2010
boat
delivery trip from Burlington, VT to Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada
This trip began with a telephone call Wednesday morning from Pierre,
the
diver who takes care of our mooring at LCYC, and removes the remains of
the
barnacles from our hull when we return to the lake. He wondered
if
we'd be interested in a quick trip to Georgian Bay via the Chambly
Canal,
Montreal and the Trent-Severn Canal. He'd taken a
job delivering a 53 foot "go fast" power boat and was looking for some
crew. The destination hooked us, as we've always wanted to do
that trip, but have hesitated to do it in a sailboat because of the
multiple mast stepping involved. Leonard also admitted he'd get a
kick
out of "trying without buying" a power boat (we're not ready quit
sailing yet).
Pierre and "Stephanie Marie"
Will pushing us off
With the one engine out of commission until the props were repaired,
Pierre was limited in his ability to practice maneuvering the
boat. He
managed to move the boat with one engine from the dock to a mooring,
and then back to the fuel dock, service dock and then back it into a
slip to make it easier to replace the props and
get everything on board for the trip. The props weren't available
until
Saturday which set our schedule, but gave us a few days to pull
together provisions and clear our schedules at home and aim for a
Sunday morning departure.
Day 1 - June 27, 2010
The owner thought the trip could be done in six days, but after
looking at charts and talking to folks who have made the trip, we came
to
the conclusion that 10 - 15 days was more realistic. With this in
mind, we hoped to have everything on board and ready to go by 1030 or
1100 on Sunday. We cast off the last line just before 1100 and
after a
few
minutes of experimenting with the joy stick and both engines we were on
our way. Unfortunately I didn't quite catch the look on Pierre's
face
(a kid at Christmas with a new toy) on camera as he played with the
controls. The trip
had all the hallmarks of another great adventure!
Pierre maneuvering with with the joystick
It turned out that Sunday was a Quebec holiday, St. John Baptiste,
and the number of boats on the lake was amazing! Leonard had
programmed the route to Montreal on the chart plotter when we'd checked
out the boat on
Friday, so he showed Pierre how the tracking feature of the navigation
system worked as we headed north. At 22 MPH, we flew past Valcour
Island
before we knew it, and reached Canadian Customs in two hours! The
check in was easy and we were heading up the Richleiu River. At
one
point, the number of boats of every shape and size heading toward us
was phenomenal! The river isn't all that wide up here, given our
size,
most gave us plenty of room, except for one little fishing boat that
was anchored in the channel which Pierre managed to avoid.
The wake at 22 mph
We had a brief wait at Lock 12, the first of the Chambly Canal locks,
before
Isabelle arrived which gave us a time to get locking information and
pay
for the passage. Once Isabelle was on board, we were off again,
heading
for Chambly and the lock wall before the three step locks that lead
into the Basin. Having Isabelle on board was great - she knew
everyone
at the locks and bridges. Having worked at the locks for nine
years,
she'd never gone through on a boat before and was enjoying the trip
immensely, saying it gave her a new prospective on the canal.
Isabelle on a boat instead of her usual position as a lock master
The Chambly Canal was built in the 1800's to promote trade with the
U.S., and has not gone through the modifications/improvements the
canals in the states have had over the years to accommodate larger
vessels. It does make for tighter quarters, especially with a
wider
beam. When larger boats are transiting at the same time, one has
to
wait until the other boat passes. Luckily for us, traffic was
light on
this portion of the trip. All of the canal buildings have been
maintained in pristine condition, and it is like going back in time, as
the lock keepers turn the cranks by hand regulating the water flow as
we locked through.
The canal folks had set up a bit of an obstacle course in one place
where a new bridge was under construction, but Pierre passed with
flying colors. It had been a long day for all of us, and we were
glad
to call it a day once we reached Chambly. Through Isabelle, we
were
invited to join a group of the lock keepers at the local brew pub in
Chambly for a drink after dinner. We all dressed in our white Champlain
Diver's shirts that Pierre had provided to make us look like a
professional crew, and had a great time with them, and the beer was
really good.
