A Boating Beginner on the Trent-Severn Waterway: Driving the River With Le Boat

We had been pulling right into a lock north of Peterborough after a number of days of navigating the Trent-Severn waterway in southern Ontario. We’d handed by way of the identical lock possibly 72 hours earlier on our manner north in our 42-foot Le Boat craft, and one of many Parks Canada lock staff acknowledged us on our return journey.

“Hey, guys! It’s Jim and Barbara, proper? How’d it go?”

There are various issues I’ll keep in mind about our five-day, 20-lock journey on the Trent-Severn: my spouse admitting she was scared to demise on the concept of me piloting a large boat with nearly no boating expertise; majestic blue herons gliding over nonetheless morning lakes; night glasses of wine and night-time barbeques on the open-air high deck. Nevertheless it was the folks we met alongside the best way that stood out for me.

First Timer

I used to be too busy navigating to maintain correct notes on our journey, particularly since there have been solely two of us on board and I did all of the “driving.” However a younger girl at Lock 19/Scotts Mills, the primary one I needed to maneuver our massive boat into, gave me a large smile and a thumbs-up as I slide the boat inside. Observers lining the locks to see how issues labored – and to look at nervous boat operators – provided extra phrases of encouragement.

I got here in a bit of too quick on the subsequent lock.

“A little bit sizzling, sir. Again it off. That’s it,” one of many staff known as out.

At one of many locks, a Parks Canada employee defined that there was a movable roadway/bridge forward of us that she must open earlier than we may head north. The highway was solely a brief distance away, so she hopped on her bike and rode on forward, then sounded a horn to tell us we may proceed. Charming.

Navigating Locks

We obtained to the Peterborough Raise Lock, Lock 21 on the Trent-Severn, about 5 minutes earlier than it was to shut for the night time.

“Sorry we’re so near the deadline,” I mentioned to Nick, one of many staff.

“No drawback,” he replied. “Watch for me on the high, and I’ll provide help to tie up.”

Getting into Lock 21 is just about the identical because the others. However the Peterborough Raise Lock, because it’s additionally identified, is the tallest hydraulic raise lock on the planet (65 ft). Different locks on the route normally take 15-20 minutes to undergo, however this lifts you up or lowers you down in simply 60 seconds.

The highest of the lock regarded a quarter-mile above our heads, not 65 ft, however we virtually raced to the highest. It was a gee-whiz boating second if I ever had one, and I couldn’t cease grinning.

As soon as we had a docking place up high, I took photographs of the lock at nightfall and chatted with a beautiful couple from Ottawa who stopped – one among many admirers we had alongside the best way – to take a look at our boat and listen to our story. There was just one different boat tied up on the high of the lock, which sits excessive on a hill and gives nice views of the encircling countryside.

What do You Do For Dinner?

Le Boat leases come geared up with a fuel barbeque, so we opened a bottle of wine and grilled some beautiful hen kebabs that the Le Boat folks had purchased for us (together with a whack of different native goodies, akin to cheeses, contemporary bread and tortilla chips) and dined on the highest deck. 

It was a superbly quiet, tranquil night time in late Might, and we didn’t hear a sound. We woke as much as a sunny morning with a kayaker practising on the water, his paddle rhythmically dipping into the shiny floor as birds twittered within the close by timber. The outlets and houses of Peterborough had been just a few blocks away, however on our boat, it felt like mild years.

Rookie on the Wheel

There have been no different craft within the first few locks I pulled into as we sailed north on the waterway, and I believed I had the dangle of it. However on day two, I imagine at Lock 22 at Nassau Mills (once more, with simply my spouse and I on board, my note-taking was past horrible), there have been already two massive boats tied up on the best aspect once I pulled up. I swear the opening was not more than two or possibly three ft wider than our boat. The lock employee waved me in, and I used to be instantly sweating like a nervous bridegroom.

The oldsters on the opposite boats clearly needed to keep away from a collision, in order that they eagerly helped with a pair well timed pushes. I pulled into the lock at a snail’s tempo and used the thrusters to push our boat sideways so Barbara may get our bow line tied.

