Dream Chaser: The Rideau Locks and and a Day on the Rideau

The Rideau Locks and a Day on the Rideau
Friday, June 19, 2015

We woke to 55 degrees and beautiful sunshine! What an exciting day! Today, Dream Chaser will be transiting the eight Rideau Locks on the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa (next to the Parliament Building). Most AGLCA loopers have commented that we will be ‘just beginning the most beautiful part of the loop’ when we transit these locks. After we transit the Rideau Locks, we enter the Rideau Canal. The rest of our journey includes the Trent-Severen Canal; Georgian Bay; the North Channel; Detour, Michigan (which will be our cross-over spot); and Mackinaw City, Michigan.
After some prepping in the boat, we walked the dock to the casino and enjoyed one of their great breakfasts.

When we leave, we will miss our fountain that continues to spray water day and night. Also, notice that Dream Chaser has added a little flower garden on the upper helm.

About 9 am, Dream Chaser pulled from the casino docks and retraced her previous path on the Gatineau River back into the Ottawa River. When we entered Quebec, we took down our American flag that has flown at our stern for most of our trip. When we were in the Bahama’s, we took it down out of respect and we did so here, also. Once we get away from Quebec, the flag will return to the stern.

Our view of Parliament as we look up from the boat.

About 10 am, we tied up at the dock below the Rideau Canal and awaited our turn to transit up. We had about two hours to explore, so we checked out the Bytown Museum.
The Bytown Museum is housed in the old Commissariat Building, an old stone structure built in 1827 for military and canal supplies. The museum reveals Ottawa’s history from its early days in 1827 through the end of WWI.
With a good base of information on the area, we hiked the steps to the top of the locks and joined the crowd of people watching a group of boats transit up the locks to top of the flight. Seeing the locking in process gave us a better idea of what we will be experiencing in a few hours. Locking through will take about 1 1/2 hours and lift us 79 ft. This is the longest and highest set of locks on the Rideau Canal. It is so exciting- such an experience of history! The locks are still operated by hand as they were when they opened to boat traffic in 1832.

This is a aerial view of the flight of eight at the Rideau Locks.

By noon, Dream Chaser and one other boat were given the go-ahead to enter the first lock and begin to transit the flight of eight locks. The eight locks are evenly spaced like a stairs. The lower lock closed, the water lifted us to the next level, the upper gate opened, and we motored to the next lock. Our system with handling the boat was: Dream Chaser would enter the lock, Mary would secure her bow line around the sixth cable from the front of the lock, then make her way to the stern unless Steve was there to secure his stern line around a back cable. Then he would turn the engines off, and we would monitor both lines as the water rose. The process would reverse when we were ready to untie and go into the next lock. We repeated that eight times and found ourselves at the Lock 8. It can get tricky when your boat gets near the top of the lock, and the wind blows you around. The turbulence in the locks is called the “Château Swirl” where the wind deflects off the hotel. It can catch boats and turn boats in unexpected directions while in the lock. The lockmaster is a pro at making sure things go well. The Parliament buildings were off to our right and the stately Château Laurier was on our left. What a gorgeous day to experience the Rideau Locks! With bright sunshine and temps in the 70’s, we worked our way up to Lock 8.

The lock workers walk the narrow walks on top of the lock gates, from side to side.
The Fairmont Château Laurier is a the top of the picture to the left of the canal.

We are in the second lock of the flight of eight. Notice the turbulence as the water is released from above to fill the lock.

The château is to the left of the picture and lock.

Today, we were the entertainment for visitors to the Rideau Locks.

Each lock gate is cranked open and shut by hand.

People are fascinated by the locks, the movement of the water, and the lifting of the boats.

Notice the turbulence as the lock fills with water.

Just after entering the fifth lock, the cable Mary’s line was secured to broke (from the top of the lock) and wrapped up in her locking line, so Dream Chaser’s bow was loose from the lock wall. Besides getting another cable tie up, immediately, the lockmaster wanted her to grab the cable that broke away so it didn’t fall into the water and get wrapped up in the props. She accomplished both tasks without incident, but it was tense for a few minutes.

