Day 61: Gatineau and Ottawa

In front of the United States
Embassy in Ottawa

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Looking down to the Ottawa
River from the top of the
Flight of Eight Locks

We were up early to finish laundry, clean the inside cabins and arrange the pick up of a rental car Brian reserved on line the evening before. On the way back to the marina, Brian found the Canadian Automobile Association (CAA) and stopped in for local information, maps and such. These really helped planning our attack for the day and in short order, we were lunching in Gatineau on our way into Ottawa. The “flight of eight” locks are impressive! As we were strolling along, looking for other Americans traversing the locks, found two Outterbanks from North Carolina going through. We were able to assist them going into the next lock, and then met the Lock Master. After explaining our intent, he indicated we should be on the wall and checked in (registered) no later than 3pm tomorrow as it is another holiday and he is anticipating many boats. This will guarantee that we will make it through all 8 locks prior to closing time. Afterwards, we walked the Byward Market

By Ward Market

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Part of the Byward Market

area, an open air market of produce along a few streets with unique items such as meat market, fish market, wine market, and such, including a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. We completed our provisioning needs and returned to the marina to settle them in the boat and get the car back within the allotted timeframe. Brian returned with Nasser, his driver from Enterprise, who is interested in boats. Of course a tour was in order.  With fresh provisions, grilled steak is on the menu for tonight as soon as we connect with our son so he has the latest intent for tomorrow’s actions. Most steaks are marinated here in Canada, so the only way Linda can eat is when we grill our own.

Day 60: Golden Anchor Marina to Marina Kitchissipi de Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada (52.5NM, 7 Hours )

Marina Kitchissipi Office

We left the Golden Anchor Marina in route to Marina de Hull to spend two nights getting ready for Chris to arrive 1 August.  As we approached Ottawa, we contacted the Hull Marina to ensure they had space for us.  Space for a boat our size did not become available.  So we briefly stopped at the Rockcliffe Boathouse Marina to reassess our plan and options.  We ended up backtracking 5NM to the Kitchissipi Marina, who is protected, has laundry facilities, grilling area, and the other necessities we were looking for.  We intend to stay two nights here then go to the lock wall at the start of the Rideau Canal - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  We will briefly tie up and wait for Chris to join us for a trip down the Rideau Canal—starting with the “flight of eight locks” in downtown Ottawa.  We did laundry, FaceTimed with Chris and Grandma, watched a little of “If You Think You Can Dance” before heading to bed.  Tomorrow we’ll get a rental car to do our errands.

Day 59: Yacht-Club Royal St-Laurent to Golden Anchor Marina, Hawkesbury, Onterio, Canada (42NM, 6.5 Hours)

Carillon Lock looking
up river

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Carillon Lock looking
down river

Waiting on the 'blue line' part of
the St-Anne lock wall

It was beautiful this morning; to look at. It was cold (52°F at 8:00am) and windy (8 knots). Our goal was to make Marina de Hull across from Ottawa and the ‘flight of eight’ locks with a brief stop at the marina at Fairmont le Cháteau Montebello; the largest log building in the world (maybe). We where on our way around 10:15am after taking on fuel. The beautiful morning ended shortly with heavily and steadily rain. We made a decision to not visit the Cháteau since 1) we wouldn’t be able to walk the grounds, 2) it may be big, but in the end, its just a high priced resort, 3) the slip fees are too expensive just to see the inside of the resort and nothing else. Brian tried to take pictures of the cháteau as we passed. So we extended our voyage to put in at the Golden Anchor Marina in Hawkesbury, Ontario. We passed through the

Cháteau Montebello  

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The Golden Anchor Marina Office
on Main St. in Hawkesbury

St-Anne Lock and the Carillion Lock is the last lock before Ottawa. The Carillon lock is different. It is a part of a massive hydroelectric dam. At one end of the lock is a huge vertical gate and the other is a standard V-gate. Inside is a floating dock which made the locking experience relaxing.  It's lift, or drop if you're going in the other direction is 62 feet.  When we checked in to the Golden Anchor, we ask the attendant about local restaurants. He said there were two within five minute walking distance. One had a nice view of the water, but the food was okay. The other was a sports bar and the food was great. We went to the sports bar. We’ve see the water every day, but we like great food, too. He was right. We had a great meal. Linda had a huge piece of salmon on top of rice. Brian had a large (almost Texas size) steak and baked potato on top of white rice. Afterwards, we retired to the boat.

