At Sorel, we turned onto the St. Lawrence River and were now heading south. At that point we slowed down considerably because the St. Lawrence was running in the opposite direction. The river is much larger than the Richelieu with many large ships.
After a while we moved into a small boat channel going by some pastoral houses and villages. As we got close to our destination, the Yacht Club of Montreal, the current was running 5 knots against our running speed of 8 knots. So we were really only moving at 2-3 knots!
Fortunately, this did not go on for too long and after we passed an interesting amusement park along the water’s edge, we reached the Yacht Club of Montreal.
The marina is ideally situated near the old city. The views of a nearby bridge and clock tower were stunning.
We were one of only a couple of trawlers in this marina of go fast boats. Everyone was docked stern in so they could use their swim platforms to get on and off. The finger piers are short and very narrow and we had to dock bow in in because our dinghy takes up our swim platform.
This marina is otherwise ideal. It is within walking distance of the old city and many interesting neighborhoods.
That evening we met our friends, Sarah and Daniel, at the Montreal Jazz Festival where we enjoyed a couple of good performances.
The next day we used Uber to go to a dentist (recommended by Sarah) so Jonny could get a cap that had fallen off glued back on. Afterwards we returned to the Marche Jean-Talon for a lunch of lobster rolls and to stock up on fresh vegetables, fruit and pasta. We then made our way to a funky part of town to buy some knitting needles for Lynn’s next project.
That evening, one of Montreal’s signature summer fireworks displays took place and we had ringside seats on Zendo. After a dinner of fresh pasta, we watched an awesome display from our aft deck. It included a great light show projected onto the clock tower and fabulous fireworks accompanied by an ABBA soundtrack. Afterwards, all the boats watching (and there were many) signaled their appreciation with a cacophony of honking horns. It was quite an experience!
Our final day in Montreal included Jonny taking a second extensive bike ride ( sorry, no pictures) and our doing a variety of boat chores including cleaning windows and Stratoglass and yes, more laundry. We reaped our reward later that day when Sarah and Daniel joined us for Lynn’s first attempt at serving foie gras followed by a delicious dinner at the famous Schwartz’s. This Montreal fixture serves smoked meat that is better than any NY pastrami or corned beef.
On the way there we passed a mural of Leonard Cohen, one of Montreal’s favorite sons.
We said goodbye and thank you to Sarah and Daniel, who we will see in South Florida next winter, and headed back to Zendo.
After a wonderful visit in Montreal we look forward to getting “on the road again.” Everything from here will be new for us and that’s very exciting,
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