Day 66 – Sunday August 20 – we wake early to depart Bobcaygeon – not as early as all the fishermen, but early enough to catch the first lockage at 09:00, and, with an eagle eye on the engine gauges, we cruise to Buckhorn and on to our destination: Lovesick Lake and its delightful Lock 30, a distance of 23 miles plus two locks (each of which will take between 20 and 30 minutes, depending on traffic) .
On the way, we see cottage country at its most playful, with lots of speed boats and water toys, and after we stop at Buckhorn Yacht harbour for a pump out and fresh drinking water, we move into the crowded Buckhorn Lock.
It is a weekend, and Lovesick is usually full, but we are lucky – a rented houseboat is leaving just as we arrive, so we nab the spot and tie up, and are soon joined by another couple, Barry and Wendi, who dock their beautiful classic 1960s wooden Chris Craft in a tight spot. (The engines have been checked and there is no sign of high temperature or low oil pressure, and there is no leakage of coolant at all. Whew).
It is a great day, and we decide to stay two nights, and take advantage of the spot, including Wendi and Michel bathing in the dam’s “spa” which the lock master, Ralf, has put together with rocks on Wolfe Island…
By the time the third dayat Lovesick Lock dawns, we know we are going to stay yet another day and night, because there’s a storm coming in. And it does. Big time.
We decide to make the most of the day by working on more of the teak interior, and read and doze while the rain hammers down.
The storm eventually abates, leaving behind some marvellous, dramatic skies as a few bedraggled houseboats come out of hiding.
By Wednesday morning, we are ready to move on, but it is still very breezy, and cold, so we decide against anchoring out in Stony Lake, and head for Young’s Point, Lock 27, through Burleigh Falls and Clear Lake, a distance of 10 miles or so, and three locks, to tie up to the lock wall.
There is an excellent restaurant at Young’s Point – The Old Bridge Inn – so we treat ourselves to a good lunch as we shelter from the rain.
Day 70, Thursday, we leave Young’s Point behind, and along with it, the seclusion and beauty of the Canadian Shield with all that exposed rock, majestic pines and cottages that have been nestled there for a hundred years. From here on, the land becomes more densely populated, not just with cottages, but with permanent homes. And bridges and roads and the sound of traffic. And we still have 26 locks to handle, many of which are only half a mile or so from the next one. So, today we will travel the Otonabee River section, locking through number 26 (Lakefield), 25 (Sawer Creek), 24 (Douro), 23 (Otonabee) and staying the night at Lock 22 (Nassau Mills), where we are the only boat tied up at this very peaceful and beautiful lock.
Friday is a short day, since we will have to tie up near Peterborough – only 5 miles and 2 locks away – before cruising the 40 miles from there to Hastings the next day, on a stretch of the system where there is nowhere for a boat of our size to stop. But while short, it is not without its excitement, including a frazzled lockage at The Peterborough Lift Lock #21, where we had to wait for repairs to the lock before entering the intimidating chamber.
We tie up at Lock 20 (Ashburnham) for the duration, and watch as once more The Kawartha Voyager locks through.
The next day, we are off to Hastings, with a pump out at Peterborough, locking through 19 (Scotts Mills) and down the Otonabee to Rice Lake, which we cross in good weather.
Hastings had not changed since we had stayed there for a miserable couple of rainy days on the way up. This time we stayed for just one miserable evening, and had no rain.
Sunday, August 27, is Day 73 of our cruise, and will be the first of the three days and the 18 lock-throughs it will take us to go the 50 miles downstream to Trenton, where we started the upstream journey on the Trent Severn Waterway on Monday June 19 – Day 4.