Trent-Severn Waterway, Peterborough to Buckhorn, Ontario to Bobcaygeon

We arrived in Buckhorn, Ontario, at about noon on 5 July. IRISH AYES and XPLORER tied to the lock wall at Lock 31, and SEAQUEL went into Buckhorn Yacht Harbor about a mile from us. After getting settled, we all walked (through the woods) to the marina to meet Barry and Sheryl, drank an adult beverage with them, and then walked into Buckhorn. Not a big town, but typical of the small Canadian towns that are situated near locks. After a brief walk around the town, we all went back to our boats for dinner, boat chores, and rest. Tomorrow, we head to Bobcaygeon.

One of the interesting boats we have encountered at locks in Canada is this tour boat. It barely fits in the lock, and lengthwise it is too long, so they have to fold up the bow in order to close the lock doors. There are only inches to spare when it is in the lock.

It’s about 20 miles from Buckhorn to Bobcaugeon, and we covered that distance in about two hours, since we had only one lock, Lock 32, to get through. We were tied to the lock wall by 11:30, and were ready to go see the town.

The trip from Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon was breathtaking. The day was overcast, but the lack of sunshine did not take away from the beauty of this area. We traveled through the Kawartha Lakes, which is a series of lakes joined by canals and locks. This area is an outdoorsman’s paradise. If you are a nature/water lover, you can boat, fish, ski, canoe/kayak, swim, windsurf, camp, and enjoy other recreational activities. We were told that this part of the trip would be one of the highlights of Canada, and it was true. We traveled Clear Lake, Stony Lake, and Hells Gate and saw spectacular scenery. There were numerous lakeside homes and cottages with single homes/cottages and a church on islands accessible only by boat. The church holds services during the months of July and August only. These areas are also known for being very shallow with rocks both above and below the surface, hence the name Hells Gate, so we watched our charts carefully through here and made it just fine.

Bobcaygeon is a bit larger than Buckhorn and Lakefield, and the lock is right in the center of town. There’s nothing like a large audience as you are trying to get into a small lock with three other boats, and look like you know what you are doing. We had a good lock through and were thankful that we had only one lock to go through today. The past few days we have gone through several locks in a day, which can be very tiring and stressful if the weather conditions are not good, such as high winds!

The crew from SEAQUEL rode their bikes from their marina over to the lock wall, and then we all walked into Bobcaygeon to see the city. As you can see from this picture, the town folks don't like other people's dogs to mess in their yards.

The first place we visited was an ice cream store, which has become an obligatory stop for us in each town. Canadians seem to love ice cream even more than we do, and there are numerous places to get it in each town, no matter how small. Our cholesterol levels are going to be off the charts after this trip!!

After a visit to a hardware store and other shopping places, we all headed back to our boats for some R & R. We all met again at 6pm for dinner at the El Toro Family Restaurant. Based on its name, we thought it might be a Mexican restaurant, but it was not. Just a local family restaurant that served an average menu, and the only item that could be called Mexican was Fajitas. After dinner we walked around town for a while, and then headed back to the boats for the night.

On Saturday morning, we, and Mike and Cathy from XPLORER, walked into town to Grany’s, which is a bakery with a wide variety of homemade pies, cakes, breads, pastries, etc., that made your mouth water just looking at them. We checked out this store on Friday as we were scoping out the town, and decided at that point that we would definitely make it there on Saturday for breakfast. We are happy to report that we were not disappointed--the pastries were delicious.

We have a tentative travel plan for the next week thanks to the two Mikes and Barry who met early afternoon on Saturday to come up with a plan. We don’t have to be in Penetanguishene, on Georgian Bay, until 20 July, so we have plenty of time to make it there without rushing.

We ended the day by grilling out on Saturday evening and eating dinner on a picnic table outside our boat, with Mike and Cathy. I hate to admit that, afterwards, we walked to Kawartha Dairy for what else, an ice cream. Do you get the idea that we really like this ice cream?

Next stop Fenelon Falls, Lock 34.