Week end at Big Chief's Island

What a party place this is. All the locals congregate in the North Bay off Big Chief's Island and raft up together to chat, drink listen to music and plain relax. The weather is fabulous, the water temperature is 80 degrees and everyone walks on hard packed sand up to their waist in water going socializing from boat to boat.  Ours is an unusual boat so everyone wants to know where we are from and where we are going. These of course are trick questions. We tell them we are from Newfoundland and we are going to the Bahamas.  They then want to know if we are lost. We just say well we will just follow the pointy end of the boat and we should eventually get there.  A large Georgian Steel houseboat pulled in late yesterday with music blaring and young people dancing. Interesting to watch!
Jerry finally caught a prize fish, he is a keeper and so is the fish.  It was a 7-8 pound large mouth bass, twenty inches long with a 6 inch girth.  We had some of it for breakfast yesterday and when he comes back from his early fishing foray this morning, we will have the rest of it.  Hope he brings lunch as well! He was so proud he waited until everyone was up so he could show it off. It is succulent!
Jerry was able to repair our dinghy. We had it repaired professionally in Kingston and it was guaranteed for life. Short life because the bottom delaminated from the transom the first time we put it in the water.   Jerry was able to glue it with 5200 sealant and he screwed some aluminum strips on to make it more sturdy.  It has been in the water 24 hours and seems to be doing the job.  We had a short ride in it yesterday and all seems well.  Now we are working on the water system.  The charcoal filter that Captain Jerry installed seems to be leaking.  He bought a new one and it is leaking, back to the store on Monday to replace that. They say cruising is repairing your boat in exotic places. I am not sure about the exotic but it is in fun places and we are holding true to the tradition.
No fish for lunch so I will go and enjoy a bass breakfast.

Locals gathering at Big Chief's Island

Local colour at Big Chief's



The big one that did not get away



The bay can hold many boats

Couchiching

We stayed at the Port of Orillia last night.  We went out for dinner and met some nice folks so we were late getting back to the boat.  We felt it was prudent to just stay put.
The Port of Orillia is a municipally run marina that is really quite nice. The rates are quite reasonable and if you stay 3 nights, the third night is free. The showers and washrooms are clean and the staff very helpful. There is a nice boardwalk with a park and a 10 km bike trail that runs along lake Couchiching. This week end there is a Mariposa music festival in the park. Everything you need to provision is close by. There is a shuttle bus to take you to Casino Rama and a public bus stop to take you to a shopping center. They have the largest Home Hardware we have ever been into.
We are now anchored in the bay off Chief's Island so we can stay cool since we can walk on hard packed sand in 2-3 foot of water. It is a great place to swim since there are no weeds. Today is sunny and the forecast calls for 28 degrees, so far there is no breeze.

Lake Couchiching

Perfect day for Lake Simcoe

We transited 6 locks in light rain yesterday. The locks were all ready and waiting for us since we had moved up from our anchorage on Mitchell lake to the Kirkfield lift lock to catch the first lift. I managed to cook french toast for a late breakfast once we passed the hole in the wall on Canal Lake. The sun came out as we were ready to cross Lake Simcoe.  This lake is to be respected so we checked the weather forecast and decided that 10 knots on the bow was a good crossing.  The waves were less than one meter and no traffic.
We arrived at Big Chief's Island and anchored there for a late lunch. We went to visit friends who have a nice property and dock on Lake Couchiching and ended up staying for dinner and for the night. 
Today we are in Orillia doing some shopping and we will go anchor at Big Chief's Island for the night (N44 39.259' and W079 23.119').  This island is owned by First Nations and your are not permitted to go ashore but there is a large bay with sandy bottom and good holding.  The wind from the North West is not good but the bay is well protected from all other winds.  It can be a really wild party place on the week end when the locals come in with all types of boats to anchor for the week end.  We are told that a huge barge come out on the Canada day week end with a live band who played from 2 in the afternoon to 8 o'clock at night.  The bay is quite large and I am sure it can hold over 400 boats.  We will be staying for the week end to swim and party.

