Ahoy!

Parks Canada Overview Map of Trent-Severn Waterway – click anywhere on the image to enlarge it

Here are some general statistics and graphics from our summer 2025 cruise:

Port Severn To Trenton Statistics – Elevation Changes and Distances Lock to Lock. NOTE: Lindsday Lock 33 is excluded because it is a side trip off the main route. Click anywhere on the image to enlarge it.

Where to next? We have already started contemplating our adventures for next year. Trent-Severn Waterway again, Georgian Bay & North Channel, Rideau Waterway, Ottawa River to Montreal? So many choices – only time will tell.

We only have about 280 more “sleeps” before we launch in 2026 – so we’d better get going on those plans 🙂

Cheers!

Wally & Catherine

Home Base in London
42°56’59.2908″N, 81°14’55.8240″W
What3Words: ///liberating.leveraged.attention

Never mind the Buckhorn, we were going to need a shoehorn! So much “stuff”! We worked for about two hours then went for breakfast at Main Street Café.

I had a final meeting with Peter and Ralph at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour to discuss fall/winter projects for Belisama. They will start some work soon; other work will happen after Christmas and New Year’s. “First” on the list of improvements is to get rid of that “Bonkers, I say bonkers,” fuel tank selector system – good riddance!!!!!!!

Cath defrosted the fridge and packed up the contents of it plus the pantry. I emptied the water tanks and cleaned the toilets.

We got away around 12:30 pm on another spectacular day. It was strange to be driving in the car knowing that we won’t be back to the boat for several months. This is the first time in over 30 years I have ever left a boat in the water at the end of the season and had someone else haul it out, winterize it and prepare it for long term storage. We hope Belisama won’t be too lonely without us!

Bye bye for now Belisama – thank you for all of the wonderful adventures and memories!

The drive home took several hours longer than we anticipated but that’s OK. We didn’t want anything to do with the 407 or 401. We took  a cross country route along lots of back roads. The driving was easy, and the scenery was fabulous.

Some roads on our cross country trip were through very hilly areas but the road stayed straight as an arrow! Click anywhere on the image to enlarge

The only thing that could have made the drive better was for the fall colours to be on full display. There were only a few glimpses of reds and yellows.

Hints of fall colours were in many places – in a few weeks this will be a spectacular drive – click anywhere on the image to enlarge it

We stopped several times to stretch our legs and for lunch and dinner. Finally, we arrived home at 10:30pm. We only took the refrigerator stuff out of the car – the rest could wait until tomorrow!

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight! Too bad we won’t be on the water tomorrow 🙁 . Click anywhere on the image to enlarge it

Driving home with the help of our GPS tablet

We used our GPS enabled tablet to help us get home. This is the same device that we used all summer long with our marine navigation software. Ain’t technology grand! 🙂 . A funny quirk about the two different software applications – when we were using our Navionics marine navigation software we were unable to see the screen while wearing sunglasses – the screen just looks black! At first I thought it was just because I have cheap sunglasses, but no, everyone else on the boat had the same issue. However, when we were driving home in the car using Sygic GPS navigation software for the roads, we could see the screen just fine with our sunglasses on. I’ll send a note to Navionics and ask them about this.

Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Home Base in London
42°56’59.2908″N, 81°14’55.8240″W
What3Words: ///liberating.leveraged.attention

We spent a very low-key day unpacking the car, getting laundry organized, contacting family and friends, watering the gardens which have stood up well. The green frog is still in the pond which makes us both happy. We were feeling a little jet lagged, wondering if all of the events of the summer actually happened!

Peter sent a couple of photos of Belisama out of the water and on a trailer, so this was good to know. The season and the wonderful trip have drawn to a close. Now we shift gears to get back to usual routines with an eye to next summer!

Belisama just hauled out and ready for a washdown

Belisama on her way to her winter storage location

Thanks Aunt Betty for the lasagna and butter tarts! Heaven!

That’s just about it for blog posts for our summer of 2025 cruising adventures. We had an amazing time despite encountering a few challenges along the way. Cath and I make a great team – no matter where we go or what we do in our lives. I have so much to be grateful for.

In another few days I will post one more blog entry with some statistics and technical details about our cruise.

Cheers!

Another Overnight at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.9224″N, 78°21’3.5568″W
What3words: ///butter.flail.loiter

Sue and Peter arrived around 10:00am to drive us to Orillia to get our car. It felt like a very fast trip past Fenlon Falls, Bobcaygeon, Kirkfield, etc. to Orillia. What took us days on the boat only took us a little over 90 minutes by car – travelling 90+ kph vs. 10 kph (48 knots vs. 5 knots).

All the places identified in red we went through by boat – and either through or passed by in the car! Click anywhere on the image to enlarge

We enjoyed a lunch out with Sue and Peter before going to my cousin’s son’s (Steve) place to retrieve the car. Steve had very kindly started the car up once a week to preserve the battery. Thanks Steve for helping us out! Thanks to Sue and Peter for driving us and making that trip very enjoyable.

