We departed Bellevue at 0730 in order to allow most of the day for the passage through the St. Lawrence Seaway locks. We had been told that pleasure boats may have to wait up to 3-4 hours at each lock, and there was no option but to get to Montreal at the end of the 37 mile day!
As it turned out, the passage through the first lock was delayed only by freighters passing through, one directly in front of us and others heading upstream which we passed before and after entering the first lock. The Great Lakes freighter John D. Leitch turned into the canal leading to the first lock just before us (coming down river) and had to slow considerably to permit to upbound freighters to pass in the straight stretches of the canal. After the John D. Leitch started to enter the lock, we tied up at the pleasure boat dock, bought our $25.00 pass for the first lock, and waited until the John D. Leitch cleared the lock going downstream and another freighter cleared heading upstream.
By 1420 we were at the second lock and by 1610 we had completed the day’s trip to the Port d’Escale Marina in Montreal. The last several miles were against the 6 MPH current on the St. Lawrence River after it had cascaded down the rapids we bypassed on the Seaway. Since we make only 7.3 MPH under the best of circumstances, we were making only 1.4 MPH over the ground heading to the marina. About 1/4 mile before the quay where the marina is located, we passed through the current and entered still water, then turned into the basin and into the marina. The staff spoke passable English (70% of the population in Montreal speaks French) and directed us to the dock where we would be located for the next few days; another young hand was on the dock to help us with our lines.
Now we’re sightseeing in Montreal, and a beautiful city it is. The first full day (August 9, 2011) we took the Metro to the Botanical Garden, and today we walked through the old city visiting the Archeological Museum, the Notre Dame Bassilica, and the Notre Dame chapel and a few other spots along the way. Tomorrow we’re heading back out toward the Botanical Garden to visit the Olympic Stadium (1972) and Biosphere and inclined tower. A Canadian friend and his family are arriving by boat tomorrow and we’re planning on dinner out with them tomorrow night before we depart on Friday heading to Sorell.
