CAMPBELLFORD to HASTINGS

Thursday we "buddy boated" from CAMPBELLFORD to HASTINGS. It was a delightful day with good weather and great comradery! The entire trip was about 6 hours, and we cleared another six Locks. 

Once arriving in HASTINGS, we stayed on the town wall with three other boats ( All "Loopers"). HASTINGS is right on the Trent River,  in what is considered to be Ontario's "Cottage Country".  The motto of HASTNGS is "The HUB of the Trent". It serves as a center for tourists, boats and fisherman.

The best part of our HASTINGS port stop was to share dinner conversation with two other Looping couples. The highlight of the evening was learning a new dice game...lots of laughing and stories into the night, with a spectacular rainbow over the River to end our wonderful day!

Good morning ... Waiting for Lock 13 to open with Thistle and Pura Vida on the Blue Line.

Water rushing out of the lock.

Our navigation course from CAMPBELLFORD to HASTINGS (Green Line).

Every Lock has colorful summer flowers, Lock 14 was favorite !

Reenie got to help open Lock 14.

The Trent Severn Waterway Poster.

"Cottage Country"...Very diverse and fun to make up stories along the way!  A slide with amphitheater seating, who wants an ice cream cone on their front yard and a blue interior fishing boat?

Entering Healey Falls Locks 16 & 17.

Double Smile & Double Locks!

HASTINGS mooring wall.

Lots of fishing in HASTINGS.

We both decided to join in the fun with Canadian Fishing Licenses, spinning poles and reels with colorful lures!  

Who will catch the fish first ?

FARKLE !!!!!!! 

Good Night.

  

LOCK 6 to CAMPBELLFORD

Wednesday morning we traveled on the Trent Severn Waterway from LOCK 6 to CAMPBELLFORD. It was a beautiful sunny day with very little wind (quite a change from the day before). 

We traveled for seven hours and cleared six locks. Entering Lock 7 we met up with fellow Loopers from Michigan on Pura Vida. It was a pleasure locking together for the day and enjoying "Docktails" that evening.

It was easy to enjoy the scenery along the river hurrying to CAMPBELLFORD for the towns Wednesday night summer concert series. CAMPBELLFORD traces it's history back to 1834. It is a vibrant art community and is particularly known for the music scene.

A very still morning pushing off from our morning wall at LOCK 6 entering "Danger Narrows" on the waterway.

Our navigation course for the day (Green Line).

Along the waterway we saw: A Beaver Dam, "Cribs" placed by Loggers over 100 years ago and Turtles sunning on Lily Pads.

Six Locks today :)

Our first Double Lift Lock...At Ranney Falls on the Trent Severn Waterway (Locks 11&12).

Docked for one night on the town wall in CAMPBELLFORD (Our locking partners on Pura Vida  are on the wall in front of a Thistle).

We rode bikes to the CAMPBELLFORD suspension bridge and walked across.

Scenic CAMPBELLFORD: A nice bike trail along the River, There is a 27 foot high Toonie ($2 Canadian coin) statue in the CAMPBELLFORD park (the coin was designed by a local artist).

What more do you need? .....A Pub, a Chocolate Factory and Dooher's Bakery!

The Wednesday night concert at the park gazebo ... We Listened to the music while relaxing on Thistle.

THE TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY

We started traveling the historic TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY. Today we cleared the first six locks and are on the mooring wall in the small town of Frankford. Our weather today was a mix of sun and rain with strong SW winds 15-20 knots and much higher gusts! 

The TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY connects two of the Great Lakes, Ontario and Huron. The Waterway is 240 miles long with 44 locks, starting in Trenton and ending in Severn. The clearance is 22 feet (we lowered Thistle's mast to be safe ) and the depth is 6 feet. The Waterway was initially used for military, industry and transport of goods. It is now maintained by Parks Canada for recreation and tourism. Samuel Champlain was the first to travel this route in 1615.

The TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY is a key component of this summer's Great Loop Adventure!

Looper Tip:  Check your strainer daily on the TRENT SEVERN, there are lots of weeds!

Map of the TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY.

Waterway history.

The Gateway ! 

Six Locks today (7.2 miles - 3 hours).

We saw a turtle and an osprey on the Waterway!

