VIDEO OF MY RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE

I adored the five-day, small-ship cruise I took with Ontario Waterway Cruises in June 2014 onboard the Kawartha Voyageur. Here is a sample of my experiences:

© Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.

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Start here at the first day of the cruise and work up. 

QUINTE CRUISE - DAY FIVE (last day)

Woke to another grey day as we sailed from Hastings into Rice Lake. This is a favourite of anglers and we drove into the teeth of a strong wind. First time the Kawartha Voyageur was felt to pitch a bit! By the time we turned to starboard and entered the Otonabee River, the sky was lightening and soon the sun made an appearance.

This stretch was most attractive with banks of trees, wetlands, and some very nice houses as we approached Peterborough. But here we saw many waterfowl including loons and two chicks, herons, squadrons of Canada geese, and ospreys, as well as turtles everywhere. Again the tranquillity of the area was pleasing all the way into the last lock that led us to dock in Peterborough where we disembarked.

I was sorry to leave the excellent staff and passengers on the ship before we could do the final cruise of the three up to Big Chute at Georgian Bay. But needs must as I'm speaking in Picton on Prince Edward County on Sunday at the invitation of the Naval Marine Archive for the submarine centenary this year. We were picked up by Enterprise rent-a-car and drove to Picton by 4:45pm.

My favourite cruise of the two? The Rideau Canal and the lower part of the Trent-Severn Waterway are so different, I cannot choose between them. However, we had much better weather on the Rideau and the history fascinated me and that tends to make me lean that way.

Would I recommend them? Totally, it's an unusual adventure with some of the best customer service I've ever experienced. But don't expect the same luxury that you'd get in one of the long river boats on the rivers of Europe. This can't be compared with those.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

QUINTE CRUISE – DAY FOUR

The KV at Campbellford at breakfast time

Today's shore excursion was after breakfast. Almost everyone went. There is a chocolate factory in Campbellford – need I say more?

We sailed at 1050 hours under a low bridge heading for Hastings. Weather remains warm and humid, overcast with the threat of showers. Another day that was poor for photography, at least until we tied up. Wouldn't you know it?

The twenty-five miles to our next overnight stop used to be the roughest stretch of water on the Trent-Severn Waterway, falling 220 feet over three waterfalls and nine miles of rapids. Today we sailed on a placid river, wide in spots and narrow in others. There is plenty to see here now.


Water tumbles down the layer rock formations at Crowe Bay beside the lock. Healey Falls has a dam to visit if the captain stops for half an hour and the lock station that lifts vessels fifty-four feet.

This is another lock whose sides and gates tower above the ship, and it's intimidating to stand on the lower deck until the water rises and one can see over the sides to the lock station. Then it's plain sailing for fourteen miles without a lock.

The captain's head is up through the hatch

The waterway is very high at the moment and the heavy rain of the past day meant that the two low bridges caused hearts to stop as we slowed down and edged our way through the highest spans. The clearance on one was four inches and the next was seven. I was on the bridge for the first and as the wheelhouse was lowered above me, I had to sit on the floor. The captain, head through the hatch, had to bend his knees to prevent being knocked out on the concrete. It was a tense moment. I was by now lying on the floor behind him taking photos and saying some hasty prayers!





The clouds began to lift about 4pm and the evening alongside in the small town of Hastings was sunny at last. I went ashore to find the pharmacy, missed it, and was out the other side of town in five minutes.

The mate, John, waits to assist with
the lines in Hastings

Our final dinner on board was excellent roast turkey with all the trimmings and English trifle. As all the passenger but four are Ontarians, this evening brings the results of today's provincial election and many will be staying up to watch the live stream. I'm going to try to finish a mystery I borrowed from the ship's library.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

QUINTE CRUISE - DAY THREE

Today we enter the Trent-Severn Waterway at Trenton. The weather is awful — very dark, pouring rain, and thunderstorms. Photography is nearly impossible. I could not get a shot of a huge Painted Turtle under a tree; rain splatters the windows and ruins any hope of an image; and I'm drenched in two minutes if I venture out.

 

Instead I interview the captain on the bridge for an hour. Marc Ackert is a part-owner with his brother John, taking over from their parents who had the vision for this enterprise. Ontario Waterway Cruises are still the only cruise company on the Rideau and Trent-Severn. They have operated since 1981 with increasingly bigger ships. Marc is downloading the company's photos for me, along with images from Parks Canada that he has permission to use for promotion.