Day 58: Yacht Club Montreal to Yacht-Club Royal St-Laurent, Dorval, QC, Canada (24NM, 12 Hours)

St. Lambert Federal Lock

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St. Catherine Federal Lock

Twelve hours to go 24NM.  To make matters worse… it rained all day.  There are two huge “Federal” locks we had to transit outside of Montreal whose priority is commercial ships.  Pleasure craft must wait at small docks outside the locks until the lock authorities have the time to pass pleasure craft both up and down river.  Yup. There is no set time for locking pleasure craft through so you get there early and wait.  We arrived at the St. Lambert lock around 8:00am.  The electronic sign said pleasure craft must wait until 12:00pm.  Five container ships were locked through during that time at the St. Lambert Lock.  By noon there were seven of us.  The dock is large enough for five to six small boats or three to four large boats like Splash Down.  Others boats have to raft to those boats.  We had three boats rafted to us.  We finally got into the St. Lambert lock around 12:40pm.  We were the fourth boat to go in.  Since we are going up river, we at the low water level in the lock. We are to be raised 15 feet in this lock.  Men in orange rain gear tossed two lines to the boats agains the lock wall. We saw the two large boat that had rafted to us at the pleasure craft dock rafted to each other on the lock wall. No one had to raft to us. But, the three small boats had to raft to each other.  There were strong eddies in the lock pushing and pulling the boats. It took the three small boats a long time to get rafted to each other.  As the lock filled, everyone handling the lock wall lines struggled to keep the boat and boats from being push against the lock wall or pulled to the other side of the lock.  We finally exited St. Lambert lock at 13:10pm.  Every boat then made a speed run to the next lock.  A hurry up and wait scenario.  When we arrive at the St. Catherine lock the pleasure craft dock was full.  So, we rafted to another boat and waited while it rained.  The wind was picking up and the temperature was dropping.  The pleasure boats were allowed to enter around 4:50pm.  This time we had a 42 foot boat rafted to us.  Linda and I didn’t have to worry about our finders scraping along the lock wall the way the eddies were flowing around our boats. We did have to work hard to keep us and the rafted from moving to the other side of the lock.   We were lifted 30 feet to reach the water level of Lake St Louis. We exited the lock around 5:25pm. Lake St Louis is a big lake in size, but is shallow in depth.  There is no direct channel from one end of the lake to the other.  So we, as other boats, have to follow the narrow channel in a zig-zag pattern.  We got midway across the lake and then zig-zag to our destination.  Moving against the current and wind, we arrive Yacht-Club Royal St-Laurent around 7:00pm just behind a sailboat

Yacht-Club Royal St-Laurent

who we thought were locals.  We tied up at the club’s fuel dock after the sailboat move back to give us room to dock.  After getting Splash Down settled we met Roger, Lin, and their dog who are from Seattle, Washington on their boat Schatzie.  After talking to Roger and Lin we went up to the club house.  This club is massive.  They have a two story clubhouse twice the size of Hampton Yacht Club, a swimming pool, tennis courts, two story sailing center, and boat yard (for putting up all the boats in the club for the winter). The only thing that Hampton Yacht Club has over the Royal St-Laurent Yacht Club is the number of and size of boat slips.  We went in to the club where we found a faux fireplace with a simulated fire and smoke.  There were huge sailing trophies in display cases throughout the downstairs spaces.  We learned from the bartender, Veronica, that the club received it royal charter from Queen Victoria 125 years ago making it one of the oldest yacht clubs in North America.  After relaxing at the bar, we returned to Splash Down for sleep.

Day 57: Montreal City

Inside he Roman Catholic
Cathedral Marie-Reine-du-Monde

We walked to see a part of old Montreal and visit the Anglican (Episcopal) Church in downtown Montreal.  We started walking through the Parc Lineaire de la Commune, a park that parallels the St. Lawrence River between the Old Port and the commercial basins of Montreal.  Once we got to Boulevard St-Laurent we meandered through the streets until we reach the Roman Catholic Cathedral Marie-Reine-du-Monde.  We went in side to see a cathedral with an altar at the transept that is modeled on the altar in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  Next door was St. George’s Anglican (Episcopal) Church.

Arch Deacon Bill Gray, the
brick, and Linda

There we met Arch Deacon Bill Gray whom gladly gave us a history of the Anglican Church in Canada as well as the Church itself.  We must have talk for over an hour discussing the differences and similarities of issues facing our churches.  When we left, our mission was to find a place for lunch with something Linda could eat.  We found a place call Crème de la Crème that had wonderful salads.  We strolled through an indoor market and missed the quick rain shower.  We found a new duck for Brian’s collection and and anew nutcracker (Quebec motif) for our growing Christmas collection.  Linda started collecting nutcrackers in the early 1980’s and we haven’t stopped.  Linda returned to the boat and Brian went to the Clock Tower at Old Montreal’s harbor entrance.  This structure was built in tribute to the Canadian sailors who fought in World War I and World War II.  Tomorrow we pass through the two locks in Montreal on the St. Lawrence River and head up toward the Rideau River toward Ottawa.

