Trent Severn Waterway: Part 3

Lovesick to Orillia, ON

Life On Board

Just a glimpse of boat life:

We have been able to keep up with paying bills and emails using our cellular modem connection and WI-FI when it is available. Deb and Mike have even been able to do a little revenue generating work for our former employers along the way. We call it "making fuel money." It is a nice option to have.

Carousel has two refrigerator units, one of which we can keep at or below freezing, and the other acting as a good refrigerator. They are both small in house terms so we have to plan how much freezer and fridge items we can carry. We have learned to buy small containers, even though they may be more expensive, since they are stored more efficiently.

As we get further into Canada the spiders are finding Carousel a nice environment. We are still working on controlling that issue. We had forgotten that spiders are more of an issue on fresh water than the salt water in which we have been boating the last 16ish years.

We have had a few very minor malfunctions on Carousel, all of which we have been able to address with the spares that we carry. These things are to be expected given the increased use that the systems on the boat are experiencing. A good set of tools on board is essential.

When we are away from marinas, we rely on two large battery banks to provide power to the lights, instruments, pumps, charging electronics, and refrigeration. We draw off of one bank at a time and keep the second topped up as a back-up. These batteries also start the engines so flat batteries would be a problem. We have to run Carousel's 8kw generator about 3 hours a day to keep the batteries charged. We usually time a morning run with the need to make Deb's coffee and hot water for Mike's shower and we time an evening run to correspond to any need to run the microwave for making dinner.

Deb is maintaining several spreadsheets to keep us organized. One spreadsheet contains the route information for the balance of the waterway, including low bridges, locks, towns, and attractions and she uses that to plan the stops along the way. The other major spreadsheet keeps track of the groceries on board and helps build shopping lists and plan meals.

Bobcaygeon, ON

Narrow and beautiful channels in Cottage Country

Leaving Lovesick Island, we entered what we consider the prettiest end
of the Waterway with pink granite outcroppings and evergreen forests. These are also some of the busiest ares of the Waterway system. The houseboats were described in the last post but this is also "cottage country." The canals in this area are generally lined with cabins and there is a fair amount of local boat traffic. Also, in this stretch, we encountered the lowest bridge in the system.

The next stop on our trip was the town of Bobcaygeon. Whoever sells Adirondack chairs around here does a good business!

Approaching the town of Bobcaygeon

There is a lock in the middle of town and tourist shops on either side of the locks. The major entertainment in town is the land-based tourists watching the houseboats and more serious boaters locking through. Approaching the Bobcaygeon lock, the canal takes a sharp bend after which suddenly appears a crowded and narrow channel. The lock is very busy so there is usually a wait. With nowhere to tie up, we had to make Carousel "hover" in place in the channel until the lock became available. 

Approaching Bobcaygeon Lock

Fortunately, with Carousel's twin screws (engines & propellers), we can pretty well keep her in place by selectively shifting engines forward and aft and directing water with the rudders.

There were no places for us to tie up for the  night below the lock so we would have to take our chances above the lock or move on to the next location. As we went through the lock, the staff told us there were no places upstream so be began to update our plan as the lock lifted us. Coming out of the lock and past several boats of various sizes, we spotted a spot along the wall about 45 feet long. Now, Mike is getting pretty good at parallel parking Carousel but her 42 feet is actually 43.5 feet at the waterline and 45 feet from the anchor on the front the end of the swim platform on the back The parking trick here is to back the aft starboard corner to the wall and tie a line tight and short to the bollard on shore. Then we advance the port side engine forward and the starboard side engine in reverse and swing the boat into the wall. with other boaters hopping off their nearby boats as we started this maneuver (some to help and some to deal with whatever disaster they anticipated), Deb called out our distance in feet to the small cruiser behind us and Mike asked someone on shore if the bow would miss the jet ski ahead of us. Well, it all worked according to plan with us wedged into a spot about the same size as the boat and the bow actually overhanging the jet ski.

5 ft deep water beside our slip at Bobcaygeon

We enjoyed walking around Bobcaygeon, having a nice restaurant lunch, topping off groceries, and visiting the head office of Karwatha Dairy, the manufacturer of the ice cream we have been enjoying since entering the Waterway.  There were several shops that Deb could have used an extra day for doing some browsing and window shopping, but with no room on Carousel for "stuff", we decided to make this a one-night only stop.

