Marina Fortin

The Pub turned out to be an Irish Pub however not a word of English on the menu! When we finally figured out what to eat the food was very delicious. We also had a picture taken with an early  Santa who was fund raising for local organizations. 

The great big fire pit on the boardwalk right where NH is docked. It was a lovely way to celebrate our 43rd anniversary.

Friday July 29th a short cruise to Marina Fortin River mile 60.9. No locks today just the one swing bridge which is a new bridge. Very impressive indeed. The entrance into the marina was extremely challenging and Nandad did a great job of manipulating NH in very tight quarters. After we docked, plugged in and attached the water hose we had a toast to our successful cruising the Canadian waterways. The marina provides a curtsey car so we were able to provision for our next trip into Lake Champlain. 

Vieux Saint Jean - Mile 49

Thank you once again to Sinead for her reminder this morning. Nana and Nandad were fully immersed in cruising the Chambly Canal. Locks 4,5,6,7, & 8 are all very close together and with two other boats with us inside the lock- a lot going on!! The process took two hours and with only another 6 miles to go one would think we would be there in an hour - not the case. There are four swing bridges that need to open and another lock. The lockmasters keep a very tight monitor on the boats going north and south so that they can coordinate a smooth passage for everybody and also that they are not constantly opening and closing bridges. 

As you can see by the picture the canal is quite narrow. These are the boats heading north and the Lockmaster gave us a heads up. Port to port passage

These were our buddies going through all nine locks. We spent the night as planned on the wall after going through Lock 3. We were the first passage this morning ready for Lock 4 at 9am. Nana and Nandad decided to stay at the wall right downtown St Jean and our cruising friends went further up river.

Beautiful city with lovely garden themes and park sculpture.

A great picture of Nandad busy reviewing our route for the next day - which is always a good thing. Even with the best of planning we somehow seem to overlook some important issues. Today it was the number of swing bridges! Tonight we will stroll across the street - after the rain stops - and celebrate our anniversary at Bistro Morgane & Pub. NH is now only 20 miles from Rouses Point when we will call to clear U.S. Customs. 

NH docks at The Chambly Canal

What a beautiful cruise today along the river with views of Mont St-Hilaire for most of the ride.

We pass another cable ferry. They seem to be a regular way of transportation along this section.

The scenery continues to be these glorious mountain villages with beautiful churches.

What a surprise when we reached the Beloeil railroad bridge. The turn takes you 90 degrees under a very fast current with no visibility of oncoming traffic. Nandad blew the horn with one prolonged blast and put the throttle at full speed. A very scary moment and glad that we will not have to repeat.

This is NH approaching the bridge through the narrow opening. Although you can approach with caution you certainly have to increase speed so that you can get through without stopping! 

Here is the moment of relief afterwards.

NH arrives T the first flight of Locks  - there are three together at 1.30. We are still waiting at 5pm to get through.

Always patience when boating. A great afternoon to catch up on reading, a lovely little village with great ice - cream, entertainment on the park, a gentle breeze with wonderful sunshine. What more do we need. We will eventually get to the other side of the lock when we will stay for the night.

The Richelieu River

Nana thought it was time to post a little visual directly from the Waterway Guide so that you the reader can see where our next journey will take us. Cruising The Richelieu River/ Chambly Canal will bring NH into Lake Champlain. As you can see Sorel is the starting point and there are several locks along the way. Today we will cruise to St Ours which is the only lock on the Richelieu and stay overnight at the wall. The lock gives  us 5 feet lift.

This was a first for Nana and Nandad. We had never witnessed a cable ferry before. Apparently you need to wait until the cables drop before passing astern of the ferry. A wonderful service for locals and reduces their commute by 40 minutes.

When we tie up at the wall there is a lovely park on Ile Darvard where there is also the lockmasters house that has some interesting local history. 

Just beside the lockmasters house there are a few fancy camping facilities which look very inviting. The St Ours dam has a fish ladder ( Vianney-Legendre Fish Ladder ) which primary function is to aid in the recovery of the endangered species the copper redhorse. It is a complex structure built in 2001 to allow the copper redhorse to return upstream to its Chambly spawning ground. Fascinating. 

