Weed eater on the River Styx

Aquatic plants in the waters of the Rideau Waterway are an important part of a natural aquatic ecosystem, especially in the ecology of shoreline areas, according to Parks Canada. They provide habitat for fish to spawn, feed and hide from predators. Aquatic plants also play a key role in maintaining and improving the water quality of the Rideau.

However, excessive plant growth can interfere with boating, swimming and other recreational water activities, thus, enter the Parks Canada weed eater:

The mechanical harvester chews up the weeds—Eurasian water milfoil is the chief problem—and spits them out neatly compressed in the back of the machine:

Nevertheless, the milfoil grows like crazy, reaching up to foul the propellors of passing boats, meaning we had to stop the TomCat and clear the props more than once during our transit of the River Styx:

The River Styx is a shallow reach of the Rideau Waterway that ends at Kingston Mills, the last lockstation before Kingston and Lake Ontario. As Ken Watson reports on his excellent rideau-info.com site:

The River Styx is appropriately named. During the building of the Rideau Canal, this area consisted of small sections of rapids. The locks and dams that were constructed flooded this area, removed the rapids, and provided 5 feet of water for through navigation. There are few houses in this area. As one approaches Pete Crow Island, Joyceville Penitentiary passes on the right side.

Images of the Rideau Waterway

We're behind in posting reports and photos as it hasn't been easy to access the Internet on the Rideau. WiFi hotspots are few and far between. Here are photos that didn't fit with the text we've posted so far. Don't forget, for a larger view of any photo, click on the image.

Three cats in the first of four locks at Jones Falls where we all overnighted at the end of our first day on the Rideau.

That would be the ticket to have, a cottage on the Rideau Waterway and a float plane to get you there.

We regret not stopping at the Narrows where Sheena II, a ferro-cement trawler yacht, was docked in order to chat up the owners who have been cruising and living aboard for many years.





The waterway narrows as it snakes toward Newboro.











Red right returning ends at Newboro, the highest point between Kingston and Ottawa, when you're southbound.










The ferry in the narrow channel between Indian and Clear Lake is of the push-and-pull variety.

All the essentials are available at Brown's Marina at Chaffey's Lock.

The Captain is thinking: Is there potential for a photo album devoted entirely to sinking boathouses of the Rideau?

In Chaffey's Lock, these octogenarians had us thinking: Is this us in 20 to 30 years?

Solitude at Davis Lock . . . with a chuckle

8 June 2009, 1730 hours, Davis Lock

There’s not a cloud in the sky as we wake up to a bright, sunny day in Portland.

The Admiral makes a breakfast of the double-smoked bacon from Pan Chancho in Kingston and French toast made from the see-it-again Maritime Brown bread from Westport and drizzled with honey. After breakfast, a hike of 20 minutes takes us all around the village.

Portland has all the basics: a grocery store, an LCBO (Liquor Control Board of Ontario) outlet and a pizza parlor.

Then we’re off to Davis Lock, Lock 38 on the Rideau, generally considered the prettiest lock on the waterway. Which we can attest it is, tranquil, bucolic—and we have the place all to ourselves. (Ah, the beauty of shoulder-season cruising!)


Cruising doesn’t get better than this: freshly made crostini topped with garlic-parmesan butter and/or country-style pate, a wine called Frisky Zebra Seductive Shiraz, Zamfir on the iPod, finches singing in the tree-tops and a lovely view of Opinicon Lake and a small bay right beside At Last!

We are all alone. The lockmasters have all gone home and the locks have shut down. We are here for the night.

Just when we thought we had the place to ourselves, with peace and quiet prevailing, two of the lockstaff show up because the tour boat, Chuckles, photo below, was late in making it back to Chaffey’s, one lock above us. Chuckles locks through, and we have Davis Lock to ourselves at last.


The Captain promises to broil honey-garlic sausage that we purchased at the Farmer’s Market in Smiths Falls from Margo who is from nearby Elgin.

We feast, and as dusk turns to dark, and rain begins to pitter-patter on the pilothouse roof, we head for bed.


