September 5-11, 2019

September 5 – Mackinaw Island to Charlevoix (62 miles)

September 6 – Charlevoix

September 7 – Charlevoix to Boyne City (13 miles)

September 8-10 – Boyne City

September 11 – Home to Highland

Miles traveled this blog: 75

Total miles traveled:  7031

On Thursday, September 5^th we were all up early preparing for a 62 mile day to Charlevoix – California Lady, Melody and Namaste.  The weather/wind forecast had deteriorated from the evening before but we all wanted to move on for similar and different reasons so no one was ready to call a no go.

First Light

As are most early mornings on the water, it was a beautiful sunrise and calm beginning.

As we pulled out of our slip and rounded the end of the “T”, we met a huge cruise ship coming into the Mackinaw City harbor.  Having successfully dodged him, we led the way across the straights and toward the Mighty Mackinaw Bridge.  The boat Blessings joined us from St. Ignace but held back into fourth place taking great pictures of each boat as we passed under the huge suspension bridge.  Maybe the longest of the trip.

Round Island Passage Light – near the entrance to Mackinaw Island Harbor – If you have taken the Ferry you have passed by this landmark.

Straights of Mackinaw and Bridge – Picture #1

Picture #2 – note the freighter coming toward us.  I cannot believe that not so long ago, I would have been anxious to meet another boat under this bridge!!!  Ha!

Namaste passing under the Mighty Mac – photo credit to Blessings

Looking back into the rising sun. . .California Lady followed by Melody in Sea following.

The island, the bridge and the American Flag.  Although we have made this passage several times, the thrill remains.

Our calm waters turned choppy as we passed the protection of the mitten and downright rough as we made the left turn down lake Michigan after Grays Reef.  It wasn’t dangerous or even particularly difficult but uncomfortable trying to find a navigation point to take the waves on our bow instead of our beam.

With Namaste in the lead, we bounced our way for four hours along the west coast of Michigan past Cross Village, Little Traverse Bay and finally into the Charlevoix Channel for the 2:30 pm Bridge opening.

As we made the approach, impatience abounded and all four boats plus a random sailboat entered the channel prematurely causing  angst as we all tried to mark-time with the wind pushing us “kittywampus” to the channel.   Waiting out the 8 minutes for the bridge to open felt like an eternity.  We all suspect the bridge tender saw our predicament and thankfully opened a little early.

Captain Jim thinking:  Please, please let’s just get through this final channel and to the dock without incident!

Coming full circle

It is here that we crossed our wake and completed our dream-adventure.  With lumps in our throats we looked at one another in disbelief, gratitude, and love; crying and laughing; kissing, hugging and sharing high 5’s.  We had accomplished something for which we had unknowingly spent a life-time of preparation.  Our feelings of pride and satisfaction are second only to the feelings we share for the lives and accomplishments of our three boys!

The docking was perfect and the celebrations spontaneous.  First it was a gratitude ceremony complete with champagne toasts and wine offerings thanking the gods and goddesses of the sea (text below).

Lowering the white flag of a currently Looping boat and raising the gold flag signifying a completed Loop.

Next it was a docktale event onboard the Namaste with California Lady, Melody, Blessings, Tuscobia, Twice Blessed and a borrowed (that is yet another story) gold flag from Pura Vida.  Finally several of us gathered at the Weather Vane for dinner, stories and more celebration.  California lady had also accomplished her goal of reaching the Great Lakes as their new boat home and Melody would cross her wake in just days.  How could we have orchestrated a more celebratory ending?

Well, we followed-up on Saturday with  Pat, Nate, Mike, Lee, Curt and Leonie who drove North to cruise our final leg from Charlevoix to Boyne City and/or to meet the Namaste at The Harborage Marina.

Yep, it was a little chilly that morning!

Entrance to the Harborage Marina at the east end of Lake Charlevoix in Boyne City – Namaste Too is home!

Tying lines and arranging fenders for the final time.

A proud Namaste Too taking the slip of The Namaste

Our gold tissue paper and black magic-marker burgee to be replaced by an authentic gold flag waiting for us at home!  Our attempts to have it mailed to us in Canada all failed to reach us so we borrowed one and then finally made our own out of yellow tissue paper and a black marker, evidence of the make-do spirit so often needed on the Loop.

Thank you to the gods and goddesses of so many things, wine for the sea and champagne toasts around.

Congratulations and a certificate of accomplishment  presented by Mike and Nancy of California Lady.

Serious smiles of love and approval.

. . .and final docktales!  Picture blurry, perhaps because the photographer was crying happy tears.

Nate and Leonie doing party set up.

Cafe Sante Dinner – our favorite restaurant on the Loop!

What wonderful endings to our 4 year and 71 day, 7,031′ mile adventure.  We thank everyone for your support, encouragement, blog post comments, texts, calls, emails and visits.  Having a rich life made all the difference and more likely made it possible at all.

It has been painful to write this final blog post, maybe because I am  tired of wrestling with the technology, or because I am just tired of writing but much more likely because I don’t want it to be over.  It has been a labor of love and meant specifically as our legacy of adventure for our soon to be 10 grandchildren.

What next? We will not try to think about what’s next until this adventure feels finished.  We are not there yet.  We crossed our wake and the physicality of the Loop is complete but condensing what we learned about ourselves, each other and the world; acknowledging each morsel of gratitude; cataloging and savoring the memories; and fitting everything into the grand scheme of our lives will take some time.   Clearly we have much to look forward to and we will know when it is time to move on but right now what we know for sure is that it is not time yet!

Best boat name ever:  NAMASTE

Celebratory Looping Dock Ceremony -Thanking the Gods and Godesses:

In the spirit of nautical Looper gratitude we wish to thank:

Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea who has each vessel listed on his ledger of the deep.  He calms the seas and grants successful passage for those he deems worthy.

Neptune, the Roman God, equivalent to Poseidon.

Aeolus (I’-o-lus),  the Greek God of the winds and storms and perhaps the most important God of boating

And yet there is so much more.  We are grateful for the privilege of this mighty adventure. Some specific Gods or more likely Goddesses that will share our eternal gratitude,

in no particular order of importance:

There is the Goddess of the weather: sun, warmth, blue skies, and even a few storms and rainy days along the way

Goddess of the currents, tides, winds, and wind directions,

Goddess of the sky: sun, moon, stars, clouds,

Goddess of sunrises and sunsets

Goddess of biking and walking paths, trees, flowers and red chairs

Goddess of the states and provinces: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, DC, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Quebec, and Ontario

Goddess of the cities: Chicago, St. Louis, Mobile, Sarasota, Venice, Naples, Miami, St. Augustine, Hilton Head, Beaufort, Charleston, Beaufort, Norfolk, Washington DC, Annapolis, Baltimore, NYC, St. Jean’s, Montreal, Ottawa, Kingston, Little Current, Mackinaw Island, Charlevoix, our homeport of Boyne City and the countless villages and towns who open their hearts and doors to boaters around the Loop

Gods of engines, switches, starters, alternators, filters, pumps. . .

Goddess of electronics and electronic information: chart plotters, iPhones, iPads, Macbooks,  Navonics, Aye Tides, CBP Roam, Sail Flow, Wind Alert, Weather.com,  NOAA Weather, Bouy Weather, Weather Underground, Google Earth, and Nebo,

Goddess of marinas, docks and docking, cleats and lines, fenders and fender-boards

Goddess of anchors, snubbers, anchorages, boat batteries and windlesses (manual and electric)

Goddess of personal flotation devices, handrails, and life rings

Gods of electrical sources and water stations, pump-out hoses, and fuel tanks

Goddess of bridges:  fixed, lift, bascule, and swing

Goddess of the locks: big, small, manual, hydraulic,

Goddess of animals, birds, fish and insects that kept us company: the puppies, kitties, dolphins, turtles and alligators, deer and otters and mink;  blue herons, sea gulls, pelicans, osprey, and an eagle or two; butterflies, spiders, mosquitoes and flies and the pesky no-see-ums of south Florida, crabs and countless fish

Goddess of health and wellness:  we thank the Universe for watching over and keeping us and each of you safe over these four years and 71 days.

Thank you to the Namaste and the Namaste Too

And finally thank you to the people – family, friends, lock masters, bridge tenders, marina managers and dock hands, wait staff, meteorologists, mechanics,  fellow loopers/boaters and the helpful local folk all along the way.

To quote Jenny Lynn Girvan: “Thank you for the moments, like beads on a string.”  Each is a treasure!

Completing the Great Loop is so unique that last year more people:

Finished the Boston Marathon – 26,500

Walked the length of the Appalachian Trail – 1100

Climbed Mount Everest – 600

Swam the English Channel – 215

than

Completed the Great American Loop – 150

Namaste & Namaste Too Loop Stats

As Jim and I are not much for spreadsheets, the numbers here range from accurate records to estimates and  a few wild guesses.

Left Boyne City on June 28, 2015

Arrive Charlevoix on September 5, home to Boyne City on September 7, 2019 and home to Highland on September 11, 2019

Four years and 71 days on the Great Loop

217 days traveling

50 months total:  25 aboard and 25 at home

Traveled a total of 7,031 statute miles

August 24-September 2, 2019

August 24 – Killarney

August 25 – Killarney to Little Current (21 miles)

August 27-30 – Little Current

August 31 – Little Current to Meldrum Bay (60 miles)

September 1 – Meldrum Bay to Drummond Island (40 miles)

September 2 – Drummond Island to Mackinaw Island (42 miles)

September 3-4 – Mackinaw Island (gale winds)

Miles traveled this blog: 163

Total miles traveled: 6954

We had been in Killarney twice before when it was a small fishing resort/village.  Most memorable then was seeing a bear just off the road while riding our bikes out to the township park for a picnic on Canada Day, probably 2009.  While we didn’t see a bear this time, someone a week or so before our arrival posted the picture below from our dock!

Killarney Docks

Story has it that a local guy done well, invested millions in the Killarney Mountain Lodge resort/marina/conference center and location extraordinaire.  The good news is that the new structures carry the north country allure and the original Sportsman’s Club still stands as it was 100 years ago with a few welcome improvements including new marina docks.

East entrance into Killarney

The famous Sportsman’s Club and old Killarney

All over Canadian waterways are red chairs such as these signifying a relaxed Canada.  I spent an afternoon sitting here eating blueberries and watching the traffic go by.