By 1:30 pm Dream Chaser was docked on the canal wall above Lock 8 right behind Mystic Sanctuary with AGLCA loopers Peter and Carol Renton. After further examination of our location (below a bridge and near the JazzFest venue), we pulled lines and moved closer to the heart of the city. We are strategically positioned close to most things: Parliament Hill, the Byward Market, the Fairmont Château Laurier, the Performing Arts Center, the National Arts Gallery, numerous restaurants, a METRO food market, and the Rideau Center which is a huge shopping complex with great quality stores like Nordstroms!
Next to our dockage, looming somewhat above us, is the former Union Station that was built by the Grand Trunk Railway in 1912 as the city’s railway station. This revival multi-pillared structure was linked to the Château Laurier by an underground tunnel. The Château became Ottawa's social headquarters and the "place to be" which allowed travelers to stay in elegance. This building is now the Government Conference Center and undergoing renovation.

The early 1900's was a romantic era of railway travel offering luxurious accommodations for the rich and famous. What a life!

We headed to Byward Market and dinner at Fat Tuesdays- great calamari, Caesar salad, and nachos. Better than being in New Orleans! Byward Market is an area about four blocks square named after Colonel By and is Ottawa’s oldest neighborhood. This location has had an open air market since the 1840’s and continues to bustle with activity. We found great meats, produce, specialty food shops, flowers, pubs, restaurants, and entertaining street performers. As we passed Fatboys, a biker bar in the neighborhood, a large group of biker women in their leathers were out front getting their group picture taken with their bikes and their sign "Wind Women". Horses pulled decorated carriages with tourists, and people filled the sidewalks. P.S.- Olive and Chili is a great place to stop for a special dessert treat!

After leaving Byward Market, we found the Catherdral of Notre Dame. The site originally was home to a small wooden church built in 1832. A new structure was built in its place and designated as a cathedral in 1847. It is the oldest surviving church in Ottawa. The steeples are covered with tin (which is typical for French-Canadian churches) and house bells.

We were captivated by the inside of this cathedral with its rich Gothic ornamentation. As you step inside the cathedral, you are impressed by the long, narrow, high central nave with Gothic arches running from the entrance to the altar, the stain-glass windows set in behind the arches, and the detailed ornamentation.

The pillars inside the cathedral were painted with a swirl of green and red.

This stunning window is located above the cathedral's main entrance.

From the cathedral, we passed the Peacekeeping Monument and then over to Spark's Street where a large crowd of people were gathered. We had stumbled on to Ottawa’s 3-day Ribfest, Ottawa’s largest “Sticky Social” was happening! For six city blocks on Sparks Street, thousands of people had gathered to celebrate BBQ! There were hundreds of people in lines for the 15 vendors waiting to order BBQ chicken, pulled pork, ribs, and all the fixings. The BBQ was tempting, but we were stuffed. We did run into Dan and Donna Hardy, AGLCA loopers from Rhumb Line, waiting patiently in one of the lines for that fantastic BBQ. We can verify by personal experience that the BBQ on Sparks Street is awesome and is worth the wait! We returned the next day and avoided the long lines. No pictures of ribs...It's too messy to take pictures when you're eating BBQ!
Our friends from Texas will be happy to know that the longest lines were in front of “Texas Outlaws” and “Silver Bullet” which were both BBQ vendors from Texas! Texas knows BBQ!

Too much BBQ, and you might need a chair this size!

We joined hundreds of people enjoying the beauty of Ottawa, admiring the architecture, loving music from the Scottish bagpipes, listening to the bells from the old church towers, and people watching.

On our walk back to the boat, we stopped in at the landmark Fairmont Château Laurier Hotel with its magnificent limestone edifice with rounded turrets, gargoyles, and interesting peaks overlooking the flight locks. This hotel has quite the history! The Grand Trunk Railway built this 306 room luxury hotel in 1912, across the street from Union Station, to serve the wealthy travelers on their trains with a $2 charge per night. In 1919, a wing was added with 240 rooms, a swimming pool, many other updates. The hotel is impressive and has very nice restrooms!
Docking Dream Chaser on the canal above Lock 8 was a good decision. The RibFest (Ottawa’s Sticky Social) is one block away. JazzFest runs for two weeks, and one venue is 1/2 block away. Across the canal is the Performing Arts Center where a wedding reception is in full swing. The music is pouring out the doors of the center; there is a lot of celebrating going on!

