Orillia, ON, CA
Other than waiting at the first lock an hour because of water management issues on the river, pretty easy transit on a beautiful day. Lots of blue sky, light winds and three other boats in the five locks we transited. There was another bigger cruising boat, a couple on a pontoon party boats (minus the pirates and sailor) and one guy on a center console who was just out for a ride. Now that we were into the locks that were dropping us instead of raising us, there was no turbulence in the locks, the boat was easier to manage and it was easy to talk to the other boaters tied up behind or next to us in the locks, which is always fun. As usual, the Parks Canada lock keepers were also extremely helpful and pleasant, and many we encountered were student interns, having just started for the summer. No worries - they were being mentored by some very experienced on-site staff.
Once we got through the locks, we went out and crossed a portion of Lake Simcoe, which has a bad reputation for being really dicy when there’s bad weather. Today, the weather gods were with us, and the water was as smooth as glass making our transit fast.
Entering the Orillia area was like a Los Angeles freeway at rush hour, because it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and it was Father’s Day. Boats of all kinds, power, sail, jet skis were everywhere. Jet skiers like to jump our wake and today was no exception. First time we’ve really seen it like this during our 16 days on the water and it was great to see all the people out having a great time. All the marinas we passed had picnic tables, tiki bars in full swing and lots of people having a good time. Summer is getting close although the water temperature is still around 62 degrees F.
We’re staying two nights in Orillia, which a sizable town, and has a rather large town marina, so we’ll let you know how it goes.