Sunset over the west entrance or in our case exit from Killarney

We spent two and a half days with a half dozen Looping boats and much of the surrounding community as it was music festival weekend in Killarney.  Dinners at the famous Fish Restaurant and Sportsman’s Pub, ice cream, long walks, and relaxation were the orders of the weekend.

An historic picture of the Mr. Perch restaurant run out of a bus back in the day.  It is now a new building but the fish are served in the same paper containers, probably by some of the same staff.

The farmer’s market was the best of the rest with $8/pint tiny blueberries bursting with flavor that we ate for days and some fabulous homemade veggie relish.

The entire farmer’s market:  one truck, two tents and great produce

Before we departed on a gorgeous Sunday morning we dingied across the Killarney Bay with Mike and Nancy to Covered Portage, an anchorage where we spent Jim’s birthday – maybe 42^nd – with the Steiners a few years ago 🙂  About 6 boats were anchored in calm waters where the high cliffs give protection from any weather.  Next year. . .

Covered Portage on a Sunday morning

A great dinghy ride with Mike and Nancy

The run to Little Current.  None of the strong winds today!

Looking at weather, we determined to make a run for Little Current as some nasty winds were heading our way.  Ultimately, we spent six days enjoying the Little Current life.  This is the largest community in the North Channel with a city marina, a tour boat and weekly cruise ship visits.  In spite of the frequent marine traffic, there is quite a “little current” running under the swing bridge and through the approach channel making docking a challenge, particularly with the persistent strong winds.  In fact, watching other folks dock became our entertainment of the day.  The town had a laundromat, library, two restaurants, and several stores including an interesting Bargain Barn where we got some free “digestives” (cookies) and paid a dollar for a box of Godiva Chocolate and another dollar for some maple Bousin cheese.

The Anchor Inn, Little Current, Ontario – A landmark and town center for more than 100  years and where we met Janet and Dennis 10+ years ago!

We attended the Little Current Cruisers Net, end of the season, pot luck dinner attended by 70+ boaters including about 10 Loopers.  The food was fabulous, the weather cold and windy, and the door prizes a hoot.  Now I must mention Ray Eaton, the originator and 16 year host of the LC Cruisers Net broadcast every morning 7 days a week at 9 a.m. on VHF channel 71 from June to September.  This is a news, weather, roll call, and call-in service to all boaters in the North Channel.  We attended in person (second floor of the hotel above) one day and listened and participated the remainder of the days from our radio on the Namaste.   Ray is well known throughout the Great Lakes for this service and we were honored to spend time with him even though he could never quite say the name Namaste and substituted No Mistake instead!Cruiser’s Net pot Luck supper with some mighty interesting folks.

The famous Ray Eaton, host of the Little Current Cruisers Net.  Ray hosts the VHF radio show seven days a week at 9 a.m. from June through September.  We were there for his last broadcast of the season.

A second highlight was taking the local tour boat to Baie Fine and climbing up to Lake Topaz for the view.  This is a famous tourist attraction and since we were running out of time and weather, we would not get there on our boats this year so for something new Nancy and I boarded the trimaran, Le-Grand Heron for an eight-hour boat ride.  Our captains stayed back doing boat chores.  As mentioned above it was windy so the waters were rough and the skies opened up to add to the entertainment but the pictures tell the real story.  If you ever get to Little Current this is a must do.

The truly spectacular Baie Fine fiord.

Lake Topaz at the end of the Baie Finn fiord – (above and below)

  The climb was “easy” by Canadian tour standards.  Nancy and I had a hard time leaving it behind.

The Evinrude (think outboard motors) family cottage at the bottom of Baie Fine and the entrance to the climb to Lake Topaz.  How fitting!

And then the rains came

Thirdly, it was Nancy’s birthday. As a gift Kathy and Ed, on Vitamin Sea, gave her a group tour of the famous Little Current (Ontario Hwy 6) swing bridge compliments of our new friend Bob, the delightful and knowledgeable bridge master who sits in occasionally for Ray (above).  We climbed the outside stairway, were treated to more facts and figures than I can begin to repeat here and were hoping to ride the 11:00 opening but due to rough waters no boats appeared for a requested swing so we contented ourselves with the vista, the story and a tour.

Nancy’s birthday party/progressive dinner.  Dessert was blueberry pie carried in a back pack, later known as blueberry cobbler.

The famous Little Current swing bridge swinging to let us through.

We climbed this outdoor stairway in 20-30 knot winds.  Note the swirling current below.

Bob, the local bridge master who knows everything there is to know about this bridge and these waters.

Looking at the next weather system to come through we skipped Gore Bay and pushed on to  Meldrum Bay with a helpful dockmaster but no room at the Inn for dinner.  Again, next year. . .

Here is one brilliant idea of putting colored picnic tables at the end of each dock helping those who have no idea where they are going find their assigned space in the marina.  In this case we were on the west side of the orange dock – bow in port side tie!!

More red chairs – these oversized folding chairs mark the end of the road – literally – Highway 540 ends in Meldrum Bay

From Meldrum it was a nice trip to Drummond Island, our first American port since Lake Champlain over two months ago!  As we crossed into American waters we took down the Canadian flag and using the ROAM app attempted to clear customs – really the only option.    The short version of the story is that we logged in and complied with required steps but when it was time for the video chat with a customs official he could see but could’t hear us so promptly hung up.  I then called the help number where someone told me that I wasn’t on the passenger manifest so he denied the request, suggesting that I go back in and add myself to the trip.  Since I had absolutely no idea what he meant I mustered all the tenacity I could and went back to the app, kept trying things, resubmitted the request, and this time the video chat officer reported that he could hear but could not see us.  Not exactly sure what I said but at this point he kindly replied, “well, it probably isn’t your fault so I will approve you for reentry!”  Yay, within seconds we had our official notification and on we came.  Given my level of angst I can only imagine the frustration of the officers with the relatively new online process to say nothing of my ongoing respect for anyone not a citizen trying to enter this country.

Whew!  Thank you Canada for an excitingly beautiful summer!  Also happy to be back in the USA.  Enjoy your stay?  We live here!  Sure hope we are legal!

Drummond is a large island with a beautiful old marina which opened in 1945!  We did a few maintenance of life activities, had dinner at the Northwoods restaurant and headed out the next morning for Mackinaw Island.  We guessed and were correct that this would be a slightly lumpy but doable ride arriving at the Mackinaw State Marina in time to take a carriage ride and share stories at dock-tales with Melody in Sea, California Lady, and Cantata.

Our entrance into the Mackinaw Island State Harbor – always beautiful!!

The Namaste safely in her berth just below the Fort

By late afternoon it is getting chilly and this turned out to be our final official dock-tale event.   It was a fun one in a beautiful place with great people!

Mackinaw Island would be our safe harbor to wait out gale force winds on Tuesday and Wednesday giving us time to enjoy and show off one of our favorite places.  Tuesday was miserable enough outside that we spent the day relaxing, organizing and relishing one of our last days aboard the Namaste for the 2019 season.  Wednesday was a beautiful but still windy day so we walked and walked and walked enjoying the old haunts and finding a few new ones.  Preparing ourselves for what would be our last travel day on the Loop.  Stay tuned for the final Wave From Namaste blog entry. . .

It is a longer story but on windy/rainy  Tuesday Mike helped us figure out how to change our name to Namaste in the AIS data system that shows flashing tiny boats on your chart plotter as an information and safety feature.  We have been trying to change this for the 21 months we have owned her.  Now when people call us on the VHF radio we are happily the Namaste!  Thanks Mike!

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My iconic Mackinaw photos

.Lunch at the Iroquois

Ice Cream at Sadie’s of the Grand Hotel

Chili supper onboard the Namaste with singing by Jenny Lynn

. . .and an island walk for Sammy, Leroy, and Mac.  Note the handy fire hydrant for the boys!

Good Boat Name:  Living in Awe

Bad Boat Name:  Marine Disaster (no kidding)

Quote of the Day:  “Destroy the idea that you have to be constantly working in order to be successful.  Embrace the concept that rest, recovery, and reflection are essential parts of the progress toward a successful and happy life.”  Zack Galifianakis

Happy birthday to: Erin, Nancy

Love and energy to the Bahamian people of the Abaco Islands.  A  paradise lost!

Sammy Sayz:  Boy do I need a haircut or what?  They keep snipping here and there so that I can see.  The picture below was taken two weeks ago so you can only imagine.  Jo Ann calls me her rag-a-muffin but the “boys” (Leroy and Mac) don’t seem to care. Being the only girl is a plus!

August 14-23, 2019

August 14 – Hockey Stick Bay (previous blog)

August 15 – Indian Harbor/Bands Island (14 miles)

August 16 – Henry’s Fish Restaurant (11 miles)

August 17 – 18 Kilcousie Bay and Killbear Marina (5 miles)

August 19 – Regatta Bay (12 miles)

August 20-21 – Wright’s Marina (47 miles)

August 22 – Bad River (30 miles)

August 23 – Collins Inlet and Killarney (40 miles)

Miles this blog:  159

Total miles traveled: 6833

We are currently on the eastern shore of the Georgian Bay (GB) which is on the eastern shore of Lake Huron which is on the eastern shore of our beautiful Michigan where we will cross our wake in a couple of weeks.  Draw a line due west from Severn at the bottom of the Georgian Bay and it will take you to Traverse City and from Killarney at the top of the GB it will take you to Mackinaw Island.  As mentioned in the previous blog, we were happy to be into the open, rugged and pristine waters of the Georgian Bay.  However, this area is not as open as it first appears as it is also known as the land of 30,000 islands meaning that the coast is sprinkled with large and small picturesque rocks.  Many are covered with trees, bushes and wildflowers growing from cracks where earth accumulated and seeds sprouted sometime between yesterday and 100 years ago.  Buildings dot the landscape here and there with the occasional marina or tiny community.   Otherwise it is a mecca of beautiful bays, cuts, and inlets creating endless unique anchorages.

Unlike others who elected to diagonally cross the bay directly to Killarney, we decided to gunk-hole or move from anchorage to anchorage up the 100+ mile coast and I am so glad we did!