Splash Down as seen from
the Clock Tower

Yacht Club Montreal with the
Clock Tower in the background

Day 56: Marina de Sorel to Yacht Club Montreal, Montreal, QC, Canada (39.5NM, 5.5 Hours)

We were up early this mooring to prep the boat for the trip to Montreal.  Our big concern was maximizing fuel efficiency while driving into  the 7 - 10 knot wind with higher gusts, and a 1 - 3 knot current steadily against us — not to mention handling the boat around the anticipated commercial traffic in the seaway.  The wind was pushing us hard into the dock like the day before yesterday.  Clause arrived in time to assist our departure from the dock.  We took on fuel and did a pump-out before entering the seaway.  By 8:50am we were under way to Montreal.  As we passed the mouth of the Richelieu River we saw a distinct color change in the water.  Muddy green water from the Richelieu mixing with the clearer green water of the St. Lawrence River.  Once passed the Richelieu we started feeling the effects of the wind and current. We set the engines RPMs at 12000 to get over 7 knots.  We used Clause’s recommendation to put the green buoys on our Starboard side. The difference in speed was amazing.  Inside the green buoys we averaged over 7.7 knots.  In the channel we saw 6.2 knots.  Speaking of the wind, it was around 65° this morning and the wind made it cold.  We had the flybridge all closed up to stay warm.  Linda cleaned the inside of the Strataglass trying to make the view better.  It didn’t help.  The St. Lawrence River is not as beautiful as we expected nor as deep; except for the ship channel.  The channel, too, seemed narrow.  In route we passed several large cargo ships heading down river to Quebec.  We had been told the bridge in Quebec over the St. Lawrence River limited the size of ships due to

Only Little Big Ships can go from Quebec City to
Montreal

height.  There were many small Canadian power boats and Sea Doos scooting at their top speed up and down the river.  We saw two yachts from the United States heading down river at a leisurely pace.  At one point we saw two kite surfers screaming along the water.  As we approached the tip of Ȋle Stainte—Hélène (Staint Helen Island) we followed a ferry toward Old Montreal.  Suddenly our speed shot up to 10 knots. But, that didn’t last long.  Once we passed the tip of the island our speed dropped to 4 knots.  Yup, 12000 RPM - 4 knots and we were still making headway.  Just as we entered the protection of the Yacht Club Montreal’s jetty Brian put the engines to idle so not to speed into the little harbor.  We were tied up at 2:25pm.  We were greeted by Ralph Azersky, a fellow looper here at the marina.  He has been here a few days while his wife, Linda, flew to New York for a baby shower for their daughter.  During our discussion he explained that Montreal is hosting an international fireworks competition this week.  The competition began June 28th and the fireworks are shot on Saturdays and Wednesdays.  Italy, Spain, Canada, United States, France, and Australia are in the competition.  Each team has their own feature night. Tonight is Australia’s turn and their theme is “Strictly Pyro - The world of Baz Lurhmann.”  (Baz Lurhmann is an Australian

Austrailian fireworks
display at Montreal's
International Fireworks
Competition

film director.)  Ralph came over a few minutes prior to the start, and we enjoyed the most spectacular views from our flybridge — where we saw both the high level fireworks over the bridge as well as, the low ground fireworks under the height of the bridge.  Brain and then Ralph crawled on top of the lania for added advantage to video a few minutes of the fireworks. It was at least a 30 minute treat of exceptional displays, with many combinations we had not seen previously.  Shortly afterwards, Ralph departed and we buttoned up for the upcoming rain.   We invited him back to watch the fireworks with us.  At 9:50pm we tuned our FM radio to a local radio station that was broadcasting the music for the fireworks. The fireworks started punctually at 10:00pm and lasted for 45 minutes.  The timing of the bursts of light and colors were spot on to the rhythm of the music.  This was a great treat.

Day 55: Marina de Sorel

Brian's bike tour of Sorel

Over breakfast we decided not to go to Montreal and spend the day shopping, laundry, and cleaning the inside cabins.  Brian got one of the marina’s free-rental bicycle and with information from Google headed for a bank to exchange US dollars for Canadian.  But, when he arrived he found ATMs behind the doors.  Brian noticed this ATM location was near a downtown square which likely meant there may be a full-service bank nearby.  Brian found the bank and exchanged for Canadian money.  Next he went to search for some wine which took him on a circuitous route through Sorel from one grocery store to another.  Eventually he ask for the location of the Quebec liquor store called SAQ.  Fortunately Sorel is a small town and he only had to ride another two miles to the store from where he was at the time then a mile back to the marina.  All-in-all it was a successful trip for Brian and good exercise for him, too.  Meanwhile, Linda did laundry and cleaned the inside of Splash Down.  When Brian returned Linda had finished cleaning the inside of the boat and had one more load to retrieve from the dryer.  With chores done we briefly relaxed with a glass of wine.  Then Brian checked the batteries’ water levels, cleaned the strainers, and checked the engine fluids.  It had warmed up nicely (although the wind never let up) and we relaxed again with another glass of wine.  Brian needed to return the bicycle lock key to the marina office.  We returned the key then decided to check out a boat on the other side of the marina with a US flag.  There we met Steve and Mickey Geran on their boat “Mutual Fun,” who happen to be on the Mini-loop.  They mentioned there is another couple at the marina on the Mini-Loop, too.  We invited them and the other couple over to Splash Down for a get-together.  On our way back to Splash Down we where stopped by a Canadian named Clause who inquired about our voyage from the Hampton area.  He happened to have navigated the Mississippi River and other waterways, but has not done the Great Loop, or any other loop for that matter.  We learned he was a pilot for Canada helping ships navigating the St. Lawrence River for over 40 years.  He gave us tips to minimize the impact of the strong current on the St. Lawrence River, especially near Montreal.  He, too, will be heading to Montreal tomorrow.  We just might follow him.  When Steve and Mickie arrived at Splash Down we got to meet Dean Raffaelli and Charlotte Keer, from the “Carrie Rose.”  Linda took notes as Steve, Mickey, Dean and Charlotte shared their experiences on the rivers and canals we plan to navigate soon.  We had a good two hour discussion before we called it a night.