Along the Waterway, we are lifting in the locks.

Power at Lock 6 and watch out for weeds!

Happy at lock six.

Greg & Reenie on the Waterway with Skipper Bob ! 

Thistle sleeping on the Blue Line tonight ( with the lock masters approval :).

New items aboard for summer 2015: SPF Bimini, 7 quick release lock buoy holders and 2 new round fenders.

Good night moon.

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY to BAY of QUINTE

We traveled from Picton to The Bay of QUINTE ...intending to stop in Trenton, but due to an impending rain storm we stopped in Belleville for the night. The following morning we continued to Trenton under windy conditions. 

Our stop in Belleville was easy. A very sleepy town (especially on Sunday night). The town Marina was nice and the dock hands (college students) super helpful. They even provided bikes for guests :) We rode the guest bikes along the River front trail and enjoyed dinner aboard Thistle. 

Trenton, also on The BAY of QUINTE, is the start of the historic Trent Severn Waterway. We spent the day provisioning in order to get an early start, weather permitting! We had a great dinner at a recommended Italian restaurant and then watched the USA women's World Cup Soccer game vs Columbia in a local pub...Yeah a "W" for the USA team!

We are very excited to start the Trent Severn...more about the Waterway on the next post :) 

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY to The BAY of QUINTE:

Sunday - The Red Line, Picton to Belleville (4 hours)

Monday - Blue Line, Belleview to Trenton (2 hours)

Canadian Emergency Rescue Practice in the Bay of QUINTE.

Thistle on the dock at the Belleville Marina.

Bike ride along the Moira River in Belleville.  

We enjoyed visiting The Bay of QUINTE Yacht Club. this club was established in 1876.

There was a Bass Fishing Tournament! We saw lots of serious fishermen, but no fish?

Belleville City Hall. 

Stormy skies on The BAY of QUINTE.

Frasier Park Marina in Trenton.. 

We provisioned at a great Delicatessen in Trenton. The shop owner Erin was very nice and helpful :)

 

Dinner at Tomasso's in Trenton. We shared a Caesar Salad and seared Scallops with Asparagus & Fennel...Delicious!

Our view from Thistle ... Good night, listening to rain drops and dreaming of the Trent Severn Waterway XO

GANANOQUE to PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY

Friday morning we departed from GANANOQUE for a long 6 hour trip to PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. The weather conditions were sunny with a breezy tailwind (15-20 knots).  We arrived at the Picton town dock in the afternoon and stayed two nights.

The town of Picton has beautiful historic homes. The town was named after General Sir James Picton, who was second in command at the Battle of Waterloo. Picton is the largest town in PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY. 

PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY is a popular wine region in Ontario. We visited a few of the wineries by bike, and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of wine! Our favorite was the Pinot Noir at the Norman Hardie Winery :) 

The best part of our stay in Picton was the fun people we met wine tasting. Our new Canadian friends were impressed we rode the 28 kilometers to the wine region from our boat....and the best part is they had a bike rack and offered a lift back to our boat! Crazy nice and appreciated beyond belief... Thanks XO

Our 50 nautical mile course from GANANOQUE to PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY.

Beautiful day to be on Thistle. 

Today we saw boats of all different sizes and shapes.

Thistle on the "Yellow" Line at the Picton Dock Wall. The infamous "Yellow" Line was freshly painted ( still wet?) to start the summer season!

Historic Picton homes.

Biking on the Millennium Trail... An old railroad track now for biking or hiking in the summer and cross county skiing in the winter.

Our 28 kilometer bike ride trail to wine tasting (luckily one way)!

Some of our favorite stops on the wine trail: Norman Hardie, Hinterland and Rosehall Run.

Riding on a Country Road :)

Gorgeous PRINCE EDWARD COUNTY vineyards...

It gets so cold in this Region, the vines must be cut and hand buried in soil each winter and hand uncovered each spring.  This particular vineyard has 65 acres and eleven Phillipino crop handlers.  

Cheers ... To new friends :)

The Sunday morning Picton Farmers Market: shortbread (thought our WWF's peeps would appreciate the display), fancy dog collars and "Lambie" a baby pet goat who decided to follow Reenie around the market.