Chambly Quebec to Montreal Quebec, June 13 - 17, 2016

June 13 - 17, 2016

As we traveled the Richelieu River this Monday toward Sorel, we enjoyed the warming temps and lessening winds. We covered some 28 miles with Clay making note of various villages and small marinas along our route. At various of these villages, our eyes were drawn to small formal gardens along the river bank; restaurants (noted in our guide book as known for their quality so as to be popular destinations for diners from Montreal); prominent cathedrals with tall, pointed spires; elegant churches; and often a municipal wharf in the center of the waterfront. Clay, with his constant awareness to photo ops, often scoops up the still camera for a shot of this or that along the way. Many of the public wharfs support docks too small to handle a trawler of our size, so these stops are not an option.

We arrived at the Saint-Ours Lock with only twelve miles to travel downstream to Sorel. St-Ours Lock is the largest of the locks on the route to Sorel. Adjacent to the canal was the massive St-Ours dam and its fish ladder which has, as its primary purpose, aiding in the recovery of an endangered fish species, the copper redhorse; the ladder also benefits other fish such as the lake sturgeon and American eels. 

This lock was our only for the day, and we were warmly greeted by a female Parcs Canada agent who quickly and efficiently tied us to the floating dock which would make our locking procedure simple. She chatted as we descended the lock chamber to the waters below. Clay questioned her about the fish ladder, and she graciously offered us a tour. Accepting her offer, we exited the lock now accompanied by a brisk headwind, docked immediately on the northern (downstream) dock, and joined her in the park on Ile Davard. This island, complete with picnic benches, a picturesque old lockmaster’s house and museum currently under renovation, and a boat-launching ramp, also hosts overnight guests at a number of camping accommodations, each called an oTENTik, a cross between a tent and a rustic cabin, which offer a unique blend of homey comfort and a taste of outdoor adventure. 

Noteworthy, the oTENTik accommodations are $120 per night per unit (taxes included), and the six units will be available July 9, 2016. So plan your vacation accordingly!

We crossed the massive dam with powerful spilling waters swirling below us to the fish ladder on the far side of the river. Our agent gave us a brief overview of the fish ladder and fielded our numerous questions. We felt privileged to have a close-up view of this unique environmental structure because we were not there during normal tour hours.

Our plans, following the fish ladder tour, were to motor on to Sorel; but Plan B became effective when the Parcs Canada agent noted the brisk headwind was indicative of extremely rough conditions on the St. Lawrence River on which the Sorel marina was located. So we opted to ride out the winds overnight at Marina Camping Parc Bellerive at RM (river mile) 7.7 and tackle the St. Lawrence the next day.

Tuesday dawned sunny and bright, cool with less wind just as we’d hoped. After a quick pump out, we traveled the last miles of the Richelieu River then turned in a southwestward direction onto the St. Lawrence River toward Montreal. This is one big river! 












We encountered big ships, big barges, and fast big ships which produced big rollers causing periodic rockin’ and rollin’. Mid-afternoon we were thrilled to see the nearing skyline of Montreal. The channel which we followed along the west shore dead-ended at Montreal’s Vieux Port; this portion of the river has its highest currents – as much as 6 knots – which was quite noticeable as our boat slowed against the stiff current on approach. We’d been warned of the swift current along the Montreal shoreline (Linda and Floyd (Tumbleweed), my hubby is a risk taker!), but the Captain elected to buck the current and forge ahead to the Yacht Club of Montreal (YCM). We welcomed the protected water of the marina harbor (once we found the entrance in the basin just west of the very prominent clock tower) and followed the harbor master’s directives to squeeze into a slip with another large boat with which we would bump fenders frequently during our three-night stay here. But we were snugged in and ready to enjoy the sights of Montreal.

 
Once again weary after a long cruising day, Clay and I found ourselves late in seeking dinner out. As a matter of fact, my goal was to eat at the first spot we encountered. With a few sprinkles falling from some stray gray clouds above, Clay queried a couple seated at a sidewalk dining spot called Pub BreWskey who complimented the meal they’d just eaten. Suits me (although I think Clay was looking for something a bit more ‘elegant’). I politely told Clay I wouldn’t melt should I get a bit more than spritzed, so sit we did; eat we did; enjoy we did. Post dinner, Clay insisted on just a bit of wandering which also gave him opportunity for a pricey ice cream cone.

 





Our morning walk Wednesday gave us a chance to explore Old Montreal, the section of the city in which we were docked. ‘Visitors are often surprised by the exceptional vitality of Old Montreal, a lively area day and night and in all seasons. In addition to welcoming millions of visitors each year, the historical district is a place where many Montrealers live, work and play. Up to 40,000 people work in the 500 or so shops and 1,500 offices in Old Montreal. Its 6,000 residents find everything they could want in this much-sought-after neighbourhood, including a diverse and exclusive shopping experience.’

