Voyage – Hydrotherapy Travels

Beyond the Great Lakes

After moving along the eastern edge of Lake Michigan and visiting the lovely towns of Northport, Leland, Ludington, and Saugatuck, we arrived in Michigan City, Indiana. Here, we arranged for mechanics to come aboard and perform another 300 hour service on our engines and generator as well as switch out some batteries that needed replacing.

From Michigan City we moved onto the Calumet-Sag waterway, which was built primarily as a shipping channel to connect Chicago with the Mississippi River via the Illinois River. Locks and dams were completed by 1930 to allow this important thoroughfare for commerce. We were forced to utilize this waterway rather than the more scenic cruise down the Chicago River which traverses the heart of the city. The limiting factor was the height of our boat which would not fit under some of the bridges in downtown Chicago. Both the Chicago and Calumet Sag waterways join together to ultimately run into the Illinois River.

The locks and dams were designed to prevent the runoff water and treated sanitation water of Chicago from entering Lake Michigan. Thus, all the turbid water moves south and west via the Illinois River and eventually drains into the Mississippi River.

To date, we have transited seven of the eight locks on the Illinois River and experienced the landscape changing from raw industrial landscape to pleasant farmlands with eagles seen nesting in the trees. While being fascinated with the landscape changes surrounding us, we have had to be constantly watchful for the massive commercial tugboats pushing large barges. Many times the barges are linked two to three abreast and up to eight barges in length. We are amazed that the captains of these boats can control those barges through the many tortuous bends in the river as well as through the many tight bridges across the waterways. The Mississippi captains will have even more impressive links of barges in tow. We will enter the Mississippi River next week.

The Great Lakes are Great!

One of the pleasures of our time spent cruising in the Great Lakes has been the noticeable transition to traveling in clean, clear and cool fresh water. Fresh water coursing through the engine cooling systems, the air conditioning cooling systems as well as bathing Hydrotherapy’s hull while cruising has helped us in many ways. Our diesel engines and generator run at cooler temperatures, making them more efficient. Our air conditioning systems are likewise less stressed without the salt and barnacle build-up so commonly encountered in our FlorIda Gulf waters.

Exterior boat cleaning has also been substantially simplified by not having to constantly soap wash the vessel to control the salt residue. No wonder so many of the northern boats we have encountered here look brand new.

We entered our first Great Lake (Ontario) at Oswego, NY in July to cross north to enter the Thousand Islands and the St. Lawrence Seaway. We were relieved to enter the North Georgia Bay of Lake Huron after traversing the 46 locks of the Trent Severn Waterway between Trent, ON and Port Severn, ON in August. We travelled south on Lake Huron to re-enter the U.S. at DeTour Village, Michigan. From there, we were fortunate to spend several days at Mackinac Island. The view of the Mackinac Bridge from there is where Lake Huron transitions into Lake Michigan.

The three Great Lakes that we have travelled thus far share the same beautiful elements. Crystal clear water with great depth visibility. Cool temperatures that make swimming a very refreshing experience. The green landscapes that line the shorelines with mature trees and evergreens are stunning. The fresh air here could not be fresher. The Great Lakes are great!

A Day in the Life of the Grahams

We have now lived aboard Hydrotherapy for six months. The only thing exactly the same each day is that they all begin with sunrise and end with sunset.

There are many things and events that are similar in our day to day life aboard, but most days are vastly different from beginning to end. We have discovered that adhering to somewhat of a schedule, even an ever changing one, helps us to form a routine for our work and chores.

We start each morning by making our bed. It sounds odd to think of this as an important part of starting our day, but in reality, its a reminder that we accomplished at least one task for the day! We pass through the bedroom many times in a day to reach the engine room, laundry room, supply closet, and freezer and seeing a made bed is a good thing.

We have designated (loosely) Fridays to be laundry and cleaning days. If we are at anchor on a Friday, we just move these chores to another day when we are in a marina with power hookup and dockside water.

We have learned to never pass on an opportunity to visit a grocery store. We learned the hard way that if we wait for a “better” store at the next town, the store might be 25 miles or more away from the marina. Buying groceries and supplies is a constant juggling act of not overbuying, with our limited space, but also not leaving ourselves short on needed supplies and food.

How many times have you heard the saying, “A place for everything and everything in it’s place?” If you ever want to see your screwdriver, sunscreen, or glasses again… put them where they belong. Items go undercover and missing on a boat alarmingly fast.

Taking the kitchen trash out every day is a priority. Yesterday’s trash needs to be out the door so bugs don’t find their way aboard and become your new best (and forever) friends.

We begin each morning sitting outside enjoying our coffee and end each evening sitting outside and enjoying the view and maybe toasting another glorious day with a glass of wine!

Proceed with Caution!

