the lake.

Rosedale on Balsam Lake

Next stop - Rosedale Lock, but that's gonna take up an entire post to share the beauty of the place, so c'mon back for lots more :-)

Boat Cruise on Trent Severn Waterway 2013, Part One

After a number of years cruising to/through Georgian Bay, we decided to spend our 2013 boating summer holidays with a return cruise through the eastern part of the Trent Severn Waterway. As we had only two weeks to venture from - and back to - our home port on Lake Simcoe, we were only able to get as far as the village of Lakefield. I had hoped to be able to get down to Peterborough, but that's going to have to wait until next summer.

Yes, yes, I know we could have made it to Peterborough and back easily within two weeks, but the days of hammering the throttle just to say we did it are behind us. Theses days, it's more along the lines of 'sit back and smell the roses' kinda mindset.

 As things are, we are hoping to have the whole summer of 2014 to go on extended boating trips, as we have recently put our house up for sale, with the intention of moving full time aboard 'Boogaboo' during the seasonal months, but that's a whole other Blog post ;-)

 Back to this years' fun.As mentioned, we travelled east from Lake Simcoe towards Fenelon Falls and beyond.

Leaving our marina gas dock.

The weather was spectacularly clear and calm. A great way to start the voyage.

Lake Simcoe was unbelievably calm. A beauty day for boating.

For those of you who have travelled this way, you know that there are quite a number of locks to pass through. Oh well, a small price to pay for a voyage like this. And it provides a great opportunity to master your driving skills ;-)

Going through the fist of many locks.

 This is both a funny and sad photo; the car rushing along the side of the canal has the lock staff that has to run between these locks to let the boats through. One example of Parks Canada's way of 'saving' money. Hmm, I wonder what the vehicle costs for the year, with fuel, wear and tear and maintenance costs?

A Parks Canada vehicle rushes to the next lock.

 After travelling for a few hours, we decided to make Lock #39 our first stop and stayed there for one night.

Lock #39 of the Trent Severn Waterway.

 Staff closes the big lock doors after some boats dropped down

The lock chamber.

I love the nature at these locks. Keep in mind that all of the locks are operated by Parks Canada and are mini national parks. The trees are one nice part of the attraction.

Big trees, big sky and a lovely, peaceful afternoon.

As the locks in this area are very close to one another, the lock staff generally tries to have a number of boats all go through at one time. That's why you often see groupings of 4 - 6 boats passing through together.

A group of boats head towards Lock #39 of the TSW

Here's a shot of yours truly walking over to the other side of the canal for some picture taking.

Walking over a lock gate.

 A cool shot of a big trawler, the 'M/V Quimby' that pulled in for the evening. These folks were part way through their voyage through the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of the eastern portion of North America. Affectionately referred to as 'Loopers', the boaters who do the trip typically take about a year to make all the way around the roughly 6,000 mile route.

One of the 'Looper' boats we see along the TSW

Perry The Penguin, our mascot, enjoys a lovely sunny summer evening from the deck of 'Boogaboo IV'.

Perry The Penguin on board 'Boogaboo IV'

 I took this photo hanging out of the forward hatch - the first one I've ever taken from that vantage point. An appropriate spot to finish up this entry, as that is the direction where we will be heading on the next leg of the journey . . .

 Next time, we will be heading to the Kirkfield Lift Lock :-)

:-)

Weather, Man!

I just came across a report talking about the predictions of Florida sea levels rising as much as 60cm over the next 50 years. This prediction is being taken seriously. So serious in fact, that a local fire department currently under construction in the Florida Keys is being built well above grade to alleviate the possibility of it's being flooded in the future.

 That's some serious considerations for those living coastal areas. But what does that have to do with those of us living well inland and many hundreds of feet above sea level, you ask? Much, actually. I recall learning that, as a result of global warming, our weather will become more erratic, and rather than enjoying the normal summertime patterns of days of sun and warm being gradually replaced with rain or periodic, fast moving thunderstorms, we should expect much more rapid changes. These changes would be more severe as well, with more dramatic changes and more prolonged stormy days and nights.

