Orillia, Ontario

Hey everyone! This first pic shows the boys enjoying their Saturday night ritual- boys campout!! The next pic is of us passing another boat in one of the canals. Several of the canals to get between lakes are so narrow that you are told to announce that you are entering if you are larger than 40'. You can't see who's ahead of you- and sometimes it's a close squeeze to get by! Saturday we left Bobcaygeon, headed for Lake Simcoe, but the weather was so bad we decided to spend the night at lock 39. We were allowed to stay at locks for free, but there's no power. We ran the generator, and they do leave the washrooms unlocked. There was another boat staying there as well. No internet last night, tho and very poor cell service. Since leaving Bobcaygeon we have done 9 locks. We did the second highest hydraulic lift lock in the world- remember the highest was in Peterborough-this one was in Kirkfield. We have now reached the summit of the Trent-Severn. This is the highest place in the world a boat can reach above sea level under it's own power. We are now going down, and the last few locks have been lowering us. Orillia looks like a nice good sized town, so we'll get a few supplies here. Love to you all, Fran, Bud and Ray

Lock 39 - Portage

It's Amelia writing for my parents today. They have landed for the evening at lock 39 - Portage but have no internet so they text me and asked me to let everyone know. They plan to continue on tomorrow.

rain and seaplanes

Hey Everyone! tonite we are in Bobcaygeon, Ontario. Quite a name for a town, eh? We traveled through 4 locks and went 38 miles to get here. We went through an area called Hells Gate today, very twisty and winding. Lots of navigational skills needed by the Captain! The town we are in was built on 3 islands, and tomorrow we will go through its lock which is right in the middle of "downtown". We are now at lock 32. There is no lock 29, they combined 2 locks when they made a new one. Rained most of the day, stopped around 3pm. We've seen lots of seaplanes, this is a picture of 3 of them together. You'll notice the scenery looks just like the Thousand Islands. Tomorrow we hope to make it to the last lock before Lake Simcoe. Love to you all, Fran Bud and Ray

We Might Not Be Able To Get There From Here!

We Have been following this story with many other loopers who are now getting stuck in Chicago. They have closed the Illinois River which is the main and only route to the Missisippi South. No One Knows yet what is going to happen, Many agencies involved so it's moving slow. Here is part of the announcment:

There is a new update today on the USCG site and it is even more sternly worded. It states that "only tugs and barges" can go through the barrier. I am going to assume that this still allows for a dead boat to be towed through but wonder if perhaps Ted or Janice can call the CG and make sure this is still the case?The following statement is a cut and paste from the CG site.To prevent the invasive Asian Carp from entering Lake Michigan, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has increased the voltage of the Electric Fish Dispersal Barrier from 1 volt/inch to 2 volts/inch. Contact with the water in this area could result in serious injury or death. This electrical field may also be dangerous to vessels with non-metallic hulls crossing the barrier. As a result, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port has issued a safety zone closing this portion of the Canal to all vessels other than tug and barges pending analysis of the hazards to waterways users.
Topic: August 26, 2009

Hopefully they will figure something out or they may turn us back along with hundreds of other boats headed south?

Lakefield, Ontario Canada

Today we set out at 9:30 am. We did 7 locks, but only went 11 miles. We did do the famous lock in Peterborough, tho! This lock is the worlds tallest hydraulic lock. It raises you (or lowers you) 64 feet! Fran loved it, Bud wasn't so sure!! The Canadians call this lock their "empire state building". We did take pictures, but will have to post them later as we left the camera on the boat. We walked to town and used to library to get wifi, since the marinas is not working. This is the second time we've done this, thank goodness for libraries! We are all well, they are talking rain tonite and tomorrow. We may layover here, so if you don't get a post tomorrow that's why. Love to you all, Bud Fran and Ray

Peterborough

Hey everyone- Today we traveled 39 miles, but only had to do one lock to get to Peterborough. We skipped lunch, so headed up to town for an early supper. Peterborough is a city, good sized, and the biggest we will stay at on the Trent-Severn. Most of the others are small towns. Good weather, although it went to 46 last night and we wore sweatshirts most of the way. Ray even wore his knit cap and mittens! Ice cream at this marina too- so we've already planned our bed-time snack! If any of you missed the email, you can track us on the link http://greatloop.org/mod/aglcalocator/membermap.php?id=3583 If you go to the email Bud sent all you have to do is click on it. Miss you all, love Bud Fran and Ray

Campbellford to Hastings

Hi everyone. Today we traveled 22 miles, and did 6 locks. Two of the locks were 27 Ft. vertical lifts. Seems like we're climbing a mountain! This area is what the Canadians call 'cottage country'. Just gorgeous scenery dotted with quaint, some rather fancy, cottages. Have seen countless number of Ospreys and their nests, which excites Fran to no end. She is still waiting to see an Eagle, tho. We are tied up tonite in Hastings, Ontario. We are at a nice marina, but it's a pretty small town. There are, however nice shower accomidations, and one has a nice big shower to accomidate a wheelchair- so guess who's getting a shower tonite! Fran broke out the wine tonite, and may go so far as to get into the M&M's too. She smashed her finger in a door today, and almost went down- Bud had to "save"her, just like Erica Kane in the Soap Operas!! LOL!! (No- this was BEFORE any wine was consumed!!) I'm hoping not to lose my fingernail, but figure wine and M&M's might help! Tomorrow we head for Peterborough, which is supposed to be a city, but smaller than Toronto. Miss you all- Bud, Fran and Ray

Campbellford, Ontario Canada

Campbellford, Ontario Canada

Hey Everyone! Today We went from Trenton to Campbellford. Only 32 miles, but 12 locks!! Needless to say, we are pooped out! We made good time, and the locks were pretty interesting. Each one had a cute locktenders house, and they were all different. Course, it was always a surprise to rise to the top of the lock and see what was up there! The Canadians are all very friendly and helpful, and we've met a couple other "loopers". Rays being a good helper and enjoyed the ride on the flybridge today. Thats it for today!

Trenton, Ontario Canada

Here we are setting out on our great adventure! We crossed Lake Ontario and went in the Murray Canal to the Bay of Quinte. We traveled 67 miles today. We are tied up tonite at Trenton, right next to an ice cream parlor!! We will start the Trent-Severn tomorrow.

Leaving Home Soon 8/22/09

Welcome to our blog! We (Captain Ray, First Mate Fran and crew Little Ray) are planning on taking off on Monday August 24th, and making our way through the first half of the Great Loop. We will be leaving our home in Oak Orchard and ending at our other home in New Port Richey, FL. We thought this would be the best way to keep our friends and family updated on where we are along the way. We plan on taking about two months to make our way to FL and then will make our way from FL to NY via the intercoastal come spring.