The water here is quite clear but we have been seeing more weeds in the shallow water. This all makes visual judgment of water depth quite difficult. It also means checking the strainers in our water intakes more frequently.
Salad anyone?

Fenelon Falls, ON

Canal between Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls

Our July 20 destination was a short 15 nm away - another nice little town, Fenelon Falls. 

Our target docking spot was another tight space and we began to execute our parallel parking maneuver that worked so well in Bobcaygeon the day before. Only this time, however, we had some current working against Carousel swinging into place so we needed a little help from another boater on land in pulling in our lines for us.

Our plan was to visit the Farmer's Market there but after walking a few miles to two different locations, we discovered that our information was wrong and it is was being held on a different day. So, we did well on our number to steps for the day but poorly in our quest for fresh veggies.

Fenelon Falls Museum

Parks Canada has done quite a bit of work on updating the moorings there so we enjoyed both water and electricity. Carousel got an end-to-end scrub-down. She is happier when she is clean.

They have a fantastic local museum located in a canal-side park in Fenelon Falls which we enjoyed very much.

We could have enjoyed another day there but we decided to press on.

Thorah, ON

For July 21, our trip to the Thorah lock was an exercise in navigation and new sites. I will be using the word narrow here a lot.

Just at the edge of Fenelon Falls, the narrow canal proceeds through an even narrower swing-bridge opening and then into a lake. This particular bridge is out of service so it stands open in the summer and is closed in the winter as a pedestrian path.

This portion of the system has several of these swing bridges. In each case that we experienced, the bridge tender was alert and closed the bridge to car traffic and opened the bridge just as we approached.

This portion also has some VERY narrow passages where we are required to announce our entry on the VHF radio before entering and then it is suggested that we sound our horn every quarter mile. This is all so that another boat does not enter from the opposite direction until we clear the area.

We actually met another boat in one section who apparently was oblivious to the navigation requirements. We had to hug to the rocky and shallow shore on the right a much as we could and then we came to a full stop and held position until he passed.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

Perhaps the highlight of the day was the second lift lock in the system, the Kirkfield Lift lock. In this case, we had the lock to ourselves as we pulled in and found ourselves hovering 70 ft above our destination.

In between the narrow channels, we crossed a couple of more lakes and then had a string of 5 locks.  We had decided to only proceed through 3 and pull up to the fourth for the night to enjoy one of our favorite features at lock walls - the fire pit!

A long way down

Narrow stone bridge between two lakes

Orillia, ON

After enjoying our evening campfire, we were up and ready to lock through the Thorah lock as soon as the lock crew arrived.  We had one more lock 1/2 mile down the canal and shortly after that, we entered Lake Simcoe, the largest lake of the system. In Lake Simcoe we powered Carousel up and crossed in a couple of hours. We entered Orillia in a narrow channel and headed towards a gas dock to get our holding tank pumped. We found shallow water in the process and had to back gently away from the shallow mud. We stirred up quite a bit of mud in the process but we accomplished our goal.

We planned a two day stay at the marina here to take advantage of the activities of the small city and to stay parked for Saturday so that we would not have to deal with the weekend traffic.

Orillia Street Art

Farmers Market

Of course we found the farmers market, found the ice cream stand, and enjoyed the waterfront. We also both got haircuts. They were having a street festival there and had the main street blocked off for the two days of our visit. This would be our last day at a dock for a few days, as we would be entering wider channels with anchorages.

Trent Severn Waterway, Part 2.

Peterborough to Lovesick

A Better Plan

When staying in Peterborough we made a decision to re-plan our trip. Originally we were were going to travel the length of the waterway, the Georgian Bay, and The North Channel in time to get to Saute St. Marie, Michigan to catch an airplane to fly to our home town, Galena, IL. on July 28 for Mike's 40th class reunion. We realized that in the Waterway, we are always about 60-90 minutes from the Toronto airport. Switching our plans to leave and return through Toronto would give us a lot more time and let us take a much more leisurely pace. So, the next several days became our new, slower pace.

Peterborough Lift Lock and The Devil's Elbow

On July 17, we left Peterborough and proceeded to the the next lock. To our surprise, they brought in a tour boat right beside us with only inches to spare between our boats. The tour boat leaves from Peterborough and goes two locks though the Peterborough Lift Lock. It then turns around and goes back to Peterborough, about an hour trip. 

