Kanawake Marina is located just a few hundred meters from the entrance on the South Canal (where we would be spending most of our day) so this made our morning departure simple. The evening was quiet and windless and the morning was calm and not at all cold.
Finnish Line was joined for a time by a pro paddler who was keeping pace with our 6+ knots of speed.
The weather continued to be pleasant for the whole transit of the the canal and the two locks. We had anticipated cool weather for this time of year, but found ourselves very comfortable and at times trying to stay cool out of the sun.
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| finally green! |
We departed promptly so that we would be ready at the first bridge at 9am. Again we struggled with what the lock/bridge schedules were suppose to be.
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| The Gaia enter the lock |
The first bridges did not open upon our arrival (though not a single train passed over them). We tried all appropriate radio channels with no response. It was only after the Gaia Desganges (freighter) crept up behind us, while we circled at the bridge, did the bridge lights start flashing. When we got the green light, we scooted through before the freighter. Apparently we don't count and only ride the coat tails of the big boys.
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| A new crop of fenders freshly sprouted! |
When we got to the the St Catherine lock we ceded priority to the Gaia, which, according to the lock staff, could mean a 40 minute wait up to and hour and a half depending on the pilot and skill on board. Fortunately, the Gaia locked quickly, and behind us came a Coast Guard cutter (the same one we passed the previous day), and we were able to lead the cutter into the lock immediately after the Gaia was clear and they filled the lock again.
We tied up in the standard fashion with the guidance of the lock staff, but the cutter just hovered in the lock using their thrusters.
As with all the locks, the draining process was calm and barely needed any effort with our boat hooks. We simply payed out the supplied lines as the water level dropped.
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| The new bridge taking shape |
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| Temporary bridge supports |
We kept our order with the cutter to the final lock in our seaway journey. Again, they hovered in the lock while we tied on. The drop in the St Lambert lock was less than 15' so the process was quick.
We passed under both the old and new Champlain bridge. The new one is a striking piece of engineering. The scale of the bridge tower is hard to describe, and the engineering components built to hold things up during construction is a wonder in itself.
After our exit from the last lock, our plan was to head to the old Montreal Port, find a slip and have dinner on the town. While it all worked out in the end, we were a little unprepared for the amount of current involved in heading back up stream after we rounded St. Helen's Island. The high waters affecting the great lakes and also Montreal area resulted in a significantly elevated current. Instead of having to stem a 4.5 knot current, we were faced with 6.5 knots and a headwind too! If you can see my instruments, I'm doing 7 through the water and only 1.5 over ground. This was the best we got for most of this stretch. Much of the time we were making less that 0.5 knots of forward progress. At times we made no progress at all until we wandered sideways to the south side of the channel and picked up a quarter of a knot!
This is a video from John showing at first a view forward where it appears we are making excellent progress until he pans to the shoreline that shows we are barely moving.
When we finally arrive at the harbour and checked into the marine office, the woman who we spoke to had quite a chuckle over the earlier radio conversation where I said we'd be there in 20 minutes!
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| Sailor's Church |
We did end up having a nice evening in the heart of the old city and a excellent dinner at a nearby restaurant. The light show around the downtown was first class. The bridge was alight with animated lights, the clock tower with a fascinating projected show dedicated to Leonard Cohen and much more.
Tomorrow, onward to Sorel!
We are joined now by John's wife Nanci. She we will be with us until we get to the top of the Saguenay (Chicoutimi). At that point both John and Nanci will depart, and Debbie will join!
Our destination was Club Nautique de l'Ile Bacchus which in on the south-west end of Ile-d'Orleans. Again, the harbour is basically a basin that sticks out into the St Lawrence and is constructed of a 20' tall rock breakwall. Inside, are floating docks, so dealing how to moor with tide changes is not yet an issue. The harbour is also part of "Plan B", which is an emergency only ferry dock in case the bridge (on the north side) is for some reason impassible.