Nandad enjoying the huge hydrangea in the park. Tomorrow we may cruise to the Chambly Canal,  which has a total of twelve locks, or we may stop along the way at St Marc sur Richelieu or Beloeil. That is the fun part of cruising - no schedule, no worries, no rushing. 

Montreal to Sorel

As you can see from the sky Nana and Nandad docked just in time - well almost! Our journey along Flueve Saint Laurent was very uneventful. In fact Nandad was very happy with the three knot current carrying us along - the fuel consumption was very efficient. Now Nana had read about how the river weather can change quickly and we witnessed this just before arriving into Sorel. The wind picked up, the rain came down and our visibility was restricted. Lucky for us there were no large vessels around so we just slowed down and waited for it to pass. It did make it a little challenging for Nandad when docking - as you can see we were very close to the dock and the boat to our stern had three very big 425 hp engines - so we certainly didn’t want to get to close to those. 

The restaurant here is called Le Belvedere which is so appropriate as the view of the St Lawerence River is wonderful. The food was also very good.

Tomorrow we will make our way up the Richelieu River which will eventually take us to Lake Champlain.

Vieux Montreal : So much to see and do!

The Chapel in the Heavens. On the summit of this tower built in 1893 stands the colossal statue of Our Lady of the Harbour her hands raised to bless all who enter or leave the Port of Montreal. You can see Nandad on his bicycle at the stop sign. Our first day in Montreal found us on our bikes heading along the Lachine Canal to the famous Atwater Market. The display of fresh fruits, vegetables, pastries and meats was just an amazing experience. Nana and Nandad were so much in awe that they forgot to take a picture. We sampled some of the fresh produce for lunch at the Premiere Moison.

Thursday afternoon we took the Grey Line Hop On Hop Off  tour which took us on a loop to see some of the major attractions and although it did provide us with an idea of what we wanted to see it was certainly nothing as good as the tour we had in Ottawa. 
Nana was able to get tickets to see Aura at the Basilica at 8pm. Light unveils the richness of Norte-Dame’s heritage and invites you to celebrate its beauty. Words will not describe this experience. Nana and Nandad had not idea what to expect however for at least an hour the Aura experience immerses you in a captivating visual and musical universe. 

The basilica was built from 1824 to 1829 under the supervision of the Irish American architect James O’Donnell ( 1774-1830)

The organ built by Casavant Freres, was finished in 1891. It features 7,000 pipes. The longest one stretches to 32 feet and the smallest one is a quarter-inch long. Nana will have to return during the Christmas to listen to Handel’s Messiah. 

Nandad was fascinated that the bike trail had a roundabout.

Friday July 22 nd was the day of getting in line! Nandad was so impressed by the Basilica that he got up early and rode his bike to attend mass. After he returned it was decided that we would attempt to get the metro to visit the Jardin botanique and the Olympic Village. Boy what an experience that was - next time we will take an Uber! It took us two hours to finally get to the Botanical Gardens after long lines in the metro, almost loosing the credit card in the ticket machine, figuring out in the heat which direction to take - finally finding the entrance to the Olympic Village and then another walk to the entrance of the Botanical Gardens. Montreal held the summer Olympics in 1976. As you can see the tower is under construction however tours of the dome were available ( Nana and Nandad decided to continue on to the gardens ). 

The Jardin Botanique was very overwhelming and next time Nana would have a better plan. There are multiple ways to enter the gardens so this can make your visit very confusing. Founded in 1931 by Brother Marie-Victorian there are over 20 thematic gardens, 10 exhibition greenhouses and 3 cultural gardens, a Tree Pavilion and the Arboretum.

One of the areas of ongoing experiments taking place in the garden. A wonderland for the creative mind.

Part of the Chinese Garden water display. Nana promised Nandad that she would not try to recreate this in her yard! 

Just a very small section of the Lily gardens as we enjoyed a very welcome popsicle.

Nightlife at Vieux Montreal. Nana and Nandad went to see Kooza presented by Cirque Du Soleil. What a performance - the music, performers, and costumes were just incredible. Athletes, acrobats, and artists creat a performance that it not to be matched. The International Headquarters is located in Montreal and it’s founder is Guy Laliberte. There are 1300 artists hailing from 55 different countries that form the current Cirque du Soliel team. You can just about see the tent light up beside the Ferris Wheel. Old Montreal and the Ile Sainte-Helene-is heaven for those who like to Zip line, Roller Coaster, Rock climb, and turn themselves upside down and right side up!

