Tag: Locking

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.

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.

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!