Monday, July 22, 2019
After Brian did the pre-travel engine checks, we left Island View Resort Marina & Trailer Park at 8AM in light winds on a cool, cloudy morning. The plan was to reach Buckhorn Lock wall before it filled up with other boats! That meant traveling 16.2 miles through three locks, rising vertically a total of 39 feet, in five hours or less!
We proceeded through Clear Lake and then into Stoney Lake which consisted of numerous little granite (thus Stoney) islands covered with big trees, lots of green vegetation and possibly a house. These homes, referred to locally as cottages, were accessible only by boat, and we couldn’t determine if they were only summer cottages or if people live there year round. The entire area was zoned at 9-10 kph (5.6 – 6.2mph). It was a gorgeous area and we wished we could have seen it on a sunny day. There was even a church on one of the small islands - St. Peter’s on-the-Rock, an Anglican church that was established over 100 years ago in 1914. From what we observed, people simply drive boats here instead of cars. A mom in a tiny open motor boat, who appeared to be taking her young daughter to daycare, came along side, waved up to us in the flybridge and yelled “Have a good day!” with a big smile. Then she went ahead of us, turned left, pulled up at an island-house and dropped drop off her daughter with a little pink backpack. Just adorable, yet it also seemed a bit surreal.
This area is nicknamed Hell’s Gate (there seem to be quite a few entrances to hell along the loop!) due to the narrow passageways between the numerous islands along the route. Though the channel did get terribly narrow, we made it through without a bump! Some of the interesting names we encountered: Devil’s Elbow, Fairy Lake Island, Pompadour Island, Goldsmith Island, Horseshoe Island, Big Otter and Little Otter Islands, Hurricane Bend, Butchers Island…
By noon we had gone through Burleigh Falls Lock, Lovesick Lock, Lower Buckhorn Lake, and tied up on the top side of Buckhorn Lock #31. We learned that this is the half-way point of the Trent Severn Waterway - we’re always happy to have something to celebrate! Buckhorn is another cute little town along the TSW. It was a half-mile walk one way to the grocery store, so we did that. Then it was a half-mile walk in the opposite direction to the LCBO (Ontario’s liquor stores), so we did that. We gave Bo some fun run-around time in the park along the river, grabbed a bite to eat and called it a night.