July 8,2009: Departure from Saint Jean at 9 a.m. With the first bridge opening. The attendant came over to our boat and several others to get us ready. We then communicated with multiple bridge attendants on VHF channel 68 all resulting in precise openings. The lock attendants were friendly and helpful. Sara and Stephanie quickly regained their locking techniques. I handled the engine while they took care of the lines and especially took care of pushing the boat away from the slimy lock walls.
We 
were soon though the first 9 locks and tied up in the Chambly Basin for lunch and a trip to the local supermarket. We found the perfect cafe for a quick lunch of incredible salads and sandwiches. The supermarket could not have been more convenient to the boat dock, This town is still very vibrant.
We proceeded north on the Richelieu for the next four hours before arriving at the Saint Ours Lock at 6 p.m. It was fun to see the knotmeter reading 7 knots with the help of the current. We will get payback in spades tomorrow when we turn upstream on the Saint Lawrence River. Several rain storms found us along the way. Visibility dropped to about fifty feet in the cloudbursts of heavy rain. Fortunately we kept moving on with the help of the trusty GPS chartplotter. We encountered several passenger cruise boats in the 80 to 90 foot range. One passenger ship was from Lake Champlain and it makes regular trips to Montreal. The only tight spot is the McMasterville railroad bridge in Beloeil. There is a 30 foot opening at a right angle to the current in a blind corner. No problem for us at our slow pace. Our second excitement was arriving at the St. Ours lock in a cloudburst. The lock attendants refused to open the doors during the rain so we just tied up to the pier. Sara made us all some delicious hot chocolate during the wait. The sun came out soon thereafter and we tied up for the night at the downstream pier.
We 
were soon though the first 9 locks and tied up in the Chambly Basin for lunch and a trip to the local supermarket. We found the perfect cafe for a quick lunch of incredible salads and sandwiches. The supermarket could not have been more convenient to the boat dock, This town is still very vibrant.We proceeded north on the Richelieu for the next four hours before arriving at the Saint Ours Lock at 6 p.m. It was fun to see the knotmeter reading 7 knots with the help of the current. We will get payback in spades tomorrow when we turn upstream on the Saint Lawrence River. Several rain storms found us along the way. Visibility dropped to about fifty feet in the cloudbursts of heavy rain. Fortunately we kept moving on with the help of the trusty GPS chartplotter. We encountered several passenger cruise boats in the 80 to 90 foot range. One passenger ship was from Lake Champlain and it makes regular trips to Montreal. The only tight spot is the McMasterville railroad bridge in Beloeil. There is a 30 foot opening at a right angle to the current in a blind corner. No problem for us at our slow pace. Our second excitement was arriving at the St. Ours lock in a cloudburst. The lock attendants refused to open the doors during the rain so we just tied up to the pier. Sara made us all some delicious hot chocolate during the wait. The sun came out soon thereafter and we tied up for the night at the downstream pier.
No comments:
Post a Comment