Day 33 - Thu 30 Jun 2016
Docked – Midland, ON

[photo: the big railway carriage before it comes into the water for transporting boats]

It was quite chilly in the early morning and Diane requested the generator/heater be used. I felt a little bad making any noise that might disturb the other boaters there, but some of them had run their portable generators most of the day and early evening, so we got to take our turn.

I wanted to be early for the Big Chute railway “lock” and really love slow cruising in the early morning with the mist still on the water. Diane stayed below, of course, but I enjoyed the almost breathtaking scenery from the flybridge with a hot cup of coffee. The sun was typically at our stern, so the brilliant light was bringing many of the lovely cottages into sharp focus as we poked along at about 5 kts. There were no speed restrictions for much of the 8 mile stretch, but there were so many docks and boats that I would have felt bad going too much faster.

We only saw a few people or animals stirring along the way, with one older woman in her housecoat fishing from her pier (hardy woman, she was), and one woman taking her pontoon boat somewhere as fast as it would go. At our sedate speed, it took almost 1.5 hours to get to the Big Chute where we tied up first on the blue line, indicating we were ready to go. We saw Willy Nilly and Sunday Service across the water on the overnight dock. Unless you are on the blue line, the staff will not call you into the rail carriage, but they reserve the right to take boats in any order they choose from the line to most efficiently handle the waiting boats.

When 0900 rolled around, we saw a staffer walk over towards us and inform us that, sadly, there was a small problem with the guides that handle the beefy electrical cable that powers the carriage. He estimated perhaps a two hour delay and he was only off by 15 minutes – on the good side. It made me a bit concerned that we would be late for the PDQ Flotilla pig roast starting at 1600, but you can’t worry about things you cannot control.

Willy Nilly was called in first about 1100 to get cradled by large slings. Diva Di was last as this boat needs to have its stern (a good 8 feet of it) hanging off the back of the carriage. Once they have the boat where they want it, they ever so slowly move the carriage forward and it climbs up out of the water, allowing the boats to settle onto the large wooden timber flooring. The ride up the hill was a lot more jarring at times than I expected, and I think Diane was a bit anxious. We were deposited on the other side in short order and drove off forward to resume our trip. To say it was a unique and thrilling experience is a gross understatement.

We followed Willy Nilly up to the last lock, before which they peeled off for fuel. The last lock (45) is really tiny by comparison to all the others and we can see why there are often multi-hour backups during peak travel times. There was only room for us and one small boat. Through that, however, we were free of locks for quite a while. Yay!!! We carried on through a series of potentially confusing and often very narrow channels to find our way to Midland and the Wye Heritage marina at Golden’s recommendation.

We topped off fuel at the very reasonable price (for Canada) of just over $3 US per US gallon. We took advantage of their free pump-out for Loopers, as well as their pay for two nights and get a third free deal. This was probably the last day for efficient travel on many portions of the Trent-Severn for next 3 or 4 days, since Canada Day is on a Fri and many boaters will take a 3-day holiday, or more. The wind is supposed to be a bit strong for the next few days, so being stationary at the marina will be a good thing. We also need to do laundry, clean the boat, do a complete defrost of the fridge and freezer, and get some fresh provisions, etc.

After tying up, we got ourselves cleanup with a shower off the stern. They have showers here but it is a very long walk and we didn’t have the time or inclination to do that. With all our stuff and beverages packed up, I made the long walk to the office to check-in, but also inquire about a ride to the picnic in Hog Bay. The general manager was eager to give us a lift, but the challenging part was that I only had LAT/LON coordinates. Fortunately, I had put them into the marine navigation app on my phone and after one wrong turn that took us a mile out of the way, we got there with no difficulties.

The group was very surprised to see us walk down the driveway because when we told them we could make the pig roast after all, they expected to see our boat pull up and anchor. That would have been a good option that I frankly had not considered. Besides some of the folks we already knew, we got to meet some other PDQ owners, mostly Canadian, who we had not seen before. It was a good, relaxing time and the pig came out great. James and Jackie Power were super hosts, as were Dick and Carol, the flotilla leaders.

John Macdonald, a Canadian, offered all the captains a chart briefing from the expansive knowledge that he and his wife have amassed. It was still light at 2100, but Diane and I were fading fast, so one of James and Jackie’s relatives, Mike, kindly gave us a lift back to the marina. Diane stayed up a while to unwind. I was already half asleep and went straight to bed.