After completing the Rideau canal linking Ottawa with Kingston, Ontario, we cruised west to begin the Trent Severn Waterway. Unlike the Rideau canal which was originally designed for military purposes, the Trent Severn Waterway was conceived to move goods and commerce from Lake Huron to Lake Ontario by connecting numerous lakes in the region with a series of locks and dams.

The first successful lock was built from limestone blocks and hand-cranked wooden gates in 1857. As steamboats became more prevalent on the lakes, there was additional pressure to link more of the lakes and use dams to control the water levels between them. The Canadian government expanded the lock system further between1896 and 1904 when the Peterborough lock was completed. This lock was considered and engineering marvel of its time and is still in operation today. It utilizes hydraulic filled tubs to lift or lower vessels 62 feet depending on the direction of travel. In 1907, the invention of hydroelectric power generated from the control of water at the dams became the stimulus to complete the waterway by 1920. One of the locks scheduled to be completed during WWI was temporarily bypassed with a railway mechanism to carry boats from one lake to another at the Big Chute. Because of budget constraints after the war, the lock was never completed. A modified version of the Big Chute rail system remains in service today.

Vessels wishing to transit the rail system or any lock for that matter, must dock at a wall painted blue (the blue line) and wait for instructions from the lockmasters on when to enter. It is common to be placed in the locks with several other boats. The lockmasters that work for the Canada Park System are experts in stacking boats in the locks to make them as efficient as possible. The most frightening boats that enter are the rental houseboats that are often driven by the most inexperienced skippers. The lockmasters jokingly refer to these individuals as the “wallbangers.” We have just completed another 45 locks on the Trent-Severn to enter the Georgia Bay of Lake Huron. We found the locks and shallow waters of theTrent-Severn to be the most challenging part of our journey thus far. We are thankful that there will be no more locks to traverse until we leave Lake Michigan in the fall.

Cruising the Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal is North America’s oldest continuously operating canal. This 125 mile long chain of rivers, lakes, cut canals and locks was built between 1826-1832 as a military defense route to connect Ottawa with Lake Ontario. Although the canal has never been used for military purposes, it is now used primarily by recreational boaters to move from Ottawa to Kingston on Lake Ontario. It is managed well by the Canadian Park Services Dept.

We arrived at the first lock in Ottawa and ascended eight locks in rapid sequence to rise from the Ottawa river to downtown Ottawa. We had to wait for a couple of hours halfway through this lock series for a thunderstorm to pass over us. All 49 locks on the Rideau are still operated manually by turning hand cranks to open and close the lock gates as well as control the flow of water in and out of the locks. The lock interiors are made of massive limestone mortared blocks. Many of the locks are staffed by college-aged park employees who are extremely helpful and friendly while assisting boaters like us moving in and out of the lock gates.

We just missed the last set of four locks heading into Kingston, ON by a few minutes. We are now secured to a place on a wall above the lock awaiting the first opening tomorrow morning. From here we will cruise south to Kingston and head west on Lake Ontario to pick up the Trent-Severn canal system which will ultimately take us into the north Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. We are now enjoying warm sunny days and comfortably cool evenings. We are not missing the Florida heat and humidity!

Cruising the Ottawa River

After several days of great sightseeing in Montreal, we left early the next morning to begin a new path westward to cruise on the beautiful Ottawa river. We had to first backtrack through the St. Lambert lock and unfortunately we were delayed by several hours at the second lock (St. Catherine) while the maintenance crews repaired one of the lock gates that would not close.

After the unexpected delay, we traversed the second lock and made our way to the mouth of the Ottawas river at St. Anne De Bellvue. Although we did not make it in time to enter the lock there, we were able to tie up to the wall leading to the dock for the night. We took advantage of this unplanned stop to grill steaks on Hydrotherapy and have a quiet meal aboard enjoying the great outdoor summer weather.

The following day we made our way westward through the St. Anne De Bellvue lock as well as the Carillon lock which was another 20 miles west on the Ottawa river. The Carillon lock was unusual in that we were carefully directed by the lock personnel to tie up to a floating dock within the lock as well as to other boats that were in the lock with us. The lockmasters did a skillful job making sure all nine boats could safely be in the lock together as the water level rose 62 feet to the level of the upstream river.

From here the beauty of the Ottawa river completely impressed us. We were surrounded by rolling hills, green farm lands as well as impressive private homes and properties. We were lucky to arrange dockage at the Chateau Montebello marina adjacent to the Chateau which was built in the 1930’s completely from logs moved by train from the western United States. This luxury hotel is the largest log structure in the world. We enjoyed two nights of fine dining there as well as some hiking and a pleasant dinghy ride along the river.

Our next cruise was an easy pace up to the capital city of Ottawa. It is a beautiful city with rich architecture, a spectacular Parliament and over 130 foreign embassy buildings located there. Tomorrow we head south through the heart of downtown Ottawa on the Rideau Canal which was constructed in 1832. We will encounter a series of 44 locks to arrive in Kingston, Ontario located on the St. Lawrence river.