Peterborough, ON, CA
A little over 33 miles today with the first 32 being without any locks. Today is Saturday and the locals were thoroughly enjoying the day. Many boats with multiple folks fishing, parties at the cottages along the shorelines, guys racing around showing off their speedboats, picnics in the riverside parks, and more.
It seems every cottage proudly displays the Canadian flag so it was funny to see a US flag and Canadian flag on the same pole with the Canadian flag highest. Just don’t see too much of that. The lawn ornaments are fun too, one large carved black bear protecting someone’s yard in a picture below.
The first fifteen miles consisted of the wide river and then onto Rice Lake. Then 17 miles of the Otonabee River which is windy, tree-lined the entire way and somewhat tedious. Thankfully today there was plenty of action to make the time go by quicker. For us, the speed limit on the river is about 6 ½ knots because our wake gets bigger after that and we have to respect the hundreds of personal docks and piers of the cottage owners on the banks. So, it’s funny when the speed boats pass us like we’re standing still because they don’t hardly make a wake. We were among the biggest and slowest today on the river.
When we got within a mile of the turn from Rice Lake into the Otonabee, we noticed the boat slowing down and some sudden vibrations. We looked into the water which was THICK with underwater grass (you can see in the picture below). The boat was plowing its way through the grass, which wraps around the propellers, drags on the deep keel and rudders and generally does not do any good. We throttled back a bit, looked for the shortest route and finally got through. When we got into a little deeper water, we stopped, reversed and throttled up a bit to shed the grass off the props. After that, everything was great. We have run into this grass before, and have had to back down before to shed it, but normally near locks where we’re going slow anyway. We’re not used to seeing this in the middle of a lake.
When we got to Lock 19, the only lock for the day, we went up with a party barge pontoon boat and two jet skiers. All kinds use the locks. Plus, since Lock 19 is right in Peterborough, as are Locks 20 and 21, there were plenty of interested people who like to watch the boats and talk with the crews.
As we pulled into Little Lake in Peterborough, which has a big fountain in the middle, and headed towards the marina, we saw a big festival going on in the park. Turns out it was the annual Dragon Boat Festival hosted by the Survivors Abreast Peterborough Dragon Boat Team and raising money for the Peterborough Regional Health Centre Foundation (PRHC Foundation) to support world-class cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment. We missed the races but got to experience the accompanying craft fair and food trucks.
And then, of course, there are the mandatory water fowl pictures. Today we saw hundreds of Canadian Geese and goslings of all ages. Some looked like they hatched last week and others look like they’re ready to take wing any time. And, at the festival, the ducks didn’t seem to be too afraid of anyone while they were searching for French Fries and other goodies.
It looks like we might have to stay two days in Peterborough because tomorrow’s weather forecast says it’s going to rain all day. No one likes to lock in the rain so we’re happy to stay put, relax and get a few chores done.
