Smith's Falls to Ottawa and Back

A few days ago I was hell bent on doing a blog entry ranting about those power boaters who don't take responsibility for their destructive wake. But I've calmed down a little, and come to accept that it is part of human nature to destroy the things around us in pursuit of our own wants, whether out of ignorance, or just lack of caring. Serena on the other hand is still pretty pissed, that's why I kept her away from the keyboard. One of the episodes found her down below cutting up cabbage for a coleslaw when we got trashed by one of those destructive humans. Luckily, she still has all of her fingers, and most of the coleslaw was still edible. BTW, to all those power boaters who do watch and control your wake, I commend you, and you have my utmost respect and admiration.

As I mentioned in the last entry, the weather had not been cooperating with us, so we decided to book it to Ottawa, get that part of the trip over with so that we could relax a little on the way back through. I mean really, the entire waterway from Smith's Falls to Ottawa looks like the following picture, and other than looking at the odd cottage, there is nothing to do, or to see.

Ottawa on the other hand is really neat from the boat. We've been there several times by car of course, in fact we lived there for 5 years, but taking our own boat through the waterways of the nations capital city was pretty cool. Docking right down town in the heart of the city. Right directly in front of National Defense Headquarters. The same building that 6 years and 10 days ago I walked into first thing in the morning, handed the security guard my military identification card, giving up a life of servitude for a life of freedom. And not once in those 2200 days since have I regretted that decision. In fact I doubt I ever will.

So what does one do in the nations capital. One does tourist things.

We had lunch down on Sparks street, in an open air cafe.

Two days in a row of course.

We visited and took pictures of the now famous sink hole. By the time we got there they had already dump some 300 truck loads of concrete into it, so it was a little less impressive.

One takes naps in the cockpit, but that happens everywhere.

One plays the guitar in the cockpit. I thought about doing it on the street to make a little change, but the guys that were out doing that didn't look like they were making enough to buy coffee. So I did it for me instead of everybody else.

We walked around the Parliment buildings, and looked at the last 8 locks that we were not going to go thru. It takes 2-4 hours to go down, another 2-4 hours to come up, and the poor lock masters have to do all the cranking by hand. It would be nice to say we did the whole system, but that is just way to cruel to the guys out there in the heat cranking those doors and gates open and closed. So we'll live with the shortcoming. 

And the parliment lawn selfie, no tourist trip to Ottawa would be complete without it. I didn't run into Justin while I was there, apparently he was getting his hair done and wasn't available for coffee.

This little fellow a.almost turned us from cat lovers to dog owners. He was a rescue from the Dominican Republic, and very comfortable on the boat. I was walking back from getting some wifi, and I stopped to pet these three dogs that were running around. Then they followed me back to the boat. I wasn't sure at first if they even had an owner, but after awhile some guy on a cell phone followed along behind. I knock on the hull of the boat and asked Serena if my new three friends could come visit, they followed me home.

Apparently this doesn't happen very often where two boats pass in a flight of locks, us going down, them going up. 

On day two of being downtown we kayaked down the Rideau canal then took this little side creek into a residential area. It was preety cool kayaking downtown, under the bridges; we just had a blast.

We just fit under the Pretoria bridge, I mean just......

Coming into the downtown. So neat bringing our boat into Ottawa.

Let's face it though, we are not really tourists, and being around thousands of people all the time, everyday, is not our cup of tea. I had a hard time watching all the people going to and fro, especially the ones in suits. Thoreau said it best when he said that people are living and dieing in a prison of there own making. It is exactly the type of lifestyle that Serena and I have been trying to avoid, and the city is the poster child for it.

So off we went, back down the system, (see the first picture), to Smith's Falls to load up on provisions and go anchor somewhere quiet.

Showering on the boat. PG rated.

Spending time with other boaters in the locks. You meet some nice ones, and some not so nice ones. We try to be one of the nice ones, but some people make it so hard.

Vita back to one six.

Rideau Canal First Impressions

I have to admit, for many many years of longing to travel the Rideau canal system, I really was not prepared for it. We’ve done canals before, in the Trent, and in the US, but the Rideau is completely different. I think it is the only place we have ever been that reminded me of the old canals in Europe, and the only place we’ve ever been that made Vita seem like too much boat!

It is tiny; and shallow. The locks are small, the lifts are small, the cuts and creeks and rivers, are really really small. There were several places where we would not have been able to be side by side with another Bayfield 29. And we have seen in channel depths as low as 5’, smack dab in the middle of where we are supposed to be. But gorgeous, wow, there is no way that I can put into words the profound feeling you get when being surrounded by nature, much of it pristine. Its kind of like the feeling I get when I go for strolls in the woods, just me and nature, and ahhhhhh.

The weather unfortunately hasn’t been the greatest, with a cold front moving down from the north, and the winds driving the chill right into our bones, it hasn’t felt too much like a summer vacation. I only drove for 5 hours yesterday, but I was done, I had nothing left to give. And today we are staying put, tied up against the lock in Smith’s Falls, hiding below waiting for a chance to escape and tour this cute little city, afraid that we might get blown of the concrete pier should we stick out heads out.

Don’t get me wrong, we have had a some great times in the last few days, and the worst day on the water is still better than the best day behind a desk. I’ve included a couple photos with narrative below, and until the sun comes out.

Vita back to one six.

Looks like hard work eh? 

Ahh, the great white fisherman. I set him free, a little too small to fillet. Ironically this is the only perch we have caught so far, I don't know where they are all hiding, but I wouldn't mind a good feed of perch. Just maybe a little bigger than this one.