Canal workers and us at the local beer place
Day 2
With the first lock not opening until 0830, we had hoped to go for a
walk
before heading out, but it began raining around 0700 so we had a lazy
breakfast instead. Luckily the rain stopped shortly before we
got
under way which made locking through more pleasant. The last three
locks are step locks, where you move out of one and immediately into
the next one. They
are quite impressive, and we were soon out on the basin heading toward
the Sorel and Montreal.
At the top of the 3 step locks
Emptying the last Chambly Lock
Approaching the "Bridge of Death"
We made it safely through the "Bridge of Death", a particularly narrow
bridge on the way to Sorel, with jagged metal protruding on either side
where the Lois
McClure, The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum replica of a sailing barge,
had cleared with a foot on either side on her trip to Quebec
City for the 400th celebration. Pierre had received multiple
warnings
from his friend, Erick, who'd been on board the Lois McClure. Again at
the St. Ours Lock, Isabelle knew the lock master and expedited our trip
through. It was great having an on board translator!
Safely past the bridge - The steel beams are under the water and not
visible in the current.
Jacque Cartier Bridge
Top of the towers
It was a new experience to approach Montreal on the water. As we
passed under
the Jacques Cartier Bridge, Isabelle pointed out the miniature Eiffel
towers atop the bridge towers, and told
us Mr. Eiffel had designed them both. The current upstream hadn't
been
all that strong until we got close to the marina in Old Port Montreal,
where it
looked to be running between 2 to 3 kts making us glad that we weren't
trying to do this in Antares!
We arrived by mid-afternoon which gave us time to explore the area, but
first Pierre and Leonard took a look at the starboard trim tab which
hadn't
been working right. It appeared to be stuck, making it
harder to level the boat when we were on plane. They decided the
problem was the switch, and Pierre and Isabelle set off to a nearby
marine
store in search of a replacement. Not surprising, no replacement
was
available, it was a problem that we hoped would be resolved after
talking to the folks at Regal Yachts.
The marina in Old Montreal
As a special treat to the crew, Pierre took us all out to dinner at
Casa Mateo, an authentic Mexican restaurant he'd been to in the
past.
We were all hungry after the day on the water, and ready for an early
dinner. Everything on the
menu looked good, making it hard to choose. The food was
excellent,
especially the guacamole which was prepared at the table.
At night with the deck and underwater lights on
When we got back to the boat, there was a big Shannon sail boat tied up
in front of us with twin head sails. We chatted with the
folks on board who were from Wisconsin. It had taken them 28 days
to
travel from Bayfield, WI, and they were headed to St.John's, New
Foundland, the Azores, and on to southern Argentina. That would
be
an interesting trip, and they had the right boat for the trip.
Day 3
Pierre had arranged for a fuel delivery at the marina at 0700 in the
morning, after which we hoped to be able to start locking through the
Seaway on the St.Lawrence. Unfortunately we had to wait until
0730 in
the morning before the Seaway folks would announce the pleasure craft
schedule, so we weren't able to plan how far we'd be able to go.
After
the fuel truck arrived we learned his nozzle was too large for our fuel
fill, so we'd have to backtrack a short distance to a
marina on the other side of the river to take on fuel. The
website for
the Seaway indicated we would have to wait until 1200 to begin the
locks, so we had time to relax and wander through the streets of Old
Montreal, and pick up some fresh croissants.
The park by the marina
Stone sculpture and Habitat for Humanity across the way
We thought we'd allowed plenty of time to take on fuel, but the pump
was slower than we anticipated, so we Pierre stopped the pump after it
hit 500 liters. We arrived with just enough time to get our lock
ticket before noon, only to learn we'd have to wait until 1330.
Then
they told us to enter the lock after only a 30 minute wait. Go
figure!
Locking up was easier than we anticipated, and we were the
only boat in the lock. By the time we reached the second lock,
five
other pleasure boats were waiting to enter. In this lock the
boats
were rafted together at the head of the lock. Three power boats
were
rated ahead of us, we rafted to a trawler, and the sail boat was on the
wall behind us. (We later learned we shouldn't have been allowed
to
lock through since
we were late, but were saved by the late arrival of the sail
boat!
