Captain' log

Captains log, day one.

It's no secret I my family that we are not quick to get away in the morning. You would think that with a big trip in front of us we might make an exception. You would be wrong. True to form we didn't leave Dows lake dock  until the fresh hour of 1 pm. So be it. Better late than never. We motored for a whole five minutes until we hit Hartwell locks. Then we waited. Luck was not our side and we ended up waiting an hour to get through. Talk about hurry up and wait. On the plus side I got to stare at Dunton tower, my old alma matter. Memories.

lllllllllllots of term papers written in this tower.....

 The next lock was ten minutes up and the folks at Hogsback were waiting for us. One great thing about the locks is the lockmasters call ahead for you and notify the next lock you are coming. We got through quickly and made our way through Ottawa south down prince of Wales and under the hunt club bridge. Next lock is Blacks and again it was smooth sailing. 

The next leg of the trip was south of Ottawa toward barrhaven. This is a good hour stretch where the river widens and you can see jets overhead as you traverse the Ottawa airport flight path. Despite a tempting offer to stop by my Inlaws that happened to be picnicking at friends along the river we powered on wanting to make Long Island locks before they closed. Approaching Long Island locks from the north you get a good view of the impressive dam that was first built 180 years ago where there was once a large set of rapids. The last time we went through these locks we had a two hour wait so we were happy to get here and start locking up within a half an hour. We were not the only ones waiting and we locked up with six other boats...a new personal record!

Yes there are seven boats crammed in this lock

 After the three locks its a nice meandering journey past The waterfront mansions of Manotick where people seem to have the right attitude. 

Yes it can be.

Along the way you pass Kelly's landing, a boat friendly waterfront restaurant and the Manotick Marina which was previously closed but seems to have found new life. 

At 7 pm we made it to our destination. Hurst Marina is a full service joint and most importantly after a hot day with a Five year old it has a pool! 

Boat just docked and Roan already scoping out the pool

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Tomorrow our goal is Smiths Falls. Maybe I can line up a tour of the new medical marijuana facility ?? For science of course.