Tag Archives: Locks

Trent-Severn Waterway, Lock-a Rama! 105 days into America’s Great Loop

Ed and I are 105 days into America’s Great Loop. After traversing over 2000 miles, a fellow looper asked: “How long have you been gone from your home port in Stuart?” “Three months,” I replied. “How much longer will you be traveling?” “Seven more months,” Ed yelled from the pilot house – a sobering reminder that Captain and First Mate are not even half way.

Finito going through Lock 26 at Lakefield. Photo Ixatxe De Valles Sanchez, Happy Giraffe.

Since I last wrote, our trawler Finito has gone from Kingston to Trenton; Trenton to Frankfort; Frankfort to Cambellford; Campbellford to Hastings; Hastings to Peterborough; Peterborough to Buckhorn; Buckhorn to Bobcaygeon; Bobcaygeon to Kirkwood; and Kirkwood to Orillia.

We have been motoring along the 240 mile Trent-Severn Waterway, a National Historic Site of Canada. Constructed from 1833 through 1920, the zig-zagging waterway connects a series of lakes in central Ontario linking Georgian Bay and Lake Huron to Lake Ontario. The waterway contains 37 conventional locks, two of the worlds highest hydraulic lift locks, and concludes with the “Big Chute,” a marine railway that transports one’s boat, out of water, over a height of 60 feet – the only one of its kind still in use in North America!

Along the way there are villages, cities, and breathtaking scenery. I celebrated my 60th birthday on the Trans -Severn while in “Campbellford.” Here Ed saved a drowning pigeon, we had a romantic dinner on the Trent River, and I learned that when the word “ford” is used it means there was once a land bridge, a place where horses and people could cross the river. These shoals have been dredged and replaced by modern day bridges. My favorite stay though was on the downwall of Kirkfield’s lock 36, totally remote. I sent family at home a photo texting: “Where we slept last night – just us and the fireflies.” My clever brother Todd wrote back adding Sasquatch: “Are you sure you were alone?” he wrote. We all got a big laugh and then I wondered…

Adam and Eve glacial rocks form the last ice age, Buckhorn. Lore has it that holding hands while touching both rocks brings blessings.

Beautiful moss and lichen at Kirkwood an area that was dynamited to create the “linkage” thus one sits deep in the earth.

Tree roots growing into the edge of ancient rocks.

Lift lock 36, Kirkfield. It was in the shadow of this lock we slept…maybe with Sasquash. Canada has put Sasquatch on a stamp!

Indigenous people, in Canada referred to as “First Nations,” and fur-trading Europeans following animal trails roamed this area in the 17th Century, pulling their canoes over portages. Later saw mills, water power gave birth to larger villages and eventually cities. By the 1920s, dredging, canals, dams, and locks replacing waterfalls and rapids and let’s not forget purposeful flooding created a navigable system. Today this Trent – Severn Waterway is a world famous destination for recreational boaters.

Waiting for Peterborough Lift Lock 21. Boats go up and down in a “bathtub” controlled by the weight of water.

Locks, locks, locks -Lock-a Rama- one after another, some double, some going up, some going down. The sun beating down so intensely that I started using an umbrella for shade. At the beginning of the lock journey, still bow-thrusterless, Ed and I were faltering.

A gentleman in front of us called out: “Why don’t you put your wife on the bow rather than mid-ship?” Ed and I followed direction and from there on out Finito swung to the wall perfectly. At lock 20 a water pump blew bringing Finito’s starboard engine to a halt. We knew there was no way we could navigate the remainder of the trip on one engine. Luckily our next stop was Peterborough, a large city. Within in a couple of days and the with direction of friends Finito was repaired.

Locks take time and I remain no expert on the waterways of the area but it is clear the altering of Nature’s wetlands and waters have had repercussions. Inside the locks algae and invasive zebra mussels coat the walls. Upon approach, submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) is almost out of control in many areas.

Just like the Indian River Lagoon with all its problems, there remain many beautiful areas. Some lakes are clear and hold many bird species. In Lake Simone I saw at least 50 common loons! Eastern Kingbirds were prevalent in the gorgeous wild flower area along the canals. Turtles are a familiar sight, as are of course the Canada Geese, called “cobra-chickens” by the locals. The geese are so called for their aggressive manner and hissing with their tongues out when protecting their young. I admire this. They are survivors.

