Mon, Tues, Wed July 24-26 Clowes Lock 20 wall

Mon, Tues, Wed  July 24-26  Lock 20            

 The rain starts at 0300 and is still falling at a steady pace and continues throughout the morning.  Tom is bored so he works on the engine and Colletta is back at the computer doing updates.  In this area, there is no Internet, so we read and fill our time.  We hesitate to travel because we have 3 more locks to go thru within the next 3 miles and we would be standing in the rain getting soaked and cold - not fun for us or the lock hands.  We just sit and wait.   It rains all day long - 12 out of 14 hours, over 4 inches and the canal water continues to rise.  We didn't know it at the time but this stop on the lock wall  will be our home for 3 days. 

Tuesday we watch as the park, lock hands remove 4 logs from a dam wall to increase the flow of the water to reduce its height.  We are at one dam with one dam north of us and one dam south of us.  The boats are told "do not move or plan to go anywhere" as the current in this area is now strong and dangerous.  As the sun comes out in the afternoon, we get on the bikes and ride 3 miles into the town of Merrickville.  A small, nice town at the top of the first waterfall. We wander the town, visiting shops, watching the locks and waterfall, and eat a late lunch.  Back at the boat we relax on the back deck and enjoy the evening playing cards.  

Wednesday brings another adventure on the lock wall.  The lock hands are removing another log in the wall and  more water is going to be released above the lock. In the process of removing the log from the dam the chain breaks leaving the log attached at only one end. Good news.. the log is out and the water is being released, bad news is the log will daggle there over night attached only on one end, stuff happens. The lock staff doesn't seem to concerned and head off to another dam. so we will be here another day.  Not a bad thing for us.  We are safe, secure and only a 3 mile bike ride into town which we do again today - just to get off the boat, see what is going on and to have a rhubarb butter  tart - delicious.  Docktails on the back deck as it starts to rain again and we just wait patiently and see what will happen next.

Raising one of the logs out of the dam.

Another log coming out of the dam.... no problem

And then the chain breaks.....a 2,000 pound log dangles by one
hook in the raging torrent of water.... no problem

This is the pin they catch with the hook to raise and
lower the logs into the dam

The end of the chain missing the hook.

2 logs out and adjusting the winches the lock tenders

use to raise and lower the logs

The drain the water down on the lock when they

leave for the night so "stupid people (their words)

don't use the lock as a swimming pool

 

 

Sun, July 23 Hurst Marina to Lock 20 Blue line

Sun, July 23  Hurst Marina to Lock 20 blue line  

Since we are in a marina, with power and water, the first task of the day is to wash the boat.  We have gone thru locks, anchored out, tied to walls and attracted bugs at night, so it is time to give the boat some TLC.  We spent the next 2 hours scrubbing the outside of our floating home.  After washing and spraying the decks, gunnels, back deck and ceiling we are satisfied, knowing she looks good but will need this treatment again very soon.  Under cloudy skies, we head out to our first lock of the day.  We try to moor to lock docks for the night but have found that they fill up quickly and early.  The last 2 days we started late so we were out of luck.  We will have to adjust our schedule.  As we completed our 4th lock late in the afternoon, we found a lock dock that would accommodate the 2 of us.  This dock is empty because it does not have power available and is in a remote, wooded area.  That’s OK for us - we tie up and settle in for the night.  We are alongside a waterfall so the sound of running water is constant.  And the rain starts falling during the night.

We passed under this bridge that had all these padlocks on
it. It was just like a bridge we saw in Paris, France. It signifies undying
love.

One of the cranks on a manually opened bridge we had to pass thru

Some scenes of the canal out of the city. Reminded us of the
Dismal Swamp

This a young lock tender manually opening a bridge for us
using the crank from the above picture

End of a long day and we didn't know it at the time but our home
for the next 5 days

Tied to the lock wall at Clowes Lock # 20

Colletta practicing her lock cranking form so she can help out if needed.
All the locks on the Rideau (with exception of 2 locks) were built in
the early 1800's and are hand operated.