Otherwise we'd have been delayed by several hours.)
Rafting in the St Catherine Lock
Isabelle had made arrangements with her Mom to be picked up at this
lock, and arrived on the other side of the canal. After a "cross
canal" conversation, she arrived by the fence on our side of the canal,
and it was time for Isabelle to leave us. She'd been great crew,
and
saved us a ton of grief serving as our translator, easing our way
through Quebec. We really could have used her when the
announcement
was made over the loud speaker giving us instructions at 1900, since it
was only made in French! We also missed her, as she'd been a
willing
helper on the deck and in the galley, and great company.
Isabelle, her mother, and Pierre at the security fence
By this time it was obvious we'd need to eat underway since our arrival
time had slipped to 2200. By now the wind had kicked up enough
chop so
that it took a bit of acrobatic skill and Leonard's help to keep the
pots on the stove. As a sailor, I'm accustomed to cooking
underway
while heeled, but this time things wanted to slide to the stern and
only the small lip on the cook top kept the pots vaguely in place (but
not necessarily over the burners). I missed the fiddles that help
keep
things in place on the counters and stove that we have on our sail boat
It was a few minutes before 2200 when we turned into the channel to the
marina. There were fewer buoys than charted (none lighted) as we
felt
our way in the dark. The entrance had a bit of a turn and wasn't
very
wide. Pierre did his docking dance, turning us in place and walking
sideways toward the dock. He loves maneuvering the boat,
and has
turned docking into an art, we don't throw lines, we hand them
down.
The folks from the next boat verified we had the right dock and
assisted with dock lines. It really felt good to shut things down
for
the night, it had been a very long day.
Day 4
The morning dawned bright and sunny, so we did a bit of exploring
before breakfast. With the fuel dock not opening until 0900, we
opted
for a leisurely morning, and washed off the myriad of bugs we'd
collected the night before and did some cleaning below decks. We
also
learned the Canadian fuel tax would go up 8% July 1, so we decided we'd
top off the the tank again in the morning.
On the dock at Creg Quay
We had three more Seaway locks to negotiate before we reached the 1000
Island region. Upon arrival at the first American lock, we tied up at
the pleasure craft dock for instructions. There was about a 90
minute
wait as they were locking through a lake freighter. We were
joined at
the dock by a smaller power boat that rafted off our side since the
dock was too short, which gave us a chance to chat with, Jim, Lynn and
their 2 boys.
We thought we had the lock thing down, and were surprised to be
instructed to go to station 1, and realized there would be no lines
dropped to us, but that we would have to attach a line to the bollard
that slides up the lock wall with the boat. We managed to get a
line
on it when the lock master hollered down we could slip back and put a
line on station 2 as well if we wanted, which might make locking
through easier. We did, and the lock master was impressed to see
that
Will used a boat hook to get the line on after his first toss fell
short. He was even more impressed to learn it was our first time
through the locks. He said most people have to be cowboys and
keep
tossing until the get the line on (which can take a while.) We
refined
our American locking technique by the second lock, acting like it was
old hat, and were soon on our way. The last lock was a bit
anticlimactic as the lift was a mere four inches! You go in ,
they
close the doors and then the open the other doors, and that's it.
Having finished the Seaway locks without any problems, we headed for
Brockville. We'd hoped to get into the marina where we planned on
getting fuel, but they didn't have any dock space available.
Pierre
had noticed an open spot on the other side of the channel at the town
docks, and asked if it might be available, and after a bit of cross
channel communication we were told it was. We were happy to call
it a
day since it was already after 1700.
On the dock at Brockville
Wednesday was also Pierre's birthday. As he said, he never
dreamed
he'd be doing a trip like this, much less on a birthday. We
mastered the
microwave/convection oven combo to roast some potatoes, and proceeded
to make a dinner to fit the occasion. We were only sorry that
Isabelle
wasn't still in board to join us. She tried to get the rest of
the
week off to join us at Trenton, but her boss said no. With
a bit of
work we got the washer/dryer combination going too, which meant clean
clothes for everyone.
