Sneaking barely under the swing bridge at Chaffey’s lock #37 we rose 11 feet. It was a group effort to get us off the dock and into the lock. Luckily boaters staying at the dock wall all pitch in to help those that are leaving.
We wound our way through the channel north of Chaffey’s and into Indian Lake. In this lake our route hugged the south shore so we got a good view of the cottages all along the shore.
At the end of Indian Lake is a narrow spit of land that juts out in the channel. We watched the hand propelled ferry cross the narrow channel. The operator pulls on a chain cable which runs under water to move the ferry to the other shore. Then we entered Clear Lake, crossing it quickly as it is only one half mile wide. At the end of this lake is Elbow Channel- a tight twist and tight angle turn which takes you into Newboro Lake.
Newboro Lake is one of the larger lakes and it is filled with lots and lots of islands!
After crossing Newboro Lake we locked through the Newboro Lock #36 and rose 8 feet. There were so many boats waiting to enter to lock, it felt like an obstacle course making our way through the maze of boats. Through the maze we went and turned into a very narrow channel to enter Upper Rideau Lake. We are at our highest point some 408 feet above sea level here. All locks from now on will lower us down to the level of the Ottawa River.
Upper Rideau is a long skinny lake with cottages all along the shore.
As we leave Upper Rideau, we come to another narrow spit of land with the appropriately named lock The Narrows. We locked through with a family renting a houseboat on holiday. We toured each other’s boats while waiting for our turn to lock through.
After passing through The Narrows Lock #35 where we were lowered 8 feet, we entered Big Rideau Lake which is our destination for today, This the largest lake in the Rideau system. The lake is 20 miles long and about 4 miles wide. Big Rideau Lake has three provincial parks, hundreds of small islands and is regularly dotted with summer cottages. We also saw depths up to 300 feet while we traveled to our anchorage in Hawse Bay. (Most lakes had depths between 30-90 feet.)
We pulled into Hawse Bay just off the lake and anchored in this protective cove, surrounded by granite walls and forest.
After settling in, we launched the dinghy and headed for the Parks Canada Colonel By Island. This is a popular spot for Canadian boaters and I can see why. There are plenty of docks and a mooring field, picnic areas, kayak launch area and floating docks to swim to just off shore. Bill and I talked with a couple on a docked boat from Montreal and of course we plied them with questions about Montreal, as that is a city we will visit further down the river system. After leaving the dock, we took a walking trail that circumnavigated the island. On the way we learned via the posted signs that the Island once was home to the Anglers Lodge in 1890’s. Fishermen would come here with all their gear via the motorized skiff that belonged to the lodge. Each day the motorized skiff would tow the fishing boats behind him one after the other and take each one to the spot on the lake they wanted to fish that day. Upon returning to shore the lodge would provide the fixings for a shore dinner. The kitchen would provide the fishermen with a basket filled with oil, breading, corn or potatoes, lettuce, tomato or other vegetable in season and tea/ coffee. The fishermen would then fry up their catch of the day for their evening meal.
Returning to the boat we had dinner, planned more of our route and listened to the loons calling. Will see another magnificent sky filled with stars tonight.