Davis Lock is deserted except for our little home afloat.

Pricey ribs and schlock wine in Portland

Just outside Portland, we cruise by Tower Island where the owners have built a small house to mirror the island's name.

7 June 2009, 1000 hours, Portland

On our last night in Smiths Falls, we sleep in. The boat is so still we can hardly tell we’re afloat.

The Captain catches up on work email as he aims to do every third day.

The Admiral bumps into the office manager, Karen. She is embarrassed to admit that the credit card charge for the second night did not go through properly. That charge has been cancelled and we don’t have to pay. What a nice gesture!

By mid-day, with two express cruisers, above, we depart for Portland about three hours away. It is the first rainy day for us. But as we arrive Len’s Cove Marina in Portland, the sun appears. There is WiFi, showers and laundry facilities here, and a full-service marina with a marine store.

The Admiral is hungry so, right away, we head to the Galley Restaurant which is located next to the marina—all owned by the same Horsfall family for at least two generations.

At the Galley, we both have the honey garlic ribs with potatoes and veggies. It isn’t the fall-of-the-bones type of ribs but still good. The house red, on the other hand, is schlock. We share a pecan pie with vanilla ice cream. All the pies are baked by ladies of the village.

We’re in the country but these certainly are not country prices: Wine was $6.50 per glass, the ribs, $19, for what really was a half-rack, pie with ice cream, $6. Dockage fees are $1.45, only a nickel less than Confederation Basin in Kingston. By comparison, Westport was an even $1 per foot, but here laundry is only $1.50 per load.


Boathouses at Portland enable the Admiral to sharpen her photographic skills. The Captain, meanwhile, could have cropped the photo better.

Anecdotes from Portland

Down the dock from At Last! there is a 32-foot Cruisers flying the flag of Trinidad, with its name boldly displayed across the transom:

Full of Seamen

The Admiral cannot resist taking a photo, when we notice there is a family aboard. The Mom explains the name by saying that 95 percent of the time, it is an all-boys boat. The Dad steps forward, as two boys dart off the boat and down the dock. He explains that his father back in Trinidad always refers to his grandsons as seamen, thus, the name for the boat.

The family hails from Ottawa but keep their boat in Portland because of all the great cruising on Big Rideau Lake.

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Incidentally, the Captain of At Last! is mighty proud of his Latvian heritage, especially when it’s blonde.

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Small world, indeed! At the next dock sits Janbaree II. Jan and Barrie, whom we met in Bermuda and Westport, live in Ottawa but prefer to keep their boat here, in the heart of all the great cruising the Rideau offers. (We cannot believe we did not get a photo of the boat!)

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Smiths Falls makes an excellent stopover on the Rideau

Unusual ducks at Smiths Falls convince us we need to start traveling with a book on birds of North America.

6 June 2009, 0805 hours, Smiths Falls

We decide to make Smiths Falls our turnaround point and not push on to Ottawa. It is a vacation, after all, and not a race. We will leave the northern half of the Rideau Canal Waterway for another time, possibly this fall.

We discover that we were over-charged for the first night at $1.60 a foot. The dockage fee should have been $1.20 a foot. Dave, the morning manager at Victoria Park, did not want to disturb us first thing in the morning. We discover all this when we go to the office to extend our stay for another night. Now, we are only charged 60 cents a foot.

We’re enjoying our stay in Smiths Falls, the largest town on the Rideau between Ottawa and Kingston, even though a number of people recommended we pass through and stay instead at Merrickville, 25 miles up the waterway.

Margo shows off her excellent pork sausages at the Farmer's Market in Smiths Falls.

Somehow, we managed to misplace the name of the couple who make a variety of preserves, including delightful dilly carrots.

We purchased garlic parmesan butter from Aunt Owl and yummy sausage rolls from her husband, Peter.

We check out the small Farmer’s Market. The Captain buys out the market with home-made dilly carrots, local honey, honey-garlic pork sausages, Peter’s BBQ sauce, Grace’s butter tarts and Aunt Owl’s garlic parmesan butter. Aunt Owl offers free sample sausage rolls today, much to the delight of the Captain.

