Day 332: Friday, August 2, 2013

Port to Port: Hastings to Peterborough, Ontario (Lock 19 – Scott Mills)

Underway: 9:25 am      Motor Off: 4:22 pm      Miles Traveled: 38      Stayed At: Lock Wall

Mile 51 to Mile 89: We had another good day on the Trent Severn – 2 locks and 38 easy miles. Because we stayed below the lock last night, we had to wait till after 9 am to get through but we were the first (and only boats) going up so it all went fast. I wish we could get started earlier but it is what it is. I used the time wisely and sat in the local coffee shop and drank my $2 “gourmet” large coffee (which would have been twice as big and cheaper at a convenience store) and used their internet. I updated the blog, sent a few emails and did some research. Cindy was just getting up when I got back to the boat at 8:30 am. She needs her beauty sleep, I guess.

We had a nice cruise through the canal and across Rice Lake – the winds were light and the sun was shining most of the time. We started dodging a few spotty showers when we got back into the canal but never got wet. The waterway was much quieter than we expected – this is another long weekend (some kind of civic holiday) so we expected a lot more traffic on a Friday. We saw only a handful of boats and most of those were fishing. It could be a quiet few days as we make our way along the Trent Severn.

Dark clouds finally caught up to us as we entered Lock 19 and the skies opened up as we got to the top of the lock. We stayed in the lock for about 20 minutes while we waited for the rain and thunder to move on. As we were waiting, our friends on Irish Attitude and Journey plus a couple of other boats pulled up to the lock too. They got caught in the rain too. They passed us again and stopped in Peterborough to stay a couple of days. We will no doubt see them again.

Cindy and I took a long walk and found a nice grocery store to stock up on a few essentials. We took advantage of the fish and chips special at a little restaurant a couple blocks from the boat and made it home only a little wet from a passing shower. Tomorrow is another big lock day so we won’t make many miles but we will make progress.

In Passing: Margaret Island, Grasshopper Island, Hickory Island, Rock Island, Sugar Island, White Island, Spook Island, Sheep Island, Cow Island, Harmony Island.

Total Miles: 4,841