Day 54: La Marina de Chambly to La Marina de Saurel (41NM, 8 Hours - includes a 2 hour lunch)

A church with silver-like
steeple

The Hotel & Restaruant

The Marina Bistro & Bar

It was very cool when we left Chambly Marina around 9:15am.  The wind and current was in our favor.  We cruised leisurely along at 8 to 8.5 knots. For the most part the river was wide with homes large and small on both banks.  Most churches we saw had one to two steeples completely clad in silver-like metallic covering down to the church roof.  Along about  11:00 or so Linda started looking for a marina with a certain restaurant she had read about that had good eats.  We ended up docking at Marina Auburge Handfield around 11:45am.  Before Brian turned off the chart plotter, Brian looked for Greg and Reenie’s boat Thistle using AIS.  They were 5-minutes behind us.  Brian hailed them and asked if they were interested in having lunch, too.  On the radio they sounded undecided, but they ended up docking

Floating dock at St. Ours lock

and having lunch with us. Marina Auburge Handfield is small and delightful. By the water is a bistro and bar.  Across the road is a 200 year old restaurant, banquet, and hotel facilities.  We walked through the downstairs restaurant and lounges — wonderful rustic, but elegant look.  We spent two hours  before continuing our voyage.  The further we went the narrower the Richelieu River got and there were fewer buildings, too.  We finally got to the St. Ours lock.  Thistle preceded us in very slowly.  The lock master said there was room for us, but from our vantage point we didn’t think we’d fit.  We hung outside the lock for what seemed like a long time until the lock hands waved us in.  We came into the lock and tied up to a floating dock behind Thistle.  This floating dock concept in a lock is fantastic!  Make the lift/drop stress free for the boat owners.  When Thistle exited the lock they turned to tie up to a free lock wall nearby.  We proceeded on to Marina de Saurel.  There are two marina very close to each other with similar names run by the same company.  One is named Parc Nautique Fédéral Marina de Sorel and the other is named Parc Nautique Marina de Sorel.  Brian had called the second marina for reservations, but when we exited the Richelieu River proceeded to the first marina. Linda called on the radio asking for our slip.  The voice came back saying K 29.  We entered the marina and looked along the back wall of the marina for K.  All we saw was Q thru W.  A dock attendant ran out and said we are welcome to tie up, but there was no electricity or water.  We asked about slip K 29 and he said it was at the other marina.  Brian rotated Splash Down 180° in a narrow fairway and we proceeded to the second marina and slip K 29.  We came in bow first to park in line between two other boats.  As soon a Brian got Splash Down parallel with the dock, the wind on our Starboard beam pushed us into the dock hard.  The wind made it difficult for Brian and the dock hand, Jimmy, to adjust Splash Down’s position in between the cleats.  Once tide up, we relaxed, checked in, and discussed heading to Montreal tomorrow.

Day 53: La Marina de Cambly

Entrance to Fort Chambly with the
Richelieu River entering Lake
Chambly

It was stormy morning with la foudre et le tonnerre (lightning and thunder).  The bad weather was forecast to continue after noon so we decided to remain another day in Chambly and not navigate further down the Richelieu River toward Sorel.  While the rain was poring down, we started watching the Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom DVD.  The rain ended before the movie so we walked over to du fort Chambly (Fort Chambly).  The Canadian Government did a wonderful job in archeology, restoration, and interpretation.  Information placards are presented in both French and English.  We learned more about Canadian (and American) history from the Canadian perspective.  For example, we use the term Native American and American Indians in our history books.  The Canadians use the term Amerindians.  We use the term patriots in our books regarding the wars with the United Kingdom and it’s colonies.  The Canadian's uses the terms

Panographic picture of the Richelieu
River in front of the fort

A placard showing the
evolution of Fort Chambly

American rebels and renegades.  But, we were surprised in the undertones regarding the distain of the British occupation of “New France” in the Canadian Park Service narratives of Fort Chambly's history, not to mention the American invasion/occupation for a short time.  Quebec’s history is definitely worth reading more about.  After our tour of the fort and it’s grounds we found an Episcopal church, built by local troops in the 1800s, and then returned to Splash Down.

