Monday, July 29, 2019

Greetings from Peterborough, Ontario, Lock 20.  Overall, locking through has gone well, but those rented houseboats have, on several occasions, left us breathless.  Today,  we did seven locks, the last being a 65 ft. lift lock built n 1904 from unreinforced concrete.   The overnights we have spent on the walls outside the locks have been highlights, every one.  We met Evan and Fiona who shared their dog, their stories, their life experiences.  We shared dinner and promises to be friends forever.  We met Bob, a violinist who owned the 45' Whitby we admired,  along with his tattoo depicting two measures of Bach's Chaconne.   We shared the end of a wall and picnic area with Toni and Julie, their dog, their two daughters with boyfriends, two tents, folding chairs, various floating items, and a dandy campfire that kept mosquitoes at bay.  They shared their homemade maple syrup and a broad range of philosophies.  We wonder how often, in this next year, those intense and satisfying encounters will repeat!  The biting flies and temperatures in the 90s are easily forgotten.

Onward 2019

The last line on our 2008-2009 blog suggested that we would do it again and that is just what we are doing.   We began at Elmwood Marina in Traverse City on July 12^th, with last minute assistance from Ken Richmond and Doug Roberts.  Sara Boys brought Mawby’s sparkling wine !  Thanks to all of our friends who encouraged us to drop the dock lines and get going.   Now seven days into the trip, we have enjoyed  anchorages and docksides at Northport, Mackinac Island, DeTour and into Canada at Meldrum Bay, Rous Island, Baie Fine, and Collin’s Inlet on Georgian Bay. Tonight, after a cleansing rain, the sun sets on a glassy lake.    At a fuel stop in Little Current, we were surprised to find Teddy Lockwood with his sister, Gale,  at the dock.  It was a lively and welcome reunion!

Thursday, July 24, 2019.   Sailing the Eastern Georgian Bay was an excellent experience.  We especially liked the Bustards, a collection of granite islands that provided fine anchorages and skinny passages for kayaking.  We took our first rest day there, finally.    In Midland, at the BayPort Marina (where service and facilities were outstanding), Dietrich built the framework and prepared Calliope to become a power boat until we reach Catskill, N.Y.  It was a day and a half of creative thinking, four bicycle trips to a hardware store, and just hard work.   The first day on the Trent-Severn Canal went reasonably well.   We did three locks and one engineering marvel (marine railway, Calliope in straps, transported 600 ft. up and over a rapid shoot in the river).   Narrow, buoyed passages in between were challenging, but Annie nudged a rock only once...no damage.  Orillia, Ont. was a good stop for adjusting the rig and general resources.  On we go.