It hasn’t been the best weather lately in Peterborough, however it was feeling like the mid 30’s on Tuesday July 31. With it being Canada 150 and the Lockage system free for 2017, attendants at the Peterborough Marina say they were preparing to be really busy.
“Here at the Peterborough Marina we were preparing for a busy season. The weather did unfortunately kind of stunt that busy season but now that the weather is good we’re making up for it now that the suns out,” said Patrick Rees, Marina attendant.
Rees said that there haven’t been too many local boaters taking advantage of the free lockage perk; it allows passage through lock systems on all of Parks Canada’s national historic canals throughout the entire 2017 season.
WATCH: Recreational boating in Canada
“Mostly American boaters doing their annual plans,” said Rees.
With the sun scorching on this day came a rare sighting at the Peterborough Marina. A 75-ft-long vessel pulled into the marina. Attendants say they haven’t seen something close to this size in about three years.
“First big trip. Yah, we’re going to leave it up here for the Great Lakes. It’s got a 4 and a half foot draft so its the only boat that can do the Great Lakes and do the canals here,” said boat-owner Walter Schroder.
WATCH: Boaters stranded in the Rideau Canal are making the most of their unexpected delay
While the boat had a secure draft, they did encounter some trouble along the way.
“The biggest problem is the bridges cause this boat is the biggest boat you can take down this canal. We can just get it through and we made a couple of bridges by just 1 inch,” said Schroder.
But Schroder said the struggle was worth it. On this day he is celebrating his 52nd wedding anniversary with good friends and family.
And Schroder says that while the free lockage is nice, it didn’t affect his travel. He said he would pay any cost, especially if it would help the waterway.
Comments