Fenelon Falls, ON, CA
Got off to a windy start, leaving Bobcaygeon going to Fenelon Falls on Lake Sturgeon. Chop on the lake was not an issue for us, but glad we only traveled two hours today. Surprisingly, we saw two house boats on the lake in the chop and wind, it was not pretty and definitely not something we would have done
Coming into Lock 34 at Fenelon Falls, the current was incredibly turbulent and even though we only had to travel about 200 feet through it, it was harrowing. Once through the lock, we had to go all the way to the end of the wall to get the last power pedestal, and as with life - the last one is never that great. Thankfully, boaters from three other boats helped us moor to the wall and, with the wind and current being what is was, we definitely needed all their help. Personified the “boaters take care of other boaters” mantra. All that stress - and that was just to park! The day had to pick up - and it did.
We a great lunch at a nice gastro pub/brewery overlooking the lock and then sampled some of their libations - which we needed after the docking. Then we wandered around the town, took a peek at the large amount of water coming over the dam and finished off the day meeting up with several other loopers and sharing some stories over a beer at another dockside pub.
The trip was highlighted by a party barge houseboat full of guys in pirate outfits and one dressed as a sailor. At 9:00 AM when saw them as we entered the lock at Bobcaygeon, Ann asked them if it wasn’t a bit early to be having so much fun, to which they replied “We’ve already been up for three hours partying!". That’s not to say partying on a houseboat with a bunch of drunk pirates and a sailor didn’t seem like fun, we decided to pass them as quickly as we could! Thankfully when they got to Fenelon Falls, they were at the other end of the lock wall so we didn’t have to listen to their music all night like the rest of the town (cranked up to the max)!
When the day was over, since we were on the end of the wall, we definitely took the brunt of the wind and current coming off the lake so we were rocking and rolling all night - not recommended. The open bridge in the pic below was taken from the bow of our boat. It was one of those nights when you made extra sure the lines were good and then slept well.