This is out of order in time sequence. This is us exiting Ottawa

When you lock thru sometimes the road goes right over the lock

 







Sat, July 22 Ottawa to Hurst Marina

Sat, July 22 Ottawa to Hurst Marina  
We spent out last day in Ottawa doing a few things on our "tourist" list.  We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier to watch the changing of the guard.  While we were waiting, we enjoyed the Band marching to the Parliament lawn for the changing of the guard there.  There is a lot of music and pageantry in the city revolving around the Parliament and we enjoyed it all!  We biked to Byword market to pick up fresh produce and have a Beaver Tail - a dough which is flattened, deep fried with a choice of toppings.  Our choice - cinnamon and sugar and the other was maple frosting with chocolate drizzles.  Yes - we are enjoying eating our way across Canada.  Back at the boat we departed the lock wall and completed 6 more locks.  The 110 ft. long lock was full with the 2 of us, Greeks Folly and Short Vacation, 1 pontoon boat, 1 jet boat, 1 jet ski and a 30 ft Sea Ray.  The lock hands were great in helping all of us maneuver.  We arrived at the marina at 1930 and enjoyed a wonderful pasta dinner, wine and fresh bread on the back deck.  We fell into bed.

Canadian tomb of the Unknown Soldier being guarded by two sentries

Sculpture on the Tomb denoting all the branches of the Canadian Forces
involved in WW I

The famous Canadian "Beavertail" pastry

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
 

Thurs, Fri July 20-21 Petrie Island to Ottawa CA

Thurs, Fri July 20-21 Petrie Island to Ottawa CA  

 Left the anchorage at 0700 sharp in hopes of getting to Ottawa Steps of 8  (locks 1-8) for the first ride up.  The step locks are a set of 8 locks where you drive the boat from one lock directly into the next lock, the two locks share a common set of lock doors.  There are 8 of these in a row which takes about 1 1/2 hours to go thru all 8.  It is a tiring process because we are always handling lines, fending off the walls, and adjusting fenders as we rise up 85 total feet.  The locks are in downtown Ottawa so there is always an audience of people watching the boats progress, asking questions, smiling and clapping, waving and just being friendly.  Upon arriving at the lock, there were 5 boats ahead of us - now what??  The lock master decided to lock up the 5 boats together, then the 2 of us, 2 locks behind them also going up.  What this did for us was to eliminate a possible 3 hour wait.  We were pleased to follow his plan.  We eventually get thru the locks, are lucky enough to find a place along the wall and tied up in downtown Ottawa.  We are tired.  We have lunch and relax for awhile before we start exploring.  Fellow boaters (Dirk and Pat from Wandering Star) walk by and give us advice on sightseeing.  We walk to Parliament hill and stop at the information center.  They are extremely helpful and make many suggestions.  We go retrieve our bikes and ride across the bridge to the Museum of  Canadian History.  The museums are free on Thursday so we, along with many others, take advantage of this.  We wandered around, were educated the Canadian way, enjoyed the view from the top of the hill, and rode back in time to enjoy the light show displayed right on the Parliament building.  The show Luminairs, is displayed every evening and people sit in bleachers, on the lawn, along the curbs and in their chairs enjoying the show.  It is wonderful to be here!!!

Friday starts early for Tom. By 0650 he is sitting in front of the information center waiting in line to get tickets for a guided tour of the Parliament building.  The tickets are free but they are usually gone by 1000, within an hour of opening. Colletta rides up to meet him by 0800 only to find him chatting with new friends and enjoying the whole experience.  Being third in line, he gets the tickets of his choice- English speaking tour- and we head across the street to the Parliament lawn for the Changing of the Guard ceremony. There is really no guard on duty at the Parliament but the traditional ceremony takes place everyday at 1000 with music and military marching and formations.  We enjoy our 1100 tour of the Parliament building and learn more of the history and deep tradition of the Canadian government.  We bike again across the bridge to walk thru a sculptor garden.  It is beautiful and intriguing, the many shapes and figurines. On the way back to the boat we explore the Byward market and enjoy a pastry, then back to the Parliament lawn for the musical show Fortissimo.  4 bands marched in formation and performed - the Canadian Honor Guard, an American band called the Chosen Few-retired Marine Corp soldiers, a German drum and drill team, and the Canadian Air force band.  It was wonderful - music was great with all the brass instruments, and even bagpipes.  Best of all was the 3 national anthems played with pride and respect.  Wonderful day in a great city.

