Adventures of Peapod: 2013

On our last day in Kingston, we hiked in blistering heat with Lucy up the long hill from the harbour to visit West Marine, a special treat for Ottawa folks who don't get there often. It was nice to arrive and realize they were dog-friendly and had fresh water for Lucy. David and I were like kids in a candy store and picked up much-needed replacement life jackets, rubber boots, a new hat for David (his was torn off by the incessant wind of Lake Ontario) and other fun items.

As we limped back to the dock loaded down with groceries and our West Marine goodies we came upon the immediate aftermath of a "bumper boat" calamity. A huge white cruiser lost control entering the marina and swiped several other boats before coming to a stop against the stone wall. Rumour has it that the captain said he "lost his steering". It would certainly explain the apparently random movements of this gigantic yacht. One of the women on the cruiser was injured slightly, and many others on the dock and other affected boats were traumatized.

A large Coast Guard vessel soon appeared and discharged a dinghy full of officers who conducted an investigation. Quite an exciting evening at the Confederation Basin Marina.

While in the harbour we also managed the sale of my parents' house with the help of marina staff who scanned documents for us. Thank goodness we were in civilization with access to technology!!

August 22nd dawned cloudy and windy (the wind never stops in Kingston!). We were obliged to leave as the Marina was fully booked with boaters coming for the blues festival on the weekend. In any case, we were anxious to get back underway after a welcome respite from our travels. The bridge out of the basin only opens on the hour so we were up "early" and ready for the 10AM opening.

Soon we were in sight of the 401 at a place we always dreamed of cruising under! Traffic was slow due to construction, which made us feel even more fortunate.

401 moving slowly as we enter the waterway! Everything is better on a boat.

Travelled through 4 locks uneventfully, although we were a tad rusty at going uphill! At 13:00 we were about to tie up on the blue line at Lock 45, Lower Brewer's when a violent electrical storm hit. Immediately in front of us was a brilliant bolt of lightening almost coinciding with the crash of thunder. I ran down to the deck to prepare the lines for landing when the sheets of horizontal rain hit us. David was at the helm and was temporarily blinded. I was crouching on the gangway step too terrified to jump the gap when we hit the dock.

David came bounding down from the flybridge and jumped ashore like Spiderman and secured the boat. Nobody from the 3 other boats nearby came to help us despite our being in a crisis situation. Very disappointing given boaters' reputations for being helpful to one another. I guess it depends on the weather.

We were so shaky after this adventure that we decided to stop for the day even though it was only 1PM. When the rain cleared, David worked away to remove the blue stripe from the hull, as we didn't want to complete our journey advertising that we had hit the blue line! A small scratch remains as a reminder and joins the many others on the hull contributed by the previous owners. That night there was a gorgeous sunset.

The next morning, we dried ourselves out. Of course all the hatches, doors and windows had been open during the downpour...good lesson learned in paying close attention to the sky while underway!!

Friday August 23rd was OSCAR day!! Adam and Isabelle were travelling to Montreal and took a small detour to meet us at Upper Brewer's Lock. What a treat! The salon table was perfect for changing then we sat in the park for a picnic.

On the picnic blanket he performed for Grandma...showing off his verbal and toe-sucking skills.

That afternoon we passed through beautiful Jones Lock....

....on our way to an amazing spot at Davis Lock where there was power AND wonderful swimming! Several doodles added to the entertainment for us and for Lucy. She had a ball and was much admired by the boater crowd. Gorgeous spot! After 8 locks we were ready for a relaxing evening.

The next day took us through spectacular cottage country to Smith's Falls where we tied up at a municipal dock with power, washrooms, showers and a wonderful free concert in the park under the water tower! Magical evening.

The park where we were tied up had a WWII Harvard on display. This was the type of plane David's dad flew when he trained young pilots to go to war.

The next morning we were preparing to lock through and spotted another Monk 36, only the second one we had seen on the trip. This one was doing the "big Loop" from Florida. Funny how excited we all get when we see another of our "kind"...:-).

Because it was Saturday, the locks at Smith's Falls were lined with spectators. We felt like we were at the Oscars with camera flashes going non -top and lots of ooohs and ahhhs over our boat and especially Lucy who mugged for the crowds.

Then the big push was on to get to Burritt's Rapids, one day away from Ottawa! It was a long one with 12 locks but thanks to navigational assistance from Lucy we made it just in time to get the last spot on the lower dock. There we had power, nice neighbours, fun boat dogs but no Telus service.

Our new friend Steve told us about a company in Ottawa that makes thrusters for boats and given our challenges in handling Peapod in wind and current we were excited to hear this.

One of the prettiest locks along the way was was Old Sys, where the original stone lockmaster's house sits nearly hidden by gigantic trees.

Many of the locks have been fitted with hydraulic equipment operated from console. Here at Old Sys, the staff still operate the locks manually and it is hard work!

