From Montreal to Kingston Ontario

Carillon Lock - tallest lock

Just never forget to be dexterous and deft. And never mix up your right foot with your left.”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You’ll Go!

112 Locks! That is how many locks we did beginning from the Federal Lock at Troy NY to the Georgian Bay.

Federal Lock – Troy NY

Champlain Canal – 11

Richelieu River – Chambly Canal – 9

St Ours

St Lawrence Seaway – 2

St Anne de Bellevue

Carillon

Rideau Canal – 45

Trent-Severn Waterway 41 (includes 2 hydraulic lifts and a marine railway)

Which side will you lock on? Port or Starboard? That was often the question. The answer often lied in which way the wind was blowing. Kathy preferred locking on the side the wind would push you towards which makes it much easier to put your lines through.

The worst locking experiences were when the wind pushed you away from the wall.  Often that leads to the stern of the boat being too far from the wall to grab the lines. We did develop the technique of backing up a bit to bring the stern in.

The Ottawa Flight of 8 locks was perhaps the most fun. We arrived just before the

Ottawa Flight of 8 Locks

beginning of the Quebec Construction Worker holidays. A two week holiday set by congress for the construction workers. Most of Quebec follows suit and takes vacation those weeks too. So many boaters were getting a jump on the holiday and leaving early.

When we arrived at 8 am for the 9 am lock there were already about 15 boats in line. The lock holds at most 6 boats depending on the size of the boats. We had no idea when we might get through the locks. Once you start the locks you continue through 8 locks that rise up to the city of Ottawa, Canada. It takes several hours to go through all 8 locks.

Fortunately, the lockmaster was expecting many boats and they sent 3 flights of boats

Ottawa locks - view from the top

up in the morning. We were the last boat to make the morning locks.

We were in the party lock! One boat had local music blaring and dancing on their front deck. It certainly made for a fun experience. We also were getting a good taste of the Quebec people.  The people we met while waiting to get into the lock were very helpful with local customs and such. We would meet them multiple times through the Rideau Canal system and we would each help the other.

Once up the locks we were in Ottawa and had difficulty finding a place to tie up because of the Holiday. A young man riding a bicycle saw our Looper flag and began talking to us and following us to the docks. We found a spot that seemed too small but could hang off the edge and have the front of the boat under a bridge. This young man handled our lines and helped us get into the spot. We thanked him profusely and he was off. Unfortunately there was no power at this spot. The Canadian Parks people suggested that in the morning we might find someone leaving who had a spot with power and we could move. Mike got up early and scoped out a terrific spot with power, not only that, we met Randy and Eileen fellow Loopers and the Quebec couple who helped us with the locks found a spot there too.

We were off to explore Ottawa and the changing of the guard with our new looper friends. At lunchtime we split up and went our ways for the day.

Because of the construction worker holiday which lasts 2 weeks we would be in the locks with many boats every time. You didn’t have to decide port or starboard the lockmaster would tell you where to go. Lockmasters look at the boats wanting to go into the lock and arrange them in such a way as to fit as many in as possible. That means often there would be 3 boats across with the middle boat attached to one of the end boats. We even met a pontoon boat whose captain said the lockmaster had them go in the back sideways!

Cruise ship in the lock

There is usually docking space before and after each lock. We would try to get as far as we could each day. It was all going well until we caught up to the flock of boats on vacation. We had to stop sooner than we wanted because there was no room at the lock ahead. We docked below the lock where there was only room for 2 boats. It was nice and quiet while the 12 boats on the top seemed to be having a party. Where we were though, we could swim.

In my mind that is what I thought a day would be like. Travel, dock, swim repeat. Finally after all this time on the loop I got to swim and I loved it.

We left early in the morning with the other boat to get to the next lock by opening. There were 12 boats already there that did not get to lock through the day before. We thought we would be there for hours. In addition the lock was held up because they were locking the other direction first. With our new friends that we spent the night with and a new friend we met at the lock we had a good time waiting and we all got in the second flight down that day.

More trouble ahead as the boats are still backlogged from the holiday. We can’t get to the last lock on the Rideau because there are too many boats to lock through. We stayed at the next to the last lock and the fellow boaters were so welcoming and helpful.

It was one of Kathy’s favorite nights. We were able to have a picnic table and set our chairs up by the table. We ate outside and had a real “camping” night.

