Westport to Smith Falls

Westport to Smith Falls or “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”.  I have been observing the locals for hints on how to go about doing things.   The first thing I learned was from a dockhand at a fueling station.  When we were done with the lines and getting ready to pull away, he looped the lines around the boat rail so they were out of the way and easy to grab for next time.  I quickly decided that I was going to follow this same practice for all my other lines.  With waiting at the “blue line” and locking through on whichever side of the lock the lock attendant tells us to, I never know whether to prepare the port or the starboard side of the boat for tie-up until the last minute.  We have our boat fenders (bumpers) setup as 2 on port (less likely side) and 4 on starboard.  If we find out we need port side tie-up, I run around like a crazy person and move 2 from the starboard side to the port side.  With my new way of having lines ready but not bothersome, I have lines on all 6 cleats so I am ready to go from any point on the boat without moving them around too.

At the same fueling dock where I learned the new way to secure my lines, we learned from one of the locals that our fender boards that were great in the Erie Canal would be an issue in the Rideau Canal because the cables stick out from the walls on the Rideau instead of being recessed into alcoves as on the Erie.  On the Rideau there is a much greater chance that a fender board will get snagged in the cables causing no end of angst while attempting to hold the vessel and disentangle them.  Being the skeptic that he is, the captain suggested we disconnect the fenders from the boards but leave the boards in place.  I did that until I saw the lock coming up and then quickly scrambled to pull the boards up on board and out of the way.  I am certainly glad I did that because even the fenders wanted to snag on the protruding cables, but I am certain that freeing one fender is a lot easier than getting a board out from under one of these cables.

The next thing I observed about locking through is that the other 3 boats locking through with us all had their front line tied on one end to the bow cleat.  I decided that since this appeared to be the standard mode of operation, I should try the same procedure since holding our vessel is indeed a wrestling match all the way up / down the wall.  As soon as I had myself all set, I was reprimanded by my captain for attaching my locking line to the boat and told to disconnect it.  I explained that everyone else did it that way, but  he said they were looking for trouble so I sadly disconnected my bowline and prepared for my standard wrestling match.   The locks we were going through seemed particularly turbulent ones in a series of 3.  

The first of the series was where I tried to setup my lines like the locals and was told “No!”  In the 2^nd lock of the series, the captain was losing the battle with the stern as it pulled away from the wall.  I kept yelling “we’re gonna hit, we’re gonna hit” as the bow came towards the wall at higher speed than I could push against, and then, with no bumper at the extreme front of the boat, we banged up against the wall.  The lock attendant was there and tried to help the captain by telling me to loosen my front line, but I told him it was plenty lose / slack for the captain to pull the boat around if he was able.  The captain explained to the lock attendant that “we have a keel”, and that seemed to be all that needed to be said to understand our predicament.  Once they got the stern pulled up against the wall, the lock hand told the captain that the best way to handle the lines is to use a longer line and tie one end off on a cleat.  (Hah!)  In that way the crew has better control of the vessel.  He said that he thought it would be a problem if the line became hung up, but the lock attendant said they prefer it that way as it is safer.   Fortunately our hit to the wall was on the metal trim around the boat designed to take hits, so no damage was done.  Whew!

Our next  boating lesson for the Rideau Canal came after Westport in the Big Rideau Lake.  We headed to Captain By Lake as a secluded place to stay for the night.  Unfortunately when we got there all the dock space was taken, so we were left to fend for ourselves.  I observed that there were other boats scattered around in the waters, and each was attached to a mooring ball.  For those that do not know, a mooring ball is a float with a ring on it that is “permanently” secured / anchored in place such that boats can tie up to it and not have to drop anchor.   I pointed out to the captain that there were multiple unused mooring balls, but he said they were private and that we couldn’t use them.  So, we dropped our anchor in between 2 islands and luxuriated in the lovely breeze. 

For some unknown reason, perhaps it was the relaxing atmosphere or perhaps it was exhaustion from the go-go-go of this vacation, I just could not keep my eyes open.  So at approximately 3:00 I went and laid down on the bed fully expecting to lie there awake until I got bored.  Surprisingly I actually slept.  At just around 5:00 I heard this very weird motor sound and woke with a start.  I sat up as the captain at the stern of the boat yelled, “we’ve got a dragging anchor, I need your help!”  Well, I was up and out of that bed and got my shoes on in record time to come out and see what I needed to do.  Meanwhile the captain had run up to the upper helm, started the boat, and was using the winch to pull in the anchor as quickly as possible. 

