Kirkfield Lift Lock and Kawartha Voyager!

This blog will chronicle our (Pat and Patty Anderson's)

cruising adventures on the Great Loop!

DAY 104 - July 13, 2017

We were uncertain of the weather when we left Bobcaygeon this morning, but it turned out to be a great day for cruising! Only three locks today, Fenelon Falls, Rosedale and the wonderful Kirkfield Lift Lock!  It was only five miles from Bobcaygeon to the Fenelon Falls Lock, which was jam-packed with boats on the wall! Then only four more miles to Rosedale Lock, and onto Balsam Lake!

Although not in correct chronological order, the first photo has to the one of Daydream below the Kirkfield Lift Lock!

Daydream at the bottom of the Kirkfield Lift Lock

When you exit the Rosedale Lock you are on Balsam Lake, which is the high point on the Trent-Severn Waterway - it is all downstream from there all the way to Port Severn and the Georgian Bay. It is about five miles across Balsam Lake to the entrance to the Trent Canal, a VERY narrow canal that runs from Balsam Lake to the Kirkfield Lift Lock, crossing Mitchell Lake along the way.

Trent Canal over Daydream's Bow

Daydream's wake in the Trent Canal

The Trent Canal is extremely narrow - and there are rocks along each edge. The photos do not accurately portray how narrow it really is! Even with our narrow beam, we felt we needed to take our half out of the middle! Fortunately, we did not pass any other boats in the Trent Canal! And there was one other boat in particular that we were concerned about meeting here - hold that thought, all will be explained!

View from top of Kirkfield
Lift Lock

The Kirkfield Lift Lock, I thought, would be terrifying, because I am petrified of heights. It turned out to be a non-event. We cruised into the pan ( we were the only boat in the lock), tied up, and in what seemed to be a matter of seconds, we were down at the bottom. Once again, it was not possible for us to see exactly how high we were - and it is something like five stories up in the air! Patty did get one photo, but it does not really show how high up in the air we were! We have decided the lift locks at Peterborough and Kirkfield are our favorite ones!

There was only one other boat tied up below the lock, Gump Stump, that we must have encountered somewhere along the way because we have his boat card! It was not long before the starboard side wall was full, and the last boat along had to tie on the opposite side! Desperado is tied up directly behind us, and we were finally able to exchange boat cards with Cecil and Danny (Danny is Cecil's wife, not his college roommate - Danny explained her dad wanted a boy!). We have been through many locks with Desperado, and exchange pleasantries - it was nice to finally know their names! The Perch was the last boat in, and is tied up on the opposite wall. This is the boat that Kimberly Russo, Executive Director of AGLCA, was on at Trent Port Marina. Chris from The Perch brought around "docktail" plates of slice apples and caramel, which made a fabulous dessert!

OK, now, the boat we all were dreading meeting head-on in the Canal - it is the Kawartha Voyager! This is a cruise ship that plies the Trent-Severn. It CANNOT turn around, so if a pleasure boat should happen to meet it in a narrow spot, such as the Trent Canal, the pleasure boat must turn around and go back to some spot where the boats can pass.  Not long after we got here, the Kawartha Voyager came through!

Kawartha Voyager approaching Kirkfield Lift Lock

Kawartha Voyager in Kirkfield Lift Lock

Kawartha Voyager at top of Kirkfield Lift Lock

So, we thought we squeaked by - that we just missed encountering the Kawartha Voyager in the Trent Canal by a matter of hours. Apparently not so! Cecil from Desperado was able to talk to the captain of the Kawartha Voyager, who explained that they tie up somewhere near the top of the Kirkfield Lift Lock and then enter the Trent Canal very early in the morning, on the assumption that they are then not likely to encounter any pleasure boats in the Canal. Maybe so, maybe not!

It is too far for us to go to Port Severn tomorrow, so we will play it by ear! There are five more locks and we must cross Lake Simcoe before we get to Port Severn, and we will just have to see where we are when it is time to tie up for the evening!