Today afternoon snack is very popular — it may be the grey, wet day or it may be the offer of build-your-own ice cream sundaes. The ice cream is from Kawartha Dairies and the vanilla is yellow not white! Anyway most people indulge and some have seconds.





Afterwards we navigate a huge staircase of three locks, the last before our stop for the night alongside the fire hall.
We enter into the first and it was vast. The gates shut behind us and it fills fast with a maelstrom of water pouring in and rocking our stable boat. Once it is half full, the gates begin to open in front of us into the second lock. Up we go again and can see a swing bridge over the top with vehicles rushing across to get through. This bridge is electric, not hand cranked like many on the Rideau Canal, and it opens quickly. Soon we are through and turning to starboard down a straight stretch into the town.

We arrive at our mooring in the heart of Cambellford, the home of a chocolate factory and the best bakery in the region.

IMAGES: 

© Photos by Pharos 2014

All rights reserved

PHOTOS OF OUR 1000 ISLANDS CRUISE

From mid-afternoon until 8pm in Kingston yesterday, it was turnaround time for the KV's crew between the passengers going home and the new bunch arriving. Huge amounts of supplies, clean linen, and food was delivered and stowed, and then the relieved crew members went home.




Monday, June 9.

The Kawartha Voyageur sailed before breakfast today and we enjoyed a twelve hour cruise on the St. Lawrence — up the Canadian side and down on the US side, which is the Seaway. Sadly we didn't encounter any of the lakers, the big ships, on our return voyage. We picked up a historian at Gananoque, Ian Campbell, who provided a running commentary for most of the tour.

Here are some photos of the 1000 Islands, a gorgeous place. It is best to see the 1000 Islands from the water and there are many short and long tours available from Gananoque and Kingston.

The St. Lawrence River is full of melt and
flowing very fast as this buoy shows. Going
downstream we easily made 7.7 knots, but on the
return managed only 5.4 knots.

We picked up the historian at Gananoque. A tour boat
that does day trips is alongside the village.

Ian Campbell gave us a running commentary
of the history, geology, politics, and interesting
characters for six hours.

This home owner bought an island (L) in Canada and
 a small one in the USA. The 4.5 metre
bridge is the international boundary

This recent statue was placed high overlooking
the river by donations from those who use
the seaway. St. Lawrence watches over all mariners

Ospreys have made a huge comeback in southern
Ontario. They nest anywhere that provides
 a flat surface, manmade or natural. We've seen many pairs.
This home is atop a navigation marker in the Seaway.

Boldt Castle, in the USA, is enormous and was built for
 love of a woman. She died before it was finished
and her husband abandoned it. Now it's been
restored by the Bridge Authority and opened to the public.
Above is the power house for the complex on the east end
 of Heart Island in front of the main castle behind the trees.

IMAGES

© Photos by Pharos 2014

All rights reserved

LIFE ABOARD THE KAWARTHA VOYAGEUR

My cruise ship with her bow raised for locking

When I first saw the Kawartha Voyageur, the ship that was to be our home for ten days, I thought she was boxy and unattractive. I'm a fan of sleek vessels with graceful lines, so it was a surprise. I quickly grew to love this ship.

Captain Brian, with the wheelhouse lowered

She is perfectly designed for the Ontario waterways — flat-bottomed, shallow draft, and able to get under some of the low bridges. K.V. is quiet, so quiet passengers can't hear the engines in their cabins when she is underway. Admittedly when she uses her bow or stern thrusters, you know it. But remember, we moor every night, so engine noise is not an issue then — ever. KV is stable, we're not at sea but plying placid inland waterways. And wifi is  excellent everywhere on board and free, not like the big ships where you pay through the nose.

The huge real-time navigation chart in the lounge

KV is packed with automated systems that lower the radar arch over the bridge, lower the wheelhouse, and the upper deck canopy. There is a huge screen in the lounge with a real-time navigation chart. The two engines, two generators, etc., are all computer controlled. To fit through the locks, the bow deck raises at the push of a button.

She has three decks. Lower - cabins; middle - lounge, dining room, and crew quarters; upper - sun deck with a lowerable canopy.