When the anchor came up out of the water, I could see no anchor.  The bottoms of the lakes here are “weed choked”, and all I could see on the end of the anchor chain was a very large cluster of greenery.  I got the boat hook and started knocking things off in search of the elusive anchor.  Eventually it appeared out from under the growth!  With the vessel now under control, the captain came around to see the anchor and asked me if I had taken a picture.  Really!?  What kind of fire drill requires a camera??  Anyway, guess what, we went and grabbed a mooring ball for the night even though the ball we picked up had “Lazy days” written on it which I can only assume is the name of the vessel that normally uses that mooring ball.   “I told you so, I told you so” was all I could keep thinking and maybe saying  - you’d have to ask the captain is I was rubbing it in too badly or not.  Of course he just explained that he was afraid an irate Canadian would accost him in the night.

Speaking of which, around midnight, long after we had retired for the night, I heard a boat engine and people shouting.  My first thought was “Oh God – we’re gonna have to move at midnight and here I am in pajamas”.  The captain went to check it out and reported back that it was actually 2 boats and they were out there swearing at each other.  Apparently they did not want us to, or request that, we remove ourselves, so I went back to sleep.  The captain told me the next morning that since he was up and running around the boat at midnight, he took the opportunity to observe the stars where he had a very clear view of the Milky Way.  I wish I had seen that but when weighed against sleep, sleep won hands down!

If you are still reading after all the above, then let me tell you a little about Westport since this entry is supposed to be about that cute little town.  My first comment is one about Ontario in general.  I have never been anywhere in Canada previously besides Montreal and Quebec.  Note neither of these places is in Ontario.  I never knew that if I had visited Ontario, Kingston or otherwise, I would not have had to make so many trips to England to get my periodic fix on British culture.  For one thing, Kingston was full of pubs and pub fare including steak and kidney pie, lamb shanks, fish and chips, and assorted other British treats. 

In Westport, I found a bakery and decided that diet or no, I had to have a scone.  When I went in to inquire about scones, I was told that they did not sell them.  I did notice, however, that they sold a childhood treat from my days in England – sausage rolls!!  OMG!! Sausage rolls!!  Now I know that my stomach probably would protest later, but I had to have sausage rolls so I bought 2 of them.  There is nothing in the USA like a British sausage roll, and the Ontario version tastes just like the London, England version.  Instead of my normal breakfast I ate my 2 treats, fresh and warm from the oven, as I walked to the other bakery in town (directed there by the sausage roll bakery) in search of my scones. 

The 2^nd bakery did indeed sell scones and I bought 2 of them supposedly one for that day and one for another.  So on top of my two sausage rolls, I consumed a raisin scone (traditional).  By lunch time I decided it would be a waste for the 2^nd scone to go stale by the next day, so I ate the 2^nd scone.  I have been so good on this trip as multiple times I have watched the captain eat an ice cream cone while I refrained from indulging since there was no “sugar free” sold.   There was no sugar in my sausage rolls and I think very little in the scones, so I had to indulge myself for this one day.  I have no regrets for my “naughty day”, but I’m not planning to do it again. 

The Canadian currency here includes a $1.00 coin and a $2.00 coin.  The $1.00 coin is called a Loonie by the Canadians, and the $2.00 coin is called a Toonie.  The town dock where we stayed in Westport included use of the toilets and showers.  It turns out the facilities are the public restrooms associated with the visitor center about a block from the dock – not particulary convenient.  The showers were available but not free.  2 minutes of water cost one Loonie.  4 minutes of water cast one Toonie or 2 Loonies.  By now I was Loonie just trying to decipher the sign but anyway … 

I’m not sure how long it takes me to shower, I’ve never timed myself,  but I have very long hair that requires a wash and a cream rinse just to be able to get a comb through.  I think my hair alone is a 2-minute process, so there goes one Loonie.  Could I soap and rinse the rest of me in 2 more minutes?  Maybe so that would be another Loonier or by now a Toonie.   While deciding if I was Loonie enough to pay a Toonie for a shower, I realized that the coin box to pay for the shower was outdoors.  Thus, if I did not get the soap off in time, I would need to run outdoors butt naked to put in coins for more time, or I would need to have the captain stand outside the ladies room ready to insert more coins should I yell out.   The captain and I decided that running the hot water heater and showering on the boat made a lot more sense even if it meant pulling out the hose and refilling the water tank. 