As planned we finally met up with Mike, Nancy and Leroy on California Lady in Hockey Stick Bay on our Mike’s birthday – how appropriate. We spent a glorious afternoon swimming and sharing dinner together on Melody in Sea.  There were several boats anchored nearby for the day but by nightfall it was just the three looper boats and a sailboat or two left in the bay.

A great swim

A sea plane – picture right off our anchored bow.

Mike helping to tie the Namaste stern to a tree – Med style

Help with raising the mast after the many weeks of reduced air draft needed to get under all the bridges of this leg.

Sunset and a full moon reflection in Hockey Stick Bay

On to Indian Bay the next day, a short two-hour trip allowing time for resting, swimming, and playing once we got anchored.  There were 12 other boats anchored with us on a Saturday but it was a large bay and no risk of swinging into one another. We dinghied through a tiny channel between rocks out to the open water and saw perhaps our most beautiful day’s end of the GB.  I didn’t have my phone as it was too risky riding in the dinghy and climbing rocks with an un-backed-up device so no visual report.

Picture credit goes to a Looper with a drone.  Posted to the AGLCA FB page from an unknown anchorage in the Georgian Bay

The following day we up-anchored early heading to Henry’s Fish Restaurant and Marina, a not-to-miss establishment and indeed we found the fish to be delicious and the people kind.  Captain Jim had been silently questioning the battery capacity/charge/etc. so instead of anchoring a fifth night in a row we decided to stay plugged-in getting those pesky batteries all filled up.  We have a portable generator for just in case but determining if there was an issue was more the point so we stayed the night learning much about running a popular restaurant from a small island.  By morning all was good so on we went to Kilcoursie Bay.

Seaplanes, boats and wave runners the popular modes of transport.

Sunset at Henry’s

Sunrise over the Namaste at Henry’s

Kilcoursie bay is surrounded a Provincial Park with more activity on a Sunday than we had seen in a while.  We had front and center seats to a women’s kayaking class that lasted the better part of two days and we experienced some of the best hiking of the trip along beaches, in forests and on top of huge rock formations sculpted by glaciers.  Still a little nervous about the battery issue and with high winds predicted we ducked into the Killbear Marina for a night where the fun began.

Captain Jim doesn’t look too nervous here.

Hiking the trails

We were napping in the aft cabin on a Monday afternoon with a fan cooling the air around us when, all of a sudden, the fan stopped.  Jumping up, we learned that our section of the dock had lost power but no big deal as that was a marina problem.  Well, when everyone else’s power returned and Nancy continued baking her Key Lime Pie which was perhaps the source of the original problem, we had nothing.  Had we blown the entire electrical system on the Namaste too?  Our not frequent but scary touch with, would this be the end of our Loop?   After much chin scratching and problem-solving conversation, Walt, the marina manager and master technician came aboard and took over.  The responsible culprit was a $70 battery switch which he had in stock and which was likely the source of our charging problems of the last few days.  Whenever such things happen we see is $$$$ but this time we celebrated with California Lady by dressing up with clean t-shirts and enjoying a surprisingly delicious dinner at the upstairs marina restaurant.

Next up we headed to Hopewell Bay but the 30 mph wind gusts and open water helped us decide to cut short and stay in Regatta Bay instead, perhaps one of my favorite anchorages of the trip.  With California Lady we were the only two boats in the bay until late when a sailboat joined us.  A highlight of this stay was observing an adolescent/middle school group of boys on a kayac/camping trip from a few hundred yards.  We could hear their voices and music off in the distance gently reminding us of our grandchildren and our own youth.  In fact, grandson Lee is currently experiencing such a trip north of Sudbury, Ontario with his 8^th grade Steiner School class.  We explored the bays around us in Mike’s (California Lady) “hard” dinghy coming upon the boat JADIP (Just Another Day in Paradise) with whom we had managed many of the Trent-Severn locks.  Anchored off by themselves we learned that it was a sad day as one of their two geriatric Bishons, Biscuit, had fallen and was injured on top of her already several chronic illnesses.  They had made arrangements to backtrack to Killbear Marina where they would meet a vet and lay their beloved Biscuit to rest the following morning.  We left them to share their final day together commenting that she would come to her end in one of the most beautiful places on earth . . . and so it was.

Two of seven kayaks of Middle school boys in Regatta Bay.

Dinghy riding with Mike and Nancy

Best Loon picture so far

Dinghying and climbing

Latrine in Regatta Bay for campers and hikers I’m guessing.  We saw neither.

The pirates.  Mike got a haircut and Jim a beardcut today!

Since we were in need of provisions and a pump-out we happily found Byng Inlet and Wright’s Marina in Britt Ontario, regrouping with Melody in Sea and several other Loopers.  Surprise of surprises they offered a great internet connection so I got the last blog posted and paid bills but intentionally decided not to look at the news.  Britt was a small community sporting a two-story cement block building that housed the grocery store, hardware store, gas station, restaurant and where we ate possibly the worst pizza ever but enjoyed a glass of wine and wonderful conversation.  A most special dock-tale event occurred one evening with spontaneous entertainment by Jim on Steelaway who is currently a Looper but a Sea-Tow Captain in his real life.  Sea-Tow is a marine towing/rescue/salvage operation similar to Boat US in Michigan. His stories ranged from the fascinating to the terrifying to the hilarious with most of us experiencing considerable relief that it wasn’t me he was talking about!  Although in the end there was a general consensus that each story could have happened to any one of us on any given day.

Sea Tow dock-tale stories

Changing of the Coast Guard at the Byng Inlet Light

We perused the coast up to the Bad River.  Now there is nothing bad about the Bad River except that the channels are narrow and the shores rocky but that has been our cruising life since we entered the Georgian Bay.  Of these 30,000 islands, many are submerged and dictate that you maintain your course through the center of the green and red markers, allowing for not a moment’s distraction.  We decided to put the anchor down early to explore the Bad River by dinghy plus climbing and were thus treated to perhaps the most unique examples of geography and geology yet.  Until now we had experienced spotty Verizon phone coverage, some 3G, and almost no LTE data availability but for this 48 hours the upper left corner of my iphone 7 said No Service and it felt good!

Great example of the rock navigation hazards in GB

Our final day in the Georgian Bay began by retracing our wake back out of the Bad River and ended in Killarney through the awe inspiring, fiord-like Collins Inlet, a 20 mile passage as we began our trek to the west across the top of Lake Huron into the North Channel.  Local reports suggested that we not miss this passage and I can say nothing better than a quote from Captain Jim, “I feel like I am living in a National Geographic Magazine.”  The grey, pink, and white granite cliffs were something of a fairy tale.

Photos below are of the Collins Inlet – no commentary needed.

As the Collins Inlet widened back into the GB we scooted along with glassy, open seas into the Killarney Channel and what we consider to be our “home-waters”. We have boated here on and off since the mid 1980’s with Ron and Marilyn Steiner on Connectivity and our own Fuji ketch, the original and sadly missed, NAMASTE.  Killarney was a more than welcome sight and the beginning of reflection.  Stay tuned.

Kayakers dwarfed by the scenery

Lighthouse welcoming us to Killarney, the North Channel and home waters.

Good boat name:  Dues Paid

Bad boat name:  Sotally Tober

Happy birthday to: Sally and Brooke

Happy anniversary to:  Mike and Nancy (29) and Curt and Brooke (9)

Quote of the day:  “The one who plants trees, knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least stated to understand the meaning of Life.”  Rabindranath Tagore

Rest in peace: Pretty Biscuit

August 8-14, 2019

August 8 & 9 – Remain in Bobcaygeon – Lock #32 because of wind

August 10 – Bobcaygeon to Rosedale Lock #35 (19 miles & 3 locks)

August 11 – Rosedale Lock to Talbot Lock #38 (21 miles & 3 locks)

August 12 – Talbot Lock to Orillia City Marina (21 miles & 4 locks)

August 13 – Orillia to the Big Chute (33 miles & 2 locks)

August 14 – Big Chute to Hockey Stick Bay, GB (25 miles, THE BIG CHUTE and 1 lock)

Miles traveled this Blog: 119 miles

Total Miles Traveled: 6696

This blog entry covers the final third of the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW), locks #32 through #45 and while we have gotten miles and locks better at this, it remains an effort with lots of unknowns and potential for missteps and mishaps. It was vital to maintain focus!

See that focus!

After two days on the wall in Bobcaygeon because of wind and rain, shopping and a park concert, we set off early for Fenelon Falls.  The lock wall there had power and it would be exciting to get everything charged up again.  Upon approach, however, we quickly assessed the crowd, busyness of the place, and then the fact that within seconds a small 12′ fishing boat had taken up the middle of a 100’ section of  “our” wall.  The wind was blowing, the channel exit narrow, and absolutely no way to turn around.  Chaos reigned momentarily until Captain Jim backed the Namaste enough to turn left into the channel and exit under a notched cut in an abandonded railroad bridge and we were outta there.  Now whenever I cannot remember where something happened, it happened in Fenelon Falls.

We proceeded several miles to the next lock of Rosedale with a quiet little park and as peaceful an afternoon and night as we have spent.  We walked over five miles  enjoying the late summer wildflowers, a few cozy cottages and conversations  with some local folks.

One of so many beautiful hikes.

The following day we faced three locks, one of which was Kirkfield and similar in style to Peterborough with the large tubs that gravity transitions up and down with the help of 1300 tons of water. The difference was that it was newer and reinforced with steel girders instead of cement so it didn’t look quite as intimidating and after all we had already done one of these.  Piece of cake!

Kirkfield Lock – same tub operation but without the fancy structure of Peterborough.

Guess who in the Kirkfield Lock

View out of the tub on our way down the Kirkfield Lock.  Picture compliments of Jenny Lynn who had the front seat view.

It became a windy Sunday afternoon of narrow, shallow, busy and rocky channels so not much fun, particularly with approaching recreational vessels going way too fast for Looper liking.

Narrow

Rocky and Shallow

Busy!   Please, please don’t let there be boats coming the other way!

We celebrated the day’s end with a pot luck in the Talbot Park including reindeer sausage  (don’t tell the children) served compliments of our new and interesting Alaskan friends on Summer Lynn.

Not to worry, I got this!

