Photo courtesy of Camille Lesoine "We Three"
The
travels of the motor yacht "Maid of Steel"
Departed on
an adventure from Britt Ontario September 12, 2002
September 2002
October 2002
November 2002
December 2002
January 2003
February 2003
March 2003
April 2003
May 2003
June 2003
July 2003 Loops end
The Thousand Islands and Rideau Canal Summer of 2004 PICTURES
COMING SOON
(At the time this was written Lake Ontario was
about 3' above chart datum)
Port Credit to Ottawa
Arriving in Ottawa
THE CANAL IN DOWNTOWN OTTAWA
WEED HARVESTOR CLEANING UP THE VEGETATION IN THE CANAL
THIS LITTLE GUY HAD THE RIGHT IDEA OF HOW TO GET AROUND IN THE CROWDS
SERIES OF 8 STEP LOCKS HEADING DOWN TO THE OTTAWA RIVER
GUARD DOG.....JUST SAT THERE KEEPING WATCH AS EVERYONE
WALKED BY HIS BOAT
June 29th, 2004 “Ottawa Bound”
We left first thing so we would be able to get the first lockage of the
day. This enabled us to get through all the bridges without
having to wait. Black Rapids Lock was first followed by Hog’s
Back and Hartwell Locks. Along the way now, homes are becoming
more and more elaborate. The Canal coming into Ottawa is quit
beautiful, bicycle paths and lighted walkways all along the
sides. We also drove past the Carlton University Campus. As
we neared the downtown area we met up with a weed harvester cleaning
weeds out of the canal. Although we were several days early there
were already plenty of boats there. We found a spot back from the
main tie up area but only about a 10 minute walk from downtown.
After arriving we walked downtown and checked out Sparks St. and the
Byward Market.
June 30th, 2004 “Visitors”
Today we got ready for Shelly to arrive. Tidy up and wait.
Well she was late leaving so she arrived at 1:30 in the morning.
She was spending the night at a girlfriends house but stopped to drop
the dog off for us to “Dog sit”. By the time we got the two dogs
settled down it was way past two in the morning. Late night!
GINNY AND SPLASH CHECKING OUT THE PASSERS BY AND LOOKING
"ALL THAT " FOR CANADA DAY
BOATS LINED UP ALONG THE CANAL ON CANADA DAY
THRONGS OF PEOPLE
THE GOVERNOR GENERAL GETTING IN HER CAR
PAUL MARTIN GETTING IN HIS CAR
THE PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS
UNBELEIVABLE CROWDS
DOWNPOUR COMPLETE WITH HAIL
LOOKING UP FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE STEP LOCKS
CANADA DAY FIREWORKS DISPLAY
VERY IMPRESSIVE
July 1st, 2004 “Canada Day”
The whole town is pretty much closed down and there are throngs of
people everywhere. Live music is being played from a huge stage
in front of the Parliament Buildings. Street performers
everywhere and people selling everything imaginable with Canada and the
Red Maple Leaf on it. Boats are lined up on both sides of the
Canal now and quite a distance behind us. During the afternoon we
walked down to the bottom of the Locks to check out a place to watch
the fireworks from. At the bottom we just nearly missed a huge
thunderstorm with Hail and high winds. Thank goodness for Museums
to duck into. We had an early dinner so we could get to a good
spot in time for the light show. Shelly and her friends arrived
at the boat but they left on their own. We discovered that we
couldn’t get to the place we wanted. We walked to the top
of Barracks Hill (with about 50,000 other people) and just could not
find a place to set up Colin’s Camera. Finally we spotted some
low bushes with just a small group of people huddled in. We
climbed through the waste high shrubs, plunked our little stools down
and set up the tri-pod........WE ARE ON SAFARI! It’s getting
crowded down here.....uh-oh someone is smoking the leaves off the
bushes......no maybe its not these leaves they are smoking......
definitely leaves though. Oh good everyone is drinking now
too. I can see it now were going to get arrested.....in the
Capital no less!
Anyway the Fireworks display was just spectacular. So were the crowds
as we tried to get back to our boat. The rest of the evening was
spent, shooing rowdy celebrators away from the boat.