The Brick at St. Steven's
L'Eglise Episcopale
(Episcopal Church)

We finished the DVD and discussed what to do next.  It was about that time Linda noticed a yacht with an American flag and an American Great Loop Cruisers Association burgee tied up at the lock wall in front of Lock 1.  We walked over and introduced ourselves to Reenie Boyer who was in the process of putting away groceries.  Shortly after that, her husband Greg came back with a new Canadian flag to be flown as their courtesy flag.  They invited us back for some wine in about 20 minutes allowing them to put their items away.  When we returned, we learned that they started out from Norwalk, Connecticut, on a 40 foot Mariner, a single engine trawler, named Thistle.  They started on their journey June 18th with their goal of doing the Mini-Loop this year.  They gave us a tour of their boat then we walked over to Splash Down for our show ’n tell.  Greg and Reenie left to go to a concert in the park across the road from the marina.  We opted to stay on the boat, have dinner, write this blog post while watching ‘So You Think You Can Dance’ TV show, and go to bed.  We’ll head out tomorrow around 9:00am toward Sorel.  Greg and Reenie will do the same since they must vacate the blue line on the lock wall by 9:00am.  (Boats tied to the blue painted section of a lock wall signals the lock master that you want to lock through.)

Day 52: Marina La Nautique to Marina de Chambly, Chambly, QC, Canada (11NM, 5.5 Hours)

Bridge 12, Lock 9 at Ville Saint-
Jean-sur-Richelieu

Today was canal day.  We transited nine locks.  In between locks the speed limit is 10 Kilometers or about 6 Knots.  We were the only boat going north at the time, so the locks were mostly in our favor.  We waited about 10 minutes for the bascule bridge and Lock 9 to receive us.  The bridge and the lock work in tandem.  We did not have to stop and wait more than two minutes for Locks 8 through 4.  The lock masters called ahead to alert the next set that we were on our way…very cordial and considerate of them, which made the trip all the easier.  Each would notify Brian of what was ahead, and when to expect boaters traveling in the opposite direction.  They knew exactly how to time our departure from their lock to ensure we had room to pass.  Our longest wait was for the last three locks before Lake Chambly — about 45

Narrow channel & all boats must
travel in the middle

minutes.  We tied up to a lock wall and waited.  Linda had enough time to look around the area and take some pictures.  All the bridge and lock masters were very friendly and spoke English well (they are required to be bi-lingual).  At times, the canal was so narrow that between the locks there was only room for one-way traffic.  At the lock there is space for north bound and south bound boats to pass — barely.  These locks are small, too.  They are about 100 feet long and no more than 25 feet wide.  All locks are manually operated.  This means the lock attendants must “hand crank” the lock gates open and closed, and open and close the paddles (sliding doors in the gates that move up and down to allow water to flow in and out of the lock chamber), and then hand crank the opening at the other end.

Relatively flat on both sides of
the canal

All bridges and locks on the Chambly Canal are historic sites and operated by the Canadian Park Service.  By the way, here is an interesting tidbit: despite Canada being on the metric system, the Canadian Park Services expects boat dimensions in feet.  Brian tried giving the boat dimensions in meters and was advised they wanted feet.  Once we arrived in the lock and Linda, who manned the bow, was given her line by a lock attendant to pull the boat forward as Brian shut off the engines and quickly moved to the

Passing lane south of Lock 8

stern to receive his line to keep Splash Down from drifting away from the lock wall.  Then when the gates began to open, Brian had to toss his line up and run to the bridge to start engines and maintain position before we could move forward.  Hanging on to the lines and using poles to stand off the boat from the lock wall was very physical, but not as messy as in the New York locks.  We were exhausted when we arrived at Marina de Chambly, roughly 68 feet lower than where we started this morning.  After we connected water and power to the boat, we went to a nearby bar to have lunch (at 3:30pm). We  walked a short distance to a supermarket to resupply.  Finally, back to the boat to relax and, Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

Lock wall and basin for Bridge 1,
Lock 3

View from Lock 3 down to
Locks 2 & 1, & Lake Chambly

Day 51: Gaines Marina to Marina La Nautique, Ville de Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada (20NM, 3Hours)