The next day we finished up the Rideau Canal and heading into Kingston, Ontario to rest up a day or so before moving on to Trent and the Trent-Severn Waterway.

We have met some incredible people and God has certainly put the right people in our path at the right time to give us needed help, advice and friendship!

Next up – Trent-Severn Waterway

Montreal Adventures by Bike

“Out there things can happen, and frequently do,

To people as brainy and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen, don't worry, don't stew.

Just go right along, you'll start happening too!”

― Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

A boat can't go everywhere, so sometimes it would be nice to have a car available.  Since we don't, we brought our bicycles on the boat.  We strap them to the bow railing and unload them when we want to go somewhere that is too far to walk. 

A recent example was our visit to Montreal.  Although there are two marinas right downtown in the Old City, one was closed due to a labor strike and the other was full.  So we were directed to a less-expensive marina seven miles south at Lachine. 

Port de Plaisance de Lachine is in a beautiful park like resort setting on the St. Lawrence River, at the mouth of the Lachine Canal that goes to downtown Montreal.  Your boat must have a height of less than 8 feet to travel the Lachine Canal. If our dinghy had a motor, we could have traveled that way.  But since it only has oars, we unloaded our bikes.

Montreal has many bike paths, including along the canal and the river.  On a sunny morning after rush hour, we selected a path. After a brisk 40 minute ride, we arrived downtown. 

 

We had corresponded with another "looper" couple that we knew was in Montreal, so we arranged to meet them for lunch.  In the meantime, we enjoyed wandering around the old port. We even saw a demonstration march by the labor union that had closed the city marina. 

The four of us found a nice restaurant with outside roofed dining that had a view of the Jacques Cartier marketplace.  When the predicted downpour arrived, the   wait staff quickly closed the transparent curtains so we wouldn't get soaked.   We lingered over lunch and dessert while it rained, enjoying a discussion of loop experiences with the other couple.  We also exchanged cards. Most loopers have boat cards (like business cards) printed up with their contact information to stay in touch.

We then rode our bikes a couple of miles through city traffic to reach the Museum of Fine Arts.  One of us has an aggressive biking style in the city, cutting in and out of buses and running red lights, while the other has a laidback style that allows all other traffic to go ahead.  Since these are incompatible, one of us has to modify our style to suit the other.  It takes patience on the part of both of us.  But we did arrive safely at the museum and enjoyed a couple of hours of varied art exhibits housed in six buildings. This included seeing furniture built by Mike’s stepmothers relatives!

Old Port Workers March

So far the visit to Montreal had been textbook perfect.  But then the trouble started. When we retrieved our bikes, Kathy's rear tire was flat.  She had left her repair kit on the boat, so Mike contributed a tube from his kit and we fixed the flat.  Since the tube was a slightly different size than the tire, we headed for a bike shop to repair it correctly. 

We wanted a new tire and tube, but the tire was out of stock, so we settled for a tube and headed for "home" down the bike path.  Within a mile or so, the tire went flat again.  We again put Mike's spare tube into the tire, which got us to another bike shop.  Likewise they did not have the correct size tire, so they put a new tube in the old tire and off we went.  You guessed right; it went flat within a mile.

At the same time, Mike realized that he had left our backpack at the bike shop, containing phones, money, and passports.  He hurried back, but arrived too late; the shop had closed. 

The day was not ending as well as it had began, but the worst was yet to come. 

We put Mike's spare tube into the tire yet again and started for home.  Riding behind Kathy, Mike noticed her tire begin to lose air.  Despite his prayers that it would hold up until they arrived back at the boat, it did not.  Out of spare tubes, we ended up walking the last three miles to the marina, arriving at dark.

Mike rode to the supermarket to get food for Kathy to make a late but delicious supper.  We believe that everything happens for a reason, and someday we will know the reason.  But we did discover that our adventurous spirits were still intact and we were able to laugh about our troubles. 

The next morning Mike got up early and biked all the way back downtown to the bike shop where he had left the backpack. 

Fortunately an observant staff person had retrieved it and locked it in the shop for safekeeping.  The shop returned it and Mike was able to return to the boat with phones, money, and passports safe.  

As a follow-up, we have ordered several new tires for Kathy's bike and we have a spare for Mike's. 

Next up- Montreal to Ottawa