Kawartha Voyageur cruises the Rideau and Trent Severn Waterway

 

Kirkfield Lift Lock

 





Hole in the Wall on Canal Lake



Lake Couchiching from Bob and Wendy's gorgeous place



Mitchell Lake

We had a nice easy day on the water yesterday.  We left Coboconk after brunch and anchored at Indian Point on Balsam Lake to do a bit of fishing. The Captain says there are no fish there. He knows because he cast his line three times and they did not bite. Balsam Lake is so clean we could see the bottom and there was no weeds.
We left and tied up at the concrete wall as you enter the canal from Balsam Lake and there was lots of fish there.  Mostly small large mouth bass but Jerry caught 2 that were good for a small lunch snack.
We continued to Mitchell Lake where we anchored for the night (N44 34.105' and W078 57.585'). The lake is small weedy and we had no luck with fish.  It was still a peaceful and enjoyable evening.
Today we will transit 6 locks and cross lake Simcoe if the weather holds.  They are calling for possible thunder storms but only a 10 knot wind. We are tied up at the Kirkfield lock, in front of the large Kawartha Voyageur, waiting to start our trek down the locks.
We have not paid for one night's accommodation since we began coming up the Trent Severn Waterways.  There are so many free docks, concrete walls that are operated by Oceans and Fisheries and numerous anchorage possibilities that a person can transit the system on a very modest budget. Let me comment on the downside of not going to marinas and paying $1.50 up per foot. We have to be very frugal with water because we never know where we will be able to top up our water tank. We clean dishes in very little water or since the lakes and canals are clean we sometimes do the dishes standing on the swim platform.  My Mom will probably be sick at the thought. Happy Birthday Mom you begin your 93rd year today! We also bathe in the water which will be a challenge as the weather cools.  The water is currently at 75 degrees which is nice and refreshing. An other slight inconvenience is not using lights at night but only candles.  This is not bad except that you can't read.  We also do not watch TV or watch movies but we will get batteries for our radio so we can stay a little in touch with the world around us.  We recharge our laptops and cellphone while travelling using the inverter that runs on boat batteries.
All in all the inconveniences are minor if they mean that you can be travelling on the water relaxing and enjoying yourself.

Jerry fishing at Indian Point

The Canal leading to Kirkfield Lock

Mitchell Lake Anchorage

The Canal was cut right through the rock

Coboconk

Well we left Seaweed Island on a beautiful sunny morning.  It was Sunday on a long week end so we knew the locks would be busy.  We crossed Buckhorn,Pigeon, Sturgeon and Cameron lakes.  Cottagers in their speed boats and seadoos were everywhere.
We only transited 3 locks and stopped to visit friends Carl and Beth in Rosedale.
We are tied up at the municipal dock in Coboconk (N44 39.471' and W078 47.825'. There is a laundromat and convenience store across thestreet.  The beer store and grocery store are a short walk from the dock.
We worked on boat chores, did the laundry and groceries today but still managed some bike riding and swimming.  The Newfoundland flag is causing quite a stir with a steady streem of Newfoundlanders stopping by to chat.  Who knew there were so many here?
Tomorrow we are off to anchor in Balsam Lake to fish and swim. Balsam lake is the highest fresh water lake in Canada at 256 meters above sea level.  From this point on we willbe going down the locks as opposed to being lifted up.
I will blog tomorrow if connectivity allows.

Anchored at Seaweed Island

We steamed along all day yesterday. We transited 12 locks to reach our anchorage at Seaweed island (N44 29.015' and W078 22.656')on Buckhorn lake. We have stayed here on previous trips, it is peaceful and quiet. There were quite a few cottagers setting off fireworks all around the lake last night, it was quite a show. Lots of people fishing but I have yet to see anyone catch more than a sardine size fish.

The scenery is changing as we go further North. The shore is much rockier and there are more and more evergreens. The water is 74 degrees and clean.  After a hot day in the locks, it sure is refreshing to dive in for a swim.

We are off to Rosedale today if the locks are not too busy.  There definitely is more traffic since the kids are out of school and the weather is perfect for boating.


Stoney Lake



Buckhorn



Buckhorn Lake...pink sky at night...Yippee!!!













Canada Day in Peterborough

Canada day was perfect with sunny skies, a slight breeze and 28 degrees Celsius. Del Crary park hosted International day with food from various countries and singing and dancing groups from around the globe. Russia, Poland, Holland and many Carribean and Asian fare was available.  I opted for the Caribbean chicken curry roti while Jerry chose the Asian and American food.
We watched the parade and returned to the boat to listen to the International concert while swimming off the T pier.
We went back to the evening concert which was very good and well attended. The band played until the fireworks started shortly after 10:00.  For the size of this city, they really put on a good pyrotechnics show.  They set them off from a platform on Little lake so everyone has a good view from the park along the shoreline.
We are leaving today to go 12 locks up the system to Buckhorn Lake.  We will anchor so I am not sure if we will have internet access. We are off to Cobaconck the next day so we should be connected there.