Before leaving Westport I decided that I desperately needed some lip balm with sunscreen in it.  We had some Burt’s Beeswax with sunscreen on board and I had tried that but it burned my lips like a son-of-a-gun and had to be wiped off faster than applied.  With all the sunscreen I’ve been slathering on myself, the one part of me that I hadn’t thought about was my lips.  My lower lip got sunburned.  I have never experienced this before and hope not to have the displeasure ever again.  My lip actually swelled to twice its normal side, had a purplish tint, and acquired 3, albeit small, blisters that were extremely sensitive to touch.  The Westport pharmacy had 4 brands of lip balm with sunscreen so I took them up to the pharmacist, told him about Burt’s burnwax, and asked for his recommendation.  He picked out blistex since he said it actually had medication to prevent infection that might ensue due to the blisters, so I bought that and it felt, and tasted, heavenly though I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to eat it at least not on purpose.

We left Westport and headed to Captain by Land where we moored (see above) for the night.  After my rudely interrupted nap, the captain suggested we go swimming.  Since I had been napping in my bathing suit, it seemed reasonable to jump in.  However, as soon as one foot appears off the back of the boat a school of fish appear – same as other blog entry – obviously looking for food.  I watched them for a while and then decided that the stale rolls that we couldn’t eat would be good fish food.  As soon as I started feeding the fish, I got “Don’t feed them!  It’ll just make them stick around” from the captain.  Blithely ignoring this sage advice I proceeded to feed them an entire hoagie roll – whole wheat of course since we want healthy fish!  It was fun to watch the fish attack the bread with such gusto.  By the time I was down to the last pieces of roll, the fish had deserted ship.  Clearly the only way to get fish to stop nibbling on toes is to feed them something else.  Once fed they leave.  Chalk one more up for the first mate – I was able to swim without fish nibbling my toes after that.

After our swim and before dinner, we decided to use our dinghy and take a look-see around the islands to see what was about and also see if anyone had left from the dock area so we could tie up proper.  Our dinghy is old and has had problems with leaks – losing air and taking on water.  Before our trip we patched it in more places than we can count.  It appeared to be holding air and we hoped we had patched it enough that it would keep out the water, but no sooner did we shove off from the boat in our dinghy than the captain said we were taking on water.  Good thing I had worn my water shoes and still had on my bathing suit.  It’s always a good plan to plan on getting wet in our dinghy!  After we had toured around for a while, the captain took a sponge and bailed the boat – obviously not a large leak but it does fill up after a while.  We also have a reconfigured Clorox bottle that we use as a bailer when needed but that was overkill for this trip.  We had a pleasant look around, found out that no one had left the docks, and eventually returned to the boat where I cooked a late, now 8:30, dinner for us to eat on board.

We retired reasonably early after we decided to get an early start for Smith Falls in the morning!  As planned we left our mooring around 8:00 to make the 11:00 bridge opening in Smith Falls.  If we missed that one, it would be 1:00 for the next.   We’ve stopped taking as many pictures as we were taking previously because after a while it becomes “more of the same”.  Coming into Smith Falls, I did take a couple of pictures – one of an airplane parked next to the canal, one of the rocks under the water as we merrily float by (we took tons of photos of trees in the Erie so I figure rocks in the Rideau is fair), and one of the Smith Falls lock and bridge as we waited our turn to go through. 

After passing through the bridge opening, we entered the Smith Falls basin where there are docks for first-come-first-serve basis; however, all docks were fully occupied.  As we floated in the middle wondering what to do next, we were hailed by a very nice man who said that we should pull up to the wall and grab the last spot with electric.  We wasted no time getting over there and he and another boater grabbed our lines and helped secure us to the wall.  There are gates along the fence periodically; the man who hailed us said that in the past boaters had to climb over the fence to get on and off boats.  So, we have electicity, a shade tree nearby, and a heavenly breeze to help us while away our time.  Thunderstorms are expected over the next two days and the captain wanted us to not be in open water.  I think we have a very good spot!