Marc- Another summer day in Ottawa ( we have been here since 30 July enjoying Canada Day festivities as well as the Royal visit of William and Kate. There were fantastic concerts on Parliament Hill, great museums, fireworks with our very dear friend Marie driving us everywhere). The air conditioning has been really great during this heat wave. We left at 08:30 for Parliament Hill and the 8 locks that will take s to the Ottawa River. Our view of Parliament form the canal was great.
Our timing was excellent since we arrived at the blue tie up dock just minutes before two rather large powerboats (46 feet and 41 feet) were locking through. Our trip down was fine and we stopped at the Hull Marina.
5 July 2011: Gatineau (Hull), Quebec
Marc- The night here at the Hull Marina was quiet and upset only by my losing the access key to the washrooms at dock gate. The 24 hour security guard was most helpful in dealing with this problem. We were supposed to have rain but instead we have sunshine and a fairly hot and humid day with a gentle Northwest breeze. Lucy III departed the marina at 08:30 bound for Montebello. Our first pause was to detour up to the Rideau Falls and feel the mist. The tour boats actually put their bows into the Falls. Rideau means curtain in English and these falls, and their river, were aptly named by the explorer and first governor Samuel de Champlain in the 17th century. You can actually walk behind the curtain except that Parks Canada has blocked the path. The remaining part of the journey today was uneventful. The motor purred along at 1800 rpm while doing 6.5 knots with a favorable river current in the Ottawa River.
We were welcomed at the Chateau Montebello Marina at 14:00 arriving at the same time as our very good friend Marie Bedard. This is a Fairmont hotel with all of the luxury one would expect. We took advantage of the large pool, the tennis courts and the luxurious showers. Marie took up by auto to visit the Falls of the Riviere de la Petite Nation (site of a former Papineau sawmill. They were some 20 kilometers away and were once part of the very large Papineau estate. The Papineau family was given a land grant by the French that covers many square kilometers. We also visited the manor house that is now run by Parks Canada. Finally we enjoyed a game of bananagram (a word game) in the 3 story central hotel lobby. Did I forget to mention this is the largest log cabin structure in the world?6 July 2011: Montebello, Quebec
Marc- We left Montebello at 09:30 this morning after having breakfast at the hotel. The hotel lobby was also great for another game of bananagram and I actually won for a change. The weather forecast is guarded with possible thunderstorms at times. The Hudson Yacht Club reported a thunderstorm passing through at 10:05. The cold front including heavy rain, 30 knots wind, lighting and thunder did come through but we remained safe and dry in the “Wendy Room” cockpit.
No problems with the Carillion guillotine lock and the 60 foot drop. The Parks Canada people were most helpful in helping us as we came down tied to a floating dock... I called the Hudson Yacht Club for a space tonight as we continued to speed down the River. They could not guarantee us a spot at the marina but it may be well worth a try. It was well worth the effort
and we ended up with a very secure berth on the inside of the docks. We passed a beautifully restored Tartan 34C sloop. The town was just a short walk from the docks and had many interesting shops and most importantly a very well stocked IGA grocery store. I grilled some flavored tofu for the vegetarians among us and we then had a nice dinner at the club beach. Sara and Stephanie went for a swim just before a super sunset.
The Lucy III is running well. The teak trim is not in the best of shape and I am doing some minor repairs on the worst of it. It appears that the stuffing box is leaking excessively as we need to pump the bilge daily. I picked up a new electric pump in Ottawa since the new pump from Clayton does not have the proper lifting capacity (10 feet).
7 July 2011 Hudson, Quebec
Marc- Departure this morning at 11:00 for St. Anne de Bellevue on the Island of Montreal. Today’s journey was brief with us arriving at the St. Anne lock at 12:30. It was a bit of a free for all with all of the small powerboats cutting in front of us to tie up to the floating dock inside of the lock. The lockmaster had us tie to the opposite wall for the 1 foot drop here. It almost seems unnecessary but the passage under the bridges is foul with rocks. Surprisingly a 60 foot Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft went over the rocky passage just after we went through the lock. It was amazing to see how fast this rescue boat can travel. The Parks Canada staff advised us to tie up as far away from the railroad bridge as possible if we hoped to sleep. This was good advice as far as the train is concerned. Unfortunately the far end of the pier is across from several nightclubs open to 3 a.m. It was a festive night with lots of music and even a few fireworks as well. Earlier we had done some shopping finding a new very fashionable jacket for Stephanie and at the local grocery store. We also did some bike exploration of Ile Perrot nearby. This was rewarded with a visit to one of the Ice Cream shops.
