Ottawa and Montreal

After 126 miles of rivers, canals, and lakes, and 47 locks, the Rideau ends in Canada's capital, Ottawa.  It's a stark contrast from the rural setting of the Rideau to the urban setting of Ottawa.  Horns are honking, sirens are blaring, and bridges need to be raised to let us through.  After our quick trip down the flight of 8 locks in Ottawa, we decided to stay across the river in Gatineau. It's a bit easier on Millie as there isn't a constant stream of people walking by the boat whom she feels compelled to introduce herself to.  

One more picture of the Ottawa flight of 8 locks, this one from the perspective of a tourist.

"Maman" (French for Mom) is a thirty-foot-tall spider who greeted us upon our entrance to the National Gallery of Canada. 

Parliament has been under construction for 24 years and should be finished by 2032 - no rush.

Cheers! From Chapteau Laurier.

Halfway down the Ottawa River, we came across Chateau Monabello, the largest log cabin-style building in the world. 

The foyer to the Chateau.

And they serve a pretty nice dinner.

Our first lock on the Ottawa River is a giant guillotine-style door.

We were very thankful that it didn't have a mechanical failure at the wrong time.

Thursday, June 25 was a super long day for us.  We had a reservation at two locks on the St. Lawrence River, 4 PM and 6 PM, but before we got to those locks, we needed to transit two other locks and about 75 miles. If we made it through the first two locks, we would have time to spare and could pull over to grab some fuel.  As we approached the guillotine lock, they told us the lock was being inspected, and we would need to wait three or four hours. Ouch! We don't have that kind of time.  Just as our contingency plans were being finalized, we were given some good news. The lock would be open in an hour.  We would need to rush, skip the fuel stop, but we could make it to the reservation.  Everything worked well - we didn't make any wrong turns! And, we made our reservation on time.   

After our mad dash, we are happy to be on the lock wall of St. Lambert's Lock.

Fun to walk around Old Montreal.

Also fun to have Courtney on board.

The Rideau Canal

The Rideau Canal is the oldest canal system in North America. Built by the British in the early 1800's to avoid those pesky Americans from harassing them on the St. Lawrence, the Rideau Canal starts in Kingston, Ontario, and meanders through rivers, lakes, and canals as it rises 164 feet with 14 locks to the Upper Rideau Lake before descending 273 feet with 33 locks to the city of Ottawa on the Ottawa River.  The canal is maintained by Parks Canada. All the lock stations have areas to tie off the boat, restrooms, and some have showers and electricity to plug in the boat. 

There's a rhythm to moving through the locks. As we exit one lock, the lockmaster will call ahead to the next lock to alert them.  Generally, the next lock is waiting for us with the lock door open, and we simply motor in and tie off.  When it worked smoothly, we were able to travel forty miles with 6 locks on an average day.

Update on Millie: When people hear that we're going on Egret for a month and a half, there's usually great concern for Chrisy, but there's also great concern for Millie.  Let me say that Millie is thriving. Although she's not a big fan of traveling at 20 knots,  as soon as we shut the engine off, she grabs a toy and insists on some playtime.  She loves her walks through new communities and enjoys meeting new friends along the way.  She also likes greeting everyone who walks past Egret on the dock.  

Millie with her pack

Chrisy "in" Kingston at the start of the Rideau.

The Rideau is a system of rivers, canals, and lakes. Here's a typical river on our way to Smith's Falls.

The lock system in the Rideau is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  Most of the locks are operated manually, rain or shine. 

Locks aren't the only obstacle; occasionally, we come across a swing bridge - again, manually operated.

On anchor at our Flourtown neighbor's house.

An intrepid family we met along the Rideau. You would never know that she is very pregnant, and they endured a pretty nasty rainstorm the night before.

Entering Ottawa

The Rideau wraps up with a flight of 8 locks that's very popular with tourists.