As the night fell, we relaxed in the upper helm and listened to the music, watched the people pass by on the boardwalks, and thought about our amazing day.

Saturday, June 20- Sunday, June 21, 2015 Ottawa

We discovered that the best place to dock above Lock 8 is right after you clear the locks on the port side. It is quiet, and you are close to the stairway to access Byward Market and Parliament Hill. This canal area is obviously a favorite location for wedding pictures, and we have witnessed the excitement with the brides in their stunning gowns, grooms spiffed in their tuxes, and photographers seeking the best spots. People watching starts early with joggers and walkers on the boardwalk. By evening, people are just out for a stroll.
We have had two great days; waking up to 60’s and enjoying high 70’s by afternoon. Every day, we have heard Scottish bagpipes playing on some part of Parliament Hill and church bells ringing off and on all day.

So where did the name Canada come from? Either Champlain or Cartier heard the First People talking about the area as Kanata (Iroquoian for village), and carried the name over to Canada.

Originally founded in 1826 as Bytown, Ottawa began as a rough lumber town with lumberjacks and fur traders amongst the shanty houses and muddy streets. In 1855, it was renamed Ottawa and chosen as the site of Canada’s Parliament. Initially an Irish and French Christian settlement, it has become a city with diverse population. Ottawa is a political and technological center of Canada.

The Rideau Canal is a chain of lakes, rivers, canal cuts (only 10%), and locks winding 121 miles (through eastern Ontario) joining Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario on Lake Ontario. It is the oldest continuously operated canal system in North America, and has been recognized by UNESCO as a world heritage site. There are 45 locks in 23 lockstations along the main route of the Rideau plus two locks that link the Tay Canal to the Rideau. The canal is operated by Park's Canada. Colonel John By was given the task of building the canal which was completed in less than 6 yrs. He was, also, given control of Bytown with its wild and unruly residents. Canal laborers who dug the pits were mostly Irish immigrants and French Canadians, and the stone masons were mostly Scottish. They worked 16 hours a day, 6 days a week and built the canal by bare hands using shovels, wheel barrows, pick axes, and pulleys. Malaria caused the death of more workers than injuries from work. The canal was opened in 1832 intended as a safe route for movement of military and supplies. It was a precaution in case of war with the forces south (those pesky Americans!).
Originally a military canal, today, the canal is primarily used for pleasure boats and is open from May through October. The canal is about 126 miles long where boats are raised 274 ft from the Ottawa River via 32 locks to the Upper Rideau Lake. Then the boats are lowered 165 ft. at Kingston on Lake Ontario. The minimum depth of the canal is 5ft. and max height is 22ft.   We are excited to be cruising this beautiful historic canal.
In the winter, a section of the canal becomes the world's largest skating rink from the National Arts Center (where we are docked) for 5 miles. This skateway is open 24 hours a day, so if you're visiting the area between January and March, try it out and enjoy a BeaverTail at one of the kiosks along the way.
So, where did the river and locks get the name Rideau? In 1613, Samuel de Champlain traveled up the Ottawa River, and when he saw the twin falls by Ottawa, he thought they looked like a curtain. Rideau is French for curtain, so the new river was called the Rideau River and the locks followed in 1832.

We loved the tour of Parliament Hill and the impressive Gothic structures. The Parliament Center Block (rebuilt in 1920 after a fire) is home to the Senate, House of Commons, and the Library of Parliament. This is where legislation is passed. The Peace Tower (302 ft. tall) in the Center Block was dedicated to more than 65,000 Canadian soldiers who lost their lives during WWI. It features 200 gargoyles and sculptures. The bells in this bell tower chime every quarter hour. This tower houses a carillon of 53 bells (the largest bell is 22, 244 lbs.) which is controlled by a keyboard. Most weekdays, the carillon will ring out "O’ Canada" and four other selections from 12-12:15 pm. In 2018, this Center Block will be closed for renovation for 10 years. Each stone will come off the building, will be cleaned, re-cemented, and put back on the building. Yes, every block comes off!
The East and West Block house the ministries and federal public servants. The War of 1812 Monument is a tribute to those who defended Canada from (us) the American invasion. The Centennial Flame, located in front of the Center Block, was lit on December of 1966 to celebrate Canada’s 100th Anniversary of Confederation.