After an uneventful crossing of Lake Simcoe, we arrived at the Orillia City Marina where we used their free laundry and provisioned for the next couple of weeks we will spend in some of the most remote places on the Loop.

Just after Lake Simcoe was the town of Orillia and a welcome stop with the delightful surprise of one of the finest parks in Ontario.  I just love to say the name:  Lake Couchiching

Now about the Big Chute!  I know, I know, there has been much emphasis on lifts and locks but since we have traversed over 100 since we left home in May, they do deserve respectful attention.  Since our life is as one-day-at-a-time as you get, we hadn’t attended to the upcoming lift until we got there.  Well, it quickly became another highlight, engineering wonder and perhaps favorite.  As recommended, we spent a night tied to their dock watching the process and eating breakfast at a their tiny marina restaurant to assuage our anxiety until it was our turn to move to the blue line ready to go through.  The pictures say it all but in a nutshell, instead of creating a regular lock lifting the boat with water from one level to another like everywhere else, this site is to “chute” us onto a huge railroad car, hang us from slings out of the water, take us up, over and down a hill on tracks and then chute us back into the water some 58’ below.   Happily, I can report that it went as smoothly as taking the train from Ann Arbor to Chicago only a lot faster.

Summer Lynn entering  the Big Chute

. . .Namaste going up to the top of the hill

. . . cresting the hill

. . .starting down

  . . .and sliding back into the water!  Whew!

In the disappointment category, we missed seeing Brian’s family cottage which we have heard about for more than 20 years.  We had the address and knew which day we should pass by but when google maps told me it was 13 miles away I figured we had about two hours at 7 mph.  Well, of course that was driving distance, not waterway route and we went flying by.  None the less, this section was the most beautiful of the TSW and probably of the trip so far.  I will include several pictures but not the one I wish we had taken of Brian’s cottage.

Ooops, oh shoot we missed it completely!

Just two of many beautiful homes along the TSW

Had to include this picture of the wall of our very last lock and yes, I did wear gloves!

We left the Big Chute and headed a couple of miles to lock #45 at Port Severn.  When the final lock doors opened (and not easily I might add but that is another story) we immediately emerged into the open waters of Georgian Bay with hoots and hollers of celebration.

Into wide open water and no more locks!

The Trent-Severn (241 miles and 45 locks) was a huge accomplishment. We are proud and happy that we did it but also are not sad that it is done.  A warm shout out to the Canadian Park Service for their time, efforts and patience in providing a wonderful boating experience.

Good boat name:  License to Chill

Bad boat name:  Phat Girl (again, probably has meaning to someone)

Happy Birthday to: Mike, Carrie

Congratulations to: Camps Lookout and Carvella for a wonderful summer, now closed for the season.  Where has summer gone?

Lexi for a successful engineering internship and return to MSU as a junior.

Happy new home to:  Rena and Linda – we will miss you!!

Rest in peace: Margaret

August 2 – 7, 2019

(Readers, please feel free to skip this paragraph as it is more for our records than of interest to you!)

August 2 – TSW Lock 12 Campbellford to Rice Lake Anchorage (33 miles & 5 locks)

August 3 – Rice Lake to Peterborough City Marina (24 miles & 1 lock)

August 5 – Peterborough Marina to Lock 22 at Nassau Mills (5 miles & 3 locks)

August 6 – Lock 22 to Lock 26 at Lakefield (5 miles & 4 locks)

August 7 – Lock 26 to Lock 31 at Buckhorn (22 miles & 3 locks)

August 8 – Lock 31 Buckhorn to Lock 32 at Bobcaygeon (18 miles & 0 locks but weather)

Miles traveled this blog: 107

Total Miles Traveled:  6567

After three days at Campbellford celebrating and preparing, we ventured into more locking challenges.  On the waterways before the Trent Severn (TSW) we had been alone in the locks or with Melody but now the traffic picked up and locking became a three but most often four boat adventure.  Thus, more difficult and time-consuming waiting for space, getting everyone in, secured and back out again safely.  Captain skill levels vary considerably!

On our first night out of Campbellford we anchored in Rice Lake.  It was a gorgeous day and the forecasts were all good so we pulled up to a beautiful spot within First Nation territory, dropped anchor and had a refreshing swim, tasty dinner, quiet evening and energizing cup of morning coffee onboard.

Sunset complete with fire tower watching over the islands.

Melody, in first light.

See the ripple (center) caused by a little fish in the stillness.

Daybreak, 8/3/19

The 45 locks on the TSW are really only 42 because some locks are “missing” or were decommissioned years ago.  However, I mainly want to highlight the Peterborough Lift Lock, the most spectacular so far.  We arrived a day ahead of our planned lift in order to take a tour of the lock and understand how it works, what to expect and what will be expected of us going through.   The Parks Canada people were more than accommodating to the 12 Loopers.

Approach to Peterborough Lift Lock – only slightly intimidating!

Peterborough Lift Lock looking up.

Peterborough Lift Lock looking down.

The shaft that carries on tubs – looking at ground level.  There is an 85′ hold in the ground that the shaft descends and raises with each lift for each tub.

On tour under the lift learning more than I ever cared to know about physics!

Jim and Dan conversing with the Lift Lock Master and tour guide.  What a great teacher!

Lucky Julie (Pilgrim) was selected to work the lock for a complete lift including p.a. announcements for the crowds.  Go Julie Go!

Our tour group including Misty, Encore, JADIP, Pilgrim, Melody and Namaste!

Briefly, the famous Peterborough Lift Lock was completed in 1904 at a cost of $500,000 and was an engineering marvel of the time (look for it on YouTube).  The mechanism basically consists of two tubs side-by-side, each weighing 1300 tons when filled.  One tub is always up and the other is always down balancing one another.  Boats (1-6/tub depending upon size) enter the lower tub and others enter the higher tub at the upper level.  When it is time to transition or lower one and raise the other, an extra foot of water (130 tons) is released into the upper tub allowing it to push down 65’ and raise the lower tub 65’ to the top level taking only 90 seconds.  The tubs are then fastened into place and that extra foot of water is released from what is now the lower tub.  The gates open and everyone goes happily on their way.  Actually, this type of lift is in some ways easier to manage because there is no water turbulence involved for the boaters.   An important take away was that the simplicity of design has withstood the test of time.  Any attempts to upgrade it with newer technology have ended in disappointment.

This picture is a little confusing but taken by me as we were lifting and the other tub (center bottom) was lowering.  Note the rounded grate access door and the orange life ring.

Then it was full speed ahead to complete the many locks, tying-up overnight to the rural, pristine adjacent parks with no power or facilities but an abundance of peace and quiet.  Two consecutive nights we slept to the tune of muffled but roaring waterfalls.  Have I mentioned the Loons?  We have seen and heard several but they are difficult to photograph as they prefer to dive.  However, two have responded to Jim’s Loon whistle by rearing, puffing their white chests, and spreading their wings in acknowledgement of their reputation and beauty.  Next to the Blue Heron, my favorite bird of the trip!

My best Loon photo so far!

At last the pressure of continuous locks has subsided and we find ourselves in the middle of Ontario Cottage Country, northwest of Toronto – spectacular and clearly the highlight of the Trent-Severn Waterway.  There aren’t words so I will let the photos speak for themselves.

Today our plan had been to get to Fenelon Falls but we bailed below the Bobcaygeon Lock due to the weather forecast of thunderstorms and high winds.  We grabbed a coveted, free wall with power deciding to spend the day and night.  There seems to be good shopping here too!   At first it looked like the weather might pass over but we are currently sitting in one of the heaviest downpours we have seen all summer accompanied by lightening, low visibility and high winds.  Whew, dodged that bullet. Captain Jim, thanks for the right call!  Since the winds tomorrow are predicted in the 20-33 range we will probably stay another day.

Namaste at rest in Bobcaygeon

If there aren’t flowers it isn’t Canada!

Good Boat Name:  Sun Burn (on a sailboat with red canvass)

Bad Boat Name:  Cirrhosis of the River

Quote of the Day:  “We cannot force someone to hear a message they are not ready to receive, but we must never underestimate the power of planting a seed.”  _the Mankind Project

Happy Birthday to:  Joe, Judy, Libby, Kirsten,

Congratulations to:  Author Mike on his new book, Grind.  We are so very proud of you!

Kingston’s Confederation Basin to a mooring ball in Picton, Ont. (38 miles and 0 locks)

Picton to Port Trent Marina (42 miles and 0 locks)

Port Trent Marina onto the Trent Severn Waterway (TSW)  Lock #7 (8 miles and 7 locks)

TSW Lock #7 to Lock #12 and Campbellford (17 miles and 5 locks)

Miles traveled this blog: 105

Total miles traveled:  6460

Kingston was a wonderful stay with great shops, where Jim bought a new hat, I added to my pitcher collection and we had a delightful dinner at Cheze Piggy.  After three days of rest and regrouping we moved on to the small town of Picton where we picked-up (pun intended) a mooring ball at the local yacht club, toured town and enjoyed a most peaceful evening on the fly bridge after the threat of a storm that never materialized.  We declined an invitation to a dart throwing competition at the yacht club.

The boat next to us at sunset on a ball in Picton

Jim rowing Sammy back from her morning walk at the Yacht Club

A Great Blue Heron in the golden glow of sunrise.

Meeting up with Dan and Jenny Lynn on Melody going into Trenton, Ontario

This day led us into the lovely Port Trent  marina where we stayed two nights.  Great people, nice amenities and free laundry (it is the little things in life)!  The showers rank in the top 5 of those visited throughout the Loop and may end up second only to our home-port at the Harborage in Boyne City!

Port Trent City Marina – one of the best yet!  All Loopers pass here and stage for beginning the Trent Severn.

Dock-Tales at Port Trent and some people with whom we are still traveling.

We are now beginning to merge with the Loopers with whom we parted ways at Waterford on their way through the Erie Canal – a much shorter route than the Northern Triangle (Champlain, Chambly, Richelieu, St. Lawrence, Ottawa River, and Rideau) that we had just accomplished but we all then meet here at the mouth or east end of the Trent-Severn Waterway for the next leg of the trip.

Now, lest you think this adventure is all about reading True Love Magazine and eating chocolate bonbons, let me tell you about the next two days.  Not wanting to travel on the weekend with the local recreational boaters, we left the marina early on Monday morning heading to the fuel dock for diesel and a pump out and then on to Lock #1 just a mile ahead.

