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| Click on the link below to purchase this award-winning series! |
https://www.bookswelove.net/kavanagh-j-c/
The Murray Canal - anyone know about this place in Ontario, Canada?
I knew very little about this Canal until I began my sailing adventure from Georgian Bay, Ontario, on our way to the Bahamas. Me and my partner, Ian, are sailing on our Beneteau 423, which weighs roughly about 20,000 lbs fully loaded and has a draft of five-and-a-half feet (that means our cast iron keel measures 5.5' below the boat's water line. Oh and the keel itself weighs about 6,000 lbs or 2650 kg.)
But getting to the Bahamas is no easy feat. There is much planning to do! Because our sailboat has a deep draft, we are not able to travel on the Trent-Severn Canal which is the quickest route from Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario. Instead, we have to travel north on Georgian Bay then south on Lake Huron, through the St. Clair River to Lake St. Clair, then continue south on the Detroit River to Lake Erie, then east to the Welland Canal. From there we reach Lake Ontario and head east to the Bay of Quinte and the Murray Canal. This little trip takes us 650 nautical miles around three of the five Great Lakes. If we took the Trent-Severn Canal, we would have saved 550 nautical miles of travel.
The Murray Canal
As early as 1796, plans for the canal were proposed and a total of five surveys were undertaken: in 1824, 1833, 1837, 1845, 1866 and 1881. Finally, in 1882, construction of the canal began and was completed in 1889. It is located between the Bay of Quinte and Presqu'ile Bay on Lake Ontario and is approximately 8 kms in length (5.5 miles). It was named after Sir George Murray, a British Secretary of State for War and the Colonies in what was then called Upper Canada. The canal provided a 'safer' shipping route as it shortened the journey around the dangerous shores off the peninsula of Prince Edward County. When I say 'safer,' I also mean safe from the threat of war with the United States (check out the history of the Empire Loyalists). The seven-year project cost $1,272,500 to build, which is approximately $32.6 million in today's dollars.
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| Me at the helm, travelling through the Murray Canal |
Our adventure to the Bahamas continues! And, if you're looking for summertime, adventurous books to read, look no further than the award-winning Twisted Climb series. As one reader wrote in a five-star review, "the series would be perfect for a movie!"
Stay safe and don't forget to tell the ones you love that you love them :)
J.C. Kavanagh, author of
AND
The Twisted Climb - Darkness Descends (Book 2) voted BEST Young Adult Book 2018, Critters Readers Poll and Best YA Book FINALIST at The Word Guild, Canada
AND
The Twisted Climb,
voted BEST Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers Poll
Voted Best Local Author, Simcoe County, Ontario, 2021
Novels for teens, young adults and adults young-at-heart
Email: author.j.c.kavanagh@gmail.com
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
www.amazon.com/author/jckavanagh
Instagram @authorjckavanagh
