Overnight at Poonamalie

44°53′34″ N 76°3′20″ W

I left Newboro shortly after 8:00am. It was a beautiful sunny morning & a good time to be passing through the narrow downstream cut before a lot of boating traffic got started. This first few kilometers through the cut is spectacular but I wouldn’t want to meet anyone who was going too fast coming the other way.

Here’s a link to a short video that I took towards the end of the cut: https://youtu.be/6YSmhf27auQ

The Rideau System from Newboro to Ottawa is all “downhill” – meaning that every lock from this point on takes you down to a slightly lower elevation. Locking down is much easier than locking up, especially if you are by yourself.

Rain was once again forecast for later in the afternoon so I was hoping to make it to Poonamalie Lockstation before the weather turned bad.

After passing through The Narrows Lock there is a long passage through the chain of Rideau lakes: Upper Rideau Lake, Big Rideau Lake & Lower Rideau Lake.

I really like this part of the passage & because the water is wide, deep & weed free there are lots of great places to simply stop the boat & jump in to cool off on a hot day. There are also lots of cottages plus some pretty substantial homes to admire.

This place (below) has two float planes & a huge motorhome. Talk about having all the toys! But think about all the work that has to be done to look after all of it. I think I will remain content with Santosha.

I arrived at Poonamalie shortly after 12 noon & the rain started around 2:00 & continued on & off until about 8:00pm. I was glad to not have to travel through the soggy weather but was a bit surprised as to how many other boaters did not stop.

Cheers!