Clay was particularly curious about Rue Saint Paul which he found disappointing in having more souvenir shops than those of local artisans. We passed many magnificent buildings with strikingly elaborate architectural features which would be identified later when we took a Hop-on Hop-off Montreal city tour. We hugged the shoreline and wandered past the Marina Port d’Escale where a port strike had reduced the activity to almost nil. The Port d’Escale Marina is a transient-only marina in the Vieux Port, but many tour boats and freighters berth at the Vieux Port. We’d originally planned to dock here, but news of the port strike had Clay rerouting us to the YCM. We wandered through the Old Port area which has been developed into a scenic park, with amusements, restaurants, gardens and an IMAX theater.

Late morning, we bought tickets for the Hop-on Hop-off Gray Line tour of Montreal and boarded the red, double-decker, open-top bus for the two-hour tour. As we pulled away from the curb, the bus was hailed by two latecomers we identified as our leap-frogging Looper buddies Byron and Cynthia (Bright Angel) with whom we ate lunch at a sidewalk café post-tour. Our bus made a huge loop of the city, first touring through Vieux Montreal (Old Montreal) where our guide identified many of the impressive buildings we’d seen earlier. We continued to see such sites as the Musee Pointe-a-Calliere Museum, Le Village, Quartier Latin (the Latin Quarter), Quartier des Spectacles, Musee des beaux arts (Fine Arts Museum), L’Oratoire Saint-Joseph (Saint-Joseph’s Oratory), and the Kondiaronk and Camillien Houde Lookouts. Obviously, road construction is constant over the nice-weather months here as in the States, so traffic jams and detours were part of the experience as was the extremely warm (92 degrees) temperature. The bus had particular trouble climbing the steep incline of Mont-Royal where congested traffic stalled our driver’s keep-moving approach. We took no opportunity to hop off then back on as our purchase price included two days of travel; we’d hoped to do a bit of in-depth exploration on Thursday.

Back to the boat for some housekeeping chores, showers, and a bit of dock hopping before dinner, Clay and I both enjoyed the nice weather which was a welcome relief from the cold and wind of past days. Clay made the rounds at the upper end of the marina dockcomplex, meeting and greeting fellow Loopers; he struck up quick conversation with any boater whose boat flew the AGLCA burgee (flag). The lateness of the hour caught Clay unaware which made for an irritated first mate and another late dining experience, this time at Restaurant Jacque Cartier (Clay’s choice). This restaurant was located among many other restaurants, cafes, museums and shops in the most historic part of the city which is known as Place Jacque Cartier.

By Thursday morning, I was feeling rather confident in my command of the French language (context is a great clue) and read an entire billboard at the Marche Bonsecours to Clay on our morning walk. I delivered it with such continuity and confidence that he believed every word! I guess my credibility with him is pretty high, yet I truly think I was pretty spot on. I thought this Marche Bonsecours to be an indoor shopping ‘mall’ of maybe vendor rooms or stalls or kiosks, but because of the ongoing road construction at this site, we’d not had access until I weaved thru the bordered walkways to seek out the immediate façade of the building. It was so cool! (I always remember a walking tour I took of Portland, ME, where we were taught to look UP for architectural appreciation, so did plenty of looking UP in Montreal!) On this side of the massive structure we found the indoor entrance to Pub BreWskey, our first night’s restaurant. I hoped to return later in the day to see the interior of March Bonsecours!

But our stated plans for Thursday were aborted when the galley faucet started leaking like a sieve. I trotted off to do laundry, leaving Clay to tend to the plumbing detail which quickly became more of a project than either of us had bargained for. We spent the entire day dealing with plumbing issues, borrowing dear harbor master Debbie’s car for two separate trips to first an Ace Hardware-type store (Clay went solo here), then together to Canadien Tire and on to Home Depot. Long story, but bottom line, we’re still slow-leaking with a new faucet fixture and a wealth of experience which, as Debbie reminded us, few Loopers have in this fair city. We now know how to navigate the streets and highways around Montreal, dodging an abundance of construction workers and bicyclists; we know how to ‘plug’ sidewalk parking meters; we’ve wandered the aisles of Canadien Tire (a Target-like store; wish I’d had time to shop a bit!) and Home Depot; and we wasted a perfectly good day of sight-seeing in Montreal. Huge shout-out to harbor master Debbie who could not have been more accommodating!

Now Friday and departure day from Montreal, I will sign, seal and send this email as we gear up for a 9:30 a.m. departure with two locks (Saint Lambert and Saint Catherine) on the St. Lawrence Seaway upcoming.