Boat Ride

DAY EIGHT

We awake on land this morning, which seems a bit strange. After sleeping aboard for a week, you get accustomed to the small cabin on the boat and the gentle motion of the water. Getting out of bed into a large room with a rock-solid floor seems odd. We enjoy a slow morning, with a big family breakfast of waffles and bacon. This is not the sort of stuff we usually eat while aboard. It is almost noon before we have organized everyone for a return trip to Petawawa and an afternoon cruise on our boat. Seven of us head back in two cars to the marina.

To make boarding as simple as possible, I move CONTINUOUSWAVE over to the long gas dock at the marina, which is more stable than the floating docks and finger piers. It will make it easier for the older folks (some in their eighties) to get aboard. I check the fuel tank; we are still using the $4.20/gallon gasoline from Mattawa, and it looks like we will have enough for a local cruise. The weather is perfect, and we head back up the Ottawa River for another pass by Oiseau Rock. This will be our third look at this unique formation, but it warrants that much attention. And all but one of our passengers have not seen it before, despite living just a few miles away.

After another close look at the towering face of Oiseau Rock, we turn back toward Petawawa. To save fuel, which is getting a bit low, we drift in the middle of the stream for about an hour while we eat lunch and swim from the boat. As the current takes us toward the shoreline at the sharp bend at Deep River Islet, I get everyone back on board and re-start the engine.

We explore among several island in the river below the bend, where we find a few summer homes hidden among the rocks and pines.

Cruising among some of the island in the Ottawa River between Deep River Islet and Petawawa, we found this interesting boat house. It is built above a natural boat slip formed by the rocky shoreline.

A nicely restored mahogany runabout is moored inside. There is a summer home associated with this boat house, but it is hidden in the trees.

After several hours of comfortable boating, we return to the marina. My fuel management has been very good, as we come to the dock with less than a quarter-tank of gasoline. This will reduce the boat weight on the trailer. Our five passengers head back to Lake Doré while Chris and I prepare to haul CONTINUOUSWAVE. The boat ramp at Jubilee Lodge Marina is not too busy, and we have no wait at all for our loading. We spend quite a bit of time cleaning up the boat and gear, getting it ready for the highway and the long drive home. Then it is back on the road to Lake Doré, this time with the boat in tow.

Once back at Lake Doré, we head down to the dock to see the family's 13-foot Boston Whaler in its latest revision: a camouflage paint scheme. This boat has been passed around to various units in the extended family since the 1980's, but it looks like it has found a home on Lake Doré. Nephew Aaron has been using it for fishing, his passion.

This 13-foot Boston Whaler was first used on Connecticut's Long Island Sound, moved to Blind River, Ontario for a long stay on Lake Lauzon, spent some time on Grand Traverse Bay in Northport, Michigan, and now has come to Lake Doré. The wood has been recently refinished and the hull given a camouflage paint scheme in order to improve its new mission as a duck hunting blind.

This 30-HP Johnson outboard has been a workhorse on the Whaler for over twenty years. The steering was upgraded from the original wire rope and pulley system to a mechanical cable. The crucial component to permit this is the stand-off ball joint clamp, shown here.

The camouflage paint looks great. A bit of blue gelcoat is starting to show through in some deck areas.

As is so common these days with everyone's busy schedule, our brief family reunion is interrupted buy other commitments, and everyone heads off in different directions. John to Toronto for a wedding rehearsal, Maureen to Ottawa to pick up daughter Emily flying in from Newfoundland, and Aaron to a party hosted by local teenaged friends. Chris and I enjoy a relaxing evening on the porch, watching the sun set over Lake Doré.

Sunset approaching on Lake Doré, an inland lake about an hour south of Pembroke, Ontario. With this golden hue, perhaps they name ought to be Lac d'Or. (Lake of gold.)

The nine-day narrative continues in Day Nine.

Copyright © 2006 by James W. Hebert. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited!

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Author: James W. Hebert
This article first appeared August, 2006.