2011-09-10 - to Beauharnois canal, PQ
We woke up in Cornwall surrounded by over 50 Bass boats floating in the Marina. After waiting for the 'gun' to go off to start their derby we set off. It was another bumpy start. The waves were coming over the bow again. This time, depositing masses of floating grasses on our trampoline. We ended up pulling off in a little marina a couple of hours in to wait it out and see if the wind shifted a bit. Within the hour it did and it made for a better ride the rest of the trip. Once we set off we did a bit of school work. Connor has been really interested in going well and doing lots in a day....I think he believes that if he moves quickly through the work, we can get it all done early and not have to do it the entire time.
We passed through another couple of lift bridges today. We also had a couple of locks to do to today....but, this is what slowed us down. When we arrived at the lock we pulled up to the pleasure craft dock and called 
the lock master on the telephone. He regretted to inform us that it will be a couple of hours for the next lock through for us as there are several tankers coming through that take priority over a little sailboat. Sure enough, 3 tankers passed through the lock one after the other. After the third one locked through, the lock master came over the loud speaker to let us know that we could come into the lock. We scrambled excitedly and got into the lock. We were a little rushed as it was now nearing 6pm and the sun would soon be setting. We need light to navigate towards Montreal. As we got in the lock the lock master informed us that we would now have to wait another hour or so as we had to coordinate our lock descent with a tanker that is coming up the lock. The pic below is us sitting in the lock waiting...sun is setting quickly. We quickly thought of an alternative plan...there is an abandoned canal (Soulanges Canal) adjacent to this one (about 15 minutes away). The guide book that we bought suggested that it was a nice stopover
that did not lack in charm. hummm Before we could get there we needed to lock through and pass a tanker in the middle of the canal. Now, it is really dark. The lock doors opened and there was this giant ship moving slowly towards us. All I was thinking of was, "did they let the captain know that we were in the canal as well?" We kept to the left of the canal and they slowly made their way passed us. No sweat?! So, the canal spit us out the other end in complete darkness save the full moon that was behind us. The GPS showed the best route for us to take. We took a little longer, deeper route just to be sure. As we pulled up to the canal, you could see the old light house and the canal wall. As we approached the wall, it was clear that this would be a little challenging to tie onto. The wall was littered with large rusty and twisted bolts. These were probably the bolts that used to hold wood at the side of the canal. Now gone, these twisted bolts only remained. It took a bit of time to pick the less littered part of the wall. Kerry jumped off the boat and secured us to the large ship cleat that was there. We would here the rumblings of rushing water in the distance. Knowing that we just came down 2 locks....we figured that the water was falling down into our canal. I guess in the morning we will find out.
We woke up in Cornwall surrounded by over 50 Bass boats floating in the Marina. After waiting for the 'gun' to go off to start their derby we set off. It was another bumpy start. The waves were coming over the bow again. This time, depositing masses of floating grasses on our trampoline. We ended up pulling off in a little marina a couple of hours in to wait it out and see if the wind shifted a bit. Within the hour it did and it made for a better ride the rest of the trip. Once we set off we did a bit of school work. Connor has been really interested in going well and doing lots in a day....I think he believes that if he moves quickly through the work, we can get it all done early and not have to do it the entire time.
the lock master on the telephone. He regretted to inform us that it will be a couple of hours for the next lock through for us as there are several tankers coming through that take priority over a little sailboat. Sure enough, 3 tankers passed through the lock one after the other. After the third one locked through, the lock master came over the loud speaker to let us know that we could come into the lock. We scrambled excitedly and got into the lock. We were a little rushed as it was now nearing 6pm and the sun would soon be setting. We need light to navigate towards Montreal. As we got in the lock the lock master informed us that we would now have to wait another hour or so as we had to coordinate our lock descent with a tanker that is coming up the lock. The pic below is us sitting in the lock waiting...sun is setting quickly. We quickly thought of an alternative plan...there is an abandoned canal (Soulanges Canal) adjacent to this one (about 15 minutes away). The guide book that we bought suggested that it was a nice stopover
that did not lack in charm. hummm Before we could get there we needed to lock through and pass a tanker in the middle of the canal. Now, it is really dark. The lock doors opened and there was this giant ship moving slowly towards us. All I was thinking of was, "did they let the captain know that we were in the canal as well?" We kept to the left of the canal and they slowly made their way passed us. No sweat?! So, the canal spit us out the other end in complete darkness save the full moon that was behind us. The GPS showed the best route for us to take. We took a little longer, deeper route just to be sure. As we pulled up to the canal, you could see the old light house and the canal wall. As we approached the wall, it was clear that this would be a little challenging to tie onto. The wall was littered with large rusty and twisted bolts. These were probably the bolts that used to hold wood at the side of the canal. Now gone, these twisted bolts only remained. It took a bit of time to pick the less littered part of the wall. Kerry jumped off the boat and secured us to the large ship cleat that was there. We would here the rumblings of rushing water in the distance. Knowing that we just came down 2 locks....we figured that the water was falling down into our canal. I guess in the morning we will find out.
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