Saturday, August 9
Port of Orillia, Slip 169
44°36’48.4236″N, 79°24’42.8868″W
What3Words: ///rowdy.strutting.expressive

The crew was up at 6:30am. We had 13 kilometers to travel to reach the Big Chute and we wanted to arrive there around or before the 9:00am starting time so we could cover a good distance for the day. We cast off after breakfast at 7:45am and arrived at the Big Chute around 9:00am.

David and I stayed up on the helm while Catherine and Valerie took advance watch positions on the bow.

The only swimmer they spotted was a loon. Sorry gals, we can’t stop there today – The Big Chute awaits our arrival!

We arrived at The Big Chute shortly after 9:00am. There was already a line up of boats waiting for the ride up but thankfully there were two large floating docks nearby that are part of the waiting area and managed to get a spot there.

The original Big Chute began operation in 1917. It raises/lowers boats 57 feet – depending upon which direction you are travelling. A newer version of the marine railway began operations in 1978 and that was the one we would be travelling on. However, the original system is still in place and apparently can be put into service if needed.

It was exciting to get a ride on this unique system. When the Trent-Severn Waterway was being designed this particular location was an engineering and a financial challenge. The rock formations here and the difference in elevation made building locks impractical and prohibitively expensive so the decision was made to install the railway lift instead. It is a highlight of most boater’s trip on the waterway and it attracts lots of land based visitors as well.

Our trip up the Big Chute was delayed for a short time because the operating staff were being extra careful where they placed the slings on our boat. They had to make sure that the aft sling did not put any stress on our propeller shafts. Once the straps were safely in place our ride up the chute began. Parks Canada staff at all the locks on the Trent-Severn and Rideau Waterways are great. They have extensive knowledge of the area and are always willing to help make your journey through the system safe and relaxing. Of course, Catherine and I are a bit biased – both being former Parks Canada employees ourselves in Yoho National Park.

It was pretty exciting. On this trip we shared the ride with about a dozen jetskis and a small runabout boat.

I stayed up on the flybridge “trying” to enjoy the view and praying that our sling didn’t let go.

David took a short video of the ride up on his phone.
←Click on the image to view video

After the ride up and we were back in the water we went over to the mooring docks to tie up for a short while so I could crawl into the engine compartment to inspect the area around the propeller shafts. I wanted to confirm that no harm had been done by the sling. When we haul the boat out of the water this fall for winter storage I will determine the best spots on the boat for lifting slings to be placed and make sure they are well marked on the hull. That will help The Big Chute operators a lot as well as any other location where the boat will be hauled out of the water by slings.

Back to our adventure… our objective for the day was to reach the City of Orillia and spend overnight at the marina there. My cousin Dan also lives in Orillia with his family. I haven’t seen them for many years so I had arranged to also visit with Dan and his wife Isa.

When we arrived at Swift Rapids Lock 43 on the Severn River the staff informed us that there was a railway swing bridge about a kilometer past the lock. There was only 13 ½ feet clearance from the bottom of the bridge to the water so the bridge has to be swung open to allow the larger boats to pass by – and that includes our boat which needs about 18 feet overhead clearance due to the height of our bimini.

Unfortunately, the high temperatures this day (35 C+) were causing the railway tracks on the bridge to expand and basically the bridge had swelled shut. The railway would not be able to open the bridge until later in the evening or early the next morning when the temperatures were lower. This is still an active section of track for freight trains so it is understandable that the railway would not want to force the bridge open for a few boats only to find that they could not get it closed to allow trains to pass over it.

The lock staff said we were welcome to stay overnight on the lower or the upper side of the lock or, we could try to pass under the bridge if we took our bimini down and could get our clearance below 13 ½ feet. Our crew had a short discussion about what to do and we quickly decided to take the bimini down and try to get under the bridge. David and Valerie only had a few days with us before they had to head home. While we enjoy staying overnight at the locks we wanted to have some adventures in Orillia as well.

It only took a few minutes for us to lower the bimini and after several measurements we concluded that our new height was 12 to 12 ½ feet.

Parks Canada staff put us through the lock and we headed down the river towards the railway bridge. Catherine stayed up on the bow. When she was standing on top of the forward cabin her outstretched hand was higher than the little windshield up on the flybridge (the highest point). David and Valerie were at the back of the boat holding the bimini down as tight as they could get it.

I knelt on a pillow on the floor of the upper helm and said a prayer.  We approached the bridge at a snail’s pace. When we were almost there I put the boat in neutral so I could immediately put the engines in reverse if we were too high. Catherine touched the bottom of the bridge as we passed under it but we had several inches of clearance for the bimini (and the top of my head). Hooray! We made it! High fives all around!

This part of the river channel is very narrow and there was no place to stop so we decided to leave the bimini down and travel “topless” the rest of the way to Orillia. David came up to the flybridge to help me with steering and navigation while Catherine and Valerie stayed on the foredeck enjoying the view. We still had another lock to get through before we reached Orillia. We passed through Sparrow Lake and then Couchiching Lock 42 into Lake Couchiching. It was over an hour from there to the Port of Orillia Marina.

It was close to 6:00pm by the time we arrived at the marina. The wind was blowing stiffly so we had some fun getting docked. David helped me get the bimini back up and the rest of the boat settled. We were all pretty tired and hungry so I contacted my cousin and asked if we could meet the next day instead. Nobody felt like cooking so we walked over to a nearby restaurant and had dinner out – fortified by extra large draft beers for the fellas and wine for the ladies.

Today was certainly a day that will not be forgotten anytime soon and we will all sleep well tonight.

Cheers!