23 Sep Smith Falls to Rideau Ferry on the Canal

Awoke to the sound of rain this morning.

Slightly cooler morning too, which is much more pleasant It has been uncomfortably hot the last few  days,

We had plenty of time this morning to get ourselves organised as we couldn’t get onto the boat until late morning.

We sorted our bags so that we could leave some of our bags at the house

Rob came over to help us store our bags containing the items that we weren’t going to take on the boat,

They went under the house 

Rob then loaded the rest of our luggage that we were taking with us into his big truck and drove us over to the Le Boat Offices. We used the trolleys that they had there to load our luggage 

to store it at the office as our boat wasn’t ready for us yet

Us all at the front of the office. The picture on the wall of the office behind us is the one depicted below

There was a big chair there that we of course had to have our photos taken sitting in

Because the boat wasn’t ready for us yet we walked over the bridge, checked out the old part of the canal

and went  over to the information centre which is the old mill and we watched a short video about the history of Smiths Falls

Soon it was time to walk back to the Le Boat offices

To pick up our luggage and head onto the boat

Instruction from Jason on the route and the finer points of the boat

Test driving instruction around the lake, first Jim

Then Bill

Then we were on our way through the first lock

With a lock master on either side working hard operating the winding gear. The bridge across the road had to swing around to allow us to pass under, consequently there was a long line of traffic either side waiting to cross over before we had finished passing through

Goodbye to Rob, and Jason our instructor and we were on our way to the next lock

Passing under the old railway bridge

and out into the beautiful calm waters of the canal and the pretty countryside

The lock masters at Poonamalie were waiting for us as apparently the lockmasters from the previous lock radio through to notify the next lock masters

We moored at the side of the canal so that we could go ashore and have some lunch.

Pretty area

Chatted to the lockmasters there for a bit. Apparently neither of them live in the lockmasters house. It is rented out.

After lunch we continued on through the canal with Jim at the helm on the top deck.

Through the lower Rideau Lake, using the buoys and the maps as navigation aids

Until we reached Rideau Ferry. Took us a while to work out where we could moor. We finally moored at the marina but had to pay.

Some of us decided to go ashore and stretch our legs, so went for a wander along the only road there was from the mooring.

Found some apple trees laden with fruit

and pretty plants on the roadside

Back at the marina we checked out the big boats that had already been shrink wrapped ready for winter

and watched the skies change colour from the setting sun

Relaxing on the back deck

By the time we got organised we ended up having a very late dinner, using the bbq on the top deck.

A very enjoyable first day on the water, with the weather being kind to us yet again,