Today will be a short story. It was a very uneventful, rain-filled day for Captain Mark and Sidekick Sue. They pulled up anchor on a gloomy day and started up the St. Lawrence. It rained the entire day. Captain Mark decided to try steering from the cabin indoors, where there is a dual set of controls. This was his first experience driving from inside because this is a very old boat with a very “rectangular” cabin (not very streamlined) and the visibility from inside is not great. The difference from a car is that with the autopilot on, the Captain can walk around the cabin and look out windows or even step outside. Luckily, there was very little river traffic and the rain was steady, but not strong. Winds were still fairly light, and Captain Mark only needed to stick his head outside a few times to confirm the location of other boats, buoys, debris, etc. He did his best to stay out of the ship channel, but also far enough away from shallow water. They were passed by a few HUGE container ships, but mostly passed container ships that were anchored along the river. The Explorer’s goal for the day was to position themselves a short distance from the St. Lambert Lock, so they would be ready to go in the morning. It was very slow moving because they were traveling against the current of the St. Lawrence, barely moving at 3-4 knots.
The St. Lambert lock is the first HUGE lock that the Explorers have ever had to traverse. This one is large enough to accommodate cruise ships, container ships and freighters. As such, it caters to commercial traffic, not recreational boaters. As the Explorers understand it, they need to arrive early, tie up with the other recreational boaters and WAIT for the announcement that the locks are opening for recreational vessels (which is supposed to happen twice a day). The wait could be short or hours and hours, depending on the commercial traffic going through.
The Explorers settled in an anchorage a few miles from the lock. Captain Mark spent time researching the process of buying tickets online (these locks are not covered under the Canada Parks pass), and learned that the locks had been closed all day today because of mechanical problems. So, the Explorers anticipate a busy day tomorrow, with lots of boats, both recreational and commercial, vying to get through. Suddenly, it made sense why they saw so many commercial boats anchored along the river. It could be a long day tomorrow.
