Day 4 of Trent-Severn Waterway- Peterborough to Lovesick, Ontario, featuring lock #100 of the trip!

With the intense current, we wanted to be sure to get help getting out of our slip this morning, so we knew we would be there until at least 8 AM when the marina office opened. Ben pulled 2 of the lines from the dock and then engineered a system to keep us close enough to pivot around the end of the dock from the mid-boat cleat. The two dockhands just had to hold the lines and throw them back on the boat when he told them. My job was to pull the stern line out of the water as fast as possible so it didn't get sucked into and destroy the propellers. I was insanely stressed about this job all night. Bear's job was similar but she was pulling the line from the mid-boat cleat and I'd hopefully be done with my job before she got started, so I could run up and help her. 

Thanks to Ben's plan and setup, and the swift-current-experienced help of the two dockhands, this plan went off without a hitch. Neither line went into the water at all and was handed directly to us. Phew! 

We moved over to the fuel dock to get pumped out (the current actually helped a bit in this location) and then we were on our way. 

We tied up to lock 20 (Ashfordham) and waited for a boat that was locking down. Roo diligently worked on her Parks Canada booklet for the last few days and was excited to turn in her book. She got her book certificate signed and a paper badge card and was thrilled. The big kids didn't care enough to do theirs and said the prize wasn't worth it, but Roo is so proud of herself and her prize.

The lock attendants here told us that the museum at Peterborough Lift Lock has been closed for 6 years. So sad. I wanted to get a magnet from there for us! Even though the museum was gone, we could still explore the lock before going up it.

Trent-Severn Waterway Lock #21 is the Peterborough Lift Lock- the largest lift lock in the world! It was designed by a Canadian in the 1890s and opened in 1904. It acts like a balance where one side is up and the other is down. We tied up to the wall and got out to check it out before we did the thing. We walked up several flights of stairs and came to a 1-lane tunnel that allowed traffic in both directions, one direction at a time. We crossed that and continued up more flights of stairs to the top of the lock, where the waterway continues. No one was up there, but we saw the Parks Canada office on the other side. We had to backtrack to the tunnel, cross the road, and go up the stairs on the other side. We talked to the lockmaster and he suggested loading and tying up just inside of the gate so that when we are lifted, we can peek over the back of our boat at the water below.

We entered on the left side because it was the one that was down. Once again, we were the only boat in the lock! The lock attendants directed us to tie on the horizontal bar. The bar was higher up than where we usually tie in a lock so it was nice to be able to reach it so easily! The liftgate behind our boat closed and before we knew it, we were going up. It was surprisingly fast! The top chamber gets 130 tons (1 foot) of water added to it, to make it the heavier chamber and move when it is time. Once we got to the top, our chamber had to gain that water, since the next time it ran, it would be the top chamber.

I had been looking forward to this for a while and when we got here, I (no surprise) started getting nervous. A 65-foot lift in a regular lock would've been easier to comprehend, but we were are, the 5 of us and a dog on our boat, weighing 33,000+ lbs and trusting this large bathtub situated on top of a hydraulic ram cylinder to go up 65 feet and let us out, while being watched by a crowd of on-lookers. This thing never breaks down with people on their boat, halfway through the process, right?! Luckily for us, it didn't. 

Reactions after we were lifted up:

Ben- I can't believe it was engineered and built in 1904 and it still works.

Lisa- What an amazing feat- for the engineers and us!

Bear- It was fast!!! It was cool to watch. It is surprising it has been open that long and it can move that fast.

Moose- It was cool and it's fast.

Roo- It was cool! Really cool! It was fast also. Amazing!

We locked through #22- Nassau Mills, #23- Otonabee, #24- Douro, and #25- Sawer Creek where the kids got 3 yellow and 2 green dogtags, completing 2 of our rainbows!

Lock 26- Lakefield- we got our own private concert when the lockmaster brought out his guitar, sat on the edge of the lock, and sang Wagon Wheel to us. What a treat!

We had a few more locks to go for the day: #27- Young's Point, #28- Burleigh Falls (in the rain! Though it wasn't the 1st time in the rain). 68°F was the highest it hit today. I had my raincoat on and was shivering while locking through. Lock 29- doesn't exist! it used to be a flight lock with 28, but it was replaced to be a single. 

Our final lock of the day was #30- Lovesick (also in the rain), which is on an island. They boat to work, rather than drive. We told them they were lock 99 and they were bummed because they wanted to be 100. They helped us tie up just after the lock on the wall, next to a houseboat. This was our first night on the TSW with other boaters.

The kids and Ben went to retrieve a missing bobber by the lock office while I was cooking dinner. They stopped by the office on the way back and Bear asked about the green dogtag. They handed her a box and told her she could have it if she could find it. Sure enough, she did, so now her rainbow is complete as well! A few locks ago, the kids saw a pink dogtag, so they're hoping to find one of those, but it is a metal one that is super old and they stopped making, so I don't think we will find any more dogtags to add to the collection.

Before bed, I checked my blog notes and added to them. I realized Lovesick WAS lock 100, so we need to get a picture in the morning to document it!

10 locks today. Trip total: 100 locks!