Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec

We left beautiful Montreal at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 9 in order to get in line for the first lock of the day, the Lambert Lock on the St. Lawrence.  Because this is a commercial lock we had to wait for a huge ship to lock through from the other side.  We saw it towering above the lock wall as it emerged.  

It wasn’t until 10 a.m. that we were able to lock through.  

Several pleasure craft were going through with us so we had to raft up to a beautiful black 54 foot Carver.  The couple onboard were very friendly French Canadians who had owned a condo in South Florida for 30 years.  We had a great time chatting with them as we locked through.  Rafted behind us was a Florida couple and their granddaughter who were aboard a Mainship and who had just come from the same Yacht Club of Montreal where we had stayed.

Our destination for the day was Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, a charming village that is also a suburb of Montreal.  But first we had to travel through one more lock at Côte St. Catherine.

When we arrived at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue we tied up at the free town dock wall adjacent to several waterfront restaurants.  We walked a block into the village to check it out.  It had a number of shops and restaurants and we found a traditional Irish pub, Cavanaugh’s, where we each had a beer.  

Dinner on board was light but good - a big salad with a crab cake.  As Lynn updated the blog, Jonny went out to meet our neighbors. A number of boats were tied up at the dock. Right behind us was a very lively group from two boats rafted up to each other.  

They, along with two other groups that we met in the locks, encouraged us to stay at the Fairmont Chateau Montebello which is supposed to be fabulous.  Originally we were not planning to stop there but by the following morning we changed our plans and decided to indulge ourselves!

Montreal, Quebec

We left St.Ours very early on July 6 in order to arrive in Montreal at a reasonable hour.  Heading north on the Richelieu River, we were running with the current which was quite strong. The area we were cruising through was attractive and residential until we hit Sorel where it became more industrial. 

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,

Chambly, Quebec

We finally left Rouses Point after eight nights at Gaines Marina waiting on parts to get our boat repaired. But before taking off on Wednesday, July 5, we had to get a pump-out and do a sea trial to make sure everything, especially our rebuilt injector pump was working as it should.  The sea trial went great and we were on our way.

Within 1.5 miles of Rouses Point, we entered Canadian waters and had to stop for customs.

That, too, went smoothly and after the customs officer asked if we had any firearms (no) and alcohol (yes), Jonny dutifully described in detail all that was in our ship’s store.  The agent raised his eyebrows somewhat and asked how long we would be in Canada.  We told him three months and he said we were OK.  I guess he considered us to be well stocked for the journey (we definitely are)!  Technically, we are over the limit of what the rules say we should have, but thankfully we had an empathetic agent!

Cruising north on the Richelieu River, the landscape is changing and becoming much flatter and more pastoral.  

After we passed the first bridge, the waterway became the Chambly Canal system.  The waterway was not at all busy but it was slow going.  We had to wait for bridges and locks to open.  It was not unusual to wait 15 minutes either hovering around or tying up to a lock wall until they opened. 

The locks on this historic waterway are all hand cranked and during the summer they are operated by college students.  Some of the locks are so close together that the lock tenders drive from one lock to the next to open it for you. They were all very friendly and bilingual!

The day got hotter and hotter and by the time we were almost in Chambly, we were more than ready for quitting time.  There is a heat wave going on across North America and even here in Canada the temperatures were in the high 90’s but it felt like 100 -  even being on the water which is usually cooler!  At about 4 p.m., after going through three locks in quick succession, we arrived at the lock wall in Chambly where we tied up for the night.   In order to have enough power for our air conditioning we had to use two separate electric pedestals.

After recovering from the heat, we weren’t eager to cook, so we walked into the charming town of Chambly and had dinner at a restaurant with an outdoor patio.  Thankfully, we found some shade!

There were a lot of people walking towards the park across from where we were docked and it turned out there was a free concert going on.  So after dinner, we strolled by the park.   People were sitting on blankets and lawn chairs and enjoying a midsummer concert.

 We listened for a little while but having been spoiled by the music at the Montreal Jazz Festival, we ambled back to Zendo to settle in for the evening.  We are grateful to have air conditioning!

Rouses Point, NY part 2

We ended up staying in Rouses Point for eight nights waiting for the injector pump to be rebuilt and mailed back to us.  We made the most of our time there by renting a car so we could explore our surroundings. 

Thanks to Enterprise who picked us up at the marina, we got the car in Plattsburgh and spent the day exploring that part of the world. There is lots of hiking available and we found a very nice and moderately rigorous trail up to Silver Lake.

To recover from that, we found  Valcour Brewery, named after the island we had anchored next to as well as a famous battle in the Revolutionary War.  We followed that up with, what else, but a visit to a winery and hard cider establishment. There we spent a couple of hours sampling the wares and learning about cider making from the owner’s son, a Long Island transplant.  

On Saturday, we drove up to Montreal to attend the fabulous weeklong jazz festival there.  Just over the Canadian border we passed through lots of farmland.

Montreal is supposed to be one of the best jazz festivals in the world.  There was a lot of music to choose from, much of it free.  The bigger names were scheduled in the evenings and those had a fee.  We took advantage of the freebies and saw a couple of especially good performances.  

We stayed there all day and didn’t get back to Zendo until 9 pm that night.  

We headed back to Montreal on Sunday, this time to spend the day with friends Sarah and Daniel who own a condo next door to Andy to which  they escape in the winter.  They very graciously showed us their beautiful city.  We especially appreciated the drive through Mont Real and the lovely neighborhoods there.

 We visited the St. Joseph Oratory at the top of the mountain. It’s a beautiful church that looks very old but was built in the 1920’s. The interior architecture was quite modern and very different than the exterior.  

They drove us through some charming neighborhoods and took us to the Italian market for lunch and of course we had to stock up on some provisions for the boat.  

Montreal is also known for its bagels so we had to stop for some of those as well.  

That evening, Sarah made a delicious dinner and we had a chance to visit with their handsome son, Stefan.

The weather has been very hot; we are experiencing the same heat wave as the rest of the country.  So we spent Monday at the marina doing boat chores and trying to keep cool. Fortunately, the injector pump arrived as scheduled on Tuesday and Jonny and the local yard mechanic spent all afternoon installing it.  

So finally on the 4th of July, we departed Rouses Point after a sea trial and pump out. Rouses Point ended up being quite a lovely village in which to be laid up.  The people were friendly, the rates were low, it had enough amenities for our needs and it was centrally located just south of the Canadian border and between the Adirondacks and Montreal.