Perry the Penguin enjoys a windy, albeit beautiful, sunset at Fenelon Falls

  Well, it looks like we are there. So far this summer, I have heard of 4 severe storms being forecast while boating, three of them being tornado watches or warnings! Only last night, enjoying the final hour of light aboard the boat, sitting on the flybridge, we heard squall warnings for both Georgian Bay & Lake Simcoe. Thankfully we never got the squalls on Simcoe, but there was lightning, gusts and LOTS of rain on and off for most the night.

 As I have said to Anchor Girl many times over the past couple of seasons, if we are going to keep boating, we have to get used to travelling, docking and going through the locks in the wind - something she doesn't like. Looks like we don't have a choice anymore :-(

For The Birds

What a great weekend at the boat! The summer weather has finally arrived and all the birdies are happy :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 It's nice to be surrounded by so much of nature when we are at our marina. I've noticed that the older I get (have gotten), the more I enjoy and appreciate nature. It has been our habit for the past three years to go to the boat on Thursday evenings to make a long weekend out of them all through the summer. Even if I have to run back to my work on Friday mornings, it's such a break to get to the boat & the sight and sounds of the birds are truly heartwarming.

 Makes me feel good and I wanted to share a few photos of these pretty birds with you :-)

 There are a large number of Ospreys in the area, with a nesting pair very close to the boat. I'm always fascinated by these majestic animals and stop to watch them in flight. Here's one circling overhead in search of a meal;

I was able to capture some video of this guy capturing his meal - a big fish;

We also have a few Great Blue Herons fishing and flying around. Interesting to watch these guys move along so   s l o w l e y   in search of their prey;

This one looks like the male, as he/it is larger than the one in the previous photo. Either that, or just older? Note the big goose in the distance. I think these guys have some sort of territory thing going on, with the Herons keeping to themselves;

Yet another batch of young gooses. Sure, they look cute when they're little, but grow up to be continuous poop machines :-(

 And they tend to show up in numbers, so their poop droppings can really 'pile' up ;-) Hey! That's not even funny. . .

Were's The Bridgemaster??? Stirring The Pot

It looks like I've created a bit of a stir over at the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW) headquarters with my latest video post. My video centres around the fact that Parks Canada (who operate the  Waterway) have come up with a brilliant plan to have a number of locks + some swing bridges operated by roving, or mobile, crews.

 As it turns out, and as a result of this video being viewed by the folks in charge at the TSW, they have instructed their front line staff to not discuss the situation with me.

 ME?!?!? A little old boater?? Too funny.

 Or sad, take your pick.

 Have a look at my video to see my initial report. I will be posting a follow up over the coming days, so stay tuned for that.

A Mother Of A Day ;-) Snow At The Marina!

Mother's Day at the boat (and probably everywhere else, too) was an interesting experience. After coming through our never ending winter this year, we had all thought that the newly discovered Spring-like conditions were here to stay. Well, no such luck. . .

 On Mother's Day, we woke up to cool, cloudy and windy conditions. No problem, as we were snugly tied to the dock at the marina, and snugly warm inside the boat, with the heat keeping is comfy & cozy. The interesting part came around 11:00 in the morning when the first bit of snow hit. By around 2:00, it was a full on snow storm! With the wind howling in from the west, there were times it was difficult to see many of the other boats in the marina!

 The snow was actually starting to accumulate on the side curtains.

 Thankfully, those conditions have passed and we went on to a beauty week, with the long term weather looking a lot more like, well - SPRING!

 Happy voyages!!

We're Floating Again! Boating Season Has Begun :-)

I am very pleased to say that at long last, Boogaboo IV is once again floating! Here's to another great season on the water! It couldn't have come at a better time, my friends. . . .

 Before it was time to float, it was time to polish. Here, Anchor Girl & I enjoy our first dinner of the year - a little dry, but just nice;

I couldn't have done it without Anchor Girl's hard work and help. So much so, that we were able to get more than I was hoping for polished in only a few days;

Thumbs up to the guys  for coming in on a Saturday morning to get us launched!

