Monday, May 28

He used to be a sailor

Top of the Lovesick Lock - #30

Top of Peterborough Lift looking down on twin pan

Finally there was a big WOW on the Trent/Severn Waterway at the Peterborough Lift Lock #21 ......  it is the world's highest hydraulic lift lock.  As we "floated" up the 65-foot vertical lift in a quick 90 seconds we felt like kids on a carnival ride!
When it opened in 1904, it was quite an amazing engineering feat ........ it still is today.  The lock works like a giant balance beam scale.  At the green light you enter a large rectangular chamber shaped like a huge sheet-cake pan.  Parallel to that chamber, but 65 feet up on a huge piston, is another chamber - a twin to yours.  There are 330,000 gallons of water that weigh 1,500 tons in each pan.  When the upper chamber is filled with an extra foot of water (1 ft. = 130 tons) the increased weight in the upper tank forces it to go down, while the lower tanks rises on its piston.  It does not matter how many or what size boats are in each pan, as the boats displace their own weight.  It is amazing, we were tempted to turn around and do it again.

Bottom of Peterborough Lift looking up

Soon it was back to a series of 10 normal size locks ......... each with a vertical rise of only 10-12 feet and taking about 12 minutes to lock through ........ after the "Big" one of the day, the thrill was gone.
By afternoon we had entered the Kawartha Lakes Chain, once known to the Indians as "happy lands and bright waters".  They stretch along the waterway in a series of long open passages.  We meandered through island lined channels and tree lined coves ....... we were back in God's Country.
One of the lakes was called Clear Lake ...... living up to its name in a big way.  The shores were lined with some very expensive real estate - obviously "the place to be" in this part of the world.
It was such a gorgeous afternoon that we decided to quit early and pulled up to the upper wall at the Lovesick Lock #30.  Said by many to be the prettiest lock on the Trent-Severn, it is situated between two islands on Lovesick Lake.  Surrounded by a natural preserve and many other tiny islands, it was the perfect spot to drop in our kayaks and later enjoy a lakeside dinner.