The Peterborough Lift Lock is an amazing engineering feat that actually lifts the boats, water, and container 65 ft in the air. There are two identical containers, each the size of about 4 Carousels. They are connected hydraulically so water pressure moves them and keeps them in balance.The top one is always a little heavier as they add a foot more water into that chamber. Through the hydraulic connection, the weight of the top one drives up the bottom one when they are released to move. The lock moves pretty fast. It is an amazing feeling to be sitting in a boat suspended 65 feet in the air! In the video below you can hear the narrative from the tour boat squished in beside us.

Try this if the video doesn't work.. VIDEO

Obstacles in the Devil's Elbow

The scenery just became better and better as we continued west. Also, the rocks characteristic of the Canadian Shelf began to appear more frequently. In one section, called the Devils Elbow, a zig-zag course runs through islands and rocks. The route was particularly confusing. In fact, Mike thought he missed a turn, reversed course, verified that the original course was correct, and then proceeded back though the obstacle course. We went thought the Devil's Elbow THREE TIMES!!! Luckily there is a small and thriving church on an island in the elbow; a fact that we will take note of and see if we can stop by on a Sunday on our next time in the area. There is a good anchorage just around the corner from the church.

Church in the bend of the Devil's Elbow

A quick lunch stop and then Douro, ON

At Youngs Point, we decided to stop for lunch after locking through. We
were actually pretty hungry, but after walking around the small town, the only place we found with food was the general store. While they did have some pre-made beef sandwiches (undated), that was not really what we had in mind for lunch. Finally, we crossed an old bridge to a B&B and restaurant that the Lockmaster told us was closed and found a fantastic lunch experience in the country side.

Carousel at Douro, ON Lock

Part of the fee that we had paid allowed us to "camp" at the lock walls over night. We hadn't really taken advantage of this but the weather had become much more moderate and the scenery was beautiful. For our first lock wall camp out, we picked Douro, ON. We picked that location simply because there was nothing there but a fire pit. No town, no stores, and, once the lock closes at 6pm, no people.

We had a wonderful night.

Lovesick

The scenery along the way just kept getting better and better, However, along with that came narrower channels and more challenging navigation. We were mostly steering from the lower station in these areas because we have better visibility and communications from there, and, when dealing with the locks, Mike and Deb can trade off steps of our well-oiled procedure.

The rocks seem to get bigger and closer as we go...

In this area, the lock staff started telling us about house boats that we would meet. We didn't really get the point a first but we soon found our that we were entering the land of rental houseboats. Apparently, with cash in hand, these boats can be rented with no boating experience and a 30 minute orientation.  One of our guide books is more subtle, saying "poor seamanship may be frequently observed in the area." Many of these guys are just plain dangerous so it is best to be on alert and give them plenty of room. We never did see anybody go down one of those slides.

We selected our next destination on the same grounds as the previous night; remote and a fire pit. The Lovesick Island lock is completely inaccessible by car - even the lock staff has to arrive by boat. We were docked in front of a 29 ft. Bayfield sailboat that is somewhat local (from Campbellford) and traveling the Waterway for the first time in their lives. Bayfield's are always interesting to us since our first sail boat was a Bayfield 25. 

While there is much but natural beauty at Lovesick there are also raccoons. Our Bayfield neighbor saw one staring in her galley window while she was making dinner! Later, when our campfire was about to go out, we saw three little ones casing the dock for opportunities. When Mike went over to confront them with his IPhone flash light in hand, they took their generous time in deciding to wander off. Over night they went aboard the Bayfield and another nearby runabout boat that carried a family of campers. No harm was done as the Bayfield had closed themselves up and the runabout had put all of their interesting items in the lock's restroom over night for safe keeping. The critters reportedly bit into a tube of anti-bacterial gel on the runabout and left it behind.

Boat Camping is quite popular on the waterway - we were amazed at the amount of gear the family of five had with them in their small 18 foot run-about boat (tent is to the right of us in this photo).

The next section had two towns that both sounded interesting, so with our new slower schedule and temperatures on the rise, we leisurely set off from Lovesick with only two locks between us and the first town, Bobcaygeon, where there would be electricity (which means air conditioning)!