Belisama moored on the wall at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina – we’ve been here before! 🙂

We took a leisurely drive back to Buckhorn. We started to take “stuff” off the boat and load into the car. I began to worry that it was going to be tight as I underestimated how much “stuff” is coming home with us.

Racing boat on Buckhorn Lake – several high speed boats passed back and forth in front of us. Surprising how fast they go but create next to no wake! Click anywhere in the image to enlarge it

I had a follow-up discussion with Peter about fall/winter projects for Belisama. Amanda from the Top Shop came to the boat to discuss new coverings for cushions in galley and with her help, we picked out a fabric. She can work on this project in the winter.

We drove to Pizza Alloro in Buckhorn for a quick dinner.  It was to be our last night on the boat which makes us both sad but looking forward to getting home!

Tomorrow we finish packing and head home to London.

Cheers!

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.9224″N, 78°21’3.5568″W
What3words: ///butter.flail.loiter

We left Burleigh Falls around 10:00am. The next lock was Lovesick Lake, which is a beautiful spot, very isolated with no road access. Staff for this lock have to drive a boat over from Burleigh Falls Lock in the morning and return at night. We made a note that this is another place that would be lovely to stay at next year.

Area Perspective – Burleigh Falls, Lovesick Lake, Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina – Click anywhere on the image to enlarge

The passage from Lovesick Lake to Buckhorn is tricky in places so watching the navigational markers was critical. The water is very shallow on each side of these little islands with lots of rocks just below the surface! We kept reminding each other – red right return!

Red right return, red right return!

It wasn’t busy at Buckhorn Lock 31, so we were able to motor right in. Our last lock of the season was easy and anti-climactic! It was only a short jaunt from the lock to the Buckhorn Yacht Harbour marina, where we arrived at 12:20 pm. We tied up on the wall behind a beautifully restored Chris Craft. This boat looked like it just came out of the show room! Hopefully Belisama will look this good someday soon. Right now I tell people that Belisama is a “100 footer” – meaning that if you are standing 100 feet away she looks really good!

Restored Chris Craft at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour

I met with Peter in the afternoon to discuss haul out, winterization and projects for improving Belisama. Cath began organizing and packing for the trip home. We had a “clean out the fridge” supper over which we reminisced about the summer, with mixed feelings about leaving.

Tomorrow we begin to unload Belisama for the winter.

Cheers!

A Second Overnight at Lakefield Lock 26
44°25’11.2080″N, 78°16’14.1852″W
What3Words: ///conga.caring.secretly

We decided to spend another night at Lakefield. This is a very quiet and pretty spot plus the ability to connect to shore power for a very reasonable cost ($10/day) is another incentive.

I spent some more time working on the blog and then shifted over to doing some research on navigation software for the laptop that can utilize Navionics brand charts. When I first started travelling aboard our Nauticat motorsailer “Ananda” I discovered a marine navigation software program from Norway called “TIKI Navigator”. It was relatively inexpensive and used Navionics charts. It was also very simple to understand and to make the most of what it had to offer.

TIKI Navionics Gold – Marine Navigation Software

I used TIKI from 2010 until 2022 when we sold Santosha. Their website is still active so I purchased new Navionics charts and then tried to buy a licensed version of TIKI Navigator – but there is something wrong with their website and also with the person/people who operate it. I can download a trial copy of the software and the website accepts payment for a license, but then they don’t follow up on the purchase and send a license/activation code. I tried several times to reach them but have had no success. Fortunately PayPal has refunded our money so now we will have to find an alternative software.

Catherine went for a walk into the village of Lakefield to check things out and then she spent some more time working on the Sunbrella window coverings. The front windows of the boat are oddly shaped and it’s tricky trying to set up a pattern to work from. This is also something that is difficult to work on unless you are at the boat. It’s fine to take all kinds of measurements and then work on the coverings at home – but because of all the odd shapes and the fact that the window frames protrude almost an inch from the window glass – that makes measuring and cutting that much more complicated. Oh well, I am confident that she will get it done nicely. When she is sewing I try to stay out of the way and be supportive. When I am working on the engines the roles are reversed! Pink and blue jobs!

Belisama’s front window coverings – angles and protrusions everywhere!

Catherine told me that she found a very nice café in the village that is within easy walking distance from the boat – even for me! We will go there tomorrow morning for coffee and a light breakfast before casting off.

Catherine also found several beautiful heritage homes and lovely gardens in the village – including the home of Canadian author Margaret Laurence. She lived in Lakefield from the early 1970’s until her death in 1987. If you look closely at the photo you will see to the right of front porch a stone angel in the garden, as homage to her iconic work “The Stone Angel.”

Margaret Laurence’s House in Lakefield – click anywhere in the image to enlarge it

Tomorrow we head for Young’s Point or Burleigh Falls – final decision not made quite yet. Our summer cruise is coming to an end. That makes us a bit sad but we are also looking forward to getting back home, sleeping in our own bed, having a shower in a bathroom that hasn’t been used by dozens before us and to not have to worry about fuel tanks and toilet tank pump outs.

Cheers!