Lock 13 to 19, Campbellford, Hastings & Peterborough, Sept 3, 4, 5th. 2012

I have been negligent in my blogging.

Peter in basement with "the ladies".

We had a very leisurely start to the day in Cambellford. I don't think we got away till about 11 am. The Perkins Ladies in the basement wanted some more attention. Peter had an epiphany. He decided to route some of the fuel lines through the pump on the fuel polisher so it would pump up the system in the hopes of eliminating the air problem that makes it so the system has to bled.  I hope I have this right. Not being a mechanical person, it makes it difficult to translate all of the mechanical mumbo jumbo into laymans terms.

The more important point is that it does seem to be working.  At least for 2 days now. If that is what it takes he will be very happy not to have to bleed the system every 3 days or so.

Double Lock.

Lock 13 to 18 took us to Hastings at the beginning of Rice Lake. Lock 16 and 17 are a double lock. It is just what it says. Two locks together. You go in and they raise you up 20' or so. Then they open the doors, and you move the boat into the attached lock, and they raise you another 20' or so.  I think it was the previous day where we went through one normal lock, and then in a very short distance (not even 1/3rd of a mile we had a double lock)

Hastings, boats we had met at Campbellford, on Lock wall for the night. They would travel with us, and lock thru at Peterborough.

Hastings. "What would you rather be doing?"

We talked to Steve and Linda and they were at Lakefield. We had told them we would probably make it to Peterborough the next day. They decided to come and join us in Peterborough as they will be leaving on Friday to return to their other boat that is on the Neuse River, SC.

Another Gulfstar. They are everywhere. This is 36'

Life is good for Peter once again. We got up in the morning and went to Tim Horton's for breakfast, and then to Canadian Tire right next door. Does it get any better than this????

We get to travel 40 miles today. Rice Lake and the Otonabee River. Only one Lock - 19, and then we will be at the Peterborough Marina.  Once into the River, we noticed a number of boats following us. This group are boating together. We met them first in Campbellford and then again in Hastings. There were about 6 boats approaching the lock. The locks are smaller now. We went in first,  another 4 boats were able to get in, but then the lock was full. The locks fill from the front now.  It seems to be easier to control the boat in the lock.

We had called ahead and made arrangements with the marina. Steve and Linda are already there waiting to catch our lines. The dockmaster wants us be stern in. Oh boy! We have only back into our slip one other time and that was Tangier Island. At Tangier once you got the back of the boat between the first two posts, you just backed straight and the remaining posts guided and held the boat.

Peter was up for the challenge. I moved the dinghy to alongside the front of the boat. And then it was his job. And of course, you always have an audience at a marina. Remember it was the holiday weekend, Monday afternoon when everyone is returning. He did a great job. He went in, swung the boat around, and backed into the slip like he had been doing it all the time. I was so proud of him. There is a lot to be said for no tides, no currents, and little wind. Have I mentioned how nice it is not to have to be checking, winds, tides and currents all of the time.

We had dinner with Steve and Linda on our boat. I had set the crockpot up in the morning and dinner had been cooking while we travelled. It was so good to be with them again and get caught up on their summer on the Trent and Georgian Bay. We got a tour of their new boat "Guppy". It will be their Canadian boat. They love it here for the summer, and then they will return to their boat and go back to Marathon Key for the winter, after some time on Chesapeake Bay.

Linda has reminded us several times that they had one lift lock and 6 locks to go thru to get to Peterborough to have the extra time together.  Now that is the measure of friendship. This gives us a couple extra days together before they leave on Friday. We always have such a good time together.

Mom is coming to join us on Tuesday.

Fountain in Peterborough Harbour. At night it is lighted.  A great centerpiece for Peterborough.

We woke to an overcast sky. It was to be a rain day. Got up in the morning, did a load of laundry, went for breakfast with Steve and Linda, and then off to the grocery store. Rain days are good for these things. Peter got a bus pass for the day, and it would cover 2 people. He went to the bus station to bring Mom back to the boat. Shortly after he left, the rain started in earnest. By the time they got to the boat, they looked like drowned rats. Now I am sorry that I didn't get a picture.

Mom was introduced to Steve and Linda and we all spent sometime together. Steve made his now famous salmon with dill sauce, along with a kale salad that is wonderful, and he prepared a wild rice dish. What a terrific meal. They brought everything over to our boat to eat together. Mom commented that this must be "take out" dinner.

We ended our first evening with Mom onboard with a game of TriOminos. Steve and Linda didn't like that each person had to keep their own score, so we abandoned the counting and just played the game. By 9 pm everyone was ready for bed. Mom, because she had been up since 6 am, and the rest of us because that is what boaters do. "Early to bed, Early to rise." We rise with the sun, and go to sleep shortly after sunset.

Breakfast out tomorrow. The locks go to fall hours now. They operate from 9 am to 4 pm. No rush to get started. Looking forward to sharing our boating life with Mom.