With the docks packed with boats and the wind against us, we negotiated our way off the dock with the help of able dock hands holding our spring line so we could pivot off the dock and back up the channel til we had enough room to turn around. But we successfully got ourselves turned in the right direction and we headed out of the basin and into the river. A half mile up we had to wait for a lift bridge which only opens once an hour on the hour and entered the Cataraqui River ( Cataraqui is Algonquin for great meeting place.) This will be the first of the river and lake system which makes up the Rideau Waterway (pronounced Reed-O)
The Rideau Waterway is the oldest continuously operating canal in North America. When Champlain first traced this route in 1615, there were Indian trading posts all along the river. Most of the canal lock stations remain as they were 175 years ago. The Parks Canada staff operate the locks by hand cranking the water sluices and the lock gate doors.
Originally the Rideau was designed to serve as means for transporting goods and military supplies from Kingston to Ottawa and the Ottawa River. The canal would be essential if theAmericans closed shipping on the St Lawrence River. The Rideau was dug by hand from 1827-1832 by thousands of French Canadians and Irish and Scottish immigrants. The canal follows the natural Cataraqui River and its lakes where possible and when not feasible, was dug through the swamps and rocky terrain of Eastern Ontario. All along the route fortified homes were built to protect the locks and waterway. Many of these homes survived today. The Rideau was designated a UNESCO site as a tribute to the engineering feat of the canal construction by Colonel By and his engineers.
The Rideau is 125 miles long and is five feet deep. It was used for shipping logs, lumber, oats, wheat and corn and industrial supplies up to the 1920’s. The first craft to ply the canal were rafts, then barges and then steamships. The age of the steamship ended in the 1920’s and today the canal is used by pleasure craft.
We will rise through 14 locks to 408 feet above sea level at Upper Rideau Lake and then down 134 feet to the Ottawa River and the City of Ottawa through 32 locks. There are a total of 46 locks in the system today.
Enough background! We left Kingston, and traveled north up the Cataraqui River which narrows and after two slight bend in the river you are in a rocky gorge. The scenery which was once urban and marinas becomes all natural. It was amazing!
A bit further up the river we go through a locks 49-46 at a Kingston Mills which will raise us 60 feet. These locks are one after another so as you leave the chamber of one lock you enter the next lock. Since locking through takes about 20-30 minutes per lock, you got to meet all the boaters who were locking with you. Unfortunately, we missed the first opening so as we waited our turn we visited with two men canoeing up the Rideau.
Once our turn came, we easily locked through all four locks and enjoyed talking with the Parks Canada lock staff, which are mostly college kids and one old hand lock master. The lock staff are very helpful, giving us tips on locking, as well as, what to expect further up the river. As a storm with high gusting winds was approaching, we opted to pull up to the wall and wait out the rain.
After the storm passed, we walked around the locks, the blockhouse or fortified house that held 15-25 soldiers, the 1905 old lock master house and the dam and spillway. This dam created a Colonel By Lake which we will travel through tomorrow.
We decided to stay here for the night.