Goodbye Thousand Islands - Hello Rideau

After Sackets Harbor, it was time to take a little break.  We have been moving the boat for eleven straight days, so we needed to take a Chrisy day - any given day that Chrisy declares "the boat is not moving today." Cape Vincent proved to be the perfect spot.  The town dock was ideal. With nice proximity to town, it offered 30 amp power and pretty good protection from the waves coming off the freighters in the channel.  We broke out the bikes again and had a nice ride down to the lighthouse. One Chrisy day turned into two as we decided to stay put and ride out a pretty good storm. We were thankful for our dock when we heard a few days later that the storm caused some serious damage in a nearby harbor. 

Egret hanging out at the Cape Vincent town dock - the calm before the storm.

The basic Thousand Island strategy is to explore the US side - cross over the border - clear customs, and then explore the Canadian side.  We're pretty big fans of the Canadian side, as there are well-maintained parks/islands that have moorings and docks.  We also get to meet all the nice French Canadians who are always welcoming and fun. Before we crossed over, we stopped at Wellesley Island,  a New York state park, and we anchored off of Picnic Point on Grandstone Island.  

Cruising around these waters, it's always possible to get stopped by a combo operation of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the US Coast Guard. They cruise along the boarded in these massive inflatable boats and sneak up on you from behind. You hear them first when they turn their siren on. We were stopped four years ago, and you guessed it, it happened again this year.  With their bulletproof vests, pistols, pepper spray, and a bunch of other stuff, these folks are pretty intimidating. They're actually more like puppy dogs.  They ask you for a few papers and ask a few basic questions about life preservers, etc., and then send you on your way.

They even pose for a selfie at the end of it.

That wasn't the end of it.  Two days later, when we were pulling out of Gananoque, Canada, pronounced Gan-an-ah Quay, we were stopped again. This time by a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police. We showed them our paper verifying that we had passed a previous inspection, and we were on our way. Sorry, no selfie this time. 

Our anchorage at Picnic Point, Grandstone Is. US

At our dock under the bridge on Georgina Is. Canada

When you have cocktails on a dock, it's obviously called "docktails." Camelot Is Canada

One of our cruising buddies was a professional photographer - out for a walk on Camelot.

After a quick reprovisioning stop in Kingston, Ontario, we are off to the Rideau - the whole reason for the trip.   The bridge that we pass under to get to the Rideau is under construction and only opens on Sundays. We have perfect timing, but we will be traveling in a group of folks who have been waiting for the opening.

Off to the Thousand Islands

We made all of the correct turns, and Egret made short work of the Erie and Oswego Canals. After traveling 10 straight days, we arrived in Sackets Harbor on Lake Ontario and breathed a sigh of relief.  It feels great to be out of the rivers and canals and let Egret free without worrying as much about logs and depths.  

Egret hanging on a lock wall before the doors close.

A view off the stern after being dropped.  All of these locks work with massive pipes and valves. After everyone enters the lock, the doors close. If we are dropping, a valve is opened on the downstream side of the lock to release the water in the lock. If we are rising, the valve on the upstream side of the lock is opened, and water is introduced into the lock. On the Erie, we took 20 locks that lifted us a total of 420 feet, followed by two locks that dropped us a total of 50 feet.  There were seven locks on the Oswego Canal for a total drop of 118 feet.

A gorgeous day on the Mohawk River section of the Erie Canal.

Lock 17 is the only lock on the Erie that has a massive "guillotine" gate that slides down once you're safely inside the chamber.

This lock was followed by a road with a drawbridge that needed to be raised once we cleared the lock.

Egret resting on the lock wall after Oswego Lock 6. We're in an aqueduct three feet higher than the river.

Millie got a chance to get off the leash and run around at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Park, and we got to ride our bikes.

Dinner onboard: spinach pasta, sundried tomatoes, spinach, and a drizzle of fetta cheese. Mom always said that the chef gets an extra 10% when a meal is presented onboard. This meal didn't need the 10%.

A coastal freighter getting ready to leave the St. Lawrence River.

Our route through the Erie, up the Oswego, and out into Lake Ontario. Our first stop was Sackets Harbor and then on to Cape Vincent.