Trent Severn Waterway, Part 1

Trenton to Peterborough



Entrance to the Trent Severn Waterway at Trenton

We began our adventure on the Trent Severn Waterway on July 12 from the Trent Port Marina in West Quinte. The Waterway is 240 miles long and is a zig-zag connection of Lake Ontario to Lake Huron, bypassing the bulk of Lake Ontario and all of Lake Erie. It winds through the Trent River, Ontonabee River, the Kawartha lakes, Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchinching, and the Severn River. The speed limit through most of the system is 10 km or about 6 mph. So, it is really not a short-cut but more of the highway equivalent of a scenic route. Because of that, the only commercial traffic is the occasional day excursion boat and a multi-day cruise line (45 passenger vessel).



Even though we were veterans of the NY Canal System, having traversed over 30 locks, we approached the first gate cautiously, not knowing what to expect. Confronted by hard concrete on both sides for over a half mile in a channel too narrow in which to turn around, and a steel gate at the end, it feels like the entrance to the house of horrors ride at the carnival.

As we approached the huge double gates opened and let us in the locks.

We found a very friendly staff, much more so than in NY, the locks much easier in which to manage Carousel, and the lawns at the locks managed well with gardens and flowers. The locks in Canada are managed by Parks Canada where in NY they are managed by the NY Canal Corporation, a subsidiary of the NY Throughway Authority. We paid our fees for a one way passage through the system and a seasonal camping permit which allows us to stay on the lock entrance walls overnight, and later in our trip at National Parks in the Georgian Bay.

Compared to NY which is both a recreational and commercial canal, these locks are for recreation purposes only and carry no commercial traffic except for those occasional tour boats. They are much narrower and have a lower speed limit. Nearly every piece of reference material cautions us to stay in the marked channel since there are rock ledges and shoals throughout the system.

Stay in the Channel!

Boats with over 5 ft. of draft must sign a waiver releasing Parks Canada of all liability since some spots are only 5.5 ft. deep! Fortunately, Carousel's draft is 4 ft. 2 in. We also had to drop our mast at Port Trent before entering the Waterway to get below the required 20.5 ft. height restriction. Having boated on the Mississippi River, the North Channel we were familiar with staying between the red and green buoys, but some of the rocks they are guarding in this waterway are very close to the channel and often even if one is above water, there are usually a few more lurking just below the surface. 

This being the first time on the Waterway, and judging from our lock-though times in NY, we were a little aggressive in our time planning on the first few days. On the first day, we traveled 12 locks to Campbellford, ON. What we did not understand going in is that these locks are substantially manually operated and, therefore, much slower. 



Carousel secured to the wall in Lock #1
(looking front to back)

We started into the system at 9:30 and entered Campbellford at 5:30 pm.  Every lockmaster along the way was encouraging, estimating that we would most likely be able to make our target before the weekday lock closing time of 6pm. We settled into a smooth routine of pulling into each lock on the starboard (right) side, agreeing to which of the cables spaced 12 feet apart we would target, Mike would bring the middle of Carousel along side the target cable which Deb would grab. Deb would then wrap Carousel's locking line around the cable and tie it off. With the center of the boat secured, Mike could then leave the steering station and walk to the stern and attach to the cable at the stern and Deb would do the same for the bow. We were then prepared for the water to come rushing into the lock to raise us to the next level.  While it took longer than in New York, the friendly staff would converse with us, determine what our destination was and make any recommendations they could provide.

Campbellford, ON

Even at 6mph TMI

It was a hot day and neither of us had enough water to drink or sunscreen for the task. We were happy to take our place along the wall in the shade, connect the electric power that would get our AC up and running, and get the WIFI connected, then walk across the street to dinner.

We didn't have much time or energy to explore but we found that Campbellford is the home of the designer of the Canadian Twoney, the two dollar coin (so named because the one dollar coin has a loon on one side and is called the "Looney", thus the $2 coin became the "twoney"!) We were docked right beside the giant replica!

We did manage to take advantage of the slightly cooler morning temperatures to explore the bakery which has a reputation of selling out of most of the local favorites by 9:30AM. 

Hastings, ON

On the next day, July, 13, we had record high temperatures with rain expected for the next day. Deb 

Port Side Tie-up at Lock 15

quickly re-planned our schedule and we made arrangements to stay at the municipal marina in Hastings. We were still being too aggressive in our planning, especially considering that two of the closely spaced locks, locks 13 and 15 required us to enter on the port (left) side. So, right out of Campbellford, Deb worked to switch all of our fenders and lines to the port side. Once we left Lock 13, she moved everything to the starboard side as we took our time to traverse the half-mile between locks. After Lock 14, everything back to the port side, ready for entry into Lock 15. After Lock 15 everything was switched back to the starboard side for the remainder of the day.