Serena has found her new adoptive family. I don't think they know it yet, but she is planning to knock on their door at the earliest possibility and let them in on the secret. Lets face it, who doesn't want this water slide in their back yard?

Our friend Jim from the yacht club was super duper kind to us, letting us borrow his two 8' kayaks for the trip. We love them, and have added them to our purchase list for future money that we hope to find under a rock, or pick from a tree at some point. True to form though, fumble fingers (me) dropped half of one of the paddles into the water beside the dock and watched as it went straight to the bottom with no desire to come back up. Why it wanted to escape so bad, I have no idea, I would have treated it well, only gentle strokes. So, long story short, we bought Jim a new paddle, before we even left the dock to start our trip. We are planning on getting a lot more use out of these in the next few weeks.

Yeah, this part wasn't fun, 

The 401 bridge from the Rideau Canal, we've seen this a thousand times from the other direction, always dreaming of being down below. It may seem funny, but from this point of view, there was no desire to be on the Hwy. Which vantage point would you prefer?

Our first lock of the season, or set of locks. These Rideau locks are beautiful, old school, carved rock walls. And easy to traverse. The lock masters let the water out gently, a little bit at a time, so the ride up is like a warm bath with bubbles, relaxing and enjoyable.

I am not sure this picture does it justice, but you can just make out two green markers down the middle, and a red marker on either side. The red marker on the left had abandoned its post and went to visit some of his friends further down the channel. At times like this, common sense is the only thing that keeps the boat from going aground. Its hard to get upset though, the heavy traffic season is going to start soon, so this little red fellow was just trying to get a short vacation in before the big work started. Can't really blame him for that.

Dinner on the boat. We spent some time fishing in the afternoon, right from the lockstation, and manage to wrangle some tasty crappie out from under the dock. The water here is crystal clear, so there is no worry of contamination at this point in the year. We're hoping to find a few more of these in the weeks to come.

Really. Of all the things to see on route. I can't figure out if this is a retired sailor who just couldn't give it up, or a powerboater trying to get one more of those damn sailboats off the water. It is possible that this sailboat has received the coveted Jeep Trail Rated sticker, and is just proving a point, but either way it was good for a chuckle.

And So The Vacation Begins

I’ve been noticing lately that a lot of the things that we do seem to make others around us uneasy. Some are afraid of water, some are afraid of boats, or bad weather, or being trapped in a small concrete, rock and steal room while thousands of gallons of water come rushing in, (a waterway lock). And a whole host of other things, that to us, seem pretty normal, but to others can be truly terrifying.

I was beginning to think I was immune to these phobia’s and fears, but I’m not, I just don’t wear them on my sleeve, and a few days ago we left our yacht club for a summer of cruising Ontario’s canals, and I was sick to my stomach with anxiety and irrational fear. I couldn’t even pinpoint what was really bothering me, but my stomach was tied in knots anyway. Maybe that’s the point, for some reason my brain does not allow me to notice those fears until I am already knee deep in them. As long, of course, that there is no sharply pitched roofs on the waterway, those I know I have issues with. Brrrr, gives me the willies just thinking about it….

Well I needn’t have worried, Vita preformed flawlessly, the weather was beautiful, and Serena and I were in 7^th heaven once again. Anchored in a little bay with just each other for company. Good food, good beer, and good companionship.

The second day was more of the same, only we got the anchor down early in behind Ram Island, in Hay Bay, and had time to try all kinds of stuff. Serena was on the coach roof in a lawn chair, beer in one hand, and a fishing pole in the other before the engine was idled down.

We spent the day kayaking, fishing, swimming, and just chillaxin. It was the reason we wanted to go cruising in the first place.

Day three had us move to Collins Bay Marina in Kingston, to take advantage of the free overnight dockage that our reciprocal agreement with the yacht club allowed. We picked up some marine hardware, some groceries, and went to our favourite restaurant for pasta, the Pasta Shelf. A long hard day that saw us in bed early.

That’s where the blue skies ended. The fourth day saw a bad weather forecast continuing for the next three days; move now, or get stuck. I knew we shouldn’t have stopped in Kingston, but the lure of pasta had my brain not thinking right. The forecast was for 40 km/h winds with gusts to 50. Bullshit, I’ve been in lots of 50 km\h winds (25 knots), and had a great time sailing, this was more like 70 km/h, at least. It was brutal. We got the living crap beat out of us. The few boats that were out were large sailboats with barely scraps of sail up, and they were healed right over. Unfortunately Vita does not currently have a mast, because we are doing the canals this year, and they have a height restriction that does not allow it. So we did not have the wonderful stabilizing effect of the sails to calm the ride. A swell coming off of Lake Ontario, and wind driven waves from another direction made for a terribly confused sea and a very rough ride. There were times we would role and I would swear that the keel was trying to come out of the water, and times when I could watch the bowsprit sink beneath the waves. Only a sailor would take a power boat out in that crap, and Vita is effectively a power boat right now. Add to this rain coming down in sheets so thick it was like a pea soup fog had rolled in. One of these rain squalls hit us as we were trying to enter Kingston Harbour. We had a following sea at that point, thank god, but the Wolf Island ferry was leaving, and two sailboats under sail were headed straight at us. Rules of the road be damned, I knew the ferry wasn’t going to get out of my way, and there was no way those two sailboats were going to be able to avoid me in that mess, so we swung Vita around and back out towards the lake in order to make enough room for everyone. Once all the potential collisions were over with, we headed back into the harbour unmolested, and aimed for the little bridge opening in heavy winds and a following sea. Parts of me didn’t un-pucker until we were shot through the hole under the highway into the relative calm of the waters behind. And so we started the Rideau Canal system, its starting to feel like a vacation now.

Vita back to one six.