My favorite has been learning about the swans. So beautiful! Tundra swans that breed in Alaska and northern Canada are native -holding their necks straight while mute swans, the kind you see in Batman movies, gracefully curve their necks and were introduced from Europe. July 1st was Canada Day, and as the fireworks were blasting, I took a photograph of a pair of native tundra swans headed towards shore. We are seeing more and more swans of both types as we continue on the trip.

Native tundra swans in Little Lake near Peterborough – Canada Day! They did not seem scared but did move to shoreline.

Today, Ed and I are in Orillia almost at the end of the Trent -Severn. These lands like all were once the historic home of Indigenous people who fished here in one of North America’s oldest human developments – the Mnjikanning Fish Weirs between Couchiching and Simcoe lakes. I look forward to learning more about these people and how glorious the lands, waters, and wildlife were during their era and how to do our best to return so today.

Statue in Orillia honoring the First Nation people who built fishing weirs in these waters well before recorded history – during the Archaic period in North America. Many remain in the area fighting for more management input into their native lands.

Today I get to enjoy these lands as a tourist. Ed and I are grateful for this. We are also grateful some of the new friends – that will become lifelong friends- we have met along the way and for Luna and Okee who are keeping us company on our journey. Get ready kids! Tomorrow, the Big Chute!

Ed gives Luna her first bath of the trip!

Parka is a the mascot of Canada Parks. Beaver brought Samuel de Champlain and trappers to these lands and waters. Their populations are returning after being completely decimated. The kids visiting the locks and some adults love learning from Parka!

Trinity the pigeon was given to Canada Parks after we rehabilitated her. Okee and Luna behaved!

72 Days into America’s Great Loop, Every Waterway Has a Story

Ed relaxes with Luna on our trawler, *Finito.* The Oneida River is attached to Lakes Oneida and Ontario by the Erie Canal which is attached to the Hudson River.

Half Moon Bay Marina, Croton on the Hudson River, NY.

It’s 72 days since Ed and I began America’s Great Loop and one thing is certain, everyday is an adventure.

After being awestruck by the Statue of Liberty, Ed and I embarked on a portion of the 315 mile long Hudson River. Our destination was Half Moon Bay Marina, named not just for the explorer, but for the ship of 17th century Henry Hudson. Rounding Bear Mountain, the spectacular view of U.S. Military Academy West Point came into view. Ed and I found ourselves standing at attention while looking for remnants of the Continental Army’s iron chain that blocked enemy British ships. The whole scene was amazing.

The day prior, Ed and I had driven to West Point, coincidentally the day prior to graduation. The campus was filled with graduates-to-be and their parents. It was a privilege to be there and I was struck by the diversity of the students. “How wonderful I thought.” West Point’s museum had stressed the evolution of curriculum due to sweeping revisions and dramatic developments in science and technology- a far cry from putting a chain across the river…

After our visit, Ed and I grabbed lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant. I started thinking environment. “Ed, didn’t the Hudson River have pollution issues? It looks so beautiful today,” I casually said while putting hot sauce on my burrito.

“Yeah,” Ed replied, “it was a Superfund site.”

“A Superfund site?” I gasped, almost choking. “Really?”

Between 1947 and 1977 General Electric released 1.3 million pounds of polychlorinated biphenyls into the Hudson River – these PCBs were so toxic they were soon banned in the United States. The EPA ended up classifying 200 miles of the Hudson River a federal Superfund site and the upper river’s prolific fishery was closed. General Electric was not the first to pollute the Hudson River. Long before, the Industrial Revolution had led to plants of many kinds. For over a century iron, steel, dye, textile, tanneries, candle, soap and slaughterhouses spewed waste into the gorgeous river.

Ed and I talked about this for a long time. “Every water has a story,” Ed said. “The industry gave people jobs.” I decided not to argue and our adventure continued taking trawler Finito from Croton-on -the Hudson (Half Moon Bay Marina) to Kingston; Kingston to Albany; Albany to Waterford; Waterford to Amsterdam; Amsterdam to Little Falls; Little Falls to Sylvan Beach; and Sylvan Beach to Brewerton not far from Lake Ontario.

Erie Canal connects to Hudson River at Troy, NY.

Looking at the map, beginning east at Troy, Ed and I began our travels west along the Erie Canal through a series of 35 locks. It is at Troy that the Hudson River meets the Erie Canal. What a work out!