My coronary heart was pounding, however I obtained one other thumbs up from the lock staff.

“First time I’ve needed to pull in with different boats,” I mentioned. “That was not a variety of enjoyable.”

“Fairly good job for a rookie,” mentioned the man within the fancy boat subsequent to ours.

By the point we obtained to Lakefield, I used to be once more feeling fairly good about myself. However not for lengthy.

Docking Can Be a Problem

Somewhat than having us dock simply previous Lock 26 in Lakefield, which is kind of protected, the parents from Le Boat had set us as much as go previous the lock and check out the Lakefield Marina so we may go searching and see what marina life was like, and in addition strive a pleasant, native restaurant known as The Loon. It was a stable plan, however there’s a reasonably robust present on the Lakefield Marina, and it was windy that day.

I couldn’t make it into the spot the marina employee had known as out to me as we approached. Our boat was 42 ft, and the prompt opening regarded like 42 ft and 6 inches to me. I wasn’t positive what to do, however a bunch of pleasant boaters who had gathered on one of many Lakefield docks identified an open spot behind a really giant and really expensive-looking boat. I moved slowly ahead and again and tried to evaluate the present, and I used the thrusters to maneuver the boat nearer to the open dock house. Lastly, I obtained inside a number of ft and Barb tossed a rope to one of many folks on the dock.

I feel it took 4 adults and a useful lady of about eight years to tug us in, however they managed. One of many fellows who did a variety of the grunt work and helped information us in, Perry, gave me a pat on the again, in addition to an influence twine extension for the night time to cost our batteries.

“Don’t really feel unhealthy,” he mentioned. “When the present’s robust like this it may be very powerful. See that slip over there? No one ever tries to dock there. No one.”

It’s All About Confidence

With a chilly native beer in hand and the solar dipping in direction of the horizon, we sat on the highest deck and relaxed. It was about then that Barbara confessed she had been “dreading” the journey.

“Dreading?” I replied. “I do know you had been anxious. I get it. However ‘dreading’ is a reasonably robust phrase.”

“I actually wasn’t positive you would do it,” she mentioned. “However I used to be fallacious. You’re fairly good at this.”

The subsequent two days had been incredible. We made it previous Younger’s Level, admiring a small marina with a gorgeous restaurant/patio. We puttered (high pace on Le Boat craft is about seven mph) alongside huge Clear Lake, after which made our manner by way of slim passages in Stoney Lake, which is dotted with small, fairly islands in shades of beige, pink, and orange. We took a minute to understand a reasonably church on one of many bigger islands known as St. Peter’s Church-on-the-Rock, which, oddly sufficient, is barely a brief distance from a slim, fairly passage known as Hells Gate. (It’s not very tough, fact be advised, nevertheless it’s obtained a great title.)

Pleasant Locals

We had a little bit of bother discovering the lock at Burleigh Falls, however a pleasant native escorted us a lot of the manner there and advised us the place to seek out the doorway.

“It’s a bit hidden,” he mentioned. “Nevertheless it’s proper over there, close to that fancy cottage.”

We sailed by way of the lock and into Lovesick Lake, a gorgeous physique of water that was apparently named for a heartbroken settler or maybe an Indigenous girl who was unfortunate within the affairs of the guts.

With loads of time on our aspect, we made all of it the best way again to Younger’s Level that night time and docked on the far aspect of Lock 27, the place we chatted with pleasant locals out with their rods and reels and once more dined on the highest deck.

The subsequent day we pulled as much as the Lakefield Lock a couple of minutes earlier than it opened for the day. A pair who reside an hour or so away, Ken and Jo, had been on their boat and got here aboard for a look-see as we chatted concerning the space, and about our journey.

They had been a pleasant couple, and once more, my spouse and I discovered ourselves drawn to individuals who had been full strangers a minute earlier than. However we shared a boating bond, and I used to be shortly studying that these are a number of the deepest sort.

We made it again to the Peterborough Raise Lock that night time. It was Barb’s birthday, so we had a particular toast on an excellent, quiet, late spring night.

