Overnight at Upper Brewers Lock

44°24′48″ N 76°18′46″ W

Our next destination was Upper Brewer’s Lock. We heard there might be cold beer there.

Lot’s of mooring space at the dock but no brewery in sight! I guess I must have imagined the craft brewery there serving up free cold brews. Oh well, we still had some cold ones in the fridge.

Shortly after we arrived at Upper Brewers the available mooring spaces filled up in a hurry! The Kawartha Voyager cruise boat was our neighbor for the night.

We had lots of fun chatting with the crew & the guests. I talked a bit with the Captain. He said they were having a very good season. All trips on the Rideau & the Trent-Severn were sold out last year & this year too. It’s obvious that he & his crew take great care of all of their guests. Several of them commented that they were having a wonderful time.

Our flybridge seating area was on the same level as the KV’s dining room deck. I asked the chef what was for dinner tonight & she replied “roast beef”.

I told her that we were available for the first seating but she didn’t take me up on the offer. No surprise there as I was dressed in my favorite oil stained shorts, my paint stained t-shirt & my raggy Bulleit Bourbon baseball cap. Plus I hadn’t had a shower fo several days. I don’t think their cruise guests would appreciate sharing their space.

Oh well, Glenn & I made the best of it. I put him to work on the BBQ. We had Spam “steaks” sautéed in extra virgin olive oil, sea salt & peppercorns along with BBQ’d red peppers & boiled baby potatoes with real butter – all washed down with authentic French red wine!

This was certainly Michelin level cuisine (or more likely the last of the provisions in a Northern Michigan hunting camp). No dress code on this ship’s dining room.

Poor Glenn – he’s such a good sport!

Bon Appetite!

Overnight in Jones Falls

44°32′52″ N 76°14′22″ W

We left Chafey’s Lock about 9:00am & headed for Jones Falls. The mooring spots at the upper lock is one of my favourite spots on the entire Rideau System. It’s also a popular spot with many other boaters so I wanted to get there early so we could get a nice spot.

We were in luck! We arrived around 2:00pm & tied up in exactly the spot I wanted to be.

A few hours later all of the available spaces there were filled up.

Glenn & I celebrated our good fortune with a Radler (or two) & then we went exploring the area.

After we got back to the boat I thought that it would be a good opportunity for me to finish installing my navigation lights.

Glenn was helping as much as he could, but there wasn’t much room to maneuver. He did manage to photo document the critical steps for me.

After that job was completed we celebrated with a Margarita & then I put Glenn to work on the BBQ.

Cheers!

2 Nights at Chafey’s Lock

44°34′43″ N 76°19′13″ W

Newboro is the highest point on the Rideau System. When you leave Ottawa & head towards Kingston all of the locks take you “up” until you reach Newboro. Once you pass through the lock at Newboro all of the locks take you “down” until you reach Kingston.

Newboro is also & important point on the trip because all of the channel marker colours are reversed at this point.

If you are headed to Newboro from Ottawa the red channel marker is always on your right (starboard) side & the green channel marker is on your left (port) side.

If you are headed to Kingston from Newboro then the channel marker on your left (port) side should always be red & the marker on the right (starboard) side should be green.

Whoa – I confused the heck out of myself simply writing those few paragraphs!

Anyway, we arrived at Chafey’s Lock early in the afternoon. As usual, the upper side of the lock is a “happening” place. I think it has something to do with the close proximity of the LCBO (liquor store). The overnight mooring spots were all taken so we decided to go down to the lower walls where there was lots of room & electricity hookups.

We had a quiet afternoon & Glenn helped me hook up the water pump for the air conditioning unit.

The humidity has been high so the AC was a welcome addition. Especially as we were deeply into the backgammon tournament. I was getting whupped regularly but no matter – its the company I’m with that means the most.

After all that hot work we refreshed ourselves with a few cold Radlers & then walked over to the LCBO to replenish the bar. Glenn also introduced me to one of his favourite red wines. Delicious. I’ll have to remember that one for sure!

The next morning we headed up to the Opinicon Resort for breakfast. It was a nice break from cooking for ourselves.

(Photo above copied from the internet)

That afternoon we installed new port & starboard navigation lights. The lenses on old ones were badly crazed & the replacement lenses alone cost more than brand new LED lights so I opted for the new LEDs.

We had dinner in the bar at the Opinicon. It was packed with people but the service was great, the beer was ice cold & the food was delicious.

(Photo above copied from the internet)

We asked our server to take a photo of us & she did her best but she must not have clicked the right button ’cause I don’t have anything in my camera’s photo album. 🙀

Cheers!

Overnight at Newboro Lock

44°38′46″ N 76°19′16″ W

Glenn & I got up around 7:00am & headed to the Roosteraunt – the best place in town for breakfast & lunch.

After a hearty breakfast we walked over to the local grocery store for provisions. Top of the list was lots of meat accompanied by a few “token” veggies so we could tell our wives that yes, we were eating healthy.

Our trip to Newboro was pretty easy & Glenn quickly became an old hand at managing the lines as we passed through the first series of locks.

Glenn also got to experience passing through the locks with a few boats from the “Quebec Navy”. The lock was full of boats with fellow travelers all in good spirits!

Each year the Rideau System gets very busy with hundreds of boaters from Quebec who are taking advantage of the Quebec Construction Holiday period from the beginning of the last week of July to the end of the first week of August.

Many boaters from Quebec do a “mini-loop”, starting in Montréal & then up the Ottawa River to Ottawa, through the Rideau system to Kingston & then down the St Lawrence River back to Montréal. Other boaters do the mini-loop in the reverse direction. Convergence usually occurs a few locks on either side of Smiths Falls. That results in lots of traffic at the locks but no one cares – we are all on vacation & out for a good time!

Once we were settled in Newboro we had a late lunch & then brought out the backgammon board. Glenn & I & his wife Jay passed many a long winter’s night in Field, BC playing countless games of backgammon while drinking gallons of Jay’s excellent coffee! Oh, those were the days!

Cheers

July 23

Detached Lock Smiths Falls

44°53′38″ N 76°1′11″ W

Today I traveled a short distance from Edmonds Lock into Smiths Falls & then to the upper side of the Detached Lock.

I had arranged to meet Richard, a prospective buyer for the boat at this location. Later in the day I would also be meeting my friend Glenn Webber who was flying in from Calgary to spend a week with me.

Richard met me at 10:30 & we went for a short ride towards Poonamalie Lock so he could see how the boat handles & performs on the water.

After we got back to the Detached Lock it was close to lunchtime so we went to the Roosteraunt for lunch. Look at the photo below & see if you can guess why this restaurant has its name :).

While we were having lunch a local freelance photographer asked if we would pose for a few promotional photos for potential use in a local community publication. That was a fun experience!

After lunch Richard headed back to his home near Quebec City & I went back to Santosha. “Our” photographer was relaxing with her family at a picnic table beside the boat. They were interested in what it was like so I invited them on board for a little tour. Then it was my turn to be the photographer!

Glenn arrived in Smiths Falls at 6:00pm. We had worked together in Yoho National Park, in Field, BC in the early 1980’s & had stayed in touch with occasional emails & phone calls but it has been 20 years since we last saw each other!

Wow, we have a lot of catching up to do!

Glenn & I planned to travel to Kingston over the next week. But first on the agenda was a cold brew & supper at a local pub.

After that it was back to the boat to plan our trip with the aid of a nightcap (or two).

Cheers!