Orillia to Waubic Inn to Big Chute to Severn to Honey Harbor

Day # 654; Loop Miles to Date = 7,691

OK...time is flying by up here in Canada, and we finally have some WiFi connectivity so we can get a blog posting done...time to catch up...

Last Wednesday, we left Orillia and ventured to the Waubic Inn. It was a wonderful day of travel, with a couple of locks tossed in for good measure.

Some of the beautiful scenery along the way.

 

Great pic of a loon that Sandy snagged. Now...did you notice the name on the cottage in the picture above?

 

We found the Waubic to be just what we hoped...a rustic family owned restaurant that had dockage available for boats our size. We had a blast here for 2 days, with much entertainment provided by the comings and goings of the restaurant patrons. Boat traffic was high, with tons of small boats coming in for meals all day long. In this section of the Trent Severn, there are roads only on one side of the waterway, with the other side only accessible by boat. And the Waubic is on the side that is boat traffic only. Needless to say, it was impressive to us that they ran a quality restaurant with no road service at all to provide goods and services.

Our spot at Waubic.

The Waubic.

Early morning at the Waubic.

Jeff and Rob sharing a laugh at dinner at the Waubic.

We had a wonderful time for a few days, getting to know the family members who ran the restaurant, and were lucky enough to be there on the night that they decided to try Bingo for the first time! Our table of 8 (Corkscrew, Act III with guests, and us) ended up winning 8 of the 10 games that were played. It was a tremendous amount of fun.

From the Waubic, we had another short day to get to the Big Chute Marina. We wanted to stop here so that we could take an afternoon to get an up close perspective on the Big Chute Lock. This is a completely unique lockage experience...in short, you drive your boat onto a wooden bed, much like driving it onto a really large flatbed truck. There is not a lock per se, but this flatbed is mounted on a railway. Once the boats are loaded onto the bed and strapped in, you go for a ride...up and over the road, and down the other side. You literally ride the railway over the road and drop a total of 60 feet down the other side back into the water. It is the only working marine railway of its kind in North America...you can read more about it here.

The Big Chute being loaded with boats.

Starting up and out of the water.

Out of the water, ready to cross the road.

Crossing the road.

And starting down the other side.

A view from the lower side as the railway is coming down.

View from the road, looking down to the ultimate destination...water.

A view from our perspective on the Big Chute, looking back on Corkscrew preparing to load behind us.

 

It was a totally unique experience, and one that we will never forget. (Unfortunately for our friends on Act III, they will never forget it either. The lock tenders misjudged the loading of their boat, and they tragically damaged both of their props and bent a shaft. A very discouraging day. Our hearts go out to them as they are in the midst of the necessary repairs.)

Once through the Big Chute, we stopped at a the Starport Marina just before lock #45 in Severn. It was a decent stop, and made for an easy day.

Finally, we transited out of the Trent Severn through this last lock. We are now completely through with this lovely waterway, and are entering the waters of the Georgian Bay. We can honestly say that the Trent Severn exceeded our expectations...we absolutely loved everything about it!

 

Just another unique sight along the way. (No they are not real!)

Monday night finds us up in Honey Harbor at South Bay Cove Marina. This is a lovely spot, however the travel this day was in the misty rain and we didn't really get a chance to see the wonderful scenery on our way in.

A bit gray this day...if you look closely, you can see a myriad of markers...we just have to figure out which ones go on our port, and which to starboard...more of this to come in the coming few weeks.

And now for a few random shots of the day...



.

You gotta love a beer company that names their brand after something out of the Wizard of Oz.

Remember how we said that one side of this section of the waterway was only accessible by boat? Well, when you need a new fridge, you just have to find a way.

All for now...thanks for reading.