KV is the cleanest, most shipshape vessel I've sailed on. The crew cleans all the time:

• cabin windows and the mid-deck windows are washed daily
• the floors are vacuumed three times a day
• the lounge area, including chairs are dusted daily
• The exterior paint work was washed at least once over five days
• when I visited the galley, it was spotless, as all the rest of the crew's quarters.

I could go on about their cleaning obsession, but I won't!! It made for a great five days.

Anne, the cruise hostess

Then there's the food! Nothing like ocean-going cruise ships but delicious farm-style cooking. The long tables groan with food. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are three course meals and there are always seconds! There are home-made snacks at 10am (fresh-baked cookies), 3pm (a variety of nibbles), and 9pm, in case you're hungry!! All kinds of drinks quench your thirst from 7:30am to 10pm (self-serve and on request). All alcoholic drinks are $3.50 but there is not much choice, and you can run a tab.

The captain, mate, and all the crew do everything. Tonight I was met at my cabin door by the skipper with a toilet brush in his hand. It had been forgotten!! When we joined the ship, the entire crew unloaded the baggage of 45 passengers and delivered it to our cabins.

I would say that this crew has the best customer service I have experienced even in 5 star hotels and resorts. The reason is that it is authentic, not obsequious. They love their jobs and they love their passengers, even those who are over-90 years old! Ontario Waterway Cruises does not allow tipping. I had trouble giving them a book for the little library....

The only negative is the very small cabins. One occupant has to get up or go to bed at a time. My husband found the bunk too small for him and has had a hard time sleeping. Though we have a small sink and a toilet, they are divided from the sleeping area by a curtain. (There is one wheelchair-accessible cabin and an elevator between decks.) The showers are terrific and modern, but down the hall.

The crew put on a show on the final night, which was hilarious and well received by all because we had all bonded into a cohesive whole.

The amazing crew of Kawartha Voyageur:
Captain, mate, team leader, chefs, servers, and deckhands

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.

RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE - DAY FIVE (the last day)

Underway before breakfast with filtered sunshine and enter Whitefish Lake. A swing bridge, one of many on the Rideau Canal opens to allow us through. Soon we are in Cranberry Lake where some of Colonel By's crews got lost during the canal's construction. Then it was a bog and full of mosquitoes, which caused many to die of malaria. Today it's pretty.


Through Brewers Mills lock and the Kawartha Voyageur enters a man-made cut separate from the Cataraqui River. We drop down again at Washburn lock and rejoin the river channel in the middle of what is now a lake, but once was wetlands. It is the only feature named for Colonel By years after he died.

The first sign that we are approaching Kingston are the locks, all four of them.

Under the Highway 401 and it's four miles to the city centre. As we pass under the massive bascule bridge of the La Salle Causeway, the ship leaves the historic Rideau Canal. The passengers who are leaving are packed and ready as we turn into our berth in the heart of Kingston, next to the Holiday Inn. It's cloudy and humid — maybe rain tonight.

Fond farewells resound as new friends part and passengers hug the crew who have served us so well. They gather ashore for a final photo op.

I stay aboard, eager for my second cruise from Kingston to Peterborough along the Bay of Quinte and north on the Trent-Severn Waterway.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.

RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE - DAY FOUR

We slipped at the end of breakfast today with the sun shining and the prospect of a hot day. The air was calm and the water had barely a ripple.

Everyone told me this was the most scenic and interesting day of the five. And so it was. Down a narrow cut that was dynamited out of the granite bedrock, the channel looks natural today. But the construction was hazardous with many losing their lives or limbs, and others dying of malaria. I saw Ospreys nesting along the cut's banks and turtles plopping into the water from deadfalls.

The stream is running south to Kingston now and we are sailing in the Canadian Shield that juts down here. Our first lock was Newboro that leads us into Newboro Lake, the first natural lake in the system that did not have to be flooded. It is dotted with 90 islands left here by the retreating glaciers in the Ice Age.  Another narrow channel takes us into Clear Lake and on into Indian Lake. These are very different from the lakes above Westport. No reed beds or wetlands, many more species, and lots of pleasure boaters. It's beautiful. We passed the old chain-operated ferry between Scott
Island and the mainland and slid under a low bridge that meant the radars and wheelhouse, and the canopy over the sun deck had to be lowered.