Merrickville is another pretty tourist town where we waited for the lock in a lovely park. Peapod is tied up on the blue line in the background.

Just below Merrickville we passed a marina specializing in wooden boats....gorgeous!

We know we are almost home when we pass under Ottawa's famous bridge to nowhere, an infrastructure project plagued by delays and controversy.

Finally we are in familiar territory - the locks at Carleton University (Rachel's alma mater and part of our cycling circuit). Lucy is getting weary after a long day and did her "downward dog" yoga pose for an energy boost.

We glide past Patterson's Creek, along a favourite walk to Bank St. where we do our shopping. Now we we are getting very excited as "our" Pretoria Bridge approaches!

As we round the turn approaching the bridge we see the telltale flash of our friend and neighbour Ian, who is on the shore documenting our arrival. While he waits, he captures the wildlife who are keeping him company.

Lucy sees him right away.

We hover at the end of our street wait for the bridge to rise. Living where we do, we hear the "ding-ding-ding" of the bridge going up all summer. Who knew we would be the ones making it happen?

Ding ding ding....

Our photographer jumps on his bike and we see him next on the Corkstown Bridge as we round the turn and see the Chateau for the first time.

Ian's perspective shooting south from the bridge.

Ian's shot to the north just before we lose our light. This one's my favourite!

Exhausted, we tie up downtown at dusk and have a celebratory dinner of leftovers and wine. The next day, we hosted David's son Ryan, along with grandson Wesley and Melanie for a tour of the boat. Once he can see over the wheel, he can take turns at the helm.

We walked home with a huge cart of laundry. What a treat to walk into our beautiful house after three months away! Had a wonderful lunch at the "portable" restaurant, which serves local food and beverages. See the link for a great description. 8 Lock's Flat

We entertained some old friends (Carla, Suzanne and Charlene, Ian and Barbara) and met some new ones in our few days alongside.

Our last downtown sunset.

On Friday morning we took on 2 crew members, Peter and Carla and set out to return the boat to her fall and winter home in Rideau Ferry. One small detour was required. The evening before both of our heads filled to the brim and refused to flush. Oooops! The alarm that tell us that the poo tank is full turns out to be on the same circuit where there is a loose or broken wire affecting the forward cabin lights. We were planning to have some electrical work done anyway so the lights were no big deal. Who knew there was such a critical function associated with the lights? Oh well, we got pumped out and we could safely depart. The joys of marine heads!

On our way to Dow's Lake for the pump-out we saw a canoe pulled over to avoid us. When I greeted them from the bow, we realized that is was an old friend and colleague, Natalie, who was out with her nieces for a holiday weekend paddle. What a crazy coincidence!

Carla loved being on the bow and working the lines. She stayed with us as far as the Mooney's Bay locks where we had a lovely picnic lunch and Baskin Robbins ice cream....a very rare treat!!!

Peter was game to take the hem and work the lines in the locks. What a help it is to have extra hands for that job!

Along the way we saw many osprey nests, mostly empty this late in the year except this one.

We made it back to Burritt's Rapids on Friday evening where we were treated to a polo practice. Now that's a first for us! By the time we got the camera it was all over but the cooling down. What a beautiful sight!

Our last lock for 2013...102 in total!!!

Our last treat of the voyage was seeing my old friend Geoff steaming toward us. He has a wonderful boat called Drummer that he also keeps at Rideau Ferry and was out for an end-of-summer cruise with Pat and a lively group of friends.

Lucy is very glad to be home and so are we!

This winter we are signed up for a seamanship course to get us ready for "the big show". Back next spring with the journey to Florida and the Bahamas!

On June 26^th Peapod went up on the hard for repairs at Stokes Marina in Lagoon City on Lake Simcoe. The projected time for completion, according to the ship’s log, was 5 days....haha.

As you recall from the previous post, we were rear-ended by a sleepy driver while we were driving the marina truck to get provisions. This happened the same day that we learned of Mum’s stroke and realized that we needed a major change in plan.

We rarely drink before evening hours but this day we took Lucy in the dinghy to a local waterfront restaurant for lunch. After a nice cold beer David was feeling better and we were ready for a new challenge.

We rented a car and set out for Aurora. Within a week we had my parents moved to a retirement home and began preparations for selling the house, while taking care of what seemed like an endless stream of health appointments for them both. Siblings and children helped a lot.

There were also happy times. Extra time with grandson Oscar was a huge bonus for us!

We also had a “family” reunion with old Fredericton neighbours and friends, the Dickinsons.

A lovely visit to great grandma from Adam, Isabelle and Oscar followed by time at Owl's Foot.

Meanwhile my 90 year old Mum continues to improve after her stroke and enjoys time in the warm saltwater pool at the beautiful Oak Ridges Retirement Community in Richmond Hill.

My Dad, who has Alzheimer’s Disease, did not do well after the move and thankfully was accepted into Sunnybrook Veterans where they have specialized expertise and enriched funding for dementia care. It is in a beautiful setting in Toronto and he seems to be adjusting well.

