T&T: Cruising Report - MV Summer School - (Lower Trent Severn Canal) - June 30 07

[BillEGates at aol.com]

Weather has held for the past four days, and the humidity has finally left, 
but we're told its coming back again on Wednesday. So much for getting away 
from Orlando in the Summer. 

Trenton: Fraser Park Marina, featuring Craig, is the preferred marina, 30 and 
50 amp power available, along with Diesel Gas and Pump out. Diesel was 106.9 
What's new in Trenton, not much, Craig has added new colorful pieces of line 
to his gallon size stir sticks which he uses to insure he gets the was room 
keys back and they have built a new library by the water, with WIFI. Tomasso's is 
still the restaurant of choice, the food is quite good, 1/2 a block away from 
the marina. 

Campbellford: We stay @ Old mill park on the West side. They, (the town) now 
run both sides of the canal, the East has 50 amp power and new water lines. 
But we prefer the older west side, It has a park, the check in building, the 
shower rooms, and the free WiFi connection is closer, it's based out of their 
office. Diesel is 97.9 @ both MacMillans and Turners. YES this is the cheapest 
fuel on the Trent system, and has been for the last six years. If your into 
overnighting on walls, we like just above Lock 13 where it's quiet and safe. 
Others will choose above lock 12 which is not as pretty and is noisier, but allows 
you to walk to the Ranney Gorge Suspension Bridge. OR, you can tie up to lock 
12 for 2 hours do the bridge, shop in town @ the "no frills", do your quick 
Internet dump and download, and then spend the night @ the top of 13. We have 
not found a restaurant in town other than "capers" that we would go to again.

Peterborough: We have stayed @ the Marina, (now run by the city) 1.50 a foot 
+, it's not the same as it was when the old dockmaster was here, it's just a 
bunch of kids doing a summer job. There are free concerts here most Wednesday 
and Saturday nights. RIGHT NEXT TO THE MARINA until 10:00 PM. Rental cars from 
enterprise are available. The main town is a 15 to 20 minute walk, cabs help 
with this. Food is available within a blocks walk from the marina. Laundry is 
three blocks away. Diesel is 115.9, Gas and pumpout are available. 

The Great Loopers boats, about 200 of them, are now moving North through the 
system, and will continue to do so for another month or so. We've come across 
a few boats with mechanical problems, some working on the repairs and winning, 
others without funds or mechanical talent somehow keep pushing on to my 
amazement. The system, while not low, shows signs of needing rain, flow rates are 
down and where we would normally have seen water flowing over dams there is 
barely a trickle to allow for the lock and the evaporation. 

The Sixty Some footer: 
Soo... here's the scoop on the 6X footer, they came into the system at 
Trenton, signed the waver on depth, claiming 5'. And proceeded to hit bottom @ 
Petersborough just under 90 miles up the canal system. The Trent Severn Waterway 
can carry up to 6' in the channel, but they do NOT guarantee 6' of water under 
you at all times, you take you chances. Silt Happens. Five foot and a bit, is 
more like it for a safe controlling depth, but deeper boats do travel the 
system all the time. Well, the 6X footer was actually drawing 5' 8" in depth, not 
the 5' that they claimed. And there is nowhere on the Trent Severn that has a 
hoist with the capacity to lift them, (if that's what they needed). They 
actually should never have tried the system, their only option was the Welland 
Canal. 
We draw 4'4" and have in other years, hit in the channel HARD once, and soft 
a number of times, especially in the area of the Kirkfield lift lock, both 
before and after it, in the restricted width channel and rock cut. So the loon 
telegraph says that they had prop damage, they sent down a dive and pulled them 
sent them in for repair, most likely @ Buckhorn, and had the re installed. No 
Good. This is a hell of a lot of work to do for a diver, there props are huge, 
they weigh a lot and are an incredible amount of work to pull of and replace, 
IF they can do it at all. Well, they need to be hauled out, so they have to 
go hundreds of miles back to the states to a lift and marina that can do the 
deed. Here's a million dollar boat, run by an, you insert the agitative. And 
they are still complaining about the Trent Severn Waterway, and about their 
treatment in Canada.

It's Canada Day weekend: July 1st, (like July 4th in the US) but Canadians 
Party much harder. We choose NOT to travel on this weekend, but to docksuck. The 
same as we would in the US for July 4th weekend. There are way too many low 
time boaters out there, and many are not drinking pop as their beverage of 
choice. Patti my wife is off to the US in a rental car to pick up our Daughter 
from rowing camp, soon there will again be six on the boat for the rest of the 
summer. Canada Day provides us with an ethnic food festival at the marina, just 
100' from our boat and the Canada day parade on the main street @ 1:00 PM, the 
streets are lined with chairs and the parade lasts for over and hour, quite 
impressive for a small town. Cooler air is coming down from the north so its 
jacket time today. Well today will be our third day, here so like three day old 
fish and guests who stay for over three days, we may be overstaying our 
welcome, I feel the need to on our way again. 

Regards, 
Capt. James Clausen, MV Summer School
Cruising the Lake Ontario, Rideau Canal, Trent Severn Canal,
St. Lawrence Seaway, and Georgian Bay, the Summer of 2007

"At sea a fellow comes out.
Salt water is like wine, in that respect."
- Herman Melville

Our personal boating website:
http://www.maxumowners.org/MVSS.html


**************************************
 
See what's free at http://www.aol.com.