The butter tarts are actually made by Anne, using the recipe of her aunt Grace, thus, the name. The tarts are finished with lots of brown sugar and molasses so the taste is almost like a brulee. Delish!

We tour the interesting Rideau Canal Museum where the Captain searches for suitable headwear. The second floor is under renovations and we are given a $1.00 off each for the admission price: $3.00 for adult and $2.50 for seniors.

We were not able to pick up any fresh produce at the Farmer’s Market so we head off to the Independent Grocer which is less than a 10-minute walk. Smiths Falls is a good stop for provisioning, with a Wal-Mart and Beer Store close by.

It is a hot day, so a bistro dinner is in order. Ice-cold Bacardi mojitos, fresh baguette, country-style pate and cheese, eaten in the cockpit looking out on the canal and surrounding park.

It was a slow day through the locks. We count only eight pleasure craft and General Brock, a tour boat.

Another reason to stay in Smiths Falls and within WiFi range was to catch Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final. We avoid the local sports bar and catch the game live on our Mac, above, thanks to streaming video from the CBC. Much to our dismay, the Pens lose 5-0.

Yep, red sky in morning, sailors take warning. The following day was rainy.

WiFi at the dock (!) in Smiths Falls

A historic lift bridge locked in the open position marks our arrival in Smiths Falls, halfway between Kingston and Ottawa on the Rideau Waterway.

5 June 2009, 1630 hours, Smiths Falls

Before we depart Westport, we pick up another French baguette at Westport Bakery, assorted Swiss-style chocolate and hazelnut cookies, plus two still very warm sausage rolls.



At Poonamalie Lock, we notice a sailboat (above), called Different, that has been converted for boating canals and inland waterways. It does not have a mast but has a long canopy over the cockpit. The owners are Mike Kingsmill, the former Commodore of Frenchman’s Bay Yacht club, and his wife, Lynne. Another small coincidence: He knows Ed Fulton, our condo neighbour, whom he affectionately calls “Fast Eddie.” When we return home, we’ll have to ask Ed what that means.



We arrive in Smiths Falls, dock at Victoria Park and cannot believe there is WiFi at the slip and hot showers. Three days straight with showers, and WiFi, unbelievable!


Lunch: fresh baguette, genoa salami, hot-house tomatoes and cucumbers.

Dinner: smoked ham steaks with stir-fry red peppers, zucchini and mushrooms, with a cabernet-merlot blend from Banrock Station.



No, the WWII trainer is not flying low over At Last! It's mounted at the Victoria Park RV Park and Marina.

The nearby Comfort Inn is the reason we have WiFi on the dock at Smiths Falls.

Wonders never end in Westport

In preparation for the next day, the Admiral studies the Ports guide to the Rideau.

4 June 2009, 1030 hours, Westport

When we find there is WiFi in the laundromat, we love Westport even more. While laundry is drying, we check out Church Street Bakery which just happens to be two doors away.

Back to the boat we haul, with our laundry, a loaf of the Maritime Brown bread, home-made sausage rolls, morning glory muffins, berry mix muffins and two types of tarts: pecan and raisin butter tarts.

It’s impossible to say which of the two bakeries is our favourite. They are both excellent. Westport Bakery is more European, Church Street Bakery is more Canadian with Eastern Ontario and Quebec influences. Both are run by young couples who have decided to carve a livelihood for themselves in a quiet village that bustles with visitors during July and August.

As we head back to At Last! we notice Janbarree II, a 42-foot trawler yacht built on a lobsterboat hull, that has arrived in the harbour. Jan is wearing a Nordhavn Atlantic Rally T-shirt. (NAR was the first powerboat rally across the Atlantic. The Captain was the only journalist to crew on all three legs, while the Admiral flew out to visit him during the Bemuda stopover.)