Leaving the anchorage in the morning fog

Ottawa in the distant

Scullers on the Ottawa river

Beginning of the 8 step lock at Ottawa

Waiting on the wall for our turn to enter

Lock 1 the beginning
 

Lock 3 going up

The Rideau Canal features locks and equipment from the
1800's so most are hand operated

View down the 8 locks

This is what the look like from the bridge at the top of number 8lock

Draining a lock to repair a chain that operates the doors

More pictures to follow. will post to let you know


 

Tues,Wed July 18-19, St. Anne to Atocas Anchorage to Petrie Island

Tues,Wed July 18-19, St. Anne to Atocas Anchorage to Petrie Island    
We start our day going thru the St. Anne lock smoothly and comfortable.  We travel on smooth water in the warm weather.  The Carillon lock was the next lock and had a guillotine type door.  It is large with a 65 foot lift.  After traveling thru with 5 other boats, Tom cools off with a bucket shower, then we continue on.  The anchorage is a nice bay, quiet and scenic and we share it with 4 other boats anchored for the night.

Wednesday is a comfortable traveling day.  We want to get close to Ottawa to plan our lockage through the Steps of 8.  We decide to anchor in an unexplored area but the charts say plenty of space and water.  It works out well, expect for the road close from the Interstate near by which makes for some noise, but we enjoy people honking and tooting at us.  The sunset is beautiful and we enjoy a peaceful evening. 

Smooth cruising... some days we get lucky. actually every
day doing this is lucky

The Carillon Lock which is a guillotine style lock. The door
raising straight up and down to close the lock

At the top of Carillon Lock with 4 cruisers in front of us

Sometime you just have to cool off

Approaching the evenings anchorage

Sunset after a great day of cruisng

On the way we stopped for lunch at the world's largest log
cabin structure, Le Chateau Montebello

This picture doesn't do the size of the chateau justice

This the lobby with the 5 sided fireplace behind Colletta

They had this robotic lawn mower cruising around the grounds.
When it got low on charge it would head back to its charger station
to charge up all by its self. Way cool

Jean Pepindeaux chateau next to Monte Bello

Monte Bello is a classy place. If you don't want to drive or come by boat
you can fly in by float plane

Sun-Mon July 16-17 Montreal to St. Anne de Bellevue

Sun-Mon  July 16-17  Montreal to St. Anne de Bellevue  
It is time for us to continue on to the more rural part of our travels.  This heads us down the St. Lawrence Seaway, thru 2 large locks ( St. Lambert and St. Catherine locks) , used by ocean cargo ships , thru the Lac Saint Louis and towards Ottawa and the Rideau Canal.  First the locks.  The ocean going freighters have priority in the locks so once we got to the lock we waited about 2 1/2 hours to get thru cause a ship was coming in behind us.  Then it was our turn.  By "our" turn, I mean 13 pleasure craft.   In Canada, the pleasure craft raft off of each other rather than both sides of the lock wall as in the US.  As we were the biggest boats, we went into the lock first and prepared for our new experience.  The lock master directs traffic and tells which boat to go where.  Short Vacation went in against the port wall and we were told to shoulder moor against him -  that means we were to tie off to Short Vacation.  Very carefully Captain Tom pulled along side, with fenders and lines ready and we secured ourselves to them. We were then followed by 11 other boats who also tied to the lock wall and shoulder moored, sometimes 4 deep.  That puts a lot of stress on the first boat in; everyone has to work together and cooperate to make it a safe and successful lock-thru.  The second lock was much the same with the big boats first, followed by the others.  Coming out of that lock, all bets are off.  The boats take off, all 11 of them creating wakes and  passing our slow trawler.  We continued along our route following the channel markers, zig zagging thru Lac Saint Louis to find the deeper water.  We arrived at St. Anne de Bellevue just as the rain started, along with the sunshine, and enjoyed a rainbow which always gives "promise and hope".  As the evening progressed boats left the next lock wall which made space for us to moor overnight.  With the help of a new Canadian boating friend 'Warren", we tied up and were settled.