It is a great view from Parliament Hill to the river below.

The “Fabulous Five” or “Women Are Persons” monument celebrates five powerful Canadian women who were instrumental in paving the way for women’s equality.

Having a cup of tea with the two of the "Fabulous Five".

Across the street from Parliament Hill on Wellington St. is a statue that celebrates the human spirit. Terry Fox, a Canadian hero, lost a leg to cancer at age 18 and at 21, began a run across Canada with an artificial leg to raise money for cancer research. He was an inspiration, and we both remember his story in the late 70’s and early 80’s.

This is a very cool, large black spider, Maman, which is installed in front of the National Arts Gallery. Created by Louise Bourgeois in 1999, it is fabulous! The National Arts Gallery, located in a magnificent building, was a short walk away with great views of the Ottawa River. The gallery has great collections from Canada’s best painters and sculptors, including European art, contemporary art, Canadian art, and aboriginal art from around the world.

Sunday was Father’s Day, so after services at First Baptist Church a few blocks away, we headed to lunch buffet at the Haveji Indian Restaurant in the Bytown Market. Definitely, the best Indian food, ever! We started with Sambar soup (lentils & vegetables), and Medhu Vada (Fried Fritters) followed by Idli (rice cakes) with sauces: Imli & Hot Sauce, Coconut Chutney,Tomato Chutney, and Corriander Chutney. Masala Dosa (rice and lentil crepes) with spiced potato filling were next. The buffet included Murg Tandoori (chicken), beef curry, mint lamb, Masala Dosa (potatoes in pureed spinach). Pakoras (fried vegetables), multiple salads, Naan bread, fruits, and many other dishes.
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This was the dessert platter with five types of desserts!

This afternoon, a large contingent of Chinese dressed in red were gathered in front of the Château Laurier holding signs, waving their countries flag, and shouting & cheering. The team bus arrived with the Chinese women’s World Cup soccer team. The FIFA Women's World Cup is in Ottawa.

We wandered down to Yolo docked not far from us and had a lovely evening chatting with Jeff and Gail. So fun to get to know other loopers, share stories, and have some laughs. A great time!

The last two days have been picture perfect. Today, we saw temps in the 80’s. Tonight, we will sleep lightly on Dream Chaser. Saturday night, two young men boarded one of the AGLCA looper boats, Yolo, docked only two boats from Dream Chaser. The owners were asleep in their aft cabin, but they heard someone on their swim platform. The men were scared off when they heard the owners on board.
Ottawa has been a fantastic stop on the loop, but tomorrow morning Dream Chaser will be headed south towards Kingston, Ontario.

Monday, June 21, 2015

After a stack of blueberry pancakes and hot coffee with vanilla cream, we donned our walking shoes and headed out for one last trip by the canal and through Bytown Market in downtown Ottawa. Skies are clear blue, temps at 60 with a predicted 80, the joggers are out, the bagpipers are playing their tunes, and the city is beginning to wake up.

We hate to leave Ottawa, but it is time to move on. Looking back- the château with the towers.

At 9 am after a call to the Pretoria Bridge, Dream Chaser pulled from her spot on the wall. We pulled in behind Mystic Sanctuary and waited for the green light at the Pretoria Bridge. This is a vertical lift bridge 1 1/2 mile south from our dockage and is 22.7 ft. when raised. Following the bridge is Dow’s Lake and then we have a completely man-made course until Locks 9 & 10.

We bypassed Hog Falls at Locks 11 & 12 and Black Rapids is Lock 13 which is the only automated lock on the canal. At Locks 14, 15, and 16, there were two boats locking down, so we tied up below the docks and enjoyed our bacon/avocado salads. There has been a lot of activity on this "urban" Rideau Canal with kayaks, canoes, row boats on rowing courses, fishing boats, and birds. This area is a mecca for bikers. We are only 20 miles south of Ottawa, and have seen hundreds of million dollar homes along this stretch of the canal. Along this same stretch of canal, we have see quaint cottages, water skiing courses, and mama duck with all her little duckings.