Feeling Like A Professional

The subsequent day, we made our manner by way of Peterborough. A line of boats was coming upstream, and we needed to nudge our boat to the aspect of the canal to allow them to by way of. Nevertheless it was a wonderful sunny day on a fantastic boat, and I wouldn’t have cared if that they had taken an hour.

Fairly quickly, we had been by way of Little Lake, residence to the brand new Canadian Canoe Museum. After going by way of Lock 19, it was a straight shot down the Otonabee River to Del Mastro Horseshoe Bay Resort Marina, the place we had picked up the boat 5 days earlier. With the present pushing us alongside, our ultimate cease got here into sight far too early for my liking.  

45 minutes later we had been heading again to the town on Freeway 401, with vehicles whizzing previous me and darting out and in of site visitors.

“Rattling,” I mentioned to Barb because the vehicles crowded round us. “I miss that boat already.”

Simply The Info

That is the primary 12 months Le Boat has had ships for lease on the Trent-Severn Waterway. The corporate has been renting vacation boats since 1969 and has 18 locations world wide, together with the Canal du Midi and Burgundy area of France, Loch Ness and the Caledonian Canal in Scotland, northern Italy, Holland, Eire, and extra. They’ve been working on the Rideau Canal in Ontario for a number of years.

You don’t want a boating license to lease a craft from Le Boat. In order that’s one fear out of the best way. Does it assist to have some boating expertise? Undoubtedly. I’ve pushed my pal’s boat, possibly a 20-footer, many instances. However I had by no means tried to dock it.

A few weeks previous to our journey, the Le Boat of us despatched us hyperlinks to a number of movies that defined boating guidelines basically and their boats particularly. Additionally they provide you with a roughly one-hour intro on the boat earlier than your rental begins, going over buoy guidelines, providing navigation suggestions, and explaining the bells and whistles. After that, they take you out with an skilled boater to evaluate your expertise.

Alan, our boating trainer, took us out on the Otonabee River south of Peterborough and confirmed me the right way to flip and decelerate (in case you’re a novice, there’s no brake on a ship, so that you simply kick it into reverse, which takes a 50-year vehicle driver some getting used to). He turned the boat over to me so he may see how I dealt with her and requested me to take some turns.

“Doing good,” he mentioned. “I don’t assume you’ll have any issues on the market.”

Simply in case, we had an emergency quantity that we may name anytime. And we had the fabulous lock staff and fellow boaters to help.

The Boat

The boats don’t go quick (high pace is 10 km/hour), and there are bumpers galore. Additionally they provide you with detailed charts that will help you navigate the waterway, in addition to helpful info for potential stops alongside the best way.

We went in early June when it was not as busy as it might be on the top of the summer time season. In the event you’re a first-timer, going early within the 12 months, or maybe in September, could be simpler in your nerves.

One of many keys to my thoughts is the thrusters, which transfer the boat backward and forward with ease. In the event you can drive slowly right into a lock at a mile or so an hour, and it’s not exhausting, the thrusters ought to provide help to with the remainder.

In the event you’re nonetheless leery, Le Boat is floating a new “Skipper for Rent” program on the Canal du Midi for subsequent 12 months. This system will see an skilled navigator assist out on the ship on the primary day and, pardon the pun, present newbies the ropes. If profitable, this system will probably be expanded onto different Le Boat routes.

The oldsters at Le Boat have quite a lot of boats accessible. Ours was a 3-bedroom Horizon 3 Plus mannequin. The principle mattress was spacious, with a small, en-suite bathtub with a rest room, sink and bathe. The opposite two bedrooms had been fairly small, however had two beds, some storage space, and in addition en-suite baths with a rest room, sink and bathe.

Prices

I regarded for September and located a Le Boat rental for per week on the Trent-Severn Waterway in mid-September for 4 folks for $3,272. That’s lower than $500 an evening.  Mooring charges typically apply, and also you’re answerable for your individual gasoline, any added electrical energy you could want, and further water, and for any price for pumping out your boat’s bathrooms and used water from doing dishes or having a bathe.