Sailboats on the Bay of Quinte
Moored for the night @ Kingston Mills Locks 1 -4 on the Rideau Canal
Lockstation @ Kingston Mills
An early start this morning got us on the way before 6:00 am from Trenton, Ont. to Kingston and to the first lock. A 75 Mile trip. We spent 10 hours, most of it on the Bay of Quinte and the North Channel of Lake Ontario. We passed more boats today than we have seen all together since we left Grand Haven, MI 3 weeks ago. Once in Kingston, we decided to go up the Rideau a few miles and found a quiet spot at the bottom of the first locks, 4 locks 'in flight'. We'll move from one chamber to the next 4 times tomorrow morning when they open @ 8:30.
The Rideau Canal system is much older then the Trent-Severn, by almost a 100 years. The system was build after the war of 1812, when Canada, or rather Britain, felt threatened by the US and wanted to assure a safe passage to the great lakes that could not be choked off by the US like the St. Lawrence can. It was completed by 1831, is 125 miles (202 km.) long, had 47 locks (45 now) and 52 dams. It will lift us up 166' (50 m), before dropping us 275' (84 m) into the Ottawa River at Ottawa, Ont. There we will be going through a flight of 8 locks, located right downtown, in front of the Canadian Parliament Building. www.rideau-info.com is a great site if interested in more info on this UNESCO World heritage Site
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