From Campbellford on the Trent-Severn, Ontario, Canada

Proceeded to leave our beloved Rideau Canal last Monday. It took 3 days instead of 2 to reach Kingston as we stayed put at one lock on Tuesday due to 30 knot winds. Taking locks with that high a wind is not fun, especially with just the 2 of us on Sirocco.

Arrived in Kingston at noon on Wednesday, so we had the entire afternoon to do some shopping, including getting an "internet stick" from one of the Canadian wireless provider (Telus). Had a wonderful early dinner at Le Chien Noir, a bistro-style restaurant in the heart of Kingston. Their Poutine is out of this world - made with melted brie, duck confit and a reduced brown sauce (not gravy please) over French Fries...to die for, and we may, as this is not dietary and loaded with bad fat, but OH soooo good!

Left Thursday morning and travelled the 65 miles through the Bay of Quinte to reach Trenton late afternoon. Trenton is at the southern end of the Trent-Severn Waterway. It was very windy that afternoon. As we approached the municipal marina to prepare for docking, the port engine quit, never to start again. Captain Wonderful landed perfectly on the long dock despite the wind, aided by one good dock hand. After gathering our thoughts and setting up for the 2 nights planned there, we realized what had happened. And it is embarrassing for Annick, the assigned fuel manager on-board, and Michael, the Captain who is supposed to check everything.

Sirocco is equipped with 3 fuel tanks: one main and a port and starboard one (wing tanks). Wing tanks are smaller and typically reserved for the generator and for emergency. Late last season, since we had not used the wing tanks (our generator was busted), "we" (the Captain) switched the engines to the wing tanks to use up some of this fuel and not let it sit too long. Well, when we drove Sirocco off the dock this season, Annick forgot to carry over this vital information and all fuel calculations were done assuming the engines were on the main tank...so we simply had ran out of diesel on the Port tank  and the Starboard tank was not far behind. We got VERY lucky that this happened just at the marina as we were docking. It could have been much worse, caught in a windy situation with both engines down until we figured out the fuel supply issue. But all is well that ended well. Although the port engine diesel line was air-locked and we had to call upon a diesel mechanic to show Michael how to remedy this situation. A good learning experience: never trust the First Mate and ensure the Captain is checking all critical information! We did have a good laugh after the overall embarrassment.

Trenton is a little town with not much going on, except that it is at the beginning of the Trent-Severn and it has an outstanding grocery store with quality products that easily rival the Harris Teeters or Wegmans of the USAs. Their fruits, vegetables, cheeses, and cold cuts are just outsdanding in flavor and ripeness. Can't find this is the USAs for sure. We loaded up! We generally find that fruits and vegetables are more flavorful in Canada, likely because they are locally grown and people demand this quality. Forget about the look; it is the taste that matters! 

The municipal marina is located right in the middle of the town, so easy walking distance to everything. We had great Italian food on Friday evening at Tomasso's and got the boat ready for departure the next morning: all fueled and watered up, pumped out, etc... At around 3:30AM, as we are sound asleep, we are both awakened by voices and stumping noises. Annick thought there were guys on the dock horsing around, but Michael, with all his hearing deficiencies, knew right away someone was ON THE BOAT! He jumped out of bed to find 2 young men on our aft deck peering through our glass door to the salon. He yelled at them to get off the F....ing boat or he'll call the cops. They jumped out through the aft deck canvas (which we had left open because of the heat), hopped into a parked car and took off. We went back to bed but sleep was difficult to find after this troublesome event. We reported the incident the next morning to the marina's manager, who filed a police report. Unbeknown to us, the city of Trenton monitors the transient docks with a video camera and the hope is the police will be able to get a license plate to find these guys. They certainly were up to no good and we got relatively lucky.

Left Saturday morning and went through the first 12 locks to arrive at Campbellford (31 miles covered of 250 to Georgian Bay...not there yet, and 36 more locks to go). The locks are much deeper than on the Rideau, but otherwise pretty much the same procedure. So far the lock attendants have been helpful and friendly. The scenery, as advertised in this section of the waterway, is not as picturesque as The Rideau. The picturesque is to come later.

All is well. We are enjoying discovering new territories. I have added a few new albums and pictures.
So long, until next time on the internet.

Annick & Michael aboard Sirocco.

P.S.: You can view our location on Google map by clicking on the link (green) at the very bottom of the blog. Zoom out to get the perspective of our travel.