A day on water

Tuesday (one of Chris' off-work days under his new, 25%-retirement régime) was a perfect day for being on the water, with the air temperature around 30º. I'd say it was the most relaxing day we've spent so far this year. We rented a pontoon boat for the day from the marina at White Lake, not more than an hour's drive from Ottawa, south of the Madawaska River, near Pakenham.

We stayed on the boat for six-and-a-half hours, exploring only part of the lake which has inlets in all directions, trying to identify where we were from a $5 cottage-owners' map I'd bought at the marina, sailing past Waba Island, Stanley Island, Howards Island, past wide Pickerel Bay, Curleys Island, Barry Island, Birch Island, Bog's Island. Hardwood Island was the largest, and was uninhabited; most of the other islands had chalets built on their shores and at the north and south ends of White Lake there are more residential areas. Eventually we turned around in Three Mile Bay, near the Cedar Cove Resort, a campground where Chris didn't want to dock because he wasn't sure there'd be room to squeeze the boat in; the docks seemed full. This was his first time renting a motor boat in Canada and Chris' justification for acquiring a boating license, or Pleasure Craft Operating Card. He'd had to pass an online exam for this.

Very few other boats were on the lake: a couple of speed boats, towing children in a rubber dinghy, a few metal fishing boats. Since there was hardly any wind, the sailing craft in one of the bays couldn't get very far.

At anchor in the quieter parts of the lake, we climbed down the ladder we could fix to the side of the boat and went swimming. Chris said the water was freezing cold, but it wasn't. We had brought a packed lunch with us in a cool box and ate it in the shade of our awning.