June 24: Recap and on to the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW).

We left Picnic Point by 8:20am on June 22 ( of course the windlass stopped working, made for a nice early morning workout!), breezed by the customs dock at Gananoque (no agent appeared) and proceeded 86 miles to Trenton, Ontario.  The day started out sunny but then clouded up and became rather cold and windy.  Other than the captain’s chair deciding to come loose (no apparent reason, wave action was rather minimal) the trip was uneventful until the last 2 minutes when our navigation system blared an error warning of low voltage.  We shut the system down and decided to enjoy a cocktail once we were all tied up and secure for the evening.  We took at slip at the Trenton Port Marina which is an amazing marina, probably one of the best marinas we have ever traveled to.  It poured during the night and on into Friday making us glad for our decision to travel all the way to Trenton.  Of course our Nav system wouldn’t even boot up necessitating a call to a local mechanic – Dave Gartshore.  Life saver!  After 2 1/2 hours of tracking down every wire leading to the system he and Bob found a bad ground!! I swear, bad grounds are the root of all evil on boats.  Anyway, we rented a car and provisioned for the week as well as made trips to the hardware store for items needed for endless minor repairs.  We were invited to “docktails” by some fellow loopers (probably a dozen looper boats in the marina) which was quite pleasant.  The evening was capped off by a brief visit from Dave Gartshore who within minutes had our windlass working – by merely looking at the wiring.  Go figure.

Next up  – I drive to Toronto today to pick up our daughter Stephanie and granddaughter Josie.  They will spend a week with us.  Can’t wait!!

 

Bob inspecting the launch – finally ( 9 months on the hard!).

Morning entertainment – watching the geese doing yoga on the submerged dock next to us.  You can just barely make out a cleat.

The rest of the yoga class.

“Make new friends but keep the old..”  Here we have an old marina buddy and a new “looper” buddy helping us cast off the lines.  One of the cool things about doing the Loop is not just the places we will visit but the people we meet.

Actually leaving our beloved marina.

Clearing the submerged dock.

And away we go!  (Thanks Sally Skelley for taking this picture  – and the other one of us leaving).

Only went as far as Picnic Point off Grindstone.  Had the whole bay to ourselves.  Here I am celebrating with a glass of champagne.  Thanks Jane M. for the new glasses!

Leaving Picnic Point, doesn’t look like much but it is one of our favorite anchorages.

Heading to Canada to check into customs.  Going through the narrow passage by Jack Straw Light.

O Canada!!! Our home for the next 2 months or so.  Flag compliments of brother Ray – thanks!

So then it got cold – is it really the second day of summer??

 

Now there’s a wind vane!  Very unique topping to the Trent Port Marina.

This is a map of the Trent Servern Waterway (TSW).  We will probably take 2 to 3 weeks to leisurely transit this amazing system of 44 locks – Canal was built over a period of 30 years in the early 1800s.