Smiths Falls to Narrows Lock

As promised we were first lock this morning at 9:00 am

A half  mile later we had to wait for a lift bridge and lock (Smiths Falls detached) the hold up was a northbound cruise ship (if it could be so called)  a barge with a fold up bow (blue part) in order to fit the locks – the tour is Kingston –Ottawa in three days.

As she clears the lock  the crew are already assembling the bow and setting out chairs

Two older ladies (on left ) have already bagged their prime spots for the morning.

before the crew have finished bolting it all together, – holidays from hell again.

Then out into the lakes we thought……

not quite yet, around the bend and down a really narrow cut into….

Poonamalie Lock

and just to prove it

Why Poonamalie, I hear you cry, well I am told by the locals that the British sappers building the canal thought the area reminded them of some place in Hindustan, so they called it “Bird Mountain” in that language (even in 1836 the average squaddie had both a sense of geography and a sense of humour it seems).

Finally out onto the lakes, this is more like it ,180 feet deep water and no markers for ten miles

in fact nothing much to see except for the course

and the occasional bijou island residence.

some for sale

Wind piping up so we ducked into a dock on the North side of the Narrows Lock, a wide expanse of lake on the far side.

This is our last ‘up’ lock on the Rideau a 3 feet lift, from here we will be locking down to Kingston and lake Ontario.