There is not much of note in Hastings but that marina gave us the luxury of power, a holding tank (sewage) pump-out that was needed, and a base of operations for a rainy day. Oh, and our first sample of Kawartha ice cream! The regional ice cream is fantastic and has over 40 flavors!

The big question in Hastings: Is it a Walleye or a Pickerel?

Our second day in Hastings brought occasional rain and high winds. We were happy to be stationary and we later heard some pretty dramatic stories about people where were caught out in the wind on some of the lakes.

Canal Near Hastings, Ontario

Peterborough, ON

As we traveled deeper into Canada, as expected, the scenery became more impressive and the water became more clear. Deb found she needed to stand near the helm to get a balanced view of the scenery.  In several sections, one side was very rural and the other had cottage development.  If you sat facing one direction you would get the impression you were in very wild, untamed wilderness as opposed to a fun area with cottages, docks and swim platforms!


July 15 was predicted to be a much better weather day but with winds expected to increase in the afternoon with the possibility of rain later. We had been traveling along with a small pontoon boat off-and-on the past few days and the big lake really scared them, as it should. We left harbor at 8am and they left at 8:30. In the canals out of Hastings, they quickly passed us as we both have to let the engines warm up which takes about 15 minutes, and we have to mange our wake. They quickly passed us in a effort to get through Rice Lake before the winds developed. 

Did someone say "stay in the channel"?

Mike is using TWO sets of charts in these waters. Strangely the IPad is usually the most accurate!

Once in Rice Lake, Mike was able, for the first time in many days, to open up Carousel's engines. Normal canal speeds are just above idle speed for Carousel and her big Cat diesels do not like that. You can really understand what "blowing the carbon out" means when coming up to speed after days of idle speed!


Now traveling at 15-20 knots, we caught up with our pontoon friends about half way through the lake, just as some wind and waves coming directly at us started to develop. Backing down to just over his speed of 8.5 knots we passed him about 50 yards away to try to minimize our wake on him. Now, being completely unplanned, he fell in about 100 feet behind us and traveled in the calm that Carousel created by knocking down the 1-2 ft. waves! He was happy!


We arrived at Peterborough about 1pm. Peterborough is a small city with almost all services and stores within waking distance. The staff at the Peterborough Marina is known for its quality service and they lived up to their reputation. We needed to do some minor provisioning, and there was a planned concert in the park next door on Saturday the 16th so we decided to stay and celebrate Deb's birthday.

On Saturday the 16th, Deb's Birthday, Carousel got a well-deserved bath and we went to the local Farmer's Market where we were able to get nearly all of the provisions that we needed without going to the grocery store.


We celebrated Deb's birthday with dinner at the local Cajun restaurant. The marina provided us with close-up reserved seats at the concert. We briefly enjoyed the warm-up band and then retreated to the comfortable distance of our boat for the main act.


We met with some interesting people there who had already done the Great Loop before and we learned a lot from their experience. With the fridge stocked with fresh veggies, meat, eggs & cheese, we were ready to continue northward to experience the Peterborough Lift Lock and more...




Thousand Islands and Canada

Clayton, NY

On July 11 we cast off our lines in Sackets Harbor and headed for the St. Lawrence River and Clayton, NY. We had a pleasant trip, skimming along the US/Canada border and landed at Pier 225 Marina about 11 am.

Talk about laid back! Mike spoke with the marina manager over the phone to reserve our slip and he told us no problem staying there but he would not be around. He would have some of the regulars at the marina look out for us. Sure enough, when we arrived, some of the other boaters were there to catch our lines. The payment was self-serve on the honor system. In two days we never say a marina employee.

We had rushed ourselves a little bit getting to Clayton since we had 1:30 reservations to take a tour boat past several of the islands and Boldt Castle. Once docked, we walked past the edge of town on the major highway in the area to the boat tour dock. We elected for a commercial tour rather than pilot ourselves around for the narrative and history lesson. So, there are actually over 1800 islands, some in the US and some in Canada. Navigating can be a challenge as some of the river is quite shallow. The US side is also the main shipping channel so a sharp lookout is advised. It is pretty busy.