There is another boat on the other side of the one on the far right.  By the time we got docked there were 5 more boats waiting.

We arrived at the fuel dock only to determine that we were 6^th in line. There wasn’t room to tie up so we proceeded to dance around out in the river awaiting someone’s departure.  Finally, we were waved into a much too small space next to a construction site where air hammers and suction machines where pounding and whining away at top speed and decibels.  You can see the yellow digger to the left.  The noise was beyond intolerable and Sammy had that stressed, get me out of here look on her face.  Two hours and forty minutes after leaving our slip at the marina we finally pulled away from the dock with 440 liters of diesel, a pump out and our pockets lighter by $600.   However, not before our gas tank burped some air spilling diesel all over the port side deck, the result of a too-fast fill combined with a plugged vent caused by a mud-dobber!  Even after efforts at clean up, the smell permeated our day.  But alas, we crossed under the bridge into the long-awaited Trent Severn Waterway.  Our plan was to clear 6 locks and stay at the town of Frankford meeting up with friends from the fleet of 2015 on Sum Escape.

All went well for Locks 1-5 when the wind kicked up and we learned that there wasn’t any room for us at Lock 6.  Either we would stay at Lock 5 or move on to Lock 7 where the preferred dockage was at the top of the lock so one more lock to climb.  For good or ill we moved on to the bottom of lock 7 hoping to beat some of the crowd staying at lock 6 while waving at friends Tom and Julie as we passed by.  The TSW locks are somewhat harder (higher lift, smaller space and more turbulent) than those we had encountered previously and I was having trouble holding the bow line tight around the cable.  In addition, during Lock 6 the boat-hook jammed between the windshield of the boat and the lock wall with the boat bouncing and me unable to do anything.  Jim yelled at me to “let go” which, of course, was not the issue.  Miraculously the current in the lock shifted, the wall let go of the boat and the mangled hook was set free with neither the boat nor me any the worse for wear.  At this point in the day we were exhausted and ready to stop but had to push on to complete another 8 miles (about an hour) and yet one more lock before we managed an untidy tie-up for the night some 10 hours after our showers that morning.  Oh, did I mention that the heat index was 94 and while there was power at Lock 6, not so at Lock 7?  Jenny Lynn and Dan had us for supper and we relished in their generator driven air conditioning but still slept on the Namaste in smothering heat.

Namaste docked at the top of Lock #7.  Nothing around except a rusty old railroad swing bridge that hasn’t been used in years.

We wrote it off as a less that pleasant day and hoped for a better start in the morning but not so.  We awoke to light rain predicted to last all day and while we could have stayed at Lock #7 there was absolutely nothing there so we risked moving forward.  Locks 8-10 went well.  The rain and cooler temps were actually welcomed and the visibility remained good.

Except for getting pretty wet, we easily proceeded to Locks 11 & 12 just prior to our destination of Campbellford.  We entered the huge lift lock with no problems, placed our bow and stern lines around the cables (see the black lines hanging from the top of the cement along the sides of the lock) and I walked to mid-ship to turn off the engine – a lock rule instituted to reduce the diesel fumes for health and safety.  As I did so the lock master announced over an unexpected loud speaker “hold onto your lines, we are going up,” – sounding as if he was announcing some kind of carnival ride!

Lock #11 going in.  (picture taken later on a walk as we are way too busy to shoot pics during the locking procedure)

Lock #11 from above – about a 25 foot lift.

As I moved quickly forward to get my lines around a cleat for stability, water gushed into the chamber and threw the Namaste’s bow left, away from the right side wall with me watching as the lines slid right out of my hands and the bow continuing to swing left toward the opposite wall.  This was a disaster in the making but three things were on our side:  the length of the Namaste was longer than the width of the chamber so we couldn’t get sideways or even worse rotated in the lock; the anchor kept the bow of the boat from scraping against the wall; and thirdly Captain Jim was still at the stern hanging on tightly to his line. As terrified and helpless as I felt for what seemed like an eternity the water eventually quit gushing whirlpools of water at us and as it settled, I pushed hard for several minutes to get us off the offending wall while Jim was able to pull us back snug to the appropriate wall. I got my line back around the cable and we proceeded as if nothing had happened. Dan standing on the stern of Melody, just 6 feet ahead of us watching said, and I quote, “Now that was quite a side-trip.”  Although funny now, at the time I was ready to throw in the towel or anything within my reach at anyone within hitting distance.  My arm and shoulder muscles are still sore today!  We have completed 12 of the  42 locks on the TSW with 30 to go before we get into the open water of the Georgian Bay.

A mile and a half later we were tied up to the city wall, in a peaceful park with power in the darling town of Campbellford.  It was a pay for two nights and get a third night free so we are happily staying three.

Chamber of Commerce tourist center, boat marina, and licensing bureau!

Huge Replica of the Toonie – Canadian $2 coin.

Dinner in the Park with our boating buddies, the Girvans.

Namaste docked at the Campbellford Old Mill Park.  Lovely spot!

After a good night’s sleep and a sharp talking to myself, I was back in shape enough to begin planning for Jim’s 75th birthday!  It turned out to be a wonderful day beginning with a four-mile hike to the Ranney Falls Gorge and walk across the suspension bridge, sharing a pan of pecan rolls at the Doohers Bakery, a beard trim, reading, naps, dock-tales on Melody and a fabulous dinner at Antonia’s Bistro for 12 Loopers complete with Jim’s favorite, a carrot cake.  It may be one of our most memorable Looping restaurant meals!  Happy birthday Buddy!

Sammy, what do you mean you’re not going to walk on that grate?

A couple hundred yard run just for fun!

Dock-Tales and laughs on Melody

Dinner at Antonia’s

A big birthday wish!

Good Boat Name:  Gratitude Adjustment

Quote of the Day: “Here in Canada, many of us believe we are witnessing the fall of the U.S. empire.  Would a civilized country limit health care or food assistance for the poor; leave crops rotting in the fields; destroy the educational system; target women and attempt to eliminate their reproductive rights while refusing to help resulting babies; abuse desperate immigrants; pretend to believe in Christianity while perverting and debasing its tenets; and refuse to protect the Earth from destruction.  The world is watching.”  Paul F. Hacker

Happy Birthday to Jim and Jane

Feel better soon Margaret

July 14 – Dows Lake to Hurst’s Marina (19 miles and 7 locks)

July 15 – Hurst’s Marina to Merrickville (23 miles and 7 locks)

July 17 – Merrickville to Smith Falls (15 miles and 5 locks)

July 18 – Smith Falls to Newboro Lock (17 miles and 6+2 locks)

July 20  — Newboro to Morton Bay ( 19+6 miles and 7 locks)

July 21 — Morton Bay to Upper Brewers Lock (11 miles and 0 locks)

July 22 — Upper Brewers lock to Kingston (17 miles and 7 locks)

Miles Traveled this Blog:  121

Total Miles Traveled: 6355

As indicated by the title above, we loved traveling the Rideau (pronounce Redo)!  The entire trip from Waterford to Kingston through Champlain, Montreal, Ottawa, and the Rideau is considered a side-trip of the regular Loop route which goes from Waterford through the Erie Canal and to Kingston. This Northern Triangle Loop was a section of the route that we had anticipated as our 2015 boat buddies, Ron and Vicki on Sea to See talked about it often and fondly.  It lived up to every expectation – difficult but beautiful, remote but friendly, cold when they were there in June, 2015 but hot, hot for us in July, 2019!

One of the many picturesque scenes along the Rideau and yes, we had to go through that narrow passage!

 We left Dows Lake on a quiet, beautiful Monday morning with clean laundry, full water tanks, empty holding tank and cupboards & fridge full — ready to traverse the Rideau Canal.  This is yet another Canadian historic canal site operated by the Canadian Parks System the route of which (Ottawa to Kingston) has been in use since the beginning of recorded history.  During the war of 1812 Kingston (at the SE end of the canal on Lake Ontario) was an important British Naval Base and because of the hostilities between England the Americans, the British became concerned about the supply route between Kingston and Quebec and thus, the Rideau Canal was constructed.  Along the way, fortifications were built to defend the waterway against America and remnants can still be seen.  The canal was never used militarily but did support successful commerce until railroad transport became available.  Small towns and villages sprang up along the banks and particularly at the locks.  Today the Rideau is a pleasure craft highway but has maintained the rural nature and historic manual operation of 170 years ago.  It is a national treasure!  The route is 126 miles with 49 locks depending on how you count them but that is another story.

Remember these?  Christ Craft of the 1950’s.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull allowing our safe passage!

Rements of a Shoal Tower – One of the types of fortification along the Rideau

After miles of gorgeous scenery, beautiful homes and quaint cottages, our first stop was Hurst Marina because it had a pool and the heat was blistering 90+ after 9 pm.  We swam for several hours getting our body temperatures down while the plugged-in Namaste was generating cool air for sleeping.  The only time we can run air conditioning is when we are plugged in at a dock through a big yellow cord.  This is becoming important!

Captain Jim swimming in the pool.  I cannot explain how refreshing it felt that day.

Next stop was Merrickville and perhaps the most interesting of our stops along the Rideau.  It is a darling little town with a blockhouse museum and park right at the lock.  Shopping was high-end with lots of cute, unusual and yet unnecessary stuff.  I so wanted to bring home a 10’ metal giraffe sculpture but Jim said I would have to sleep with him.  Shopping and a pedicure melted away the recent stressful and hot 7 lock days.  After solving some non-urgent medical issues in the group we shared a lovely dinner and ice cream with Dan and Jenny Lynn!  We even made an early run to Nana B’s bakery for her famous butter tarts the morning we left.

Heading to dinner in Merrickville across the lock from the Namaste.

Nanna B makes great butter tarts and beautiful flowers!

Smith Falls lock and a larger but less quaint town welcomed us.  Most importantly we encountered our first close-up Loon and Swan in route.  The Falls were lovely but even better was the Smith Falls “beach” on a 90+ degree evening.  The beach was really a laddered cement wall in a clean water basin offering us the first real lake swimming of the season.  We stayed afloat on our noodles as the raft accommodated the towns young teens:  running, jumping, screaming and splashing until almost dark — just like the old days on any lake in Michigan.

