Buckhorn Yacht Harbour to Fenelon Falls
50 kilometers distance – 5 hours travel time
Click anywhere on map to enlarge it
A Major Change In Our Summer Plans
Our original plan for this summer was to travel to Kingston and then spend the balance of July, August and early September on the Rideau Waterway along with a return trip or two down the Ottawa River to Montreal. However, after a great deal of consideration we decided that we should focus on spending more time in the summer at home and travelling see our family which is spread far and wide – not only here in Ontario but also in New Brunswick, Alberta, British Columbia and France! After all, there is only so much time and money – difficult choices need to be made.
This has been a very hard decision to make as we had a fantastic time aboard Belisama last summer – perhaps the best boating summer that Catherine and I have ever had together. We were hoping for a repeat of that this summer but we find we are encountering a lot of competing priorities plus we are not getting any younger. Last winter was a particularly difficult winter for both of us with bouts of physical and minor health challenges. A close friend of ours tells us we both have “ARS” – age related stuff – a common condition among seniors. We think he is right. I turned 74 this past May and unfortunately am starting to really feel my age. As a result, we will put Belisama up for sale and see what happens. It may take a while to sell her because there is a lot of uncertainty in Canada’s economy. In the meantime we will continue to use and enjoy her.
Here’s a link to the For Sale listing in case you are interested: 1987 Albin Palm Beach 37 | Maple Leaf Yacht Sales
Our summer plan has been changed to a short cruise from Buckhorn to Midland where we have listed Belisama with Maple Leaf Yachts.
We left Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina at approximately 10:00am and headed to Fenelon Falls.
Map Quest Maps – A Great Alternative To Google Maps! – Click anywhere on map to enlarge it
Our cruise took us through Buckhorn Lake to Pigeon Lake and then on to Sturgeon Lake with only one lock to pass through at Bobcaygeon (Lock 32). It took us about 3 hours to travel 24 kilometers from Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon. We figured that was a good time to stop and have a lunch before carrying on to Fenelon Falls.
Bobcaygeon Lock 32 – Image copied from the internet. Click on the image to enlarge it
Our trip from Bobcaygeon to Fenelon Falls was approximately the same distance – 24 kilometers but we were able to travel a bit faster because there were fewer 10 km/hr speed limits and “No Wake” zones on the second part of our journey.
Just outside of Fenlon Falls we got a glimpse of the local “flying fish”. This fella makes the jumping carp on Lake Erie look pretty lame!
Fenelon Falls Flying Fish – amazing how it can hover in one spot for so long!
We arrived in Fenelon Falls at 4:00pm with plenty of time to pass through the lock but there was no mooring space on the upper side of the lock so we decided to tie up overnight just below the falls.
Fenelon Falls Overnight Mooring & Ice Cream – image copied from internet – click to enlarge
Fenelon Falls is a busy community with lots of amenities for tourists and cruisers. We had dinner aboard Belisama and then walked over to the local ice cream parlor (“Slices and Scoops”) for our dessert. It is directly across the street from the lock – less than 5 minutes from where we were tied up for the night. Well worth the walk, especially on a hot summer evening.
Slices and Scoops – image copied from the internet
After enjoying our dessert we settled in for the night enjoying the sound of the waterfall in the background. Tomorrow we head for Orillia.
Cheers!
