♪ 1 Trent Severn Lock To Go, 1 Lock to Go!

June 14, 2022

It was a beautiful travel day and with only two locks between us and our final destination of the day, it should be a smooth travel day. Gord had made arrangements for a few family members to join us and experience the Big Chute Marine Railroad with us. The plan was for them to come with us for the final leg of the trip and have a celebratory BBQ when we arrived home to South Bay Cove Marina. After we successfully made our way through the Couchiching and Swift Rapids Locks 42 and 43, we pulled into the Big Chute and tied up for the night anticipating our guests and our arrival home the next day.

After our arrival, we learned that the railway had only been running for two hours that day because of a lack of staff, but to our relief we were told the next day they would be running on full schedule. We had a group of people coming and planned to make it home, so being able to ride the railway was very important to us. Gramps thought about heading home around this point because he lives only a few minutes away, but we gave him a really hard time about it. He couldn't possibly leave us with only two more locks to do. We had done 72 of the 74 locks, and he deserved the bragging rights to see this to the end.

Once we were settled in a little, we organized and cleaned up a little. We had some visitors from Out of the Blue and YOLO to the cockpit of Holy Cow, and it was a lovely evening! It was a nice way to spend our last night of our adventure home. At 10:00am the next morning, we would travel over the railroad and be a few short hours from home.

In the morning, our nine guests arrived promptly at 10:00 (or earlier) as requested. It was so wonderful to see everyone's smiling faces. We gave them a tour of Holy Cow and visited for a few minutes before starting the process of departure. As we were making our plans to push off the dock to head over the marine railroad, Gord was notified that we wouldn't be making our way over that day. The frustration level was exceptionally high. We had a total of 15 people on board, who were expecting to travel the last leg of the trip with us and see us arrive home safely and celebrate with us. The reason for the delay was a staff member had an injury, which only left two employees working the lift, and the railway cannot run with a crew of two, so we were told.

Not to have the day completely ruined, we decided to untie Holy Cow and take our guests for a little tour of the Severn River. We made our way back to Swift Rapids Lock 43 and turned around to head back to The Big Chute. It was a lovely run, and we think our guests enjoyed themselves. When we arrived back at The Chute, Jaxon took a turn docking Holy Cow. Despite the wind pushing us off the dock, he nailed the docking after a couple of tries. When we were all tied up, and our guests were finished making a fuss over Jaxon's docking abilities, we started up the BBQ and had a fabulous meal which was supplied almost entirely by our guests. Although our day started with frustration and disappointment, at the end of the day, we made the best of it and had a great day.

As we said goodbye to our guests, we had a terrible feeling, that due to the injury of the staff member, we may be stuck at the Big Chute for a third, or maybe a fourth night. We were so close to home, but a marine railway stood between us and our final destination.

The next morning, we were anticipating our fate. The locks were still running on shorter hours through the week, so we knew we weren't going to see a Park's Canada crew member before 10:00am. In anticipation of being locked in for another day, Gord had picked up his truck from the marina the day before and it was sitting in the parking lot at the Big Chute. If we were stuck here again, we would at least have a means of transportation into town to do some errands. If we were able to make it home by taking Holy Cow over the railway, getting the truck back to the marina was easy enough.

When the Park's Canada crew arrived at the lock, we were told we were going over that morning. This was excellent news for some of us. I had been dreading this lock for the entire journey, so part of me would have been happy to stay put for another day. But it had to be done, so it was likely better to get it over with. A few boats made their passage over the railway ahead of us. The railway crew decided to take us up and over on our own. While we were waiting for our turn, Mr. Johnston, was on shore taking some picture of this milestone of our journey.

As the railway came up and over the road it passes over and glided into the water on our side, it was time to make our approach. Unfortunately, the current and wind were both pushing to the port side, and the angle to get into the railway is tricky. We were dead silent to let Gord concentrate. I was praying that we didn't make it this far unscathed to have something drastic happen now. As we pulled in, the Park's Canada crew was making sure the slings were properly positioned on the belly of Holy Cow. The goal was to use two slings, have the stern rest on the cradle of the marine railway and the remainder of Holy Cow would hang off the back. With a couple of adjustments by the captain and the Park's Canada crew, Holy Cow was loaded and balanced and we started over the marine railroad. All 65,000 pounds of Holy Cow was hoisted out of the water. The start of this passage was smooth and not frightening. It is after we got over the crest of the railway that things got unnerving. As we hit the peak of the railway, the ground over the bow disappears. It's similar to the Kirkfield lock lift or being in the front seat of a rollercoaster before you plummet down that first drop. There was nothing ahead of Holy Cow's bow but a large rollercoaster ride down. I just hoped we didn't plummet.

While we were hauled out of the water, it was also a good time to check under our boat for any damage that may have happened during the 2500+ miles we'd just travelled. Passengers are not permitted on the cradle, but Gord asked a crew member to have a look at the props and running gear. We were told it all looked great, and we were thankful for that. As we made our decent, the unnerving feeling got a little stronger as the railway cradle groaned and shuttered. Brooklyn was on the bow with me, and she looked at me wide-eyed but didn't say a word. I assure her it was just noise, and everything was fine. I could hear Gord chatting to the crew at the stern of Holy Cow. Jaxon soon came to the bow to watch us make the descent. I don't know where Gramps was, but I expected he was near Gord. Soon, Gord came to the bow so we could quickly get one of the last family shots of this trip. It was also important to document Holy Cow's first ride on the marine railway. I doubt this will be the only time we venture over this unique lock.

As we neared the bottom level, the water started to enwrap the hull of Holy Cow and we started to float again. A few moments later, we were told to start the engines and we were cleared to pull out of the cradle. Safely to the other side and now in Gloucester Pool, there was only one lock between us and home.

Voyage Log

Orillia to Big Chute travel log here.