We also were fortunate and delighted to be present at both civil and the cultural ceremonies uniting my niece, Samantha with Ben, a wonderful young man who was introduced to Sam by my son Adam. The civil ceremony was held outdoors in Aurora at Sheppard’s Bush in honour of my parents/her grandparents, the Sheppards. They would have been too frail to travel to the “big party” in Niagara-on-the-Lake, so a small family ceremony was held and officiated by a dear neighbor who is a Justice of the Peace.

My sister Susan, mother of the bride with me and our parents.

Just married.

Proud mama Susan.

The family group.

A week later we drove to Niagara-on-the-Lake for a wonderful weekend of wedding celebrations. We checked into a lovely B&B – the Post House Inn – and had time for a soak in the hot tub before dressing for the lawn bowling party. My son, Adam, plays with the Parlour Brothers and played a set for the bride and groom. He's on slide guitar and vocals.

Of course, little Oscar was a big hit. My daughter Rachel is an adoring Auntie.

And we love his Mom, Isabelle

Needless to say I am a doting grandma.

The next day, a beautiful wedding was held at the Ravine Vineyard in nearby St. David’s. The ceremony was held amongst the vines, with the bride resplendent in a remake of her grandmother Sheppard’s ball gown from the 60’s, followed by dinner and a party under the stars.

My brother Bob and son Adam sang the gorgeous Beatles song "I Will" for the processional.

The next morning, we went to a delicious breakfast and said goodbye to family and friends old and new. One of my dearest old friends, Zena, is a cousin of the groom’s father, and we were reunited after a long absence.

Back to Aurora to finish the job on the house in time for garbage day. This was only the beginning of the pile!!

After a little scope creep on the boat repairs (new depth sounder, chart plotter, radar etc), we are finally in the water!

What we thought was our last sunset in Lagoon City!

One of the new toys that will help us say safe on the big trips ahead.

As we prepared to start out bright and early on Monday morning (August 12) we discovered that the new electronics were not working.

We spent another day at the dock waiting for repairs. The electrician arrived, fiddled around and declared that all was well.

The next morning we did a final gas up and pump out when we realized the unit was acting up again – not working…L. Well, there was no stopping us at that point, so we called our guy and arranged to meet that night at a location to be determined by our progress.

Saying goodbye to Lagoon City. There could be a lot of worse places to be stranded...:-).

We set out on Lake Simcoe and immediately found ourselves in one of the lake’s famous westerly blows and we buried our bow for the second time in the journey. It wasn’t quite as scary as Lake Huron but there was no moving around the boat and Lucy needed to be held.

Thankfully, all was quiet as we entered the Trent Canal and did 5 locks in 5 miles….great practice for us since we were a bit rusty after the long break

Lock 36 at Kirkfield was a spectacular hydraulic lift lock taking us up 49 feet in a big bucket of water. This is the second largest lock of its type in the world, after Peterborough.

From Kirkfield, we began our journey downhill to Trenton. Here the signage changes from “red right returning” and we need to have our wits about us to keep the greens to starboard.

We pushed on to Lock 35 – Rosedale – where our trusty electrician met us to further investigate our issues. He was on the phone to experts around the world, all of whom were mystified by our intermittent problems. He replaced the upper helm unit and “it worked first time, no ifs ands or buts”. However, the next morning it had quit again….argh.

The next morning dawned beautiful as always and we set off for Buckhorn where my sister and her husband live on the water.

On the way we passed through many gorgeous communities including the beautiful town of Bobcaygeon. Passing though Fenelon Falls, we were shivering in chilly conditions! We each had 4 layers on to resist the chilly wind in spite of sunny conditions.

We had a lovely reunion in Buckhorn and had so much fun we only too one picture – of the dogs…J. We had a car, a rare treat, and picked up provisions before entertaining Susan and Bear for dinner on board.

From here on we had gorgeous weather and peaceful days along the waterway with no waits.

Eagles and other birds of prey were abundant!

The next day – August 15 – we set off early and navigated 11 locks through gorgeous Kawartha cottage country!! The final one was the giant Peterborough hydraulic lift, which was breathtaking. From Peterborough we passed though Rice Lake, the second largest in the system after Simcoe. Thankfully it was calm cruising all day and we reached the idyllic lock at Healey Falls.

The giant Peterborough hydraulic lift lock.

A traditional lock....just hang on.

On to Frankford on the 17^th – another 11 lock day!! Today we dropped 188 feet! This lock had power and showers!!! David tried his hand at fishing off the boat. No catch but lots of pleasure.

The last lock was Trenton, the location of an important Canadian air base of significance to both of us given our shared military history.

The creativity and engineering in this system never ceases to amaze us. We had been lifted nearly 300 feet from Georgian Bay and lowered nearly 600 feet to Lake Ontario!

Finally we are in the Bay of Quinte!