Buoy marking the border between
U.S.A & Canada

Canadian Customs

We took our time getting underway this morning.  We had coffee, bacon, eggs, & toast.  The wind was around 10 knots this morning from the South.  With our stern to the South our aft line and aft spring line were taught.  With the help of our slip neighbor, Klause, the aft lines were released and we quickly drifted out of the slip a little after 10:00.  We arrived at the Canadian Customs quay just 30 minutes later, and were greeted with the statement that “we brought the sunshine”.  Linda had all our documents ready for the agents.  All they wanted was verbal answer to ‘do you have any firearms or devices for protection,’ and our passports and vessel registration.  Linda had a written list of all food products ready for the agents, but it wasn’t needed.  We obtained our pass and we were underway in 10 minutes.  Sweet!  As we motored along we noted how flat the territory was compared to Vermont.  The part of the Richelieu River south of Lock 9 is very similar to the Inter-coastal Waterway (ICW) - natural areas, then small cluster of homes along the shore.  It is not as narrow as the ICW though.  We had planned to stop at Marina Gagnon, 10 NM from Gaines Marina, but we were feeling good and pressed on to Marina Le Nautique, 20 NM down river and just before Lock 9, the entrance to the Chambly cannel.  In route we passed Fort Montgomery just beyond Rouses Point.  This fort is for sale if anyone is interested.  We also passed by Fort Lennox in Canada.  This fort was built by the French in 1759 and taken by the British on Île aux Noix (Walnut Island) in the middle of the Richelieu River  to protect the Canadian colony from an American invasion.  In the 1820’s, the United States and Britain’s relationship were shaky ( just guessing that may have been due to the War of 1812) and   Britain must have gotten wind our ‘War Plan Red.”   This war plan was for the possibility of war with the United Kingdom.  It was retired in 1839.  Anyway, back to the voyage.  We saw many displays

Ft. Montgomery

Ft. Lennox

of the Quebec flag vice the Canadian flag.  We also saw displays of, what Linda calls it, “Cowboy Boating.”  The Canadian boaters we’ve encountered have no regard for their speed, their wake, or their proximity to other boaters.  We saw several boats at least 35+ feet cruise quickly by fishermen in a small boats nearly swamping them with their wakes.  Even sitting here tided to the dock we’ve nearly been clipped by two Canadian boats.  Once we were safely (using the work loosely) docked. We went for lunch at the marina’s restaurant Blue Marin.   Our waitress spoke enough English that we could order a gluten free meal for Linda - Salmon on vegetables.  Brian did fish and chips again — yawn.  Afterwards, Linda went back to the boat and Brian went to a local bank to exchange for Canadian dollars and then to a grocery store to purchase staples — like wine and rum.  We relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening.

Place publique du Vieux-St.-Jean
or Public square of Old St. Jean

Day 50: Shelburne Shipyard to Gaines Marina, Rouses Point, NY (35NM, 4 Hours)

1935 Home

Huzza!  Hurray! We are underway!  We started the engines at 9:05 am and cruised at a leisurely 8.5 to 9 knots for the entire 4 hour tour of the northern Champlain voyage.  Occasionally we had to dodge Canadian sailboats heading south, and there were a lot of them!  The temperature was comfortable, and the wind was at our backs making the trip enjoyable.  After such a long, unplanned break, it was exciting to be underway once again.  When we arrived art Rouse’s Point, we took on fuel at Gaines Marina before heading into our slip.  The fairway was narrow due to the bows of other large boats in the immediate vicinity of our slip.  With the wind blowing around 10 knots, Brian rotated

Birdhouses on a fence

Splash Down to put the stern into the slip so Linda could disembark easily.  The bow pulpit and swim platform came within a few feet of the other boats, which gave us both cause to grit out teeth.  Yet, the docking went without a hitch.  We relaxed on the lanai for a bit, then talked with Chris about his flight to Canada.  While walking up and down Lake Street, we found some interesting homes/buildings like the former US Customs House from the late 1800s, and a house built in 1935 that has been very well maintained retaining its character and charm, and another who’s fences are ornamented with birdhouses.  We returned to the boat prior to sundown and enjoyed stir fry and a bit of local TV — we finished our last western last night.

Day 49: Shelburne Shipyard

Marine Exploration Group's Submarine

Today turned out to be very interesting.  Van came this morning to test the generator.  It worked!!!  He did find a small pin hole in the heat exchanger near its raw water intake.  But, that is not a concern.  Brian purchased an epoxy-like putty and patched the hole.  Later, after Van fixed an electrical issue, he double checked Brian’s work to ensure there were no leaks.  Speaking of the electrical issues.  Van confirmed what Belinda had suspected yesterday; there is a negative wire with high impedance from the negative bus bar to the house systems (including the wench and flybridge).  Therefore, Van made a 5-foot long 2-inch diameter wire and connected it from the port engine to the negative bus bar.  We tested the wench and other systems and everything works without issues.  Now this wasn’t a quick fix.  Between 9:00 am and around 3:00 pm, Van was working issues with other boats and a submarine.  Yup, the Marine Exploration Group out of Kingston, NY, brought their 2-man submarine to assist in the search for a missing airplane that went down in 1971 with five people on board.  The plane went down after taking off from the Burlington Airport in a snow storm.  The suspected crash site is an 18 square mile area off the Shelburne peninsula in Lake Champlain possibly in 30+ feet of water.  A New York State Forest Ranger Scott Van Laer got interested in this cold case when he learned that the pilot’s daughter, Kristina Coffey, was seeking assistance in opening the investigation.  Ranger Laer, was instrumental in getting the New York State Police involved.  He also happens to be cousins with the folks who run the Marine Exploration Group.  The New York Marine Police, New York State Forest Rangers, and similar Vermont authorities are using towed side-scan sonar to search in a grid pattern in the suspected area.  Brian spoke with Ranger Lear and the owner of the Marine Exploration