Along the way we saw all sorts of houses on islands. Many appeared to be quaint summer getaways but some were huge old-money estates. Boldt Castle was the highlight of the tour with a long stopover there and a self-guided audio tour. Construction began on Boldt Castle in 1900 at the bidding of millionaire hotel magnate George C. Boldt as a tribute to his beloved wife Louise. Boldt Castle was designed as their summer dream home on the St. Lawrence River, in the heart of the 1000 Islands. However it was not to be; Mrs. Boldt passed away suddenly, just months before the completion of the castle. Mr. Boldt was inconsolable and immediately stopped all construction on Heart Island, leaving the property vacant for over seventy years. The property is now in the the hands of the the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, an international organization, using entry fees to fund the restoration so it is taking decades to complete. However, they now have the first floor completely restored as well as the main double staircase and the grounds.  If the last time you were there was prior to 2008 then it is well with the trip to visit again.

Across a small bay on the St Lawrence stands the Boldt's boat house. They had a fleet of over 60 boats! The trip was amazing and the Thousand Island area is certainly beautiful.

July 9 was a bad weather day with occasional rain and gusty winds so we stayed on at Clayton to visit the Antique Boat Museum. What a wonderful set of exhibits! They also have the Boldt's houseboat which was then owned by the McNallys (of Rand McNally map fame). As a bonus, there was a car show on the grounds the same day. 

Weather days also present an opportunity to catch up on boat projects. Carousel had not be washed down for a while and the inside of the boat got a good vacuuming.  We took care of topping off our water tanks (Carousel carries nearly 200 gallons of fresh water), pumping out the holding tanks (40 gallons of sewage), and checking for any unusual signs of wear in the engine room. 

OH CANADA!

Early on July 10, with a slight mist in the air we departed Clayton, but not before stopping to top off the fuel. Carousel carries 600 gallons of diesel when full and a full tank at US prices should mean that we will not have to buy fuel at Canadian prices. We crossed over to the Canadian side of the River, heading past Kingston, Ontario and towards Prinyers Cove, a trip of about 40 Nautical Miles. 

Prinyers Cove is an isolated but well protected harbor at the entrance to the Bay of Quinte. The Bay of Quinte will ultimately lead us to the Trent-Severn Waterway. Importantly, it is also a designated call-in site for Canadian Customs. We had already registered by email a few days earlier and provided our Passport numbers and other required information. Upon entry, the boat is properly quarantined which is demonstrated by the use of a yellow flag.The captain of the ship must then use the designated phone at the small marina there to call Canadian Customs. Under quarantine, no other people or items may go off of the ship until the crew and ship are cleared. After a series of questions, they granted entry and we were now allowed to move about freely. It was a very quick process. We removed the quarantine flag and hoisted the Canadian courtesy flag. For other "loopers", we highly recommend this scenic, friendly, protected location.  Also, if you've ever been to Canada since passports were required, we also recommend the pre-registration via e-mail.  It makes the conversation on the phone with the customs agent go very smoothly, since you are already a "known traveler" to the Canadian government.

At Prinyers Cove, we had planned to anchor for the evening but the marina owner was so helpful and the place seemed so hungry for some cash flow that that we decided to rent a mooring ball for the evening. On the mooring, pointing into the wind, we opened up the hatches and let the gentle breeze flow through Carousel. We had saved a special rib-eye meal for our first night in Canada. We fired up the grill, ran the generator for a while to microwave some baked potatoes, and had a great feast. At about dusk, we checked our screens and verified that we were in good shape for fending off bugs. We had a great night's sleep, as we usually do at a a mooring.

Trenton, ON

On July 11, we headed towards Trenton, Ontario towards the new Trent Port Marina. This marina is known for its great facilities, customer services, and nearby services. The marina, in this case is not so much for any of those but, simply that this is the last stop before entering the first lock of the Trent Severn Waterway. Once we arrived, about mid-day, we walked over to the nearby main business district and had locally prepared fish (Haddock) and chips, a meal very popular in these parts. At the marina we enjoyed the boater's lounge, free laundry, and great service staff. We completed a few more chores on the boat (including lowering the mast again - it went much more quickly the 2nd time) and spent the time relaxing in preparation of our first big day on the Waterway.