It is a bit of historical irony that less than a century after the bitter conflict between British Canada and the U.S., it was supplies from Canada that helped our northern armies win the civil war against the south.
Mechanically, Nano has run trouble free to this point, but gliding through the Upper Rideau lakes, the engine suddenly overheated. Jim English, master diagnostician and all-around able crew member quickly located the problem: a seriously plugged cooling water intake. The grasses and reeds along these slackwater passages had clogged the raw water screen and filter system.
After an eternity of effort working upside down in the engine compartment, Jim cleaned out the grasses and we were under way again. I thought if taking a picture of Jim at work but it was not a becoming shot.
We take 4 days to drop 196 feet through 23 locks to the top of Ottawa's "staircase", an 8-stage set of locks to the Ottawa river.
The distance is only 38 miles but we are captured by the charm of Smiths Falls for a couple of days.
A stop on the Canadian Pacific railway between Montreal and Toronto, Smiths Falls was a 19th century industrial center with flour mills, saw mills and foundries. Today, we enjoy its bygone history and Matty O'Shea's Irish Pub.
Entering Ottawa, I whispered a wistful goodby to the Rideau lakes where I fished as a boy with my father more than 70 years ago. It was true Canadian wilderness then. Not so much now, but still largely unspoiled and peaceful.
