Thursday July 13: Kingston

Back to Kingston - the start of the Rideau Canal (red line) which took us to Ottawa and back. We'll head out in the next day or two to Tenton and the start of the Trent Canal. Not sure where we'll end up as Guppy will stay in Ontario somewhere come September.

Meanwhile, back to Chaffeys Lock this past Sunday.

Before we left Chaffeys Lock, Steve wanted to get a picture of the snake that he saw the last time we were here. Apparently it hangs around on the lock wall below the locks.

He's not sure what kind it is but it was actually pretty big. Hard to get a perspective without a hand or foot in the picture – and that didn't seem like a very good idea!

On Sunday, the intention was to find an anchorage on one of the nearby lakes. Much of the shoreline had cottages but we found a potential spot at the west end of one of the bays off of Sand Lake. The fishing was just ok. And the holding was shaky!

Lots of seaweed so after spending a bit of time anchored we pulled up and headed on down the canal for Jones Falls. Plus it just wasn't a very nice day. Better to be tied to a dock tonight.

Once we were in and tied up, Steve headed off pretty quickly to check out the stone arch dam that was built here in 1827. 

Hard to get a picture of the whole thing – it's 61 feet tall and 320 feet wide!

The plaque explains the why and how of this interesting dam which at the time it was built was the third highest in the world!! Click on it to see a larger view.

Once back to the boat it was time to cool off (even though I thought it was quite cool enough already!). Steve said the fish were biting him – I suggested maybe these were piranha rather than the local sunfish :-)

Sunset was nice. It was so peaceful where we were. Above the lock but still not at the lock. Just a couple of docks and no one else around! (Rahn de Vous stayed at Chaffeys Lock waiting for a part which was due to arrive on Tuesday)

They would have enjoyed this dock and view.

So when we don't have shore power, Steve makes coffee on the one-burner propane 'stove' on the aft deck. Works great – in fact I'm getting to really like perked coffee instead of the drip kind like Mr. Coffee makes.

Either way, it was a nice morning :-) It's time to be off for our one hour 1 mile trip through the locks to Hotel Kenney below the locks here.

Jones Falls is a 4-lock grouping. A single lock and then a triple flight lock. Not unique on the Rideau but certainly nothing like it on the Trent.

In general the locks on the Rideau have a shorter lift due to the constraint of the technology at the time built. Plus because this corridor is declared “World Heritage Site by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), it will not be changed!

The south end of the triple flight lock produces a waterfall whenever boats are southbound in the lock – just too much water in the system.

Jones Falls itself was not visible from the top of the locks so Steve and I headed out in the kayaks to see if we could see it from the bottom.

Nice sunny day and it was easy to find the falls – just keep honing in the sound :-) We enjoyed the day and waited for Craig and Karen to show up. They were joining us tonight (Tuesday) at the Kenny Hotel.

It was our 46^th wedding anniversary and no better way to celebrate than with friends, right? 

So we had a nice dinner at the hotel. Craig and Karen even had an anniversary card at hand :-)

This boat's anchor gives you an idea of what happens when you anchor in the seaweed :-)

Steve was excited to finally see a dragonfly do it's thing: eating a deerfly!

Wednesday we decided to go to Seeley's Bay. A small town that we stopped at 6 years ago but Craig and Karen hadn't been there

New docks with nice facilities. A town trying to attract the boaters who travel the Rideau waterways. We were very surprised to see that Matt and Wendy had unbeknownst to us bought a boat and were keeping it in Seeley's Bay! They deny ownership but I don't know – the rather uncommon last name is right there …..

The trip is drawing to an end on the Rideau as we follow Rohn de Vous through the twists and turns of the last 15 miles of the canal – arriving in Kingston about 2:30.

Now off to the Trent!!