Au Canada; Two Good Days!

Yesterday, we cast off about 9:30 from Port Rousseau, NY with Katahdin's quarantine flag flying from our starborard spreader for our entry into Canada. By 10:00, we had cleared customs, lowered the quarantine penant, and raised the Canadian flag in its place. We expect to fly the Canadian courtesy flag most of the summer until we return to the US at the northern reaches of Lake Michigan.

The two Canadian immigration and customs officials who welcomed us to their country were warm, friendly, and polite. After their pleasant greeting, I asked if they would like to come aboard or have me come to them. They asked me to come to them and then this series of questions: May we see your passports and boat documentation? Where do you live? Where are you going in Canada? Do you have anything you will leave in Canada? Do you have any weapons? Do you have more than $10,000 in cash?" As a seeming after thought, "What do you do for a living? Please enjoy your stay in our country." The whole thing didn't take ten minutes, probably not much more than five.

We continued up the Richilieu River which offered spectacular scenery, more small fishing boats than we have seen since the inland rivers, and a glorious, cool spring day. The trees along the banks still wore the light greens of leaves that have only recently broken out.

We stopped at Marina Gosselin to replace the spare inverter fuse after putting our spare into service the day before. The marina store blew my mind: it was large, bright and full of a wide variety of state of the art marine equipment, clothing, etc. It would outshine most of the many marine stores I've frequented in the US.

We arrived at Marina Le Nautique de St. Jean around 1:00. Though we had a reservation, the only spot available for us was a space that seemed too small on the face dock. I looked it over, sized it up, and succeeded in making the boat owners at both my bow and stern quite nervous. Nonetheless, deploying Katahdin's pods, joy stick, and easy docking system, we squeezed our 50 foot length overall into a 51 foot space. Whew.

St Jean has a lovely riverfront, good restaurants, and an active vibe. The marina, itself, was host to a phenomenon that we've seen in a lot of US marinas--especially on the rivers. People come to their boats for the day or for the weekend with no intention of ever leaving the dock. Rather, they drink, snack, chat, and laugh--some quite loudly. It was a beautiful day in a lovely spot but still . . .

Today we transited the Chambly Canal, only 9.7 nautical miles (a bit over 11 statute miles) but with nine small locks, 12 low bridges, a strict speed limit of 5.4 nautical miles per hour, and three boats ahead of us who got the first drop, it took five hours. Though the narrow canal with its many facilities required almost complete focus, it was a spectacularly beautiful cruise on an unbeatable early summer day--exactly the kind of day we dreamed of when we planned our Great Loop adventure.

A short ways above Le Nautique de St. Jean, the bascule bridge below gaits the entry from the south into the canal. Its sleek, modern design contrasts dramatically with most of the canal's quiet, rural environment.

Almost immediately after going under bridge 12, you encounter bridge 11 and then lock nine--both better harbingers of what lies ahead for your half day passage.

Soon, however, we were in the country with views like those below. Note the rail to trail bike-ped path on the starboard side that goes the entire distance of the route. And boy was it busy with bikers, runners, walkers, and strollers.

We did see a few areas developed for homes but most of the land was undeveloped or farmland.

The locks in the Chambly Canal are 110 feet long by 22 feet wide but not all of that length can be used. Our LOA is just a bit above 50 feet and we transited with a Kady Krogen (Heidi Ho) about the same size. Both of our beams reach 15 feet. We overlapped in each and every lock and I had to take great pains to keep the outboard on our dinghy from marring the Kady Krogen's hull. Typically, we pulled right up against the front gates of the lock while Heidi Ho entered and moored; then we'd ease back as space allowed not only to avoid the wash at the front of the lock but also so that the lock door could open without hitting us. It seemed awfully tight the first couple of locks but we did get used to it. By the way, the Heidi Ho's skipper is female and she definitely handles a boat more adeptly than many of the men we've observed during our trip.

Finally, we arrived at Marina Lake Chambly--a modest marina in a beautiful setting. It is just down the lake from Chambly Fort--first built of wood for the French-Iroquois War and rebuilt of stone for the French Indian War.

We're headed out to dinner shortly. Lucky you, I have to sign off.