Saturday : Nandad decided that today would be a much more relaxed day. It started with a tour of the Notee-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel which included the Marguerite Bourgeorys Museum which has some fascinating archaeological digs ( dating back two to three thousand years ) and a crypt. You can take a guided tour of the crypt directly underneath the church which was rebuilt over the original in 1771. The original church was built in 1678 however destroyed by fire in 1754. Marguerite was the founder of the Congregation of Norte Dame and a huge advocate of education particularly for young women - way ahead of her time. Some wonderful displays of instruments used by the nuns to teach physics and science to the girls.

 Nana and Nandad were able to climb up the tower to take a great picture of one of the angels guarding the harbor and also a nice view of the Yacht Club of Montreal.

We soaked up all that Old Montreal has to offer, great food, wonderful people watching, side street musicians, and of course the late night lights.

Sunday July 24th. Layday for Nana and Nandad preparing for our departure tomorrow for Sorel. After mass at the Basilica Nandad took his bike to the store to grocery shop, Nana took advantage of one more laundry load, a good wash down of NH ( no matter how much you wash the boat those cobwebs just will not go away ), and of course a pump out ( always good to leave the dock with an empty tank ). All ready to move on in the morning. A great stop and wonderful marina to spend some time.  

The Seaway Locks & Montreal

Boating teaches you lots of patience. The Saint Lawerence Seaway connects Montreal to Lake Ontario. For this section of our journey the procedure for booking the locks - as mentioned before - is different. This is because the locks are run by St Lawerence Seaway Management Cooperation. The locks were designed for the very large commercial vessels and are 766 feet long,80 feet wide and drop 30 feet. Pleasure vessels wait until they are given permission to enter and this is done by loudspeaker- there is no communication by radio.

A daily schedule of opening times for pleasure craft is available on the website by 7am. When your boat enters the lock there is a Bridge Diversion which is  a few feet before the exit gate , this allows the larger vessels to stop in time which keeps the vessel the correct distances from the lock gate - a very practical idea. 

Most of Nana and Nandads day was spent waiting however we entered the first lock Cote Sanite Catherine at 11.30 am and the second Saint Lambert Lock at 2.30 pm. NH cruised into the Yacht Club of Montreal at 4 pm. Another exhausting day but now we get to explore for three full days.

The Yacht Club of Montreal is in the basin west of the Clock Tower right in Old Montreal. Close to the most historic part of the city with lots of cafes, restaurants, museums and shops. We were in time to witness one of the best fireworks Nana has ever seem. Always a great event especially when you can catch it right from your boat.Tonite's display was the Italians turn so the fireworks were accompanied by wonderful Italian music - through the summer Montreal has International fireworks every Wednesday and Saturday and at the end of the summer there is a vote as to which country provided the best show.

There moments simply cannot be captured by camera! You just have to present in the moment. Nana and Nandad have a list of activities they would like to accomplish and are so excited to have made it this far.

(Temporary Backup) (Temporary Backup) Carillon Lock et Lac Des Deux Montagnes

This was by far the most amazing experience to date. The picture is taken from the port side of New Horizon while transiting the lock. Carillon lock providers a 65-foot drop. Despite this tremendous drop , it was one of the easiest locks to pass through. You hand the lines to the Park Canada staff and they tie your boat to a floating dock. When the gates are closed one of the staff persons sits on the area in the middle and descends with you. In the picture underneath you can see the winding stairs. Once the boats are down and the gate open another staff person climbs down the stairs to help you out of the lock. 

Nana and Nandad spend the night on the wall after going through the lock and were truly fascinated by the power that the hydro plant can produce. It rained for the rest of the afternoon and into the night however we did manage to take a stroll around the area. The grounds surrounding the lock retain the original 1854 lock, along with the toll collectors house museum and lovely picnic areas.

Tuesday July 19th.