July 2nd, 2004 “Birthday Dinner”
We took Shelly’s car today and did some driving around. First
order of business was to pick up the part for the Fridge. With
that out of the way we went and had a Chinese Buffet for lunch and then
on to Costco to restock some supplies. We got back to the boat
around 4:00 and immediately started to put the new circuit board into
the fridge. Terrific......$85.00 and we are back in
business. By the time we were finished with the fridge and had
put away all the groceries, Shelly’s friends Pam and Mike
arrived. We had a wonderful dinner of Steak, Garlic roast
potatoes, cauliflower with cheese sauce and garlic bread. For
dessert we had strawberry shortcake with whipped cream. Everyone seemed
happy and full!
July 3rd, 2004 “Quiet day, a lot of boats leaving.”
CHANGING OF THE GUARD
July 4th, 2004 “Changing of the Guard”
We made sure we were up in plenty of time to walk over to Parliament
Hill to watch the Changing of the Guard. From start to finish it
took about 45 minutes. Quite a to do, very colourful and good
brass band and pipe music. By the time we got back to the boat, I knew
I was coming down with a serious cold. Shelly arrived back at the
boat a few minutes after us and Colin made us all breakfast. I
crashed on the couch for the most of the day. Later on we moved
the boat closer to the water spigot so we could fill our
tanks.
July 5th, 2004 “Dinner Out”
Colin and Shelly took the dogs swimming at the beach today.
Splash had a ball, Ginny was not that impressed. In the evening
we went to the Keg with some people we met on the canal. When we
got back they came over to check out our boat, as they had not seen the
inside yet.
INFORMATION: The Weston Hotel located
at the east side of the canal offers a 24 hour health club membership
for $10.00 to boaters. This allows you to use their workout room,
hot tub, pool, sauna, showers and free ice. This does not appear
to be widely advertised. Fresh water is available from only one place
on this part of the canal. The spigot is located right in front
of the tour boats on the east side of the canal.
MOM AND THE KIDS OUT FOR A N AFTERNOON SWIM
July 6th, 2004 “Shelly and Ginny Heading Home”
After our Hot tub and swim we made some barbequed sausage and then
helped Shelly get packed up and ready to go. After she left we
went downtown and bought a basket of Strawberries to put in the
freezer, some fresh fish and some fresh vegetables. When we
were done our shopping we had dinner out and then went back to the
boat. Back at the boat we called our friends Beverly and Joe who
we used to boat with in Britt (they live in Ottawa) They are going to
come over tomorrow night after work. We have not seen them since
last summer and we can’t wait to hear about their new boat.
July 7th, 2004 “A visit from friends”
We fiddled about most of the day and cleaned up the boat. Shortly
after dinner Beverly and Joe arrived with pictures and stories of their
new boat, a 37 foot Tolley craft. Very nice from the pictures and
it will give them a lot more room. They both had to work the next
day, so they didn’t stay too late. They have some holidays this
week again but when they get back they said they would call us and meet
up with us where ever we happen to be along the canal. It was
great to see them again!
July 8th, 2004 “Black Rapids”
We had our last hot tub and swim at the Weston this morning and then I
headed over to the downtown to do a bit of Shopping and mail some
letters. When I got back Colin was ready to pull out. We
were going to stop at the Dow Lake Pavilion for Diesel and a pump out
but the staff was hopeless in letting us know the depth at the dock and
where we had to go. We decided it was not worth the risk of
crunching our props so turned around and left. We aren’t
desperate yet anyway. We went through as far as the top of the
Black Rapids Lock and tied on the wall at the West side of the
lock. It perfect as it is a high wall and only suitable for big
boats and there are only two chains to tie to, so we are nice and
private.
July 9th, 2004 “It’s a Banner BRASS Day”
That’s right, the day has finally arrived. We hauled out all the
brass and I began polishing with a vengeance. Colin was measuring
and fitting inside and by the end of the day we had most of the
handrail on the stairs in place but not completely installed. We
went to bed feeling like we had really accomplished something.
At 3:30 in the morning after tossing and turning and not being able to
sleep I decided to move up to the couch and try my luck there. At
4 o’clock we were visited by 4 unruly teenagers, coming within about a
foot of the side of the boat and making Splash bark. Then they
decided they were going to check out our ropes. I quickly
unlocked the door and yelled at them to leave the lines alone, and
locked the door again quick. By this time Colin was up and now we
were both wide a wake. I opted to take another stab at the couch
and was just nicely laying down when suddenly there was this huge crash
in the boat. Some of the tape Colin had used to hold the railing
in place let go and the whole thing went crashing down the steps.
