Portage, Ontario

Wednesday August 2, 2017.  Today we moved on to Lock 39 (Portage). We had lock companions in the first lock - young ducks!

                                                Ducks Locking Through With Us

We traveled 26 miles in total and went through 6 locks.  One of the locks was the Kirkfield Lift Lock, which is similar to but has a little shorter lift (drop actually since we have recently reached the highest point on the Trent-Severn Waterway) than the Peterborough Lift Lock.  Once we were tied up, the ride down was fast and smooth.

                                      View From The Top Of The Kirkfield Lift Lock

                                       Catalina Tied Up To The Kirkfield Lock Wall

This section of the Trent-Severn Waterway is very rural and is called the “canal section” because it is pretty much just that, a man-made canal rather than a dammed up river system.  This means that it is very shallow (about six feet deep in most places) and the side walls of the canal are very unforgiving rock.  It’s not a problem if you go slowly and as long as you don’t have to pass another boat, especially a larger boat.  Total lift for the day was 28 feet, total drop for the day was 98 feet.)

                               Canal-like Waterway After Exiting The Kirkfield Lift Lock

A strong storm blew through, so we hunkered down at Lock 37 (Bolsover).  Once the weather cleared, we moved on to the lower side of Lock 39 (Portage).