Everyone eagerly awaited our approach to Chaffeys Lock, considered one of the most picturesque on the waterway. It was busy with boats sailing north and south. We stopped for a while here after locking through, and I visited the museum that records the history of the lock and its lock keepers. There is a hotel here too that dates from the time of pleasure steamers in the late 1800s.

From here, during lunch, we entered Opinicon Lake, which was created by the flooding during the canal's construction. Davis lock opens into Sand Lake also with islands and then into a channel leading to Jones Falls, its huge dam, and four locks.

I hopped off Kawartha Voyageur and took the walk to see the dam. This was a marvel in its day — the biggest arched masonry dam in N. America at 350 feet long and 62 feet high. It still stands unchanged as it was in 1828 and it was built with manpower alone. The massive stones were quarried miles away and brought by horse and cart to the site. If you listen at one end of the dam when someone talks at the other, you can hear them and talk back.

Then I walked down forested trail to the road that leads to Hotel Kenney at the foot of the lock flight and met the ship alongside for the night. The entertainment is provided tonight by the crew.



The sun shone all day, no one had to wear a sweater, and the light was superb.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved

RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE – DAY THREE

During breakfast, we slipped from Smith Falls and headed through two locks into the Lower Rideau Lake. This was a marshy area until the canal's construction flooded it into a large lake. The original river channel is marked by buoys and the reed beds are encroaching on it. These are home to many waterfowl and birds. I saw sandhill cranes (left) and loons. Along the banks of the lake are lovely vacation homes with boathouses and docks.

The Kawartha Voyageur continued south down a stretch called Rideau Ferry that opens out into Big Rideau Lake, which is huge and is the height of land at an elevation of 408 feet above sea level. After this the stream flows south to the St. Lawrence. This is the deepest section of the canal at 300 feet and is 20 miles long with 300 islands dotted all over the place. Here the wind broke up the clouds and the sun shone. It air temp quickly warmed up.

In the middle a road crosses the lake at The Narrows and we pass through a lock and the swing bridge moves away to allow us passage into the rest of the lake. The captain brought the boat alongside a short dock here to examine the port screw. It was fouled with burlap and he donned a dry suit and goggles. Within half an hour the debris was cleared and he warmed up with fresh-baked cookies— the water temp in early June is very cold.

             

At the far end of the lake we came alongside at Westport for the night. This small town grew out of the commerce of the late 1800s and early 1900s, but now is caters to tourists from boats and cars. It's most attractive, with some good stores, a museum, and a nice inn on the water. But it's best feature is a lovely waterfront.

After dinner the winner of the ETA contest was announced and it was the closest guess to the captain's estimate. I was thirty minutes over!! Never win anything! After dinner Ontario Waterway Cruises brought in a naturalist to talk about the wildlife we have seen and are likely to see. Bond Strand was graphic!!

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.

RIDEAU CANAL CRUISE - DAY TWO

Today was a moody, misty day with constant drizzle until about 4pm. I enjoyed seeing the waterway in a different dress. Because the Kawartha Voyageur has huge windows on the middle deck, the weather did not matter. The changing landscapes were monochrome until the clouds began to lift.

We locked through nine locks from Burritt Rapids to Smith Falls. There was an hour's shore excursion in Merrickville for some fun shopping — my husband and I opted instead to try out the local craft beer at Oliver Twist, an authentic British pub.

We sailed on glassy waters along wide reaches with huge reed beds and narrow, tree-lined cuts while we ate breakfast and lunch.

The last lock is modern, Smith Falls Combined built in the 60s. It is the biggest single lock I've ever seen and raises vessels 26 feet in about ten minutes. The photo at left shows how it looms above the top deck of our ship.

We moored alongside in the basin downstream of the lock and spent an hour on a private tour of the Rideau Canal Museum at Smith Falls. Here I met the person who organized this cruise for me — this was quite unexpected. The museum will inform those who have an interest in how the canal was built and its human cost in 1830. Most of the dam and lock engineering is still in its original form and that shows how well it was done. At the very top of the museum is a lookout over the town on Smith Falls and the weir, spillway, and dam. And there was our lovely ship awaiting us above the weir.

IMAGES: © Photos by Pharos 2014. All rights reserved.