Hastings! Day 49

Day 49: It was cloudy and overcast when we awoke with a forecast for rain on Thursday morning, 7/13….yuck! It had been a strong rain overnight and the clouds were passing. Rain in the forecast til 9:30/10:00 am, then more clear. After consultation with the four other boats (Sea the USA, Bommerang, Knot Dreaming and GloriaUS) we decided to throw off lines at 9:30 and go. With Knot Dreaming and Legacy in the lead, we took on the first lock with a port tie at Campbellford followed by Sea the USA, GloriaUS and Boomerang.

Campbellford (lock 13) went just fine for all, then it was on to a starboard side tie at Lock 14. Moving the dirty, mucky, yucky gross lock muck covered fenders from side to side, Knot Dreaming and Legacy sailed through Lock 14 at Crowe Bay without an issue, but it proved to be a bit of a problem in the wind for Sea The USA and GloriaUS. Boomerang saw all the commotion in the lock and decided to hang back and lock through on their own! In the end, Sea The USA and GloriaUS had stories to tell at the pub about boats getting sideways, dropped and broken boat hooks, loose fenders and the like; all to be kept amongst loopers!

We continued on blissfully, not aware of the chaos in Lock 14, to locks 15 and 16/17 in flight, meaning the 2 locks are back to back each with a 22 foot vertical lift. We were told to expect turbulence, which we didn’t experience, but we still marveled at the engineering. Here we saw the Trent’s biggest dam and total vertical lift in this flight of locks of 76 feet. All that went well. What caught our attention, however, was the winds as we rose to the top of the final lock: 15-20 knots slightly to our port side with whitecaps and 1-2 foot seas. Wow – what a difference 76 feet makes!

We continued on, knowing Legacy was built for this, but worried a bit about the 39 and 25 foot boats behind us. Such a blessing the rough seas mellowed quickly around the corner, just a half a mile up river, so we quickly communicated back to the rest of the flotilla as they came out of that lock. They knew it was a short bumpy ride with a happy ending.

The rest of the day was just quick twists and turns as we followed the charts and kept in the channel (for the most part). We did bump bottom with too wide a turn to the starboard after the Healey’s Fall Locks before Hastings. Like I said on a previous post…. In these waters, you’ve either bumped bottom, you are lying, or you will….Well we did! Regardless of the bump, it was an idyllic ride through the picturesque rivers/countryside of Canada showcasing beautiful islands and riverside summer homes/campgrounds. The winds calmed to a gentle 5-10 knots and the water relatively flat. There were a few jet skis out jumping wakes and doing donuts, but all in all, not many people out on the water.

We arrived at Hastings around 2:30 in the afternoon and waited for the rest of our fleet to arrive. Little did we know what a tough trip it had been for them in the wind in the locks. Legacy weighs in at 88,000 lbs dry which is at least twice the weight of their boats. That’s a big deal!With twin screws and bow and stern thrusters, she maneuvers very well versus the challenge of a single screw with only bow or no thrusters. At the end of the day, we all arrived safely, ended up at the pub for a “safe arrival drink” and stories to tell around 5:00, had appetizers at the pub, retired to our boats for dinner and regrouped for ice cream around 7:30 pm.

Tomorrow – we head on through Rice Lake (20 Miles long and 3 Miles wide) to Peterborough, where we will finally be reunited with our mail after 6 weeks. Rice Lake is a place, however, we are not just wanting to pass through, but are wishing to experience and truly savor!