Our nightly goal was to stay up long enough to hear the Loons

Sammy says “hi” but when no food appeared the Swan hissed at her and moved on.

A few more bridges and locks and we arrived at the Newboro Lock.  As you can see by our mileage above, our daily progress was slow with between 5 and 7 locks to manage with intense heat and a growing collection of boats with whom we traveled.  The more boats in a lock the longer it takes.  The more boats in the waterway the longer the waits.  We spent two nights here because we had power, thus air for  better cooking and sleeping.  We swam off this dock in the lake at the end of the lock.

Peaceful and some of the best swimming so far.  Water temps were 80 degrees F.

A homemade vessel on a three week holiday.  The captain wants to do the Loop but wife says, not on this boat!!!

Morton Bay was by far the highlight of the Rideau as far as serenity and beauty.  We arrived Saturday afternoon to lots of boats in the anchorage and everyone playing in the water.  After two attempts we got the anchor to hold, put on our suits and joined the fun.  By 8 pm all local boats were gone except Melody and Namaste as severe thunderstorm warnings had been posted.  We were concerned but felt save in our totally protected anchorage with high stone cliffs around us.  The storms never materialized and we heard Loons and saw a far off lightening show late into the evening.  The following morning was likely one of the longest and most peaceful cups of coffee we have shared in our 53 years together.  Even a little skinny dipping (no pictures)!

One of the highlights of anchoring:  Sammy to shore at least 3X a day.

Does it get any more lovely than this!

Another issue are the weeds that sometimes come up with the anchor.  It was as big and heavy as a Christmas tree but a few whacks with the machete knife and they fell away.

The following day was a short 11 miles and no locks to Upper Brewers Bay where we secured above another lock on a powered dock.  Funny story here!  The lock master asked us to move the Namaste up the dock so that a 44’ houseboat could pull into the space behind us.  Fair enough until we learned that he was having engine trouble and could only move forward at high rpms – too fast for docking. About ten men including the staff helped him out of the lock, turned 180 degrees around and cozied up to the dock behind us without hitting anything, including us.  Hear applause!  Carburetor class then ensued on a picnic table with master engineer Dan Girvan teaching the specifics of unclogging the idle and low speed carburetor jets.  Success – again, hear applause and a very grateful houseboat owner!

Ahhhhh, fresh water lake swimming!

The next morning we were first into the lock with three larger-than-us boats destined to travel together for the day.  After squeezing into 7 locks with only inches to spare on each end and between boats, a nerve weary group pulled out of the Rideau and into the St. Lawrence Seaway, waited 40 minutes for a 2’ above the water swing bridge to open and scurried for the Confederation Basin in Kingston, Ontario.  We will stay here three nights to regroup, provision, do the laundry, change the oil and manage some sight-seeing of this lovely city which hosts Queens University and three colleges.  It has finally cooled down and we love having the boat windows open and sight-seeing in the cool fresh air.

Yet another unusual bridge as we head into Kingston.  Note the three small sailing school vessels ahead.

Guess where we are?

Nobody has a prettier waterfront park than Kingston, Ontario.

Good Boat Name:  Soul Purpose

Bad Boat Name:  Sooper Pooper (now really – did I say we weren’t seeing bad names?)

Quote of the Day: 

Happy Birthday to:  Dawn, Lynn

Happy Baby Felix at 4 months:Caption:  Of course I want to go boating with Grandma and Grandpa!

Happy Super Starter Lookout Campers: Nate & Leonie (lost a front tooth the first official day of camp).

July 9-14, 2019

July 9 – Rockcliffe Boathouse Marina

July 10 – Stair-Step Locks into downtown Ottawa (2 miles)

July 11 – Ottawa

July 12 – Ottawa to Dow’s Lake (3.5 miles)

July 13 Dow’s Lake

Miles traveled this blog: 5.5

Total miles traveled:  6184.5

As excited grandparents, it was a long day waiting to go to the airport to meet our 13 year old grandson, Lee’s, flight into Ottawa-YOW from DTW at 3:45 p.m.  Unfamiliar with this airport and since he was an unaccompanied minor we were determined to leave enough time for any glitches on our end.  We caught an Uber at 12:45 and arrived at the airport at 1:15 learning in route that his flight was delayed by 2 hours.  Back in our dating days we used to go to the Willow Run Airport just to watch the travelers so figured we could easily entertain ourselves.  As it turns out, YOW is a lovely and easy airport but also read that as small.  Jim wondered out-loud how many Tim Horton’s donuts he could eat in the next four hours.  Anyway, Lee arrived at 6 p.m. all smiles and ready for our adventure.

Our happy and healthy 13 year old grandson, Lee

Back at the Namaste we grilled burgers and ate homemade potato salad.  It was an absolutely gorgeous evening so the fast boats were running up and down the river creating some chop bouncing us around.  Lee looked a little askance but as the evening wore on the boat traffic reduced and the Namaste settled down at her mooring and Lee settled into the v-berth. It was early to bed as it would be a 6 am revelry.

We prepared to move the two miles to the bottom of the Ottawa 8 stair-step locks where we met Melody waiting at the blue line of the pre-lock wall.  They had been anchored for several days waiting for us. At 9:00 the Canada Parks team showed up to help us lock through.

A port (left) turn immediately after this bridge and we were at the famous stair-step locks of Ottawa.

The Namaste and crew awaiting entrance into Lock #1

As the morning wore on tourists gathered all along both sides of the canal and at the bridge on top!  We found them to be interested and energizing.

Checking out the locks from the top!  Let’s get this show on the road!

Entering Lock #1 – repeat X7.  The bow deckhand (me) grabs the black cable with a boat hook and wraps a line securely around it while the aft deckhand hopes the boat stays close enough to the wall to grab a following cable and get the line around.  Then as the water gushes into the chamber we must hold the lines keeping the boat secure in it’s place.  Melody was secured on the opposite wall with about 5′ between the two boats.  The captain’s job is to get the boat into the lock and against the wall without gouging all that beautiful wood along the cement walls.  We have certainly had our moments.

Learning the ropes – literally!

“Hey Lee, how is it going back there?  I got this Grandma!”

Lee was our starboard aft deckhand and like the star that he is,  he learned the line and fender routines quickly.  Unfortunately no action shots as I was busy at the starboard bow and Captain Jim was at the helm with the two extra hands a huge bonus.  In fact, we decided that Lee just needed to stay the rest of the summer to help with the Rideau and Trent/Severn locks.   From beginning to end it took 2 hours of intense and careful maneuvering for a perfect, if hot, locking day.  Exhausted, we tied to the city wall just above the locks for days 2 and 3.

On the Ottawa wall – free with our Parks Canada Pass plus $10 for power.  Namaste is about halfway back.  Right in the heart of Ottawa.  Walking distance to everything and yet a quiet and serene setting!

When the work of getting the Namaste into downtown was over and we had a good rest, our time in Ottawa was then a mix of sightseeing; stops to eat and drink along the way as it was hot; multiple games of Gin and Scrabble; giving Sammy a needed bath; and finally trying to save a baby squirrel were all packed into two and a half days.

Changing of the Guard on Parliament Hill complete with bagpipe and marching bands!   Parliament building is to the right.

Keeping everyone safe.  We watched as this medic eyed a guard’s knife accidentally drop to the ground, alerted security who then retrieved it without a break in cadence.  In an unrelated instance we witnessed a man standing on the rail of the bridge at the top of the locks.  Authorities stopped all traffic, cleared the area and had him safely down in short order.

Northern Light and Sound Show on Parliament Hill highlighting Canadian History every single night at 10 p.m. from July 9 thru September 8 since 1984!!!  We were a little eager and our 8:30 arrival resulted in some lengthy lawn sitting but we learned much about the French and English influence on Canada.

The National Art Gallery of Canada!  A spectacular building and great exhibits. The building itself was most welcoming and an exhibit in itself.  See far left of the picture.

Ceiling of the National Gallery taken from the lobby.

Enjoying one of the interior gardens with Lee explaining something or another to us.  His exposure to and interest in art through Veta and Baba was delightful to experience.

Our pretty walk back to the boat along the Rideau Canal park and Locks.

Women are People Monument.  The sculpture depicting the Women’s Movement and 5 important female activists of the time.  All more than life size.

Eternal Flame War Memorial

Healthy stuff

Good stuff at the Byward Outdoor Market

An early morning coffee stop.

Fun dinner at The Grand – local pizza establishment!

Scrabble with a little red licorice mixed in.

   Oh Sammy, We know you hate this but you will smell so much better!

Baby squirrel found by Canal police.  Jim came up with a syringe to feed him a little milk.  Officer Sommers said she would care for him in her pocket until it was time to go home.

On day 4 it was time to think about moving to the Marina at Dows Lake which was close to the airport and allowed Lee a little more Namaste travel time on the Loop.  This brief but beautiful trip felt like we were in the canals of France.

There was a constant stream of bikers and walkers the five miles from Ottawa to Dows Lake.

Dow’s Lake Marina where we spent our final overnight together.  Upon arrival, we all celebrated with a long shower Chicken Parmesan cooked on the boat and a quiet evening before Lee’s 9 am departure.  As any grandparent will attest, sharing time with a precious 13 year old grandson is the best ever.  Such an adventure can also be slightly anxiety provoking that all goes well.  We were gifted with both – time and perfection!

All too soon it is time to say good-by.  Lee wasn’t having any part of spending the rest of the summer as a deck-hand and although we are sad to see him go it was such an important time for the three of us!

Good Boat Name:  I had one but cannot now remember it.  Still lots of boat names in French.

There are simply no bad boat names.  Boring maybe, but nothing too bad.

Quote of the Day:  “Any day with a grandchild in our arms, on our lap, in our home, on our mind or, even better, on our boat is a very good day!”

