Day 47 – Sunday, July 26, 2009

Today we finished the Rideau Canal! It has been every thing that I read about and then some. At the end of the canal we spent most of the day waiting for boats that were coming toward us to be lifted up while we just sat there tied to the blue line to wait our turn. I took advantage of the time and corrected some of the boat problems. Once they called for us to enter the first of 4 locks we moved to our assigned location within the lock - then were lowered to a turning basin about 15 feet lower than where we started. The next lock was a step lock (pictures) that lowered us 45 feet in three steps. As we exited the last lock Mike’s engine overheated and he dropped his anchor to do repairs. It was getting late and we were having problems also so we continued on, knowing he would catch up within the next few days. A few miles further we entered Kingston, Ontario, a city with a metropolitan feel about it. (It had a donut shop!)

As we entered the harbor we saw Ralph & Ann that were a day ahead of us. We had dinner together shared a little wine - swapped stories about what was not working on our boats then turned in for the night.