Bye Bye Rideau Canal

I am afraid I am behind my time yet again. We have been home for a week, and its been at least two since the last blog entry. Busy busy.....

So we left Smith's Falls, looking for a place to get away from the hustle and bustle, in an anchorage where we would be protected from the heavy southwest winds that were expected for a couple of days. We tied up on a Parks Canada mooring ball in front of Colonel By Island in the middle of Big Rideau Lake. We would have liked to tie up to the last mooring ball around the south corner, as it had the best protection, but there was a pile of people at the island, and almost every space was taken. Sure as the sun comes up though, all the boaters cleared out around supper time, and we got our opportunity to move to the choice spot. In fact we would have the island virtually to ourselves for the next 4 days.

Colonel By Island has to be the jewel of the Rideau system. For as much fun as it was to take our boat thru the Nations Capital, it was twice the fun to have an Island to ourselves for a few days.

On Monday the winds blew in strong. And although we had the best mooring ball of the bunch, Vita was bucking like a wild steer, so we spent the day on shore, reading, sun tanning, and playing tennis in the tennis court left over from a previous tenant. Someone had left racquets and a tennis ball for everyone to use, so we played away the afternoon joking about being Serena Williams and John McRnroe, if only because they are the only two famous tennis names we could think of.

It is a great spot. Over the 4 days we went swimming in the beautiful clear waters more times than I can count, we kayaked through the archipelago of islands, and lost lake; we went for dinghy rides, read books, relaxed, enjoyed sundowners, and just really enjoyed each others company in a lovely place, void of the intrusion of world. The only other people we spoke to were a couple of guys on their first kayak trip, who stayed the night at the island. It was eden, and it made up for any of the bad crap we had to put up with the rest of the trip.

However, all good things must come to an end. And between our planned scheduling, weather, and some other interesting places we want to check out, we figured we had better get a move on. Besides, lets face it, the weekend crowd would have ruined our opinion of the place, and in that ruined the memory of a truly great time.

So we headed out on Thursday morning looking to check out Jones Falls. The lock station has four locks, a turning basin, and one of the most impressive damns I have ever seen. They also have a rather short, but rugged walking trail that was a lot of fun. And, as always seems to happen with cruisers, the world gets smaller and smaller with every person you meet. Well, we met a lovely french couple on a Monk 36 who just happen to be the parents of a young man who with his wife and two children had made the trip down the eastern seaboard to Florida 3 years. ago. The same year we did. And wouldn't you know it, they were on a Bayfield 40 that we locked through the dismal swamp with. I had pictures of their boat on my computer, and their son had remembered our little Bayfield 29. No matter how many times its proven to me, I am still amazed at the little things that make this world shrink to human size.

Jones Falls, however, is where the trip went to hell. We got stuck waiting over 3 hours to get through the lock. We had intended to go a little anchorage just below the falls in a quiet little spot to do some kayaking and swimming for the day, but we were so disenchanted that we decided to move further down the system and anchor in Cranberry Lake. That way we would be able to get out of the system the following day, and we might still get a swim in.

Another plan shot to hell, as we got to Cranberry Lake and discovered it was choked tight with weeds. What was a beautiful lake on the way up two weeks previously, was now a big swamp. Oh to hell with it, lets get out of here! We managed to make the last flight of locks at Kingston Mills right at the end of the day, and tied up to their dock at the bottom of the locks at 7:00 pm. The bottom end of the Rideau was like one big weed bed. The warm sunny weather, combined with the unusually clean water had choked the system right up. Vita was having a hard time getting through because of the weeds wrapped around her prop. At one point we were down to 2 knots, and I kept stopping to put her in reverse to try and dislodge the hitchhikers. I would not have wanted to try to do this trip in late July. In fact, I don't think we could have made it.

We woke early on Saturday. We were headed out through Kingston and back to one of our favorite anchorages behind Ram Island in Hay Bay. It was a picturesque morning. The temperature was perfect, the sun was bright, the wind was calm, and we were all by ourselves. We saw very little in the way of traffic. In fact I spent most of the morning in a clothing optional state, it was perfect.

Down behind Ram Island, we were planning to wait out a storm that never emerged. We swam, kayaked, relaxed, and even got Lifeline, our Walker Bay dinghy out for a sail around the Island. A nice end to the trip.

After a couple of days we decided to head home, originally expecting to take two days, we changed those plans and made the 6 1/2 hour run for the Yacht Club. Well, 8 hours later, and a very uncomfortable ride, we made it home. The wind had clocked around from the southwest to the west during the trip, almost seeming to fight us every time we made a direction change. And it was a very strong wind. I had heard people talk about Big Bay being rough in a good blow, and I can remember chuckling to myself, cause lets face it, its a tiny body of water, at least in comparison to some of the places we've been. Well, I take it back, and to the person that I quietly laughed at, I am very sorry. Don't get me wrong, it was dangerous, but it was cantankerous, short steep waves, right on the nose. It was slow going, and then every few minutes a set of waves would come along, slamming into Vita's hull and stopping her cold. Not a place I would have preferred to be.

Overall we are glad we did the trip. Going through Ottawa was cool. Seeing the old manually operated locks and bridges, double cool. Just living aboard Vita again was incredible, and felt like where we were supposed to be. However, I don't think we will do the system again in a sailboat. A houseboat would be neat, or even a small trawler. But I think the real glory of the Rideau would be to do it in a canoe or kayak. So right now we are tentatively planning to make the trip from Kingston to Ottawa in the kayaks in two years. Vita will be in Florida on the hard for hurricane season, and we will be back in Ontario for a few months, so it is the perfect time.

Please enjoy the following pics with narrative.

Vita back to one six.

I love these pics. Which one of these is upright. The top one or the bottom one. It was a very calm, very clear morning.

Colonel By Island was hit by a tornado in 1985, and some of the trees that got knocked down still survived. Although they don't really look like normal trees. It was odd, but neat at the same time. Nature really will find a way.

Lost lake, no fishing allowed, and surrounded by islands. I was shocked at how deep the water was. I though it would be a swamp, but when we kayaked through, it dropped off pretty good.

Colonel By had a nice hiking trail. And all the green you see on the ground are thousands of tiny maple trees. 

Serena Williams

John McEnroe

The water got really thin in some spots, but Vita never went aground. Not so for Lifeline. It looked like there was enough water to get between the islands, there however was not, and Serena wanted to make sure she documented the Captains decision to try it.

The trail at Jones Falls, although short, was the best walk of the trip. Rugged and steep at times. Wish it was 10 miles longer.

The damn at Jones Falls. crazy big. All made with hand hewn stone blocks.

This lock was tight. When we tied up ready to go down, Serena could touch the bridge from her position on the bow.

Tell me this isn't heaven. Ray (the autopilot) was driving, the weather was perfect, and I sat on a lawn chair on the bow watching the world go by at 5 knots.

Lifeline is a blast to sail. It took us a bit to get past the island, tacking back and forth with the wind on the nose, but then on a broad reach, she just flew. Now if only I could learn to sail..........