We looked at the weather and it started out sunny and the clouds increased during the day. There was a chance of rain and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening.
We noticed when we came out for Candy’s first walk the catamaran Off Leash had already left. They spent the night on the lock wall and I guessed that they left about 6:00.
This section was pretty interesting. The first 5 miles or so was on the river and it kept getting a little wider as we went along. At some point it is called Rice Lake and is approximately 20 miles long and maybe 3 miles wide at its widest part. The wind was really calm so the water surface was flat. We have had very few days like that since we left the Keys in March so it was really nice. There were a lot of fisherman on the water and that was about the only thing we needed to keep an eye out for. Near the opposite end of the lake is the remains of an old railroad bridge that has not been used in over 100 years so what is left is under water. The channel is approximately 1/4 mile wide passing thru this area with a red and green buoy to mark the clear area. We had no problem spotting it. We crossed the lake in at about 22 mph.
From Rice Lake we headed into the Otonabee River. It winds along and has several small villages and resorts along the way and one marina. There are only a few problem areas on the river and that is where the buoys are. Most of the shore line is lowland area that takes flood waters when the river rises.
I thought we would see the catamaran because they only travel at 6 to 7 mph and in the river parts we traveled at about 8.2 mph. When we got to the Peterborough Lock (our only lock for the day) Off Leash was inside the lock and about 1/2 way up, so we never caught them.
We had travelled alone today but when we got to the lock. we had two other boats join us. One boat was about a 26′ cabin cruiser and the other was a 21′ runabout. The locking was uneventful other than we need to wait for them to turn around the lock for us. This lock is still the original 1800’s construction with limestone blocks for the walls and the gates and valves are all manual. The lift in the lock is only 8′ but the lock was pretty interesting.
The Peterborough Marina is pretty interesting with a lot of events for the holiday weekend. The Marina has a park attached to it that is very well maintained by the city. Everything is a lush green and that is a tribute to mother nature and the amount of rain they have had in May and June.. There is a concert Friday evening at the Holiday Inn that is just East of the Marina so we will be able to hear it. Saturday there is another concert in the park at the band shell and then another one on Monday. The fireworks go off on Sunday and there will be booths in the park for the local artisans and the restaurants. The marina is full and I expect there will be a lot of people here by way of transportation other than boat. I just hope they are not to noisy after about 10:00 (LOL).
We are staying here thru Monday, Canada Day. That way the weekend warriors will be back at work when we get back on the water.