Wevvy took advantage of the weather on Sunday getting a super shine on Docked Wages

 

At last! Our beautiful floating home is welcoming us once more :-)

Our Sea Ray 400 Sedan Bridge

Relaunch 2013 Has Begun :-)

We took a drive up to the boat yesterday for the first time this year (!!) to discover that the marina has already put the first two boats in for the season. Despite the brutally cold weather we've had over the past couple of weeks, they were able to start bubbling the ice to get things moving along.

 The plan is for the staff to start dropping the boats from the covered slips on Pier Two this week and then moving on from there. With any luck, Boogaboo should be floating in two weeks :-)

 Here's a look down the channels, close to our slip. Although there is still about 50/50 ice coverage, things should be cleared out by weeks' end - if the warm weather that is promised materializes. Fingers crossed!

Why No Bay? Extreme Low Water Levels on GeorgianBay!

I recently received a comment/question on the Log Book from a couple who have not boated on Georgian Bay in 15 years and now find themselves up in Penetanguishene (Penatang), on the southeast shore. They asked me why we won't be heading back to Georgian Bay this summer (2013 season) and I thought it was note worthy enough to share here, as the ramifications apply to all of us. . .

 But first, another stunning photo from our time at Wani Bay (2010);

 The reason that will not be visiting Georgian Bay this season is because our home port is on Lake Simcoe and we have to travel through the Trent Severn Waterway to reach The Bay. No trouble in that respect, but once one exits The Waterway at Port Severn, there are only two, relatively shallow channels that lead onto Georgian Bay proper. When we passed through 'Potato Island Channel' last summer, my depth finder was showing us precariously close to bottom and the water levels have dropped considerably since then.

 I'm not going to chance taking out a prop or shaft (or both) right at the beginning of our holidays, so we are looking forward to heading east along The Waterway this summer. Haven't been that way in a few years, so it will be like revisiting an old friend :-)

 If you look at the (long & boring) video I posted earlier on the Blog discussing the water levels, you will notice I make mention of the Potato Island Channel. It's a sad situation affecting not only Georgian Bay, but all of the Great Lakes, to one degree or another. And, by extension, all of us will be affected.

 Here's a video of us heading up-bound (towards Port Severn) through Potato Island Channel, back in 2009. As you see, there was lots of water depth, but not too much width. Imagine that now, with roughly THREE FEET (yes, three feet/one metre) less water  than when this was shot.


 If you are only back to the Penatang area this year and didn't get a chance to boat on The Bay last summer, you will looking at a MUCH DIFFERENT body of water from what you might remember. If you have a chance to drive over to Honey Harbour, take a look at the Picnic Island Store. From the recent photos I have seen posted online, I don't think I would want to take our boat through the Small Craft Route in that area - even if we could safely get onto the Bay :-(

Here are two recent (January/13) photos of the Picnic Island Store + a link to a news story on the cost of dealing with the lower levels to area municipalities. If you are unfamiliar with this spot, there is normally floating docks right here. Note the floating docks on the other side (kinda behind in this shot), you will see they are pretty much sitting on bottom. That makes it difficult for folks like us who need at least 4' of draft to move the boat through the water. (Note, these two following images were found on the http://honeyharbour.net/news/ site, but are widely floating around many news and environmental sites. I do not know who took the photo originally, so I am unable to attribute any copyright or ownership to the author. From what I see on the Honeyharbour.net site, they may have been taken by a 'Bernard Nicholson')

Another one, looking southward, with the Small Craft Route in the distance;

 Now compare the above photo with one I took here in 2008. In this shot, I'm standing on the dock, looking down to where the above photos are looking);

 I think this will, sadly, give you an understanding as to why we won't be up on The Bay this season. Despite the fact we can't make it this year, we are still blessed and fortunate enough to be able to safely travel through the rest of the Trent Severn Waterway. Keep an eye out for upcoming updates from those adventures :-)

 I hope you will have a chance to check out both my YouTube Channel, for LOTS of boating fun.
 Yes, I do have fun with this whole boating thing ;-)