The Next Chapter

Peapod spent the longest and coldest Canadian winter in recent memory up on the hard in Rideau Ferry Harbour Marina, an hour’s drive from Ottawa. Meanwhile David and I were dreaming of warmer climes and spending many hours getting ready for the next leg of our journey. Yes, we had the right boat for the job. However, she and we needed some serious preparation to be up to the challenge.

David and I went “back to school” with the Canadian Power and Sail Squadron through the fall and winter months. We enrolled in Seamanship and VHF Marine Radio courses, augmenting our Boating Essentials course from the previous year. All of these courses provided useful and relevant information for our journey. Most importantly we gained a new appreciation of how knowledge can enhance safety.

Peapod also needed some upgrading for comfort and safety. Last year’s maiden cruise made us aware of some issues we needed to address before setting off again. The most important challenge we faced in navigating through 100+ locks was maneuvering in tight spaces. Peapod is tall and wide (compared to a sailboat for example) and is easily caught by the wind. With only a single screw (propeller), our stern was difficult to control. I spent a lot of time and energy with a boat hook pushing us away from lock walls, docks and other boats. My most common refrain to David at the helm in tight situations was “watch your arse!!” While this activity strengthened my arms and shoulders, it added a good deal of stress to our first trip and we decided to invest in a stern thruster to give us more control. This was installed in the boatyard this spring and made a huge difference. Locking through became downright relaxing and we could do 180 degree turns on a dime!!

Last year we also had a scary experience when hit by a sudden squall just as we were approaching the “blue line” where we tie up to wait for a lock to open. This is a cement wall – very unforgiving in a collision. Torrential rain hit David in the face, blinding him during the final moments of our approach. Our bow hit the wall. Needless to say, this was quite traumatic, although there was only a small blue scrape near the bow. As we considered what we might face in the coming years of the Peapod adventure, we decided to improve the coverage of the flybridge for navigation in bad weather. Barry Braithwaite, of Braithwaite Upholstery in Kingston, did a wonderful job of giving us a new “room” on top with canvas, plastic and screening. Not only does it make us safer, it also offers a bug-free environment for “sundowners” in the evening....J

The next upgrades were electrical, as the boat was set up primarily for plugging into shore power. We are planning to spend as much time as possible at anchor (on the hook), which is cheaper, cleaner and quieter. Gene Stein, owner of Marine Electric Technologies of Orillia, transformed nearly 30 years of jumbled wiring, renewed our battery bank and installed an inverter that will allow for heat, air conditioning and other important functions whether we are plugged in or not. He is a true professional wizard with wires and found a number of safety issues, which he promptly corrected, giving us more confidence to head out into the unknown.

All of this work illustrated the old boaters' saying “B-O-A-T” stands for break out another thousand! However, the prospect of running into trouble in “foreign” territory is the primary motivator for getting this old gal into the best possible shape before we leave Canadian waters.

We also spent a lot of elbow grease getting her teak and hull cleaned and polished!

David's shiny hull at Rideau Ferry Marina

Nancy sanding and painting Cetol on the teak

We began our 2014 odyssey on June 18^th with a grand send-off by our dear neighbours Ian and Barbara, who will kindly (as always) look after our house while we are away. David's sister, Janice generously offered us a ride to Rideau Ferry. The car was packed to the gunwales. Thankfully, Rachel and Zvi, my daughter and son-in-law in Toronto, are caring for Lucy so we didn’t need to squeeze her in. Rachel insisted on taking her to protect her from the trauma of flying home from Florida where we will leave the boat for the fall and early winter. In January we plan to drive down with Lucy and head for the Bahamas.

Ready to go!

Loaded

On our way

The next morning we left Rideau Ferry headed for Upper Newboro Lock to rendezvous with Barry for our canvas work. I spotted by first Scarlet Tanager flitting across the canal, one of many highlights on a gorgeous first day. However, our peace was interrupted when a faulty water hose under the galley sink exploded and filled the cabinet with scalding hot water. Luckily we were tied up at the lock and I was standing right there preparing lunch. David shut off the pump to stop the flow. I mopped up and he replaced the hose. Then we had our lunch….whew! A peaceful evening dockside after a pretty easy one-lock day.

On June 20th Barry arrived. He had done all the measurements and templates in the boatyard, so in less than a day we were beautifully decked out in a new top! While he was working we walked into the town of Newboro graced by beautiful homes and an amazing  shop called Kilborns on the Rideau. They carried an astonishing array of high quality goods, from home-made frozen dinners to designer shoes, furniture and kitchenware. We vowed to return by car in the fall to do our Christmas shopping! The only “downer” of the day was the demise of our water pump, causing another flood, this time in the engine room. David, ever the creative Mr. Fix-it, managed to plug the dike until we could get a permanent repair. Thankfully we had lots of bottled water on board - enough to get us to Kingston. The joys of an old (1986) boat!!

Newboro home

Peapod's new top

Canada Goose families at Lower Newboro Lock 36

On Day 3 we passed through 6 locks and met some friendly boaters from Portland Ontario on their trawler “Companion”. As it was hot and sunny, we decided to follow them into a gorgeous little “secret” anchorage (i.e. not named on our chart) in Morton Bay just south of Jones Falls at L 44° 31.3’, Lo 76° 13.5”. High walls of forest and granite surrounded us. The water was clear and refreshing. We enjoyed our first swims of the season and spent a quiet night at anchor, confident that our new 20kg self-righting Rocna anchor would hold. It did and we didn’t move an inch! We had breakfast to the sounds of loons, whippoorwills and a nearby waterfall – divine.

Stream beside Chaffey's Lock 37

Leaving Davis Lock 38 with "Companion" 

Jones Falls Lock 42

The happy captain

Beautiful Canadian shield

Peaceful morning in Morton Bay

The next day we followed “Companion” through peaceful lakes, channels and rivers dotted with fishing boats and passed through another 7 locks without incident. We arrived at Kingston’s Confederation Basin Marina early enough for David to cycle way up the hill to West Marine in search of a new water pump. Despite being exhausted from our long day in the hot sun, David installed the pump and we were back in business with hot and cold running water.

  

Hard-working lock staff at Upper Brewers Lock 44 

Manual bridge at Lower Brewers Lock 45

"Companion" passing under the 401

Wolf Island ferry leaving Kingston Harbour

The following afternoon (Monday June 23^rd) our electrician arrived. The boat has been turned upside down ever since with all hatches for the engine and electrical systems open for access. In the meantime, we have taken advantage of the time to do laundry, shopping and sightseeing in Kingston. The mega-yacht below is in exactly the same spot as we saw her last year and never seems to move. 

The "Irish Colleen"

Martello Tower at Confederation Basin 

I also like to record memorable boat names just for fun!

This little mallard found a nice place to rest!

To our great joy, we hosted my son and daughter-in-law, Adam and Isabel, and our precious grandson, 15-month-old Oscar (and their dog Uma) on Peapod for lunch. They were driving back to Toronto from Montreal and stopped for a brief visit to say farewell. We know that he and our Ottawa grandbabies will be growing and changing during our 2+ months absence. This is the only down side of cruising – missing major milestones and special moments in the lives of our families. Thankfully we have great technology allowing for real-time long distance contact.

Captain Oscar

Tomorrow the new batteries go in and we will test all systems before Gene leaves for Orillia. If all goes as planned (a bit of a joke on a boat), we will leave Kingston on Friday or Saturday, depending on our sea trials, and head for the Erie Canal across Lake Ontario. This U.S, waterway will be a first for both of us so we feel a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Hopefully, all systems will be working well and we will have an uneventful journey to the Hudson River and New York City!