Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue cast off from the very comfortable dock at Chambly. Out of the canal, and back on the Richelieu River, the couple headed north. The first part of the journey was rather uneventful. It was cloudy and spitting rain; Captain Mark donned his all-weather gear and went up to the fly-bridge, letting Sidekick Sue stay downstairs and take care of some business (blog-writing, bill-paying, etc.). The Explorers passed three small ferries running on underwater cables that help the locals get from one side of the river to the other where there are no nearby bridges. As the ferry crosses the river, the cable is pulled very close to the surface, so Captain Mark had to wait a few minutes after the ferry docked to make sure the cable had settled back down before crossing the ferry path. Over the next few hours, the Explorers were passed by three faster moving vessels that didn’t bother to slow down and created sizeable wakes. Luckily, from his experience in the ICW last year, Captain Mark is getting much better at riding the wake without too much gear flying around the cabin. At one point, Captain Mark had to pass under a tall bridge, where the current was so strong it pulled him through at a much higher rate of speed than was comfortable… the Captain has nerves of steel.
Around mid-day, they reached the lock at St. Ours. This was a much larger lock than the ones on the Chambly canal. It opens on request and the Wayward Explorer was the only boat in the lock. The best feature was that the boat could be tied to a floating dock (just like any other dock), and the entire dock just moved down with the water. There was no line-handling necessary; the Explorers just relaxed and let the lock do its thing. The locktender indicated that the water level on the St. Lawrence was very high for this time of year, so the difference in the water level from the Richelieu to the St. Lawrence was only a few feet. Before they knew it, the ride was over and the Explorers untied from the float dock and exited the lock. Outside the lock, there was a dock available for use of those holding a Canada Park pass (which they do), so the Explorers decided to get out and do some walking. The dock was attached to a small island park that had a number of A-frame structures available for camping. Apparently, these are available to boaters coming through if they want to spend the night. The Explorers walked around the island and then crossed back on the walkway over the lock doors to the other side. They walked about 2 miles into the town of St. Ours. Highlights were a beautiful big church with a metal roof and a steel steeple, an antique shop, and a bookstore that doubled as the local’s gathering spot. As the Explorers returned to their docked boat, they noted the slow-moving sailboat that was with them through the Chambly Canal had caught up and locked through. The sailor had mentioned that he would be working at the lock through the summer, so his adventure was done. The Explorers, however, had a few more hours in their day.
The Explorers continued up the Richelieu River well north of Montreal until it opened into the St. Lawrence River. From here, the Explorers will take the St. Lawrence into Montreal, against the current, for a short time. Plan A is to pick up the Ottawa River on the other side of Montreal, and head to Ottawa. Plan B, if needed, is to just follow the St. Lawrence straight to Massena, NY. The Explorers will make that call in a few days. For tonight, the Explorers pulled around a barrier island in the St. Lawrence and found a calm spot to anchor for the night. The weather was still gloomy, but the chill in the air kept the bugs away, so our friends were able to enjoy a quiet night on the fly-bridge before retiring for the evening.