Sleep????? Ya right!
INFORMATION: At Black Rapids Lock
there is room for about 6 boats to tie up on the West side of the lock
to the side of the Blue Line. The lock Master directed us to the
East side where there is a long high concrete wall. There are
only two chains in the grass that you can tie to, but it works perfect
for larger boats and you are away from the crowd.
July 10th, 2004 “Finishing the Brass”
Colin spent the rest of today finishing the Brass installation.
After he was done I cleaned up. Black Rapids Lock seems to be
quite a popular place for people picnicking and fishing. They
have been coming and going all day.
HOT AIR BALLOON FLYING OVER KARS
July 11th, 2004 “Village of Kars”
The village of Kars has a nice quiet concrete mooring area with a
launch ramp.....free! We knew they had a post office and Colin
needed to mail a parcel so we decided to spend one night here.
First of all we were washed onto the concrete ledge by an individual
going about 90 miles an hour in a speed boat.......a big chunk out of
the paint! We managed to finish tying up without further
incident. Then this nice man came down and offered us his
dock.....he said “it gets really busy along here”......”No thanks we
should be fine but thank you for the offer.” That should have been our
clue. There are people along this river whose only mission in
life to go as fast as they can, as close to our boat as many times as
humanly possible all day long. I went down to the galley to clean
some beans for dinner and actually got seasick from all the motion of
the waves. NOTE TO SELF......do not stay at the Kars town dock on
a Sunday afternoon! (Even if it is free)
GEE I HATE SHARING A MARKED CHANNEL WITH ONE OF THESE GUYS
July 12th, 2004 “Heading Back to Burritts Rapids”
We left Kars at about 9:00 and made our way back down towards Burritts
Rapids. We arrived just after noon which was perfect as there was
space available but it filled up fast. Later in the afternoon we
put the dingy down so Colin could do some fishing. We suddenly
got a huge downpour.....now normally this boat is tight as a drum
.....no leaks.....but, Colin drilled some holes to run wiring up to the
new controls up top and had not sealed them up yet, thinking he might
have to run some more. It was a driving rain from the back of the
boat and it drove the water.....you guessed it right into the
hole! Colin was standing in the pilot house and suddenly it just
started to pour out of the ceiling. I ran to get buckets but we
just could not catch it all. After it stopped raining we cleaned
up and thought that was the end of it.......not so fast! I went
into the V-Berth to get something and both mattresses were soaked....it
apparently ran right down through the ceiling and onto the
beds......another mess. After all that Colin went out fishing and
brought home a nice big bass
July 13th, 2004 “Sick Day”
Today I spent all day on the couch with a severe sinus infection, fever
the whole bit. Colin did stuff on the computer most of the day, baked a
banana nut loaf and then went fishing. He caught a nice pike
right beside the boat.
INFORMATION: 2 sections removed from
the dock in the pond in Merrickville. Hydro has been extended
around the end wall by the dam. They request that larger boats
take the wall rather then the docks.
July 14th& 15th , 2004 “Sticking to the Rules”
As the season is getting busier and busier, Lock Masters are sticking
to their 48 hour rule at each lock. We asked if we could stay a
third day but everyone who had been there for two nights was sent
off. We left and headed for Merrickville. It was very busy
by the time we got to the pond at the top of the 3 Merrickville
Step Locks, but they have extended to hydro outlets around the wall at
the top of the dam. I spent both days in Merrickville on the
couch. My sinuses are definitely broken. As long as I don’t
do anything that requires moving my head up, down or sideways, I’m
okay. Mind you that doesn’t give me a whole lot of options
other than laying flat. Colin checked but there is no doctor in
Merrickville.
July 16th to 28th, 2004 “Smiths Falls”
(I know this is a bad way to update such a long period, but my sinuses
have not really been cooperating) Highlights: On our arrival we met
Suzanne and Armin. Suzanne offered t o drive me to the hospital
to get medicine. I decided to give it one more day but that
wasn’t a good idea. By Saturday I was even worse, it hurt to even
walk.....not good. In two days after loads of decongestants and a
healthy dose of antibiotics I was again upright.
We were actually in Smiths Falls for the Chocolate and Train
Festival....funny thing....no trains and no chocolate in the whole
park. Very Strange!
