St. Lambert and Côte Sainte Catherine Locks west of Montreal are large and heavily used by commercial traffic. Pleasure boaters have been know to wait 5 hours for passage. We entered with little delay and were elevated 15 ft then 30 ft, respectively, to Lake Sainte-Louise. Our route was full of turns. Special attention had to be paid to the buoy sequence or we run aground or end up following the wrong route. At times like this I rely on paper charts. Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue was our destination. Joyce, from Carried Away, had told us it was one of her favorite spots. We pulled in around 4 pm and with the permission of the lock superintendent we docked along the blue line. Each lock approach has a blue and gray line painted on the wall or dock on our starboard side. The blue line declares your intent to lock through at then next opportunity. The gray line is a space to dock and stay for a few hours or a few days. Since the lock was closing we were permitted to dock on the blue line.Once secure and settled we gathered for dinner at one of the restaurants facing the canal. 'Crack of Dawn' departures are a thing of the past due to the lock schedules. No problem. It's an opportunity to explore the town with Margi and Rick. Janet and Bob stayed aboard and eased into the morning.
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| Boats Are Asked to Raft Off in These Two Locks |
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| Journey Locking Through |
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| We Break Off from the St. Lawrence Seaway, Winding Our Way to Ottawa. The Chart Depth is in Meters not Feet i.e. 6.4 - 3.4...0.7...Yikes! Stay on Course! |
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| Signs Similar to This Mark Every Lock |
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| Local Market |
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| Quaint City of Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue |
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| The View Across the Canal |
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| Restaurants Line the Walk Along the Blue and Gray Line |
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| Canal Promenade for Bikes and Pedestrians |
The lock opened 10:00 am and we got in right away. The waterway widened as we leave Lake Sainte Louise on our way to Lake des Deux-Montagnes (Lake of Two Mountains). Both lakes are wide areas on the Ottawa River. Over the VHS we commented on what a beautiful day it was. Since lunchtime was approaching it was a consensus that we drop anchor near Oka and enjoy a swim with our lunch. Wow! I didn't think we could get our southern friends into the water in Canada. They were guessing the water temperature was about 80 degrees.....doubtful. It felt wonderfully refreshing on such a hot day and a total break from our routine!
Just an overnight stay here. The ducks and geese will be glad to reclaim the sidewalks! The next morning we pulled out and headed for Ottawa, Ontario.
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| Harmony and Irish Attitude Rafted Together Frequently While Locking Through |
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| The Waterway Winds Around Islands |
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| Lake des Deux-Montagnes |
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Margi Prepares to Test Canadian Waters
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| Bob, Janet, Me and Margi |
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| Capt. Mike Cooling Off |
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| I Love Fresh Water!!! |
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| Formerly an Abbey To Trappist Monks in Oka (A New, Modern Facility Built Nearby) |
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| An Unexpected Site - Water Jet Pack |
Moving on again towards today's destination, Carrillon Lock It is an unusual lock in size and structure with a massive hydroelectric power station. What make this lock unique is it's 'guillotine' appearance. A Canadian boater in Montreal was frustrated that she was unable to think of an English word to describe it. I guess she did not think I would be familiar with the word guillotine! We laughed as I shared that I only know about 20 words in French and ten are numbers! The Carrillon Lock, like the Ste. Anne and St. Oars, has a wharf inside. It rises/lowers with the water level and permits the lock personal to check permits and assist boaters locking in.
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| Janet and Margi Hanging with the Locals that Constructed the Lock |
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| Waiting Our Fate at the Guillotine |
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| Our Approach |
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| Note the Staircase on the Right |
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| Canadian Parks Employees on Floating Wharf Inside the Lock |
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| The Guillotine Has Dropped, All Heads Intact! |
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| Hydroelectric Plant |
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| Me, Posing on the Bow of Journey with Teddy and Margi |
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