Brian assisting with the subs
recovery

 Group, Mr. Terzza, about the search.  He learned New York has jurisdiction of the air space for aircraft transiting the Adirondacks Mountains.  The aircraft had transferred to the Plattsburgh air traffic control prior to the crash.  That is why New York State is involved.  For most of the week, authorities have been searching for this plane.  The 2-man submarine was brought in to determine if there are bodies in the plane once it was found.  Unfortunately, the sub didn’t make it to the search area today.  Its port thruster was over heating and had to return to the shipyard. Mark Terzza did not know if they could return tomorrow to participate in the search.  Brian also assisted the subs crew and the shipyard in the transfer of the submarine from the dock to its trailer. Tomorrow we head for Gaines Marina at Rouses Point - our last stop before Canada.

Day 48: Champlain Marina to Shelburne Shipyard (16NM, 2 Hours)

Drive cams inside the generator. The
raw water pump cam has been
removed.

We left Champlain Marina early this morning to make our 9 o'clock appointment at the Shelburne shipyard. When we docked, we were greeted by Thaddeus, an apprentice mechanic under Van, their lead mechanic. Thaddeus disassembled the front generator to access the raw water pump cam.  Then under the guidance of Van installed the new cam and the new raw water pump Brian had purchased earlier.  They used a gasket sealant that requires at least 12 hours to cure before the generator may be tested. Hence, it'll be tomorrow morning after 9 o'clock before we know if the generator works. After Thaddeus and Van left Belinda arrived. She is the power and electronics expert for

A gentleman named Rick
scaling a mast

the Shelburne Shipyard. We got on her schedule to have her diagnose the anchor wench power issue.  What she found was there is a 1½ Volt drop or 17 Mega-Ohm resistance between the batteries and the engine room.  When Van comes tomorrow to test the generator, he’ll look at this issue.  In between the experts repair activity, Linda and Brian were entertained by the constant motion at the ship yard: stepping and unstepping sailboat masts, launching and retrieving smaller power boats at the valet dock, and even the launch of a 1951 wooden Chris Craft from an 18 wheeler that is being restored to its former glory.

Circa 1950 Chris Craft

Day 46 & 47: Champlain Marina

We'll miss our duck friends

Wednesday and Thursday were more occupied with minor chores of cleaning the flybridge strata glass under the enclosure (Brian sucked it up and put his trust in a pair of suction grab bars Linda had purchased just for this type of work), polishing rails, vacuuming carpets, and doing laundry.  Brian reviewed the procedures for maintaining the boats power steering system. He also insured the generator parts he ordered from Full Throttle Marine Service arrived at the Shelburne Shipyard.  Linda restocked ships stores and later relaxed reading her mystery novel.  In the evening we discussed options for continuing the voyage.  Assuming we are fully fixed by Sunday, we might have enough time to see all of Canada as we intended.  Weather plays a big factor on the Great Lakes, with extra travel days needed for choosing good crossing days.  Going deeper into Canada, such as the Trent-Severn canal can be risky in terms of time, and having another catastrophic breakdown would jeopardize our ability to get off Lake Michigan in time to winterize the boat, and return to our regular responsibilities as planned.   We can still do the Richelieu Canal to Montreal, up the Ottawa River to Ottawa, down the Rideau Canal to Kingston portion, but after that — well, it is less certain.  If we are able to complete this portion on time, we could continue on to the complete the Trent-Severn and into Michigan as planned; or we could look for winterizing options on the southern (USA— Rochester, NY for example) position of Lake Ontario, or we could bring the boat back home and work on desired upgrades (the list is accumulating rapidly) during the off-season.  This last option provides a sense of accomplishment by completing one of the three loops, but means some repetition will be necessary for us to accomplish the longer loop.  We will make our first decision based on the success at Shelburne this weekend, and then if we are able to proceed, we will re-examine the longer term decision as we get closer to Kingston, ON.  We continue to remind each other we are on God’s timeline, not our own — and as always, She has a definite sense of humor when it comes to us!  Happy Birthday shout out to our son Chris and our adopted daughter Cera.  Okay, we didn’t really adopt Cera, but she has been such a good friend of Chris and Nick —usually being the more sensible of the three, and sharing the same birthday as Chris, Linda started calling Cera her adopted daughter years ago.  Cera has even driven the boat, and loved it.   Last summer, after Linda messed up her ankle, she drove with Nick to our location to rescue Linda and allow Nick to replace Linda as crew member for Brian.

Day 45: False Start - again (32NM, 4 Hours - Round Trip)

We arose early so we could get Nick and Marco packed up and on the road back to Virginia, and prep the boat for going over to Shelburne Shipyard to get our generator fixed.  We were sad to see Nick and Marco leave.  They were on the road just before 7:00am and we were out of the slip and underway to Shelburne by 7:10am.  We arrived at Shelburne Shipyard fuel dock for our appointment time of 9:00am.  Once we met the service manager, Bruce, he had us move the boat to the maintenance dock.  There we met the technician, Van.  To our surprise, no one had ordered the parts (cam, gaskets, seals, etc.) for the generator even after Brian provided the model number, the serial number, photos, and the part number of the needed cam.  We expected with our appointment all the parts necessary to repair the generator would be on hand.  That was not the case.  To make matters worse, Van contacted the Northeast supplier of Westerbeke parts just to find out there was only one available part of the several parts needed.  Brian contacted Debbie Cheely of Full Throttle Marine Service.  Through her efforts, we were able to have them over-nighted to Shelburne Shipyard. We also learned Van doesn’t work Wednesday and Thursday (because he works the weekends).  So, Brian contacted Champlain Marina and reserved the same slip we were in for the past 18 days.  He reserved Friday, 9:00am, with the Shelburne Shipyard service department.  We left the shipyard at 12:30pm and headed back to Champlain Marina.  We ran at a higher speed to make it back to the Champlain Marina before an ugly storm rolled through.  Flash flood watches were issued for the area.  We made it in the slip an hour before the thunder and rain hit.  This was part of the same system Nick drove through in route to Spotsylvania.  We were happy to learn Nick and Marco made it safely after 12 hours on the road.  Over the next two days we will assess our options regarding continuing the voyage — this year.

Day 44: False Start

Linda & Nick at the Champlain
Chocolate Factory

Today was the day we had planned to move Splash Down to the Shelburne Shipyard on the southern end of Burlington.  We learned, however, a slip or T-head had not come available for us to dock for the night. Therefore, we will make the two hour voyage tomorrow morning for our 9:00 am appointment.  So, today we toured the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory and the Blue Bandana Chocolate Maker Factory, and upon returning after lunch at the Lighthouse Restaurant, Linda and Nick took a swim in Malletts Bay near the dock while Brian worked on getting this blog updated.

Day 43: New Day, Same Town

This morning we took the dinghy out of the water, washed it, and stowed it on the rack and the engine on the Lanai.  When we finished we all went over for one last Vermont hamburger at McGillicuddy’s on the Green. Then it was divide and hopefully conquer some more chores.  Linda did laundry, and Brian and Nick followed the signal and power wires for the anchor wench from the anchor chain locker and flybridge to their various endpoints.  In particular is the location of the circuit breaker/isolation switch for power to the wench.  What they found out -- is there is no isolation switch for power.  So sometime on our journey Brian will have to install one.  While Linda finished the laundry we all relaxed and watch the FIFA World Cup Finals.  Congratulations to Germany!

Day 42: Same town, new day

A wet day today. We were going to go to the Shelburne Museum, but the weather stopped us. So Linda did some routine cleaning chores, Nick fixed the boat vacuum head after it stopped during cleaning, Brian double checked the battery cables, and then we all watched PBS and BBC documentaries on Netflix during the rain.

Day 41: A day in Stowe

Ben &  Jerry's Factory

Stowe was having their annual balloon festival this weekend.  We drove up with Marco and visited the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory.  Brian & Nick took the tour while Linda stayed with Marco.  She was content to have some gluten free raspberry sorbet as her reward.  Next we hoped to visit the Vermont Chocolate Factory.  But, the building was actually a store for the company.  The actual factory is in Burlington.  So, we pressed on up the road stopping at Apple Core Luncheonette and the Cold

Apple Core Luncheonnette

Hollow Cider Mill.  We were surprised to find they could make gluten-free sandwiches.  Our next stop was the Trapp Family Lodge that is still managed by the great-great grandchildren of Baron & Mrs von Trapp.  The lodge has restaurants, fitness facilities, pools, mountain biking trail, cross-country ski trails, sleigh rides, and it not far from the Stowe Mountain ski area. Speaking of ski areas, the Stowe Mountain Resort at Mount Mansfield was our next destination to check out.  Then it was down the mountain and into Stowe to the Stoweflake Mountain Resort for the balloon festival.  When we

The Trapp Family Resort

arrive at the parking area we saw signs saying no pets allowed.  Disappointed we headed back home via Route 108 and the harrowing S-turns, and beautiful scenery, through Smugglers Notch, where the road narrows to one lane -- period.

Stowe Mountain Ski Area

One of the many boulders
Rt 108 skirted around
in Smugglers Notch