The next part of the journey needs a little planning. Both the Cote Saints Catherine Lock and the Saint-Lambert lock require you to make a passage reservation online due to the high volume of commercial traffic that transits this section called Canal de la Rive Sud.  This needs to be made the day before and you don’t know until you log on the next day what time your passage will be ! So an early start tomorrow after we check the website at 7am. 

Cruising the Lake of Two Mountains reminded Nana of those magical sailing days. A very wide section of the river and lots of sailing clubs noted along the way. 

Here is another picture of what sometimes just pops up unexpectedly as your cruising along. It’s a little far away for Nanas cellphone focus but I think you will capture the pretty scenery and lots of sail boats.

Shortly after the Lake of Two Mountains the province of Ontario ends at Pointe Fortune so now both banks lie in Quebec. After going through the Saints-Anne-de-Bellevue lock New Horizon heads for anchorage at the pool just above the St Catherine lock. We are now about 13 NM from the Old City of Montreal where we have a reservation from Wednesday 20th until 24th. at Yacht Club of Montreal.

Before leaving Montebello Nana had to take a picture of this beautiful piece of wooden magical sculpture outside the tourist information center.

Montebello

New Horizon had a very peaceful night and in the morning continued to cruise up the river to Montebello. Unable to have a slip at the Le Château Montebello Nana and Nandad finally secured a dockage at the Municipal Marina Montebello. This marina is about a ten minute walk to the Manoir Papineau which was built by Louis-Joseph Papineau ( 1786-1871 ). It turns out that the Fairmont Le Chateau Montebello is a privately run hotel where you can only dock your boat if you stay overnight at the hotel - now this seems a little pointless when you can stay on your own boat! We had a wonderful private English tour of the Manor , walked  the beautiful trail, had an amazing lunch at the Le Bistro Montebello, ice cream at the fabulous Chocomotive, with still plenty of time to wash down the boat , have a glass of wine with some nice cheese, pate, and hummus . Boy is life good - La Joie De Vivre.

 An extra bonus , when Nandad went to apologize to our neighbors for the noise of the Genset they promptly showed him how the marina had just installed 50 amp! Now we were able to plug in and have a wonderful cool nights sleep. Bonne nuit.

This captures some of the history along the Rivière des Outaouais ( Ottawa River ). Tomorrow we will continue our cruise up the river. It really is the good life.

Heading up the Ottawa River

The National Arts Centre was amazing. As luck would have it we had our own box and the show was simply perfection. Our pre theater dinner at the Irish pub D’Arcy McGee’s was worth the stop. It has a great Irish feel and great food and service. 

An exhausting day. 

At 9am NH docked on the blue line with four other boats to prepare for the descent down the Flight of Stairs. Now you are at the mercy of the Lockmaster who decides which boats go in and whether it starts top to bottom or bottom to top. This morning the Lockmaster decided that the boats at the bottom would go first. This means NH waits with the other boats for at least two hours! No worries for Nana , she decided to take a lovely brisk walk along the canal with the bikers, walkers, joggers and rollerbladers. After a wonderful Yoga session on the boat F/B early lunch , we were ready to go. What a ride we had. This is the picture of the boats coming out of the eight lock flight which took two and a half hours.

This is Nandad doing what he does best - chatting up the other boaters and lockmasters. Also, take note , he continues the GPI campaign. We were under the bridge so at least we were shaded from the extreme sun.

Here are the flight of stairs from the Ottawa River side with boats entering to go back up. The building in the French Gothic Chateauesque style is the Fairport Chateau Laurier hotel.  The lockmasters get no rest and continue this routine until 5 pm.

NH on the Ottawa River leaving the city of Ottawa in the background. 

The Ottawa River is a busy waterway through two provinces: Quebec on the north and Ontario on the South. The river is quite wide and ends at mile 97 at the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Lock. We cruise by the Rideau Falls, several small marinas, pass two ferry crossings at Cumberland and Clarence Islands and finally set anchor at a beautiful spot called Ile Dube. Initially we had a few day boats anchored close to us with very loud rock music however they quickly scattered and left  us to ourselves for a quite evening. Although sunset is not until 8.45 Nana was able to get a lovely picture 30 minutes before sunset. 

Tomorrow we will see if we can get a slip at Le Château Montebello Marina.