Friday, July 18, 2008
Chambly Canal & Richelieu River
June 22, 2008
We cleared Canadian Customs at Lacolle QC, just outside of Rousse’s Point NY. Clearance was simple and fast. We pulled up to the Customs dock and took our passports, Nexus cards and boat documents inside. We were back underway in less than five minutes.
Our destination was the town dock at St. Jean sur Richelieu. We stopped at the marina before tying up to the wall since we were in need of having our holding tank pumped out. It was Sunday, mid morning and the marina was closed. This seemed strange. The pump out hose was on the dock along with a gas operated pump. Alan fired up the pump, primed it and proceeded to pump out our tank. Thankfully, everything worked and we were good to go for a few more days.
After tying up to the town wall, we went for a walking tour through town and came upon a local drumming band giving a free performance in the waterfront park. Quite a good crowd had gathered, but was quickly scattered as torrential rain started to fall.
We took refuge in one of the restaurants across the street where we had a snack and glass of wine since we had missed lunch. We met two delightfully friendly and helpful local women, one of whom spoke English and gave us lots of information and restaurant recommendations.
The next morning we departed St. Jean on the first north bound lock through at 8:30am. We were bound for Chambly, but first had six locks and numerous low swing bridges to go through. The ChamblyCanal was very pretty, but extremely narrow and shallow for the first nine miles between lock 9 and lock 8. We discovered that it was not necessary to radio each bridge since the bridge tenders advised the next one of our impending arrival, and as we approached each bridge, it would open for us,
It rained on and off for a good part of the day. We arrived at the Chambly town dock around noon and had to mop up water off the galley floor after a water hose clamp came off. Thankfully Susann noticed it and was able to turn off the fresh water pump, which cut off the water supply. Unfortunately she noticed the problem just as we were entering the first of five consecutive locks, which meant we were committed to locking through and cleanup would have to wait. Just another fun day of boating!
We docked at the town wall in Chambly and after cleaning up our flood, we walked the town in search of somewhere for lunch. Several places were closed since it was Monday but we found “Les Grillades Fort” overlooking the river and just a short walk from the boat.
It is customary for many Quebecers to have their main meal of the day around noon, and most restaurants offer a table d’hote, which is a pre-set full meal, complete with appetizer, main course and dessert. Susann had the chef’s home made pate to start and Alan had escargots with basil and garlic. Both were exceptional. For the main course Susann decided to be adventurous and had rabbit stuffed with pork and sun dried tomatoes. Alan chose to be conservative and had the grilled sausages with home style French fries with house mayonnaise. Dessert was fresh fruit with yogurt. It was all delicious and enjoyed with some nice red wine. Service was professional, friendly and polished.
We joined fellow “Loopers” Joe & Arvilla aboard their boat “Our Villa” for Happy Hour and were later joined by Connie and Bernie from “Distant Shores.”
Today, June 24th is St.Jean Baptiste Day (Quebec’s national holiday). We spent the day tied to the town wall in Chambly.
It was the first day without rain in over a week. Being a Quebec holiday, cyclists were out in droves on the paths lining the canal. They ranged from the serious cyclist dressed in all the appropriate gear to young families towing their babies behind their bikes.
Whenever the bridge opened to allow boats to enter or exit the lock, traffic backed up on either side of the river, and I’m sure that without exaggeration, there could be between 100 and 125 cyclists waiting to cross the bridge, along with the cars.
We walked to Fort Chambly and enjoyed the park. Chambly is a pretty town with lots of interesting restaurants and ice cream shops (Quebecers love their soft ice cream).
Just behind the town wall, there is a large, well stocked supermarket “Maxi”. Beer and wine are available there also. It is no more than a five minute walk from the lock wall.
Happy hour was enjoyed aboard “Kaos” with “Loopers” from four other boats (Bella Luna, Segue, Distant Shores and Prime Time) all of whom we had not met before.
June 25, 2008
We departed Chambly at about 10:00am on the second down bound (north bound) lock through, and transited the flight of 3 locks down into the Richelieu River. It was a short travel day, less than 10 miles to an anchorage behind the north end of Ile de Jeannot at mile 25.8. We dinghied back seven miles south to tour the old town of Beloeil and have lunch on one of the waterfront terrasses. There is a courtesy dock for visiting boats dining at the local restaurants. This is a very picturesque and charming part of the Richelieu River, and it is rich with gourmet dining spots.
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Saturday, June 21, 2008
May 24, 2008 - Offshore run Quinby Inlet, VA to Ocean City MD.
After a peaceful night at anchor, we departed Quinby Inlet on a rising tide with light winds from the North West, shortly after 6:15am.
The shoals either side of the channel are marked, but care and constant vigil on the depth sounder was required until we were almost two miles off shore. A large shoal extends out at least a mile on either side of the channel, and was visible to
