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.
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!
T
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 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 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!
