We had initially planned to travel
further, but the first of the two locks on the St Lawrence Seaway system
we had to traverse turned into a 6 hour wait! There seemed to be one
1,000’ freighter after another passing thru! As we waited at the
courtesy dock, a Canadian couple in a Mainship trawler also pulled in.
When we asked them why the lock would not answer the radio, and stated
it was well past the three hour wait they initially told us, they said
that was not unusual. The lock could care less about pleasure boats.
Besides that, the lock attendants do not speak good English. They said
to just wait until they call for us through the loudspeaker.
After a couple more hours, we finally
heard some strange, screaming noises over the loudspeaker. The green
light was also on, signaling us to enter the lock. As we all pulled in,
the lock attendants were frantically waving their arms, jumping up and
down, and screaming in French! They actually looked like a bunch of
clowns in the circus!
We found out later from the Canadian couple, that they were trying to tell us to get out of the lock!
They
finally lowered ropes to us, and locked us thru. The next lock took us
in a timely manner. The Canadian couple just shook their heads, and said
that is just the way it is. This lock is always like that!
The 20BUCK$, Jackets ll, and the Blue Heron made it safely to St. Anne. The
Blue Herons mates, Joey & Bailey, finally got some grass time after a
long day aboard.
St. Anne turned out to be such a nice,
quiet little town, that we ended up staying for three nights. We are
tied to the lower lock wall. Our canal passes limit us to only two
nights per stop, but the lock attendant said no problem, stay another
night!
We also
did not want to arrive in Ottawa on the weekend, as Monday is a Canadian
holiday, and we were afraid the lock walls there would be crowded.
We spent Thursday exploring the town, doing some grocery shopping, and
found a nice sidewalk cafe for a late breakfast. On Friday, Blue Heron
left, as they are trying to make Kingston in time to meet up with their
daughter. Stephen & Charlotte from Jacketsll changed oil in their
boat, while Pat & I decided the 20BUCK$ was in need of a good
interior cleaning. Later in the day, Pat treated herself to a well
deserved massage.
Friday night we grilled steaks for dinner, while we watched the locals pull in for the weekend.
Turns out St. Anne is also a
popular spot. By 8:00 Friday night, the walls were full, with boats
rafted off each other two and three deep! These Canadians like their
boats as much as we Americans do!
A number
of Canadians walking the walls noticed our Minnesota registration, and
stopped to chat. One gal even ran to their boat, and brought back some
nautical napkins to give Pat!
The sunset was promising to be a spectacular one!
Pat grabbed her conch, and signaled the end of another tough day on the Loop!
A friend of mine on the Cruisers Owners Forum, who boats near Ottawa, posted yesterday, and said not to worry about the upper lock walls in Ottawa being full. The locals don’t spend the three hours each way on the locks, they stay below.
Check back for more! Ottawa, and the Rideau Canal are next!
Captn Ken
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