We discover that Jan was on the Nordhavn 46 Envoy on the leg to Bermuda while her husband, Barrie, crewed all the way. The four of us were together on the same dock and same parties in Bermuda five years ago—only to meet in a village dock on the Rideau Canal Waterway. Talk about a small world, eh?

After a short hike, at Salmon House, we pick up take-out walleye fish and chips for a delightful dinner with Jan and Barrie.

Succulent smoked salmon and an outstanding French baguette make for an exceptional lunch.

We join the Westport Boosters Club

3 June 2009, 1930 hours, Westport

Westport is our kind of overnight stop: A five-minute walk from the public docks we can purchase a fresh baguette and sweet raisin butter tarts from Westport Bakery, house-smoked salmon from Salmon House, and fresh produce and groceries of any kind at Kudrinko’s Country Kitchen supermarket.

Not to mention Yvon, the helpful harbourmaster, docks with power, water and a view—all for $1 per foot in dockage fees. Plus shower and laundry facilities, albeit a few minutes away. And WiFi right on the docks. Well, for us Mac users, not right on the docks; we have to walk up the Westport Visitor’s Centre where the WiFi is free and blazingly fast.

When we realize there is a second bakery in the village, as well as a store called Rosie Yumski’s Fine Foods, we decide to stay a second day.

The French baguette from Westport Bakery, quite possibly, is the best baguette we’ve ever eaten in Ontario.

Newboro for WiFi and cinnamon rolls

3 June 2009

As we departed the Opinicon Resort dock, we encounter the Endeavour B and B and lock through Chaffey’s (Lock 37) with them. We both stop at Newboro (Lock 36), B and B for a fishing licence, At Last! in search of WiFi.

We find the WiFi—and decadent cinnamon rolls—at the Saint Cinnamon Bakery and Cafe in the Stagecoach Inn.

For lunch, we have an excellent club sandwich with freshly oven-roasted turkey and a serving of broiled haddock with fries and coleslaw. For dessert, we share a warm Saint Cinnamon roll served “turtle-style,” that is, topped with French vanilla ice cream, roasted pecans and drizzled with caramel and chocolate. It is so good that we take two cinnamon rolls to go (without the ice cream).

The Endeavour 36 TrawlerCat approaches Davis Lock 38 on the Rideau Waterway.

Morning on the Opinicon

3 June 2009, 0830 hours, Opinicon Resort, Chaffey’s Lock 37

Opinicon Lake is like a mirror, with the rising sun reflected across still waters. As the sun warms the day, the pockets of morning mist vanish.

We hear the cry of a loon, repeated, ever so forlornly, it seems, two more times. Two huge swans drift into view. Over there, we spot an otter feeding. In the distance, an osprey dives into the lake but comes up empty.

What a beautiful way to begin the day, sipping a cappuccino and marvelling at nature’s ways.





The 700-foot-long dock at Opinicon Resort is empty save for one 24-foot powercat.







Our arrival last evening at famed Opinicon Resort, however, was a total disappointment. The only delight was the water moccasin that greeted us, and two turtles sunning on a log.

Even though the resort advertises that it’s open from May till October, on June 3 the showers are not working, the laundry facilities are not available either, and there is no hot water in the washroom. At the docks, rusty brown water flows from the tap.

During registration, we pick up a brochure. The sample menu is four years old.

But we do have power on the dock, so we pass on trying the resort dining room and enjoy pasta with pesto and a great view aboard At Last!

The only saving grace: Lance, the manager on duty when we depart, waives our dock fees.

There are so many fish in Rideau waters, we've made a note to have fishing gear aboard when we return in the fall.

We've also made a note to make sure we have a long lens for one of our two cameras as there is so much of nature to photograph.

Powercat rendezvous at Upper Brewers

At Last! is dwarfed by B and B and Tumbleweed at Upper Brewers on the Rideau Waterway. Click on this and any other photo for a larger view.

2 June 2009, 0830 hours, Upper Brewers, Rideau Locks 44 and 43

This is the third season we've owned our powercat, a TomCat 24 built by C-Dory. In that time, we've never encountered another power catamaran.

