What lies ahead and what lies beneath! Today started out like any other, but with a
palpable urgency in the air. Home was
beckoning but we had to keep our attention on the tasks at hand. As we journeyed ever northward, the rugged
beauty engulfed us and we marvelled at our great fortune to share in its
splendor.
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| Fallen Tree from Recent Storm |
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| Morning Sun Breaking Through |
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| Pink Rock |
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| Trust the Green Buoy? |
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| Swift Rapids Lock 43 - Dam |
Arriving at Lock 44-Big Chute Marine Railway, we felt
anxious excitement as we maneuvered Terrmar along the blue line to wait for the
lock-master to call our name to proceed into the lock. How does one describe Big Chute Marine
Railway Lock 44? If I was to tell you
that your boat would be lifted out of the water and set strapped in a cradle,
attached to what looks like duel railway tracks and then slowly rolled down a
steep 60 foot decline with yourself on board – you might think I had been
drinking Terrmar’s diesel fuel! Indeed,
that is how Lock 44 operates!
The original Big Chute Marine Railway Lock was built in
1917. The Canadian government decided to
keep it operational and updated it in the 1970s. Their reasoning was to try to control the
spread of the invasive species, the sea lamprey, from Gloucester Pool (at the
bottom of the railway lock), into Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Biologists found that when the boats were
raised out of the water, any lampreys attached to the bottom would drop off
before the boats arrived at the top of the lock. It is the only marine railway of its kind
still operating in North America!
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| Engine 1000 Hours |
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| Big Chute - Waiting our Turn |
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| Looking North |
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| Pilot House View |
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| View from the Stern |
Whew! All good! We were gently released from the straps of
Bug Chute into Gloucester Pool. No time
for sight-seeing, as the whirlpool currents challenged Mark to keep Terrmar
inside the narrow channel well away from boats waiting for Big Chute to carry
them south.
Well done! Only one
more lock to conquer on the Trent-Severn Waterway before entering Georgian
Bay. One more day – then home!
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