7/14/14 Big Chute Railway to Bay Port Marina, Midland, Ontario

 

After a night on one of the "waiting" docks,

 Charis headed for the blue line.  They had hoped to be first in the railway, so that they would have a good view.  Once they were tied up, we headed for the blue line, but the lock staff got on the loud speaker and told us to approach the Chute.  We quickly got in and the slings around the boat were secured. 

Big Chute Railway

 

Charis was told to get into the lock behind us.  When they were in position, there was some discussion about the location of their external bow thruster.  The lock staff was very concerned that it would be damaged if they remained in the same spot, so they were told to back out of the railway.

  Ken and Ann's boat is very wide, heavy and not very maneuverable when in reverse.  In addition, one side of the approach had water rushing into the dam and the other side was very shallow.  Ken was finally able to maneuver the boat to a safe spot while ours proceeded through on the railway. 

The time it takes for a boat to move top to the bottom is about 10 minutes once the boat is secured.  It takes another 10 minutes for the rail to return to the top.  Once down, Ron and I tied Adagio to a dock and waited for Charis.  We were in a great spot to get lots of photos as they proceeded in the railway.

The last lock on the Trent Severn is Lock 45.  It is a very small lock.  Charis went in and tied to starboard.  We went in and tied to port, but we were not side by side.  As Charis started to exit the lock, the cable on the wall to which Ann was attached at the stern broke. It broke so abruptly that she fell backwards and landed on her bum.  She was bruised pretty badly from this fall.
Charis was NOT having a good day!!


Several channels on our way to Midland were very narrow.  There were reds and greens  extremely close together and not on our chart.  I was so grateful that we have a boat that has a beam of only 11'2".  Wider boats are challenged especially when another boat approaches. 

We arrived at Midland at 1330.   Approaching the marina on port side there is a huge mural in town.  We learned later that they have murals around town which commemorate the town's history. Midland Marina is huge. They have 500 slips and indoor storage for 100 small boats.  There are six complexes which house restrooms/showers and laundry facilities.  They employ a full time person to keep the restroom/shower/laundry facilities clean. 

 

Free transportation is provided at this marina.  We took advantage of this service for our dinner at the Boat House.  It was a nice evening on the patio and enhanced by live music.