All that changed last night when we arrived at Upper Brewers. There, waiting for us was Tumbleweed, a PDQ 34. A little later, B and B, an Endeavour 36 TrawlerCat arrived. That was a first for us, three powercats together.

Attitude Adjustment Hour took place aboard Tumbleweed, floating home of Roger and Erika for the last five years. Their last home on land was in Ottawa. Over the years, they've cruised the Great Loop and explored the Bahamas. These days they call the Rideau Waterway their home. The Endeavour is owned by Bill and Birute who have also cruised extensively, but they do have a real home, in Charlevoix, Michigan. Bill and Birute are cruising with friends Paul and Stacy who own a Gulfstar 44MC and hail from Athens, Georgia. Add the crew of At Last! and you have one happy hour with great apps, great conversation and great time. All of which started with the toast, "Powercats forever!"

As a light rain descended on the locks in a wooded setting, we all retired to our individual boats for dinner. Aboard At Last! the Captain prepared a house specialty: perfectly seared rib-eye steak smothered with buttery mushrooms and onions, presented with home-fried potatoes and Banrock Station 2007 Shiraz.

When provisioning for the cruise, we were delighted to find that some of our favourite wines are now in Tetra Paks and so easy to store in the port hull.

We must mention the lunch we enjoyed on our first day on the Rideau: Roasted sweet pepper and tomato soup accompanied by grilled cheese sandwiches made with Le Baluchon, a fragrant raw-milk cheese from Quebec. After that little feast, a nap was a must.


At Last! and Tumbleweed wait below Kingston Mills, the first lock when northbound on the Rideau.

The Admiral holds a line around a fixed lock cable as water is let into the lock chamber.

Bicyclists take a shortcut across the closed lock at Kingston Mills.

Access to the Internet on the Rideau is spotty; thus, the delay in our posts.

Surfing into Kingston

31 May 2009, 2030 hours, Confederation Basin, Kingston

Our first two days on the water ended in boisterous conditions. On both days, we started out with a wind out of the west at 10-15 knots. Which was just fine as the wind and resulting waves were behind us, pushing At Last! along.

As the day progressed, the wind increased in strength to 20 knots, even 25. The waves that were 1 to 2 feet grew to 3 to 4 feet. As we approached Presqu’isle Bay on Saturday, we were surfing down 5 to 6-footers. On the approach to Kingston earlier today, confused 3 to 5-footers chased us in.

Nothing dangerous, but definitely not a smooth ride in a boat as small and light as ours. We were delighted to see how well the TomCat handled the conditions, and sure glad we were not pounding into such wind and waves, that is, heading to weather.

The Cetrek Pilot 730 autopilot kept the TomCat on course, and didn’t seem overwhelmed at all. The Captain did take the helm in his own hands at the end of both days, mainly because it made him feel useful, and in control.

We ran at 20 knots through most of the stuff, but when we began to take off from wave tops--and land with a crash and lots of spray--we throttled back the Yamahas to 15 knots.

Somehow, it was fitting to arrive in Kingston in a hail shower, completing our 145-mile run from Frenchman’s Bay with Mother Nature playing a fanfare.

Undaunted, we wasted no time in heading for our favorite shops, all within an easy walk of the marina:

Oldest farmer’s market in Ontario -- late in the day so we only picked up local tomatoes;

Block & Cleaver Meat Market -- a nicely marbled rib-eye steak, about 1.5 inches thick, for tomorrow night or the next day;

Pan Chancho Bakery & Cafe -- where we went over budget with purchases of an extraordinary pate maison, Baluchon raw milk cheese, smoked mackerel pate, double-smoked bacon, Red Fife organic whole wheat loaf, croissants that could use more butter, oatmeal raisin muffins, and, for dessert, creme brulee and caramel pecan tart.

What a bistro night we had aboard At Last! With an excellent Italian organic sangiovese from the wine cellar in the powercat’s port hull.

With our song playing on the iPod Nano.

You can track our progress as we start up the Rideau today and see our whereabouts with SPOT. For the best look, select "satellite" or "hybrid" view.