July 7 (Sara): We’re on a cement dock by a huge lock where we went down a few centimeters before parking here and having a salad and couscous lunch on a picnic table by the boat under a nice little tree. At night it’s nice here— parallel to us there’s a boardwalk lined with shops and restaurants that all glow a soft, mellow orange in the twilight. People hang out there all night, chatting roaringly, and you fall asleep with that warm, buzzing feeling that you’re being looked after. (Or, if you're my dad, you stay awake all night despising all those despicable degenerates!)
8 July 2011 St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec
Marc- Departure this morning at 09:30 for Dorval and the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club. We were welcomed to the club by Jean at 11:00. We are certainly doing minimal distances these days. The tanks were all topped off and/or pumped out. We settled in here nicely. I did find a power cord in the water when I went to plug in that gave me a scare. This reminded me why you should never go swimming at marinas. After a nice lunch, we all took the bikes to Lachine for a look at the canal and to see if we can fit through with our 9 foot clearance. We will need to lower the mast 1 foot to get through. Our friend Eric came by to give us some help with this bit of engineering. We all enjoyed some tennis on the clay courts and then dinner on the Lucy III. Another nasty thunderstorm came through around midnight. There is no shortage of water this year.
and we ended up with a very secure berth on the inside of the docks. We passed a beautifully restored Tartan 34C sloop. The town was just a short walk from the docks and had many interesting shops and most importantly a very well stocked IGA grocery store. I grilled some flavored tofu for the vegetarians among us and we then had a nice dinner at the club beach. Sara and Stephanie went for a swim just before a super sunset.The Lucy III is running well. The teak trim is not in the best of shape and I am doing some minor repairs on the worst of it. It appears that the stuffing box is leaking excessively as we need to pump the bilge daily. I picked up a new electric pump in Ottawa since the new pump from Clayton does not have the proper lifting capacity (10 feet).
7 July 2011 Hudson, Quebec
Marc- Departure this morning at 11:00 for St. Anne de Bellevue on the Island of Montreal. Today’s journey was brief with us arriving at the St. Anne lock at 12:30. It was a bit of a free for all with all of the small powerboats cutting in front of us to tie up to the floating dock inside of the lock. The lockmaster had us tie to the opposite wall for the 1 foot drop here. It almost seems unnecessary but the passage under the bridges is foul with rocks. Surprisingly a 60 foot Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft went over the rocky passage just after we went through the lock. It was amazing to see how fast this rescue boat can travel. The Parks Canada staff advised us to tie up as far away from the railroad bridge as possible if we hoped to sleep. This was good advice as far as the train is concerned. Unfortunately the far end of the pier is across from several nightclubs open to 3 a.m. It was a festive night with lots of music and even a few fireworks as well. Earlier we had done some shopping finding a new very fashionable jacket for Stephanie and at the local grocery store. We also did some bike exploration of Ile Perrot nearby. This was rewarded with a visit to one of the Ice Cream shops.
July 7 (Sara): We’re on a cement dock by a huge lock where we went down a few centimeters before parking here and having a salad and couscous lunch on a picnic table by the boat under a nice little tree. At night it’s nice here— parallel to us there’s a boardwalk lined with shops and restaurants that all glow a soft, mellow orange in the twilight. People hang out there all night, chatting roaringly, and you fall asleep with that warm, buzzing feeling that you’re being looked after. (Or, if you're my dad, you stay awake all night despising all those despicable degenerates!)
8 July 2011 St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec
Marc- Departure this morning at 09:30 for Dorval and the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club. We were welcomed to the club by Jean at 11:00. We are certainly doing minimal distances these days. The tanks were all topped off and/or pumped out. We settled in here nicely. I did find a power cord in the water when I went to plug in that gave me a scare. This reminded me why you should never go swimming at marinas. After a nice lunch, we all took the bikes to Lachine for a look at the canal and to see if we can fit through with our 9 foot clearance. We will need to lower the mast 1 foot to get through. Our friend Eric came by to give us some help with this bit of engineering. We all enjoyed some tennis on the clay courts and then dinner on the Lucy III. Another nasty thunderstorm came through around midnight. There is no shortage of water this year.
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