Happy Belated Birthday to Harlene, Jo,

Happy Anniversary on Sunday to Pat and Heather

July 3-8, 20019

July 3 – Montreal to St. Anne de Bellevue (34 miles & 2 locks)

July 4 – St. Anne de Bellvue to Hawksbury, Ontario (36 miles and 2 locks)

July 6 – Hawksbury to Montebello QE (18 miles)

July 8 – Montebello to Ottawa, Rockcliffe Boathouse Marina (42 miles)

Miles traveled this blog:  130

Total miles traveled:  6179

Add Ontario as second Provence

We left Montreal on a beautiful morning but with some trepidation about getting through a few more miles of quick current and two commercial locks, the first ones for which we had to pay a $30 fee each because they weren’t included in our Parks Canada Pass.  As we pulled up to the Lambert lock it was clear that a large freighter was coming through toward us and we would have to wait for him to pass. We tied up to a lock-side dock, Jim climbed the flight of stairs to inform the lockmaster that there were 5 boats ready to lock through and give our credit card #.  Apparently, you can now pay online but we hadn’t gotten the memo.  Ultimately all five boats were tied up or rafted and it was an uneventful lift.

Departure view of Montreal.

Approaching the Lambert Lock.  See the massive freighter, the white square pilothouse in the middle of the lift, and the rest of us milling around/standing off.

Breakaway rafting to Melody in a lock.  Our AGLCA flag in the foreground.

The next lock about a mile and a half upstream, St. Catherine’s, was expecting us so all five boats lined up and entered in order.  We were rafted onto Break Away, a nice Looping couple from Tampa who plan to complete in 8 months compared to our 4+ years!  Suffice it to say that this was perhaps our most exciting lock so far but thanks to Jim’s athleticism, we were none the worse for wear.  A story to share over dinner sometime.  Don’t even have a picture, wish I had a video!

The rest of that day we crossed Lac St. Louis which is a large, shallow lake and reminded us of Lake Okeechobee (I can still spell it) in FL.  There was barely a ripple the entire day, truly Vicki water.  We arrived at the St. Anne de Bellevue lock and city wall in time for both Melody and Namaste to get the last 2 available spots.  We dinghied across what is now the end of the St. Lawrence and beginning of the Ottawa River to a restaurant for some refreshment on a blistering hot afternoon and also so that we could tie up the dinghy while we provisioned.  The town is quaint with restaurants and shops as well as a small but high-end grocery.  Most delightfully, as we were standing in line to pay, an employee suggested that they deliver the bags to our boats.  I commenced running around adding as much to the cart as time would allow – mostly drinks for these hot days.

The quaint town of St. Anne de Bellevue.  Restaurants and shops across the river.

At precisely 9 am the next morning the doors opened and we left the dock to enter the St. Ann de Bellevue Lock (the busiest in Canada) and further on the Carillon Lock (a guillotine style and the highest lift in Canada of 65 feet).  The pictures tell her story!

Waiting in line for the Carillon Lock – biggest drop/lift in Canada.

From the bottom of the Carillon Lock.  The brown dock on the right lifts with us and is the best/safest/easiest securing system of any lock we have seen.

We arrived at the Hawksbury city wall in some surprise current and were disappointed to see it was basically located along a dusty parking lot.  However, first impressions are often misleading and this turned out to be the case as it was a quiet and lovely spot complete with a stone house accommodating a museum, tourist center, café, and lovely restrooms and with an interesting art-laden park next door.  We stayed an extra day because the local people were so nice, Jenny Lynn liked their mocha latte’s but mostly because of stormy weather that really never materialized.  The rain created mud and two dirty dogs but still very worth the stop!

Coffee shop and barista Trevor at Hawksbury.  He couldn’t have been nicer or more helpful – the promise of youth!

Museum in the Hawksbury.  Also tourist center/cafe and music studio.  We were treated to a piano concert on the grand piano in residence.  Really a music lesson in progress.

Next up was Chateau Montebello and perhaps one of the most anticipated stops of the trip!  A Fairmont Resort in Quebec (north side of the river) and one of the 19 Canadian Pacific Railroad Hotels of the 1920’s and 30’s which are as lovely today as they were almost 100 years ago.  This one is reported to be the largest log building in the world.  Everything on the property is log including the small, quaint marina with showers and laundry less than 100 paces from the Namaste.  We stayed an extra day instead of moving along to anchor as planned.  It was simply two wonderful to leave.  Hours in the pool, dinner with Jenny Lynn and Dan at the Steakhouse, and long walks in the woods were highlights.

A main entrance to Montebello.  The place is massive but couldn’t get far enough away to get a picture to do it justice.  The landscaping and trees were beautiful and the building goes on forever.  Highly recommended as a summer get-away!

Lobby and restaurant of Montebello.  All set up for Sunday brunch.

Love a nice pool every now and then.

But on Monday morning it was time to move on to get to Ottawa and meet Lee.  We cast off by 7 am since we wanted to arrive in time to clean the boat and get ready for our favorite oldest grandson’s visit.  It was a perfect day on the most beautiful Ottawa River.  We are approaching the Boathouse Marina now with perhaps not my favorite dockmaster but we shall see.

Namaste from the Embassy Hill neighborhood where Jim and I walked 4.3 miles this morning.

USA Embassy – picture taken from the deck of the Namaste.

Lovely dinner at the Rockcliffe Boat House.  Another great memory!

Sunset over the beautiful Ottawa River!  Sometimes busy with recreational boat traffic but now quiet and serene.   Bedtime!

Good Boat Name:  UGOGAL on a classic 50’ Hatteras in the Montebello Marina

Quote of the Day:  A French speaking Canadian man on our dock as we were all swatting mosquitos at dusk last night, “I call them little Trumps!”  Sadly, we all laughed heartily!

Thinking about you:  Alan and Lila onboard Blue Haven who are doing a 33 hour crossing from Maine to Nova Scotia today!  They made it!!

Sammy Sayz:  Hi you guys!  All is good here onboard the Namaste.  I love the life, having smelled smells and met dogs beyond my wildest imagination.  I do hate being leashed on the flying bridge during locking and docking procedures as that wastes precious time for meeting people and perhaps getting an occasional treat.  They do not respond to my whimpering turned screaming and in fact seem rather annoyed with me.  Can you imagine?  Anyway I miss you all and look forward to returning home but life is good for now.

June 23-July 2, 2019

June 24 – Rouse’s Point, NY on Lake Champlain to Saint-Jean, QE  (24 miles)

June 25 – lovely windy, rainy lay day on Saint-Jean’s free wall

June 26 – Through the Chambly Canal to the Chambly QE, free dock in a lovely park .25 miles from a market (30 miles)

June 27 – Through Lake Chambly to Ours Lock free dock in an even more wonderful park (37 miles)

June 28-July 2 – Up the Richelieu River to Sorel and then down the St. Lawrence Seaway on into Montreal (54 miles)

Miles traveled this blog:  145

Total miles traveled: 6005

Add Quebec as our first Canadian Provence

The weather couldn’t be more perfect.  We have had a ratio of at least 5 good days to 1 rainy or windy one for the past two months and the temperatures have been delightful – highs in the low 80s with lows in the low 60s.  Temperature predictions are in the 90s for the next ten days.  Hot summer has arrived!

We pulled out of Rouse’s Point on a beautiful Monday morning heading about two miles north to Canadian customs in Quebec. Somewhat anxious, we saw  customs ahead knowing that we must dock without assistance.  Meanwhile, a sailboat scooted past on our port side (cutting us off) and making it to the dock without using the channel.  Of note, it was a woman at the helm, makes me wonder if she ever went to kindergarten?  Anyway, due to lack of space we stood off for twenty minutes before proceeding into the beautifully maintained facility.  It was a gorgeous day, absolutely still and easy-peasy docking.

The Namaste waiting patiently to clear Canadian customs.

Protocol is to raise a yellow quarantine flag, pass through customs and then raise the Canadian flag along with the American Flag flying on our stern for the remainder of the time we are in Canada.  Jim with his fat black notebook went ashore with hopefully the correct documentation we would need – passports, boat registration and insurance, and Sammy’s vaccination certificate.  After somberly reviewing our papers, the official asked me to come into the office for identification (this hadn’t happened on the previous two boats indicating the procedure is different for each reportee) and then simply asked us our destination (Detour, Michigan) and length of stay (we indicated September 7 padding a few days to our plan).  We have no firearms onboard accept our safety flare guns; were well under the alcohol limit and had only two fresh bananas we were prepared to eat if necessary which all turned out to be mute issues.

See the fat, black notebook under Jim’s arm – everything we need for this trip!

The changing of the flags.

The Canadian flag flies high on the Namaste.

Feeling relieved and happy to be in Canada we proceeded to our planned destination of the free wall in Saint-Jean, Quebec.  As we traveled north and still in Lake Champlain although it felt more like a river, we were amazed at the number of boats and people using the waterway on what should be a quiet Monday morning.  As we moved along the Lake, the crowds increased dramatically and everyone was in a holiday mood.  Turns out it was Baptiste Day (birthday of John the Baptist) a holiday in Quebec.  Not unlike the American July 4^th or Canada Day the French Canadian summer celebration was on, complete with hot dogs and beans for supper with Jenny Lynn, Dan and Mac and fireworks 150 yards off our bow.  I  held my hands over Sammy’s ears and she sat quietly watching the festivities – what a boat dog!  The next day it was windy and rained on and off until late afternoon so we let the bridge tender and lock master know we were staying for another day and wouldn’t need the bridge to go up nor would we be locking through.  Good thing, as the 9:00 post-holiday operation was quite a circus with high winds and lots of boats!

The wonderful little town of Saint-Jean – rafting because it is Baptiste Day in Quebec!

The interesting white structure above is a new lift bridge over Lake Champlain at the Saint-Jean lock entering the Chambly Canal.  We have now seen lots of lift bridges but never anything like this one.  Just below it is the current bridge in green and apparently a major traffic nightmare.  It doesn’t even open during rush hours including the lunch hour.  Another view of the pretty new bridge as we pass under heading into the lock.

And the town turns out for the Baptiste Day festivities including some of the best fireworks we have ever seen.

As soon as we cast off from Saint-Jean we were in the Chambly Canal, a National Historic Site of Canada and an absolute treasure running along the Richelieu River rapids!  There are ten bridges, eight of which are hand operated; and nine relatively small, 200 year-old, hand operated locks in this 7.5 mile stretch which took us about 6 hours to complete 6 of the 9 locks.  We were tired and the sky indicated a potential afternoon squall so we stopped in Chambly at lock #3 in a picturesque little town park with free wall and power.  While we manage well, life is always better with power (think air conditioning – did I mention it is hot; hair care appliances; microwave, etc!