As rain greeted us the next morning, we decided to stay put for the day.  We walked thru the small town once the sun came out, Tom and John completed projects, and we enjoyed dinner together.  Tomorrow we will be on the move again.

Waiting at the St. Lambert's lock for a big guy to lock thru
so we little guys could go in

Cruising thru the old lock going into St. Anne

As we arrived in St. anne there was a band playing to serenade us

Greek's Folly and Short Vacation on the lock wall

The big guy is gone and now it is our turn
 

 

Wed-Sat July 12-15 Montreal Yacht Club

Wed-Sat  July 12-15 Montreal Yacht Club    

Following the information we got from Guy and Lise we hugged the green buoys as we went under Jean Cartier Bridge. The current was extremely strong and our speed which had been 6.3 mph dropped to 2.6 mph as we passed under the bridge. We proceeded up river until even with the marina on the opposite side of the river. We then crabbed our way across the current until we got into a calm spot downriver from the marina and made our entrance into the break wall. Thanks Guy and Lise for great local knowledge.

 Upon arrival, we followed our previous itinerary and walked around the Old Port area of Montreal  to get a feel for the place.  As in Quebec, the cobblestone streets are lined with shops, brasseries and eateries.  Venturing further away from the water, we wandered into Chinatown for a late lunch.  Authentic Chinese food was served as evident by the locals eating here.  We are in a French city, eating Chinese with an Italian family sitting next to us. Back in the Old Port region, we enjoyed a Happy hour beer.  The area is alive with people shopping, eating, exploring and enjoying

Although the rain greeted us in the am, we waited for the drips to stop, unloaded the bikes and headed out.  Today we are biking along the Lachine Canal. This canal is for small boats only (even smaller then ours, you must be able to get under bridges with 11 feet of clearance, we are 16 ft. with our radar mast down) and goes thru many neighborhoods of Montreal.  The bike path is well paved, well used and a pleasure to ride.  We  criss cross the canal over small bridges and lock walls, enjoying the scenery.  Along the way, we stopped at the Attwater Market for a wonderful pulled pork sandwich.  The market had a great variety of plants, attractively displayed produce and of course bread and pastries.  Once back at the boat, we enjoyed some down time, before heading to Chez Erik to celebrate Pam's birthday.  A nice dinner was served and then the piano bar pianist took over and sang Pam Happy Birthday, Piano Man and old favorites while we enjoyed singing and dancing along.  

Today we say our good byes to Bob and Bonnie as they head back to Az.  We, on the other hand, continue our adventure with a Big Bus tour of Montreal.  Montreal is a large city, with its business districts, variety of neighborhoods, exclusive areas, underground city, very popular in the winter months, and many many chapels and cathedrals. We spend the next two days enjoying the area.   St. Catherine Road was the main street in town.  It was home to many activities this weekend.  There was sidewalk sales for about 8 blocks, a comedy festival, the village community of alternative lifestyles and the all important IGA grocery store.  The waterfront area had a wide range of activities to draw visitors and residents: amusement park, zip line, waterfront conference, cirques de soleil, clock-tower park, and of course the marina.  The city of Montreal is also holding a fireworks competition so Portugal displayed its firework show on Saturday night.  The marina came alive with people enjoying the day, their boats, their wine, and their guests.  Finally, the fireworks were FABULOUS.  The best show we have ever seen.  The color combinations both on the barge and in the air were beautiful.  The show seemed to go on and on and we enjoyed every minute of it, as hear by the horns of all the boats afterwards.  Our stay in this Canadian city was also enjoyable.  Having never been in these Canadian cities before, we know have more appreciation for our neighbors to the north.

Really... this Canadian summer..... July 12th

Section of Old Montreal not nearly as large section
as in Quebec

Current in the St. Lawrence as we entered the Montreal Yacht Club

 

 

Attwater market, what incredible selection and presentation

Biking on the Lachine Canal

Greek's Folly at the Yacht club De Montreal

View from the bell tower cross from the marina

View of the marina from the bell tower and
views of downtown Montreal

Again the bell tower of the 1976 Olympic sight that we passed
on the way into Montreal

The Portugal fireworks entry in the competition
 We have many more pictures of Montreal but the slow internet prevents me from
putting on the blog at this time. I will let you know when I can post more photos.