We had planned to get an early start and head to Peterborough Marina.

This journey would require us going across Rice Lake and then down Otonabee River and through one lock.

Yes.

That’s right.

Only one lock today!

Rice Lake

Rice Lake is 20 miles long and 2 1/2 miles wide.

And most of the way we had to go 6 miles an hour (10 km).

So slow…

But that pretty much sums up the Trent Severen Waterway.

You are supposed to relax and enjoy the journey.

But I like going my own pace and it’s usually faster than posted.

I have noticed that Sam is more laid back out on the water and I do like that.

Otonabee River

After Rice Lake, we hung a right and went into Otonabee River.

We started to see more activity since it was a Saturday.

The later the day got, the more activity we started to see.

There were kayakers, paddleboarders, fishing boats, ski boats, jet skis, canoes, and paddleboats.

Sam even had to use our horn for the first time.

There was a family pulling three kids on the back of a large tube.

They were all looking back at the kids.

We rounded the corner and were right in front of them.

They didn’t even notice us until Sam blew the horn.

Pretty scary.

This is why I don’t like traveling on the weekend.

But here we are.

Moving right along.

Lock 19

As mentioned, we only had one lock on this trip.

Harmless enough.

We’ve been through more than 50 locks before.

It only rises 8 feet.

Piece of cake.

Wrong.

We had to wait for a jet ski to exit before we could get in and grab cables.

Once we were in place, the back gates closed and the action started.

The wind was fierce.

The rising water created strong currents.

I could barely hold on.

I looked back and the two fenders that I usually put out to protect the stern weren’t there.

I never put them out.

Then, I noticed that I hadn’t raised/lowered the other fenders to protect the side of the boat from the lock wall.

They were still in the position from being tied up to the Hastings wall where we had spent the night.

Not only that but we apparently lost our ball fender that protects the bow.

If I were a “first mate” by profession, I would have been fired!

Sam lost his grip on the stern line and ran up to the bridge.

He started the engines and saved us from crashing into the front and sides of the lock.

The lockmaster came over and said he would slow down the water entering the chamber to make it easier for us to control and fight the wind.

That was the worst lock experience that we had.

Peterborough Marina

As we left Lock 19 and maneuvered through a very narrow area, we approached the marina ready for a port tie-up as instructed.

However, they put us at the end of the dock and we actually needed a starboard tie-up.

That means that I had to move the bow and two midship lines and three of the fenders over to the other side.

Quickly.

Frantically.

Sam is still battling the wind but gets the boat turned around.

We finally get settled in and plug into power.

Then, I see this.

Seeing another lock today is the LAST thing I want to do!

Peterborough

The great thing about Peterborough Marina is that there are so many places that you can walk to – restaurants, boat store, grocery store, etc.

We had some lunch and picked up two new ball fenders.

There was even a festival going on.

We decided to stay in Peterborough for two nights instead of one.

Rev needs another night of Air Conditioning and Sam wants to do some trip planning.

This is a great place to regroup.

Our Thoughts

Our Trip