Hygge Adventures: 074: "Oh Canada" and the Rideau Canal Part 1

On June 16^th we left Baldwinsville for the thirty n/m trip to Oswego, NY: but not before catching this sunrise picture:

The trip was relatively uneventful. At the “Three Rivers Junction” we officially left the Erie Canal and entered the Oswego River/Canal and went through a number of locks before pulling into the Oswego Marina to top off our fuel, clean the boat, shower, and do a thorough check of all engine fluids. The next day we’d be crossing Lake Ontario, which technically, like all the Great Lakes, are not lakes at all, but rather “Inland Seas.” You don’t mess with the Great Lakes; we checked and double checked several forecast models before casting loose the dock lines and passing this lighthouse to head out onto open water. (Yes I played Gordon Lightfoot's Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald):

The ride from Oswego to Kinston, Ontario, Canada was forty-eight n/m’s and smooth (one footers behind us). We pulled into the Confederation Basin Marina in Kingston, and up came our yellow “quarantine flag” (shows that we have not cleared customs yet) and our courtesy Canadian flag. We cleared Customs by calling an 800 number, answering a few questions, and providing various information. “Welcome to Canada!”. Down came the quarantine flag.

Kingston is a very cool, “happening,” town. They make nice use of the waterfront and have lots of shops and restaurants. Nancy and I walked around and went to dinner. The next day we went to the farmer’s market and Nancy went sightseeing while I did research on our Rideau Canal trip.

Old building:

Great Lakes Steamship Museum:

Part of the original fort guarding the harbor:

The Visitors Center:

About the Rideau Canal (“RC”): (I lifted this from Wikipedia) “The Rideau Canal is a 202 kilometer long canal that links the Ottawa River at Ottawa with the Cataraqui River and Lake Ontario at Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Its 46 locks raise boats from the Ottawa River 83 meters upstream along the Rideau River to the Rideau Lakes, and from there drop 50 meters downstream along the Cataraqui River to Kingston. Opened in 1832 for commercial shipping, freight was eventually moved to railways and the St. Lawrence Seaway, and it remains in use today for pleasure boating, operated by Parks Canada May to October. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At the first lock we came to we bought a Lock Transit Pass and a Mooring Permit Pass. The former lets you go through the locks, the latter lets you tie up overnight to the lock entry/exit walls. The lock through system is very simple: you pull up to the wall area painted blue, that lets the staff know you want to lock through. No calls on the radio. If you want to stay the night, there is a section of the lock wall not painted blue, you just pull up there. Very straightforward. All the locks have bathrooms, a few of showers, and approximately half of them have power for a modest fee ($10.85 Canadian).

For the most part the locks are operated in the same way they were in the 1800’s: manually. The staff cranks open/close valves or shutters to empty/fill the locks, and they hand-crank open/close the gates. Pretty cool. This being Canada, the lock staff are all super friendly and accommodating. Quite a contrast to the US Inland River system which is geared to commercial traffic and for which on many of the locks, we pleasure boats seemed to be an annoyance.

These cranks move the

long pole back and forth which open and closes the lock gates:

Sights along the way:

We went through seven locks and tied up for the night at Upper Brewers lock and talked to some locals in a pontoon-camper boat that the guy set up. What he showed us is that you don’t need a ton of money to do this kind of trip, if there is a will there is a way. Nancy went for a swim! Upper Brewers is an ideal setting:

The next day we continued to head up, stopping briefly at the Jones Falls Lock for a look at the dam and at Davis Lock (“best water on the RC”) to top off our water tanks and then headed to Chaffeys Lock for the night. We learned a bit about Colonel By, the British Engineer who built the locks:

We got a great spot in the shade, and again Nancy went for swim before we headed over to The Opinicon for dinner. The Opinicon is a former resort that was bought and renovated by the wife of a billionaire, then closed during Covid. The restaurant and ice cream shop are still open, but the lodging is just used for corporate events.

Our spot at Chaffeys:

Most of the locks have old guardhouses that were build to defend the locks back in the 1800's. From whom? From the Americans, of course! The War of 1812 spooked the Canadians into believing that we might want to expand north.

We met some very nice locals and got further 411 on things to do and see on the Rideau.

The next day we headed north and had a short day stop at Colonel By Island for a swim, this time I briefly joined Nancy in the water. We were going to hike around the Island and stay the night, but it was during the “Heat Dome” heat wave, so we decided to save Colonel By Island for another day and we headed to the Lower Beveridges Lock for the night.

Looking back from our spot at the Lock:

Some of the locks have yurts for "glam camping:"

The lockmaster was extremely nice, a former SCUBA instructor (so we had a lot in common), and gave us lots of good advice for the rest of our trip on the RC. That night we walked up to the showers at the Upper Beveridges Lock (a half mile up the trail) and the mosquitos had a field day with me, so we turned back to the boat (I ran).

The next morning, we locked through the Lower/Upper locks and tied up for our delayed showers. After that we took a narrow and relatively shallow canal to the town of Perth. Perth was great. Nicest town along the Rideau Canal that we visited. We pulled up to a dock at the “Last Duel Park,” because it was, in fact, the spot were the last fatal duel in Canada was fought.

Crazy story:

Apparently Wilson took offense to Lyon's comment about Ms. Hughes that he (Lyons) put “his arms about her in a position which no woman of spirit would permit.” Strong words indeed!

The actual pistols used in the duel: