Lake Champlain, the Richelieu Canal, and Montreal
Last week, we flew home to celebrate our grandson's first birthday, reconnect with family, and enjoy several gatherings with friends.
On Monday, June 8, we flew into Boston and drove to the Newburyport, MA area to visit Steve's brother and family. We had a fabulous time touring their beautifully remodeled home, enjoying a delicious lobster dinner, and catching up on life happenings.
On Tuesday morning, we had great breakfast at The Breakfast Club, a quaint corner diner in Allston, MA. They serve old favorites (but organic, hormone free, etc) at great prices and in an 80's memorabilia atmosphere. Steve had the "janitor" and Mary had the "criminal"; varied combinations of eggs, hash, breakfast meats, and home fries. Very tasty!
On our drive to Burlington, VT, we saw wild turkeys, Whaleback Ski Mountain, signs alerting us to moose & bear, beautiful green mountains, and lots of rain!
First stop in Burlington was for a tour of the locally owned Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory. Operating as a chocolatier for 32 years, we think they have perfected their calling!
We headed to the heart of Burlington and it's "pedestrian only" Church Street Marketplace where over 100 great shops line the street. We have walked this street at night, but most shops were closed, and we wanted to see Frog Hollow, Vermont's State Craft Center. Here we found a crafting center, gallery, and shop. Burlington is a great port city, and we have enjoyed our time exploring the area.
The ferry out of Burlington has limited hours of operation, so we took the ferry from Grand Island (north of Burlington) back to to Plattsburgh. Grand Island is on the south end of the Champlain Islands which is another wonderful area to explore. In Plattsburgh, we purchased provisions (again) and ended our New York stay with dinner at our favorite place in Plattsburgh, Anthonies Restaurant & Bistro.
When we arrived at Mooney Bay Marina, we were relieved to see that none of the lights were on in Dream Chaser. The reason being...
Last Saturday, about 20 miles from the marina where Dream Chaser is docked, two murderers escaped from the maximum security portion of the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, NY. A massive manhunt has resulted, and the escaped convicts have not been located in spite of about 300 leads and hundreds of police searching the area. They believe that Richard Matt and David Sweat used power tools to cut through brick and metal walls and pipes before breaking through a manhole. (So, how do convicts in maximum security get power tools and what about all the noise during the escape?) Police are combing the farms and fields, because the escapees are believed to be on foot. We were relieved to NOT have extra crew aboard when we returned to Dream Chaser Tuesday evening and hope the duo is caught soon!
With Dream Chaser's doors securely locked, we fell asleep with the rain pattering on the roof of the boat.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Our morning was spent putting everything in its place and prepping the boat for our departure. Everything is more expensive in Canada- diesel, provisions, pump-outs, and docking at marinas- so, we have prepped with that in mind.
By noon, Dream Chaser is headed into Lake Champlain which is beautiful this morning with predicted highs in the 80's. In the winter, most of the lake normally freezes, but one ferry crossing is kept open open year round. According to the locals, Lake Champlain and the Richelieu were frozen solid in the winter of 93-94 after 60 days of below zero temperatures.
We were puzzled to see a "for sale" sign near the shore of the property. Yes, it is for sale! In 1926, the government sold it at public auction, and it has changed hands. Over the years, much of the fort has been carted off by locals for other uses, and it has even been for sale on eBay. The fort and 94 acres could be yours for $2,950,000. What a deal!
The Richelieu Canal runs north from the US/Canadian border on Lake Champlain about 68 nautical miles to Sorel, at the St. Lawrence River. This canal consists of the Richelieu River, Saint-Ours Lock, Chambly Canal, and the headwaters of the Richelieu River on Lake Champlain. Due to height (22 1/2 ft) and depth (6 1/2 ft) restrictions many vessels are restricted, but Dream Chaser will have no problem.
After passing Rouses Point and passing into Canada, we reached the Customs check point on the west shore. Our Canadian Customs stop lasted about 15 minutes with a short chat about who we were, where we are headed, "no" answers to having firearms, mace, etc., and a quick walk-through Dream Chaser. These officers are actually going on board all the boats that stop here and doing a more careful check than normal due to the two escaped convicts which are still on the loose and perhaps headed into Canada. Seeing that our two customs officials were friendly college kids employed in this summer job position, I don't know what they would do if they had found the two murderers! It's a bit out of their league!
The first fort at this site was built by the French, then the area was controlled the British, and taken by the Americans in 1775 for a brief period. During the War of 1812, the British used it as an imperial naval base. It is star-shaped and was garrisoned until 1870. The fort has served as a Jewish refugee camp, a prison, and a reform school. We have learned so much history while on the loop with Dream Chaser. (Neither one of us remembers hearing about many of these places or reading about them in our school history books.) It's also interesting hearing the Canadian version of the battles, etc.
After a quick tour and a few pictures, we left the fort and cruised passed country farms, interesting houses, and some very unusual accommodations.
By 6:30 pm, we were docked at the town's floating dock next to the old cement wall in Saint Jean de Richelieu, Quebec. We were told that it can get a bit noisy here, but wanted to be close to downtown.
Just a short walk from the dock are numerous restaurants to choose from. It was a short walk to dinner at La Bistro Trinquette, a lively pub with ping pong tables, billiards, etc, inside, and large outdoor terraces with fireplaces. We balanced our order of nachos off with a healthy salad.
Our overnight dockage fee was included in our Parks Canada Pass which we purchased for $750 before entering Canada. The pass is like a national park permit and allows docking at many locations throughout Canada.
Thursday, June 11, 2015
Thursday morning brought cloudy skies and temps in the 60's. The prediction is for 70's today and no rain. Our destination is 12 miles up the Richelieu which will take through bridges and several locks.
Lock 9 is scheduled to open at 8:30 am and then again at 12:30 pm, but we will be ready for the early lock through along with two other boats. It was a quick breakfast of steamed greens and eggs with a sprinkle of onion and bacon. With fenders in place and everything at the ready, we awaited the OK from the lock master. We attempted to contact the lock master for instructions, but had no luck. At 8:20 am, channel 68 on the marine radio (our contact channel in Quebec) came alive with rapid communication all in French. Long story short…we will not be allowed through at 8:30 am due to two other boats filling Lock 9 at that time. This morning a sailboat, docked next to us, was also awaiting the lock, and the young captain who just purchased the sailboat, spoke French and English, so he translated for us.
Benjamin was abnormally friendly and informed us that our group would lock-through at 12:30 pm. Apparently, he had not received the "be cold to Americans" training and was very pleasant. Benjamin is an official government ship guide in Quebec where he is shuttled out to the BIG ships as they enter the St. Lawrence Seaway, and he guides the captain through the seaway. If you think that sounds like a fun job, you need four years of college for the degree, two years apprenticeship, and no ship "incidents".
We have been very fortunate as we have had very few delays during our AGLCA loop journey. We have heard awful stories of delays due to damaged boats, flooding, storms, hurricane damage, etc. For example, today's update on the Erie Canal (where Dream Chaser was in May) stated that locks E25-E30 are closed due to high water. When the locks are closed, no one is going anywhere!
So, while we waited, we worked on little boat projects, watched the city workers water the hanging plants, and fed baby ducks swimming by the boat.
We also learned some information on the canal:
The Richelieu Canal flows south to north and is divided into three main sections: the upper Richelieu (between Lake Champlain and Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu); the Chambly Canal (between Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu and Chambly); and the Bas-Richelieu (lower Richelieu, between Chambly and St. Lawrence River).
The Richelieu Canal lowers boats 84 ft. via 10 locks before we reach the St. Lawrence River. Nine of the ten locks are in the Chambly Canal which are transited during the first 19 miles after crossing the border, and take 5-6 hours to transit. The last lock on the Champlain Canal is the Saint-Ours which takes about 30 minutes.
There is a charge for using the canal locks- day or annual passes- which can be used for the Rideau and Trent-Severn Canals, also. There is a charge for a mooring pass which allows boaters to tie up along the lock walls, town docks, and in Canadian parks.
The construction on the Chambly Canal began in 1831, but due to financial problems and a cholera epidemic, it wasn’t completed until 1843. In the early years of the Richelieu, barges were pulled by steamboats on the lakes and towed by horses on the canal. Navigation on the Richelieu had peaked before WWI and dwindled with the decline of passenger boats, sailboats, and then the diesel barges (in the 1970’s). Today, the towing path which runs the length of the canal is the best conserved in Canada. There are many swing, slide and lift bridges and transited stair locks. The lockmasters and bridge operators continue to use the old methods of manual/hand operation.
About 10:30am, we decided a walk was in order, so we strolled the town streets finding interesting buildings dating from the 1800's. Most of the shops were open, and we made a quick stop at the CIBC for some Canadian cash.
On our return to the boat, we walked through the Place Publique du Vieux-St. Jean (town park) and enjoyed the exhibit of cast bronze art by Robert Lorrain.
About 12:30 pm, we untied the lines, passed the bridge in Saint Jean de Richelieu, and headed into Lock 9 which is the beginning of the Chambly Canal. There are two other boats who will join us for the afternoon and transit the nine locks. It will be a tight squeeze to fit all three in the narrow locks.
In some areas, the sides of the channel are shallow and marsh-like.
By 5 pm, we had transited the Chambly Locks from Lock 9 to Lock 1. The last three locks were the flight of three. Tonight, we are tied to Chambly's town dock just past Lock 1 on Chambly Lake.
The sun came out as we sat down to enjoy our dinner of steak, chicken, baked potatoes, and baked beans. We had missed lunch due to navigating the narrow channel and locking through, so we were very hungry!
We had just been talking about the attitudes the people of Quebec have toward Americans. We were impressed at how nice Benjamin (our Quebecois sail boating friend) was, and how he was so unlike the many of Quebecois we have met. Minutes later, a 40 ft trawler pulled up to dock next to Dream Chaser, and Steve hopped out on the dock to assist. When he asked if they wanted assistance in docking, they tried to ignore him and then very coldly with their strong French accent said "NO"! During our entire AGLCA loop trip since August of 2013, we have not encountered any boaters that have refused assistance so adamantly. This isn't the 1800's, and we aren't invading from the south!
In this area by Chambly Lake, people seemed to be out till all hours of the night. It's midnight as I am finishing this entry to the blog, and people are still partying as if its a weekend. They must not be boaters, because nine o'clock pm is boaters' midnight!
Friday, June 12, 2015
This is our view of the Chambly (flight of three) Locks as Dream Chaser pulled from the dock.
Mornings at the marina in Chambly appear to be of a quiet nature. The party goers are just getting up and having their first sips of coffee. A large 45’ Beneteau has positioned itself for the first lock opening at 8:30 am (to head south), and a 59’ Marquis has docked next to us awaiting the 12:30 pm lock opening. There is no use being in a rush…it does not change your lock entrance time and the lockmaster opens when he’s ready. It is a bit overcast today with highs in the 70’s and possibly rain this afternoon.
Today, our destination is Saint-Ours which will be the last lock on the Richelieu Canal System.
The captain on the beautiful 45’ Beneteau sailboat, from Montreal (a French Canadian), chatted and gave us info on good places to dock in that area. He recognized that
our boat was an Ocean Alexander and said, “That’s a real boat, not a plastic tub!” Very nice!
From 1976-78, an extensive archeological dig of the area produced thousand of artifacts, many of which are on display. The French have an affinity for bread, beer, and chocolate, and the Taste of New France exhibit presented the culinary traditions of the French and provided free samples of chocolate!
The French Hot Chocolate is as follows: Heat one cup of milk with 1 oz. grated chocolate. Add 1 tsp. of sugar and your choice of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, vanilla, and/or orange blossom water to taste. Prepare the night before, refrigerate overnight, reheat, and whip before indulging!
By 11 am, we had pulled the dock lines and pointed Dream Chaser north towards our destination for tonight, the lock at the Saint-Ours Canal about 28 miles away.
Our salad lunch was in the upper helm while we navigated and enjoyed the varied homes, farms, and cottages along the way. Drizzling rain accompanied us all afternoon and was expected to continue into the night.
At 2:45 pm, we entered the Saint Ours Lock, the last lock on the Richelieu Canal. Locking was quick with only a 5 ft. drop and after exiting, we tied up at the adjacent park dock where we will spend the night. What a lovely place to take a break and enjoy nature.
In 1849, a dam and stone lock was constructed at Darvard Island and up to 200 sailboats, steamers carrying up to 600 passengers, and barges frequented the lock. By 1933, a new, bigger lock replaced it allowing for the passage of larger barges. This canal linked Montreal to NYC. Canal operations spurred growth in the area and a community developed on this small island including a mill, blacksmith, carpenter shop, stables, cowsheds, warehouses, lockhouse, and vegetable gardens. In the winter, the lock served as a skating rink and the children of the village came to play hockey. As the use of the lock declined, the buildings on Darvard Island were abandoned and vanished by the mid 1970’s. Today, Saint-Ours Canal has a modern lock, the Vianney-Legendre Fish Ladder, and a modern dam operated by water pressure.
After donning raincoats, we chatted with the lockmaster and visited the Superintendent’s House (now a gift shop). As we walked the paths of this small Island, we thought of what life must have been like living on this small island “back in those days”.
Docked next to Dream Chaser was a SeaRay with Steffan and Lucy from Montreal staying for the night. Steve struck up a conversation and invited them for a tour of Dream Chaser. Its always fun to talk boats and travel.
Dinner was simple: grilled turkey burgers, baked potatoes, and peas & carrots.
Boater's bedtime is early, but six local guys showed up at dark and fished off the dock late into the night.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
At 5:15 am, it is a gorgeous morning with temps at 55 and predicted highs of 80. Steve has already had his walk, and allowed “the crew” to sleep-in.
At 5:40 am, bright an early, Dream Chaser pulled from her dock at Saint Ours and headed north. Today will be a long day of motoring (about eight hours) in order to reached our dockage for tonight, the Montreal Yacht Club by the old town in Montreal.
At 7 am, Dream Chaser reached Sorel, Quebec (the convergence of the Richelieu River and St. Lawrence River), and turned west into the St. Lawrence Seaway on her 67 mile trek to Montreal. From rural and scenic, we have now entered an industrial area. A right hand turn to the east would have taken us to Quebec City. At this point, we encountered the large sea going vessels docked along the shore and others anchored and awaiting their orders.
Inside the lower helm, we feasted on blueberry pancakes, eggs, and steamed greens while we viewed this picture perfect seaway. This area reminds us of the intra-coastal waterways in the southern parts of the US with beautiful houses and inviting beach areas. The seaway is about 3/4 mile wide, and the current is against us at 2? mph.
Notice the orange escape boat at the back of this vessel? What about surviving the release into the water?
By 10 am, we were again sharing the seaway with many large ocean going vessels and speed boats -feeling their waves as they passed. A large freighter came cruising up from behind, no question as to who had the right of way!
About 1 1/2 miles from Montreal, the current against Dream Chaser kicked up to 7.1 mph, and increased in turbulence.
Montreal was a fortified mission in 1642 and is now a large modern city with the second largest French speaking population after Paris.
Our dockage for tonight is at the Montreal Yacht Club located in the Clock Tower Basin of the Old Port. By 3:30 pm, Dream Chaser was secured at the dock, registered at the office, her water tanks filled, electricity hooked up, and a load of laundry started. In the past, this area was used by farmers coming to sell their produce in town markets and for travelers from the St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes.
We were off to explore the old city and port of Montreal. Our destination for dinner is the Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot in Chinatown about one mile away. On our way, we walked the Rue Notre Dame E and passed the Chateau Ramezay, a museum that contains the history of Quebec and Montreal, some amazing architecture, and a wedding party having pictures taken on a beautiful front lawn.
We arrived at the Little Sheep Restaurant, an all you can eat Mongolian Hot Pot experience. First you choose your broth from five types of bouillion. The metal pot with your broth is set in the middle of your table on a glass-topped electric burner. We had one pot divided in the middle with one side spicy broth and the other side-mild.
The Montreal Yacht Club is pricey for dockage , but is a VERY nice facility. We were impressed with: three SMILING dock attendants helped with docking, nicest docks of entire AGLCA trip so far, free towels in the showers, and, best of all, the proximity to the Old Port and Old Montreal. We have really enjoyed the downtown location of city marinas in Chicago, Miami, Key West, New York City, and now, Montreal.
Sunday, June 14, 2015
Bonjour Montreal…Il fait du soleil…(The sun is shining), the temp is at 59 with a promise of 75 later today, and it is quiet. Screams from the zip-line had continued into the night, but this morning the party people must be sleeping in.
The marina is waking up slowly. Marina residents are relaxing, soaking up the morning sun, and sipping their coffee while they read the paper or watch activity on the docks. We love life in the marinas! La vie est belle! (Life is good!)
With five loads of laundry folded and breakfast but a memory, we are ready to continue our adventure. At 10:45 am, we motored out of the calm waters of the Montreal Yacht Club and back into the tumultuous St. Lawrence Seaway for 1 1/2 miles. As soon as we reached the dividing point between the locks and the river, the waters calmed a bit, but are still against us.
In order to avoid the Lachine Rapids, we will be motoring on the Canal de la River Sud at 6 knots and transiting two locks. The Lachine Canal which cuts north of the rapids opened in 1825, but has five locks, is shallow, and has low clearance.
St. Lambert Lock is our first lock, this morning, and we have tried repeatedly to contact them via marine radio and cell phone, but no answer. When you reach St. Lambert’s Lock, there is a automated machine to take payment of $30 for entering the lock (just like at parking ramps). We docked Dream Chaser left of the lock, bought our ticket, used the phone provided, and were instructed that we had a 90 minute wait for the lock.
About two hours later, the lock opened and four boats joined us for the lock through.
We followed the canal and passed wider lake-like areas which were busy with boats, water skiers, jet skis, and sailboats on this gorgeous Sunday afternoon.
The second lock, Saint Catherine Lock, is ten miles to the west and also has an automated dispenser for the $30 payment to lock-through. Our group rafted up again-against the portside wall.
By 3:45 pm, we are through the lock and on our way to Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue Lock. After passing through the locks we motor into Lake St. Louis. We are choosing to go up the Ottawa River to Ottawa and south to Lake Ontario via the Rideau Canal. Motoring south on the St. Lawrence Seaway would take us to Thousand Islands and Lake Ontario (where we explored last summer).
Lake St. Louis is very shallow in the middle, and large boats must watch the channel markers to avoid problems. The channel zigs you to the east, then north, and then finally to the west. About half way across the day markers reverse positions with red on the right, so it can be a bit confusing. We shared the canal with all sizes of vessels.
As we drew closer to our dockage for tonight, we toasted to a good day of motoring.
We've met numerous boats headed home towards Montreal after the weekend. We are hoping the town of Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue will have available dock space at their canal wall since its a Sunday night.
The history of Saint=Anne-de-Bellevue dates back to the early days of New France, and it was in a strategic location for the fur trade. The original canal was built in 1843, but filled in when the 1883 canal was constructed. Over time, the barges of timber were replaced with loads of sand, gravel, and oil, and finally to pleasure boats & tourists. There are nearly 10,000 boats that pass through the canal every year.
There were many boats lined up at the canal wall, but Dream Chaser slid into an empty dock space in front of the restaurants and was secured. Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue is the perfect day trip from Montreal with quaint streets, cute shops, great restaurants, ice cream shops, the canal and the locks. Although it was Sunday night, music was pouring from the restaurants, laughter filled the air, and people celebrated the beautiful night.
Loup, the one-man host, server, and chef, greeted us and welcomed us inside the homey little cafe. We, immediately, struck up a conversation with Loup and the other patron in the café. We gained information on the area and interesting places to visit ahead of us on the river. We also had a short conversation on why the people of Quebec are cold towards Americans. "Je me souviens" is the official motto of Quebec which means "I remember". From what we could gather, the people of Quebec haven't forgot about the last 400 years of history of oppression from the English and the US.
Quebec would love to secede from the rest of (English) Canada.
First item was gazpacho, a soup made of raw vegetables and served raw. Great taste! Next, was a Spinach & Cashew Salad with mango-curry dressing. Delicious! Herb's burritos are a bean salsa mix wrapped in tortillas topped with melted cheddar cheese and a green salad. Yum!
After a trip to the grocery store, and a nice walk through town, we had a quiet evening on the boat.
This post for the blog was completed via complementary WiFi at the Twigs Café on Monday morning. A latte and watching the main street of town "come to life" made this writing more enjoyable. Unfortunately, seated nearby were two guys discussing the emotional pitfalls of their lives and one guy's girlfriend who is "holding him back" and not emotionally available for him. Way too much information in a public place! My advice: the girlfriend needs to move on, now, and he needs to get a life! Just Saying! Happy that this post is written and posted.
I enjoyed your wonderful travel photos particularly those in and around Chambly. I grew up in Chambly and now reside in Toronto Canada. I have a couple of short comments;
ReplyDeleteNot all francophone's are nasty as described. I agree that this behavior is completely unacceptable and quite annoying. My theory is that it stems, as an artifact, from the way Canada and the Canadian governments treated Quebec over essentially its entire history. In a nut shell, Quebecois can be very wary of the English, in effect they are quite guarded, sometimes to an extreme. Its a Quebecois way of reminding you that you are just a visitor. I usually just curse back at them in French but as an person of Scottish ancestry, English as a first language, we were always treated with disdain all the years I was there. Its a little like NYC, where I also lived some years ago. People in NYC are not actually rude the way they are often portrayed, they are just people living busy lives and do not appreciate being held up. They prefer you (visitor) get to the point. Regrettably there are unfriendly people everywhere, I wish it was me you met on the dock that afternoon, I assure you your impression would have been a better one.
By the way, its Chambly Basin (Bassin de Chambly), not 'lake'.
Seeing people out and about late into the evening and nights is just a reflection of the local culture which is very heavily influenced by Parisian culture. You'll find many people are like this in many parts of Europe as well. The French people love to live and experience life.
Thanks and take good care.
Brad