Fenelon Falls to Friday Harbour on Lake Simcoe and Port of Orillia

 This was the sky Saturday evening at Fenelon Falls as some showers came into the area.

We left Fenelon Falls on Sunday morning July 15th.  Our cruise took us through some "VERY" narrow areas.  We put out a "securite"  to warn other boaters of our presence in the narrow channel but alot of the small boats do not use VHF radio and the larger ones we think ignor it.  Captain Keith was a bit nervous, as was I, about passing other boats in these narrow spots.

Securite,securite,securite This is Southern Style a 57 foot motor vessel with 18 foot beam entering the narrows west of Balsam Lake any concerned traffic monitor channel 16 and 68 (translation..........get the heck out of the way)

Getting even narrower

Not much wiggle room in here, this is what it looks like two feet to either side

Crap here comes someone else, guess they didn't get the securite

Another pucker factor is the depth in this area of the Trent-Severn Waterway.  It was "SHALLOW" and there were several places where we were scraping along the bottom.  With only 1 foot of water under the boat any logs or dead-heads were bumping our bottom.

Here we are approaching the Key Hole Bridge

This heron was unfazed by our passing by him

We also transited the Kirkfield Lift Lock (lock 36) which is the second largest lift lock in North America.  Another wild ride.  This lock you approach from the top side and it looks like you will drop off the edge as you pull into the pan.  As with the lift lock at Peterborough, the ride itself is over in about 1-2 minutes.

Entering the lock, don't look down if you are afraid of heights

Our anchor hanging over the edge of the pan

Down we go

  We did make it all the way to lock 39 and locked through. We tied up to the wall and walked back to the top of the lock to visit with another boat that was over-nighting there as well.   Paul and Jackie were great to talk to.  They are Canadians and have had multiple boats and boated in the area for years.  We had a good afternoon talking with them.  

View from our spot at lock 39 Sunday evening

Monday morning July 16th we headed through two more locks and then out onto Lake Simcoe.  We crossed the lake in overcast conditions and pretty smooth water most of the way.  Just before getting into Friday Harbour our final destination a small thunderstorm blew up.  Luckily it was not too bad and although we got wet tying up at the dock, we did OK crossing the lake.

Our overnight at Friday Harbour was nice.  They are just getting up and running as it is a very new marina.  There are high-end town homes and condos as well as restaurants and shops going in the new facility.  However, there was only one restaurant open.  We decided to try it and were pleasantly surprised.  The food was great and their smoked old fashioned was to die for.  We may need to try replicating this drink on board Southern Style.

View of Friday Harbour (still a large amount of building going on) but a nice big harbor area

Tuesday morning July 17th we cruised back across Lake Simcoe toward the north west and through what is called the "Narrows".  (Like there had not been enough narrow channels already.)  This is just a short  1/4 mile stretch that brings you from Lake Simcoe into Lake Couchiching.  The "Narrows" is the location of one of the oldest human developments in North America and the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs.  These are the first fish fences used by Aboriginal peoples for harvesting fish.  They were built some 5,000 years ago is the area around the "Narrows".  The fences are wooden stakes called weirs driven into the ground at the bottom of the water.  Brush and weeds were then woven between the stakes to create a net to trap the fish which were then speared.  These wooden weirs are extremely rare and still present under the water in this region.  They are protected by Parks Canada as a National Historic Site and the local Ojibway peoples of the region.

Artwork at the Port of Orillia Marina commemorating the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs

We had a reserved spot for Southern Style at the Port of Orillia Marina on Lake Couchiching for 2 nights. 

Southern Style docked at Port of Orillia

 On the day we got in Tuesday afternoon July 17th, Captain Keith met up with a friend he knew through the Meridian Owner's web site.  Tom and his wife, Jeanne, visited with us and went to dinner with us Tuesday night.  The next day we met again on their boat, "Sweat Dreams" and went out on Lake Couchiching to anchor in a spot they know to swim and relax.  The weather was perfect and we had a great time.  Tom and Jan were fantastic hosts.

Swimming and relaxing in a cove on Lake Couchiching. View from the back of Sweat Dreams

Tom, Jeanne, and Gail on the back of Sweat Dreams

Back at the marina, Keith and I had a simple pub dinner and called it a night.  Thursday it is off to more locks on the Trent-Severn Waterway.