After breakfast at a nearby union hiring hall eatery (eggs bacon toast coffee for three for less than $10) we were off the Lakefield Marina and at the lock at opening time. In short order we transited lock 26 at Lakefield, lock 25 at Sawer Creek, lock 24 at Douro, lock 23 at Ontanabee and lock 22 at Nassau Mills, all within a mile of each other and then came to the famous Peterborough lift lock # 21.

The lift lock was built in 1904 and was considered an engineering marvel at the time. Each of the two “pans” weighs 1300 tons when full. With one pan up and one down they counterbalance each other. It does not matter how many boats they put in each pan as a boat displaces its own weight in water. When it is time to lower one pan and raise the other, one extra foot of water (130 tons) is allowed to enter the upper pan. This extra weight allows the upper pan to push down and raise the lower pan to the upper level. The two pans are then locked in place and the extra water is let out of the lower pan. Boats can then exit both pans and then the process is repeated in reverse. Quick, efficient and little energy use. This unusual lock lowered us and Prozac 65‘, as much as the previous five locks combined.

We chugged through Peterborough, a significant small Ontario town of 75,000 population with its attractive waterfront and Trent University on both banks but did not have time to stop. We transited two more locks in quick succession and into the Ontanabee River, then pressed on towards Hastings, our night stop objective, down the River, through very large Rice Lake with Indian Reserves on either side and Hastings at its eastern end, a run of 50 miles for the day. Although we arrived earlier than we had expected we were still too late to transit the lock so we moored on the wall above it at 6 PM. Nearby Hastings had been described as a quaint village going through a renaissance. We thought that that might mean a pub overlooking the river. It did not. Disappointed!. Dinner choices were Chinese, Italian and fish and chips. We settled for the chippy, the food not bad but the place pretty run down, although we were assured people came to it from far and wide. Ah well. There was a bandstand on the waterfront near the boat and there was a quartet of guys in their 80s playing 60s rock to an equally ancient audience, courtesy of the Lion’s Club. We stopped to listen, enjoyed it, put some money in the hat and retired to the boat, drank some wine, brilliant conversation and slept well. Peter still hurting but functioning...