♪ 8 Trent Severn Locks To Go, 8 Locks to Go!♪

June 12, 2022

The rain cleared up in Buckhorn around 11:30am. Cleared up may be a bit of a stretch, but it stopped pouring around that time. We decided we would brave the drizzle and try to get to Lock 36 by late afternoon. We pulled away from the concrete wall in Buckhorn around noon and made our way along the Trent Severn Canal.

We passed through Bobcaygeon and Fenelon Falls. The locks are in the center of town, so there were many spectators waiting to be entertained by locking mishaps. The towns looked inviting, but we did not have the luxury of time to pull over and stay the night. Fun fact, Fenelon Falls is a lock where the captain has to drive through the rapids created by the nearby dam in order to make their way into more calm area beyond the break wall and entrance to the lock. We watched one captain struggle. He found himself sideways more than once on his approach. Holy Cow is a bit of a tank, and we have a great captain at the helm, so our approach was far more successful.

There are some sketchy parts of the Trent Severn which make it tricky for boats like ours to go through because of the 4.5 draft. There are a lot of stories of unlucky people "touching" through this stretch of water. No one wants to hear the dreaded thump of the props smacking against something solid beneath the surface. As we left Balsam Lake, we headed into the narrow canal and held our breath. Gord inched Holy Cow along at 2 - 8 knots. When we reached the causeway in Mitchell Lake, just before the Kirkfield Lock, a friend of ours, Bob, was driving along and spotted us. He hopped out of his truck and gave us a big wave. We were meeting him and Kelly later in the evening when we were through Lock 36 and settled. After our brief road side greeting, it was back to concentrating on getting Holy Cow to the lock without any damage.

We were a little tight for time to reach the lock before closing because of the snail’s pace we were travelling at. I called the lock to check in on the status. He was polite and advised me that if we arrived at 6:30 he could pass us through, but he did not have authorization to let us pass after that time. We had 12 minutes and he wasn't optimistic. We were making our way along the winding canal and told him he should see us any second. Finally, the lock was in sight, and we made it with just moments to spare. Lock 36 - Kirkfield - is another hydraulic lift lock like the Peterborough lock. However, there is one significant difference which we learned upon arrival. Heading west in the canal, this lift locks down for us (not up as it did in Peterborough). Entering this lock is like driving your boat into an infinity pool where the ground plummets out of view just beyond the bow. I was on the bow of Holy Cow and pleaded with Gord not to drive into the lock quickly. It was the most unnerving feeling to be so high with just the edge of a wall between us and the sky beyond.

We pulled in, tied up to the secure bars and our bathtub was lowered 49 feet to the water level below. It was a smooth drop, and we were thankful to have completed our last lock of the day. We pulled over to the wall and tied up for the night. There was a power catamaran tied up in front of us and it wasn't long before we met Bob and Pam, a lovely couple on their way to the North Channel.

Our friends, Bob and Kelly, arrived a little later and we enjoyed a great visit. It had been a long time since we'd seen these two so there was a ton to catch up on. As the late hours of the night ticked along, we said our goodbyes around midnight and made plans to see them again soon. Our plan was to get up and leave the wall just before 9:00am in hopes of timing Lock 37 for when it opened at 10:00am.

Voyage Log

Buckhorn to Kirkfield travel log here.