After dinner Leonard and I took a walk around town while Will grabbed
his skate board (he's a world class champion) and took a ride and
Pierre went to talk to Jim and Lynn aboard Broken Glass, the folks we
met earlier in the locks. If we'd been
a day later, we could have enjoyed the Riverfest on Canada Day, July 1,
which was being set up at the waterfront. The town was
interesting and I was sorry everything was closed. I knew my next
morning bakery run wouldn't happen when I saw it wouldn't open until
0900, as we wanted to get an early start. By the time we got back
to
the boat it was past 2100, and we were too tired to watch the end of
the movie we started a couple of nights before.
Being bow out, and the end of the wharf gave us no excuse for a late
start. Pierre had done all the engine maintenance the evening
before,
so we were underway shortly after 0700. We planned on stopping at
Rockport to see if we could get the switch for the trim tab. When
we'd
taken on fuel the evening before, the dock master said it would be our
best bet as Huck's Marina had an extensive parts department, and the
expertise. With the
location programmed into the chart plotter we headed out.
Day 5
This part of the 1000 Islands is truly magnificent, dotted with
islands, and rocks of all sizes, GPS and the chart plotter are great
for keeping us in deep water. We went past Singer Castle and some
very
impressive estates. I was glad we weren't at speed (not really
advisable given the terrain) so I could see more. I'm not sure if
it's
just that I'm short or the trim tab problem is not getting the boat
more
level when the boat is up on plane, but I can't see over the dash board
(everyone on board has the same problem to a lessor degree.)
There is
a deck pad on the foredeck with adjustable backs which would great in
port, but really obscures the view ahead of the boat while
underway.
The padded head rests alongside the upper deck are located at eye
level, making it difficult to see much of anything unless you stand up
or scrunch down to peer under the head rest. These features might
be
great while in port,or entertaining, but tend to leave us frustrated
while underway.
Singer Castle
Fancy estates on the islands
Observation tower
We had problems raising Huck's on the VHF, but saw some folks on the
dock as we approached, so we slid into the dock. They had lost
power
early in the morning, but were open. Pierre and Leonard went in
search
of a switch with flashlight in hand. They didn't have the switch,
but
Gordy,the mechanic, came to the boat to take a look and rigged up a
jumper wire to bypass the switch. We learned that boaters from both
shores of the river go to Gordy when they have problems, he's a top
notch mechanic. With Leonard manning the jumper cables and Pierre
hanging off the stern to watch the trim pad, they tried to fix the
problem, but unfortunately it didn't. The mechanic came out to
check
on the progress, and he suggested that perhaps the pad had been bent
when the prop got damaged. If it had, this could explain why it
doesn't move when the switch was jumpered. At some point either
Pierre
or Will will take a closer look in water to see if see if any damage is
apparent. Meanwhile we'll continue on our way, as much of
the rest of
the trip is in canals where the speed limit is 6 mph so we won't be on
plane.
The new sign at the start of the Trent Severn Waterway
Washing the boat after getting the last dock space
We stopped at Trenton, at the start of the Trent Severn Canal, for
the night. By the time we finished taking on fuel, it was after 4:30
PM. It looks like it's time to reprovision a bit and there are
two good stores here although they were closed for Canada day.
This crew requires a lot of fruit and vegetables to keep them
going. We were invited to join in the Canada Day celebrations,
including a pot luck dinner at the marina. We were lucky to have
gotten the last possible space (the fuel dock) available at the
marina. After we got the boat turned on the dock and plugged into
shore power (we needed extension cords to reach the closest power
outlet), I started fixing our dinner contribution while Pierre and Will
cleaned the topsides. Being at the end of the dock, we'd have
great viewing for the fireworks after dark. We had a great dinner
and met a lot of "loopers", folks cruising the Great Loop. We'll
be seeing more of these folks as we travel through the Trent Severn
Canal as most of us will be traveling at about the same speed as we
pass through the 44 locks in the system. After talking to the
folks at the marina, it looks like it will take 6 days to reach Port
Severn, at the other end of the canal. We will start the canal in
the morning, after the locks open at 0830, and a quick visit to the
supermarket a few blocks away.
Next (Trenton to Peterborough)
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