Publish Date: Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Big Chute Marine Railway from afar
We have had a lot of cool experiences on this trip so far. The Blue Hole, Warderick Wells, Snorkeling, Cedar Point, and the list goes on. However, a few day ago, we did something that definitely makes the top three.
In Eastern Canada (Ontario), there is a canal system called the Trent Severn Waterway. This canal system is devised of 45 locks, varying in lift sizes and directions. There are the normal locks, carrying you up and down by draining and filling water, and there are some unique locks. One of these, is the Big Chute Marine Railway.
When my parents told me about this lock, for some reason, I
Three@Sea in it's slings
had the vision of a ski lift type thing, lifting our boat into slings, and then carrying us into the air and over a mountain. Well, I was wrong. My dad, a few days before we went through the lock, decided to drive up with my grandpa and see what the process was like. “So you drive onto a cart, and they lift the cart out of the water on tracks! You are basically resting on a wooden platform with the slings balancing you, and then you drive over the hill.” WHAT?
Some of the lock crew beneath our boat on the platform
Needless to say, this experience sounded…er…nerve-racking. The morning we were to go through, we cruised up the canal and came to the Big Chute Marine Railway lock, where the workers got ready to load us on. My heart was racing as I set up my lines and checked the sling positioning marks we had made. It was time. Slowly, dad expertly maneuvered Three@Sea to be resting in a perfect position on the wooden platform. The crew on the cart adjusted the slings to balance us, and then we started to go up.
The view of the platform from in between our anchor and snubber
As I mentioned before, it made the top three in my experience book. As the crew lifted us out of the water, Three@Sea’s keel rested on the platform, and allowed us to be carried easily over the landforms. Below the platform, you could see the grassy ground moving, and the feeling was not only exciting, but a little intense too. Luckily, the cart remained straight the whole time, so Three@Sea was never tilted up or down. We enjoyed a smooth journey over the hill, and then were flawlessly driven back into the water where we cruised out and were on our way again.
Going Up...
Wow! The Big Chute Marine Railway Lock is an experience that is both unique and exhilarating! I wonder what will come next…
We knew you would enjoy the trip across the waterway. Just wait until you get to the 1000 ilands