Over the next week Colin did a little more finishing in the head in our
room and we also washed down the whole outside of the boat. When
it dried, Colin went around the decks and touched up all the little
nicks and rust spots. It looks a lot better. We also made atrip
to the Hershey Chocolate Factory. There really was not a lot to
see as they were on summer shut down and all the areas where they were
working were out of view. We managed to walk through the entire
store area and not purchase a thing. (It was hard though). We took some
long walks and stocked up on grocery items and anything else we might
need in the next few weeks. After we leave Smiths Falls there is
really not a lot of opportunities for restocking. We called a fuel
company and had them deliver diesel fuel to the boat, .56¢ plus
tax per litre, a good saving over marina prices at about
.81¢.
July 28th, 2004 “Away From Civilization”
First thing we topped up our water tanks and moved over to the Blue
Line for the 11:00 bridge swing and locking through at the detached
lock. At the next lock which was “Poonamalie” it was so peaceful
(no street noise, not park noise) we decided to just go through and tie
up at the top. You can almost hear the quiet. From this lock we have
access to Big Rideau Lake. There is talk of a strike on the long
week-end by the Lock Workers so if that happens we have access to a
large area without having go through any locks.
July 30th, 2004 “Heading to Lower Beverages Lock”
I’ve had a fever and an extremely sore throat for the past three days
but we had to move. We thought we would attempt going up the Tay
canal into Perth. We have heard from some people that it is too
shallow, yet others say as long as you stay in the channel you should
be fine. We pulled in at the bottom and found a spot to tie up
with hydro. The two locks are right close together at the bottom
of the canal so we figured we would just go to the top of the second
one and stay there, then take the dinghy the rest of the way into
Perth.. Unfortunately there is a barge parked up there and no
where for us to tie, I guess that cans that idea.
July 31st, 2004 “Hot and Muggy!”
Thank goodness we have hydro so we can run the air conditioner because
it is just incredibly humid here. It rained most of the night and
part of this morning but it did clear up long enough for Splash to go
for a swim.
August 1st - August 18 2004
There really has not been a lot to write about so I decided on the bulk
update. We proceeded to the Lower Beveridge Lock and pulled
in. There is hydro here and there is quite a nice park
area. We can stay here for 48 hours. We started pressure
washing the outside of the boat and we moved all the stuff out of the
storage compartments up top. When our two days was up we went and
anchored out in the bay just off shore. Colin got all ready to
spray paint the interior of the storage areas and discovered that he
could not get the sprayer to work. We decided that we would take
another 2 days at the Beveridge lock and while we were there we would
take the dingy up the Tay Canal into Perth, mainly so Colin could buy a
cheap paint sprayer. We took a cab to the Canadian Tire bought
the sprayer and filled a propane tank and then walked to the grocery
store. We took a cab back to the dingy and then back to the big
boat.
After our two days at the lock we went back and anchored out
again. Colin decided to give the old sprayer a good looking over
and he discovered the problem. He painted all the interior of the
storage compartments as well as the two up front. What an
improvement.
The next morning we decided to head to the Narrows Lock and spend 2
days there. We left and decided to head to Westport to restock
the fridge. We anchored off as the town dock looked a bit shallow
for us. We went in checked out the town , got groceries and took
it all back to the boat. At dinner time we went back in and had
dinner at a little Greek restaurant. Not fancy but quite good.
We have been told that today is the last day before the Parks Canada
strike so we made our way back to the Tay Canal and the Beveridge
locks.
The strike did in fact take place and we have been at the Beveridge
locks ever since. They went back to work for 2 days but are off
again today. This is really a good place to be as we have power
and water. They realise that we can’t really go anywhere so they
have not been enforcing the 48 hour rule. On Sunday August 15th,
Suzanne and Armin came by and took us out for dinner in Ottawa.
That was a nice change.
Boca Run, is also here. The owners Carol and Bob also live on
their boat full time and we have seen them at various stops along the
way. They have their car here and have offered to get us
groceries, which has really been helpful.
A lady from a park nearby here came down today and asked how we were
doing and did we need anything. She offered to take us to town to
get whatever we needed. Some people are just so thoughtful!
This part of the strike is suppose to last for 5 days, so we will
continue to stay here for at least that long.
Send your email address to
future@werner.ca to
be notified
of updates
We are
thinking
of producing a DVD with many more high resolution pictures and details of our
travels. Are there any buyers out there? Your comments would be
appreciated.
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Visitors since Dec 28 2001
