Peterborough Lift Lock

The Peterborough Lift Lock is the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock. Opened in 1904, it was an engineering marvel in its day. It was the largest single pour of unreinforced concrete as the use of rebar was not common practice in 1904. It is still an impressive structure. As one approaches from the east, it is an awesome sight ahead. We had ridden our bikes over to watch it work prior to locking through ourselves. A hydraulic lift lock works like a simple balance scale. A boat enters a huge pool.

Parallel to this pool is another, a twin, 65 feet higher on a large piston.

Once the boats enter, a gate is raised behind them. The water in each pool weighs 1.500 tons. When the upper pool is filled with an additional one foot of water (130 tons), the increased weight forces it, boats and all, to descend on its piston forcing the lower pool to ascend. It is an incredible ride!

This is one of the highlights of our trip so far and there have been many!

The Trent-Severn Waterway

The Trent-Severn Waterway is another of Canada’s Historic Canal Systems. Started in 1827 and completed in 1920, many of the locks are more than 75 years old. The route covers 240 miles with 44 locks, rising gradually to over 800 feet above sea level at Lake Simcoe then gradually descending to the Georgian Bay. Several of the locks are unique including the Peterborough Lift Lock, the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world at 65 feet and the Big Chute Railway. During construction of the waterway, there was concern that the Lamprey Eels, which had become a problem, would spread if a canal was cut through in this location. The Big Chute was devised to actually raise vessels out of the water, transporting them over land and gently returning them to the water to continue their journey. Our Trent-Severn adventure began at Trenton on July the 21^st. The first 6 locks were close together; in a span of 5.5miiles we had transited these six locks and risen 118 feet. The locks continue to be operated by hand but the techniques had changed by the time these were built. The lock gates are opened by a sweep rather than a crank. Harry and I each took a turn at Ranney Falls! The river courses through very rural country with small villages and summer cottages dotting the shores. What were called “step locks” on the Rideau Canal are called “flight locks” on the Trent system, we have transited two such locks on the Trent. In flight locks, as the boat departs one lock, it immediately enters the next. It is impressive to see these looming ahead. We had one day of driving rain, once one begins the flight locks they are committed to complete the flight regardless of the conditions! The weather has cleared and we are currently in Peterborough. The marina sits on a small lake with a large geyser in the center. The city is planning a festival of lights this evening with live entertainment and fireworks. Today we rode our bikes over to check out the lift lock. Tomorrow we plan to experience the Peterborough Lift Lock for ourselves.

To date we have traversed 82 locks and traveled 1687 nautical miles, this has been a fantastic journey!

Kingston, Ontario and the Thousand Islands

On July 16^th we arrived in Kingston, Ontario. Kingston is located at the confluence of Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River and the Rideau Canal. We enjoyed a trolley tour of the city and learned of the strategic role Kingston played in defending against the feared American invasion following the war of 1812. We toured Fort Henry with its Martello Towers, external fortifications located strategically along the waterfront. The weather kicked up with gale force winds for several days. Despite its reputation as the freshwater sailing capital of Canada even large sailboats were staying tied securely to the dock. Our plans were to depart Kingston for the Thousand Islands and explore this spectacular area on our own. With the winds as they were, we chose to take the tour boat and enjoy the sights as tourists. This island chain in the St. Lawrence River is beautiful with some islands large enough for a single tree and others for large estates. Some of the islands have interesting homes like “Napoleons Hat” This turned out to be an excellent way to tour this incredible area.On Monday the wind died down and we were able to depart for Trenton, the start of the Trent-Severn Waterway.

Rideau Canal, a World Heritage Site

Our trip between Ottawa and Kingston, Ontario was by way of the Rideau Canal. This Historic waterway was built between 1826 and 1832, traversing 126 miles through rugged terrain. Our route began on the Ottawa River at 134 feet above sea level, the first thirty two locks, raised us 274 feet to 408 feet above sea level at the Upper Rideau Lakes, then we descended 165 feet in 13 locks to Kingston at 243 feet above sea level. The story of how this canal was conceived and built and the hardships endured is compelling. Linking lakes and rivers with miles of canals cut into the rocks, it is an engineering marvel. At the Jones Falls Locks, the set of 4 locks bypassed a mile long series of rapids with a 60 foot drop in elevation. A crescent shaped dam was constructed at this site, 350 feet long and 60 feet high. It is considered one of the most impressive engineering feats on the canal. The lockmasters continue the tradition of operating the locks by hand. The most impressive were the flight of eight locks which lead from the Ottawa River to the heart of downtown Ottawa. There were several other areas with “step locks” along the way. At these locks there were invariably onlookers. On two sets of step locks we offered families with small children a ride on the boat, they loved the experience and we enjoyed sharing it with them. The terrain changed dramatically meandering through marshland and rural farmland, past granite cliffs and the dramatic Canadian Shield, heavily forested and stunningly beautiful. We were sorry to see this portion of our trip come to an end but we have much more to see and do. We will spend a couple of days in Kingston then on to the 1000 Islands.

Onward to Ottawa

The small town of Montebello is the site of the largest log cabin in the world, built in 1930 by the Canadian Pacific Railroad; it is now the Fairmont Chateau Montebello, complete with marina facilities. This is a wonderful stop along this portion of the Ottawa River. The river is much like a large lake with beautifully wooded banks dotted with homes and the occasional cathedral with its spires reaching toward the sky. As we neared Ottawa the number of boats began to increase. When one arrives by boat to this fascinating city the entrance is through a series of eight step locks, often called ”the giants staircase”, which raise the boat 79 feet from the Ottawa River below to the beginning of the Rideau Canal in the heart of downtown Ottawa. To arrive at the bottom of these locks and look up to see them as well as the Parliament building on the hill above is an awesome sight.

We had a phenomenally beautiful day for our cruise into Ottawa and up the step locks. What a thrill! Our day in Ottawa turned out to be rainy, we took a tour of the city which allowed us to savor a taste of all that this incredible city has to offer.

Carillon Lock, Unique in North America

Our next day took us to the Carillon Lock with its 200 ton guillotine gate, a most impressive Lock in itself with a large power plant. This lock is the highest lift in all of Canada at 65’. It was opened in 1963 replacing seven locks of the Ottawa River system. Securely tied up for the night, we walked up to see how this magnificent structure works. Francois, one of the Parcs Canada lock tenders patiently answered our questions. The next morning we locked through ourselves entering at the downstream end, we rose 65 feet. Once through the lock we tied up and took the tour of the impressive power plant, they were kind enough to give the tour in English. We found the whole process fascinating.

Our Adventure Continues

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Our departure from Montreal was by way of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The Seaway is the section of the St. Lawrence River that connects Montreal to Lake Ontario and provides a commercial link between them. Our route required that we transit two locks on the Seaway before turning west toward Ottawa. These locks have a reputation of being unfriendly to pleasure craft as they have heavy commercial use. We arrived at the first, the St. Lambert Lock at 9:30 to find they were replacing one of the two ton lock doors, this process would take several hours and, though the lock tenders were quite pleasant and apologetic, we would be unable to lock through until mid afternoon. This is done once every ten years! We tied up in the waiting area and pulled out our computers. At 3:00 we were able to enter the locks, by this time there were six other boats waiting. The seven of us entered as instructed, were raised about 20 feet, the downriver doors were opened and we continued on our way. We proceeded as a group to the next lock, the St. Catherine Lock where we were raised an additional 40 feet. We had planned this to be a short day; we arrived at our destination, the St. Anne-de-Bellevue Lock at 8pm.