An interesting swing bridge a a little crossroads somewhere on the Chambly.

The Chambly Canal – now a National Historic Site of Canada but originally created as a means of opening the northern USA and Canada to the New York Market.

There were many more bikers than boats enjoying the Chambly Canal.  It was a picture from the past.

Another manual bridge along the Chambly – definitely a one-at-a-time operation.

Not a doll house but rather a Parks Canada Station along the Chambly at one of the many locks or bridges.  They were all different but of the same theme.

The manual gates and locks were operated mostly by college students working for Parks Canada during the summer.  They were an absolute delight.  Above, draining the lock.  Below opening the wooden gate.

The entire 200 year old lock operation, refurbished in 1983.

The town of Chambly offered two grocery stores, two ice cream stores and a concert across the river attended by what appeared to be the entire town of happy people.  We listened for awhile and then watched the democratic debate on Melody’s smart TV.  It’s magic!

The town began to gather at 6 for an 8 o’clock concert.

This is an example of one of the many free walls along the Chambly.  Trivia:  Three of the important characteristics of a good overnight tie-up include nearby grass, trash and recycling.  Picture taken from the shadow of the Namaste.

The Chambly town bridge and lock first thing in the morning.  They all open at nine precluding an early start.  Oh darn!

It is also important to note that at this dock we are 32 miles east of Montreal.  However, it is impossible to get there from here (no water) so we must travel 40 miles north to Sorel, make a  u-turn and travel 50 miles south on the St. Lawrence Seaway to Montreal.   Couldn’t they just. . .?  But I am getting ahead of myself here. . .

As I write this we are approximately at the red arrow above Plattsburg and 32 miles from Montreal.  However we must go north (Sorel) to go south (on the St. Lawrence Seaway) to go west (montreal)!

After we cleared the final three locks at Chambly, changing our strategy somewhat for safer entry and exit of these small locks, we entered Chambly Lake.  Highlights this day included watching seaplanes play touch-and-go and navigating the Namaste through the tiny opening under a railroad bridge with a crazy-fast following current.  Captain Jim crabbed us through a nail-biting 2 minutes or so – seemed like forever.

Another Chambly lock.  These two were having so much fun working together that if they aren’t a couple now they soon will be!  (Yet another made-up story.)

Entering Lake Chambly from the last lock of this series.

Touch-and-go right off our starboard bow.

Scary railroad bridge!  Captain Jim navigated us through the opening on the far right of the picture.  Coming up the Richeleau River we had to make a quick turn to port (left) and under the bridge in what felt like something only slightly less than raging current.  Whew!

We didn’t think dockage  could get any better when we came upon the Ours Lock and an even more perfect park but this time a rural campsite.  We stopped because once again the sky was threatening but almost more because this park was too good to pass up! We were again able to grab enough data to watch much of the second night of the debate.  I will keep my hopeful yet guarded comments to myself for now.

Ours Lock and Park.  See the blue painted stripe on the dock just ahead of our two boats?  Tying up there indicates you are ready to go through the lock right now.  We had already traversed the lock and were spending the night in this quaint and beautiful spot.  We were nose to the lock for smoother sleeping due to the current in this narrow spot.  The next morning we turned and were on our way.

Picture taken in the late afternoon.  Looked like we were in for a squall but it never materialized.  A little light rain and that was it.

Again this park, bridge and lock (am I getting repetitive here?) is maintained by Parks Canada.  There were 6 or so of these cabins available to rent for $120 per night or about $85 in US dollars.  It was a week night and no one was in residence but they were preparing for a busy Canada Day weekend.

Our next and last segment into Montreal turns out to be a slow slog of about 54 miles because we were bucking a current of anywhere between 1 and 4 knots.  Now, that may not seem like much and probably isn’t to large and more powerful craft, but for us it slowed our progress from 7 to between 6 and 3 knots.  The closer we got to Montreal the faster the current and the slower the Namaste.  All along the St. Lawrence it was beautiful but we were on the continuous lookout for the “big boys” or ocean-going freighters going either direction.  Five of the six boats we encountered were coming toward us and because the river is wide and deep we easily stayed out of their way.  The sixth boat however passed us in a rather narrow section, giving us an uncomfortable however brief “waking”.  We knew he was coming but the 5 loud blasts indicating he was passing us on the starboard, was startling at such close range.

Making our U-turn onto the mighty Saint Lawrence Seaway.  Melody leading the way in smooth as glass waters.

Three of the six freighters we saw that day!

As we approached Montreal proper it was Friday afternoon of Canada Day weekend and the boat traffic (freighters, ferries, cruise ships, police boats, coast guard, large and small recreational boats and wave runners) along with the 4 knot current mentioned above made for an exciting entrance into the Port De Plaisance Real-Bouvier – our marina home for the long weekend and a 15 minute ferry ride across the river to the downtown or the Old Port de Montreal.

3-4 knot current but if we stayed to the side of the channel we could sometimes reduce the impact.

We spent much of three wonderful days exploring the city including a Greyline Hop On, Hop Off  double-decker red bus tour.  We felt like a couple of old people but did I mention our temps were in the high 80s and much of what we wanted to see was spread throughout the city.  It was a great way to get our bearings and over two long days see as much as we possibly could.  As of this minute, the pictures of our touring Montreal have not downloaded from my phone to my computer.  The cloud functioning seems pretty random so I will add them at a later time after a good overnight wifi connection.  Finally got a wifi connection at Montebello and the download took about 10 minutes!  Here are a few of the pictures of our visit to Montreal.

Welcome to Montreal!!

Montreal City Skyscape from Mont Royale

Chateau Mont Royale

Montreal from Mont Royale or the mountain originally owned by 7 families and sold to the city for about $1,000,000.  Mont Royale became Mont Real and eventually named the city Montreal.   The mountain is all park with easy to difficult hikes and bike rides, Chateaus and incredible vistas.  We spent most of a day here.

Flowers everywhere but this was my favorite.

Beautiful tribute to Leonard Cohen

Montreal’s underground city, one incredible mall!

The famous Notre-Dame Bascillica Montreal

On the third day we went in late for dinner to the highly recommended Jardin Nelson which did not disappoint – complete with great service and two different jazz groups.  We were all tired but got more than our 10,000 steps just wandering around the Canada Day celebrating city after dinner.

Anybody been to this place?

Some of the best food we have had on the Loop.

A word about the language and culture from my limited but observant perspective.  In the Provence of Quebec, French is spoken exclusively which can be intimidating until you learn that 105 languages are spoken in this multi-cultural city and almost everyone gives English a jolly good try.  Most young people speak fluently, almost natively.  At the same time, there remains a truly European/French feel to almost everything from the occasional abruptness of passers-by to the often less than perfect directions/explanations.  In other words, sometimes things feel just about 5 degrees askew and that is some of the delight.  An example:  after we were settled into the marina we began looking for the pool (did I mention it is hot?).  After several quests our answer was, “well yes, we are supposed to have a pool but we don’t and yup, supposed to have WIFI but it isn’t good meaning, we don’t.”  The restaurant, bathrooms, showers, and laundry were immaculate but a flight and a half of wooden outdoor stairs and a 300 yards away – no Americans for Disabilities Act here.  Somehow, I appreciate the casual style and my need to adjust.  Everyone has been friendly and inclusive at the marina, a brotherhood of boaters. Many were interested in our experience on the Loop.

Remnants of the Montreal 76 summer Olympic games.  The tall, tilty structure is holding up the dome below it – as seen at sunset from our marina across the St. Lawrence Seaway.

 An evening rainbow while in the Port de Plaisance Real Bovier Marina

A surreal part of this visit was meeting Jim’s cousin Suzanne Dugas, her husband Mike, their daughter Dawn and son-in-law Fred randomly on the streets.  On day #2 we were looking for a restaurant for late lunch or early dinner.  We peaked down and small ally to see what appeared to be a quiet and pretty restaurant.  As we approached, Suzy and her family were the only other people in the ally and thinking the exact same thing.  How did this meeting happen in a city of 1.78 million (smaller than Toronto but bigger than Quebec)?  The stars aligned and who will ever know the how or why but we shared family news/stories and generally enjoyed one another over a lingering dinner.  Mike and Suzy are on a motor home adventure to eastern Canada and the Maritime Provinces for the summer and Dawn and Fred are headed to Virginia Beach on vacation.

Fred, Suzy, Mike

. . .and Dawn sharing dinner, stories and  laughs!

It was a wonderfully long Canadian holiday weekend and now it is time to move on.  We planned to leave on Tuesday (July 2^nd) but Dan is having trouble with his starter and we do not yet have a permanent fix for our aft-cabin head so the captains rode bikes for parts, did I mention it is hot out and are feverishly trying to get everything working again!  As I write this, Melody’s starter is replaced and the Captains continue to explore the Namaste for the culprit wire or whatever to repair the electric toilet.

Captains commiserating.  No head solution yet –  stay tuned!

Good-by Montreal, hello to the Ottawa River!

Good Boat Name:  Pironor.  I don’t know what the word means and I was hoping for something more eloquent but according to Google it is the name of a French fabrication company.  However, “Pironor” adorns the transom of a stately, 1956, 45’ Crist-Craft.  What a gem!

Happy Birthday to:  Kaitlan, Judy

Happy Canada Day to all my favorite Canadians.

Happy Independence Day to my American family and friends.  We will especially miss Camp Lookout and the Frankfort Parade.

Note of Jim & Jo history:  Jim and I spent our delayed honeymoon in Montreal at Expo ’67 and were also here in ’87 on our way to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia and Mike’s adventure on the Pegoria.  All three visits are so memorable!

A loud shout-out of appreciation to the kind and helpful Parks Canada staff who operate the bridges, locks and care for their beautiful parks.

A small shout-out of disappointment to Verizon.  After many promises from them and at a pretty good chunk of cash from us, we have marginal reception and extremely limited data for our “beyond unlimited” plan.  After .5G of use we are “monitored” down to 3G service for the remainder of the day. This usually happens about 2 p.m.  The explanation is that data is expensive in Canada! The devices still show LTE on the screen but the response is so painfully slow that it almost doesn’t exist.    For some reason my laptop is currently on Wifi so I just may get this posted.  Again, magic!