First completed in 1825, with an elevation of 571 feet above sea level, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes. It brought massive economic success, as always, at the expense of rivers such as the Mohawk in Little Falls. The tiny hamlet once considered “the most beautiful,” had her waterfalls blown up to create her portion of the lock system- the most famous- Lock Number 17 that has a whopping 40 feet difference.

So far Ed and I have gone through 22 locks and are sitting at another marina, Winter Harbor along the Oneida River. The adventure and our education continues…

Do the ACOE and SFWMD Release Toxic Lake O Water Into the St Lucie River/Indian River Lagoon?

Paint colored shocking green algae at the gate entering Lake Okeechobee, 2009. (Photo from video by Jacqui thurlow-Lippisch) — Paint colored shocking green algae at the gate entering Lake Okeechobee, 2009. (Photo from video by Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch.)

I am well aware that the St Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon have location specific e. coli bacteria problems, as well as “overall water quality problems,” due to our local canals. This summer has been a great example of such with our SLR/IRL waters colored putrid brown all the way to the St Lucie Inlet just from releases from C-44, C-23, and C-24 canal basin runoff releases.

This is why it is beyond my comprehension, that with such terrible local water issues, our state and federal agencies can legally and in good conscious, “if necessary,” on behalf of flood control, release more nutrient, sediment filled waters into our SLR/IRL through Lake Okeechobee when they know that those waters often contain Microcystis Aeruginoas, a cyanobacteria that can produce health threatening toxins through its blue-green algae blooms.(http://www.doh.wa.gov/CommunityandEnvironment/Contaminants/BlueGreenAlgae.aspx)

Various SLR 2013 photos of cynanobacteria. Bob Voisenet, Mary Radabaugh, Jenny Flaugh, Douglas Ashley.) — Various 2013 SLR photos of microcystis aeruginoas, cynanobacteria. (Bob Voisenet, Mary Radabaugh, Jenny Flaugh, Douglas Ashley, Gary Hendry.)

In 2013, the Martin County Health Department, through spokesperson, Bob Washam, urged residents to avoid contact with the algae in the entire estuary from the St Lucie Canal to the St Lucie Inlet. Luckily with our local, “yuk” releases, we have not had that situation occur yet in 2014.

I have had two personal experiences witnessing these blue-green blooms. The first was during a boat ride into Lake Okeechobee, September 5, 2009, and the second was last year (2013) with the Everglades Foundation team, at the St Lucie Locks and Dam when the ACOE was releasing. As we walked over the gates, I clearly saw bright blue-green algae on the side of the dam allowing in Lake O water. Believe it or not, the SRWMD was testing the water right there… Mark Perry from Florida Oceanographic was with me and I ask him:

“Mark, is that “toxic” blue-green algae?”

Mark replied:

“Yes, blue-green algae can be toxic is most prevalent in fresh water systems. It is often in the lake.”

“And they are releasing it into our river?!”

I stood there in a daze….amazed.

Then I recalled the boat trip I had taken with my husband and dogs in 2009, and how we had seen the blue-green algae clearly along the edges of the locks while going into the lake and I had videotaped it. I am including some photos I took of that video below.

When Senator Rubio visited Stuart on behalf of the SLR/IRL, I told this story….I have told it many times at many official meetings to no avail. I think it a significant issue. Anyway…

So far this year, with the releases from our local canals, toxic algae, or Cyanobacteria, has not been reported in the SLR/IRL. It could be in the future, but it is less likely than when the ACOE is releasing from the lake. Why? Because often when they release from the lake it is TREMENDOUS amounts of freshwater, even more than comes from our local canals. Plus the blue-green algae is already in the lake as its fresh.

According to Bob Washam, blue-green algae was first reported around 1995 and it was blue! They thought it was a paint spill. The outbreaks have been more common since this time the worst being in 1998. Whether blue or green in color, it is bright. Very bright. You can see it.

How could our government, in essence, “poison its own people,” and how can we allow this, especially when we can see it?

We must push our government for change. Health, safety and welfare is something we rightfully deserve. Send the water south.

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Army Corp of Engineers (http://www.usace.army.mil)
South Florid aWater Management District (http://www.bing.com/search?q=south+florida+water+management+district&form=APMCS1)