Two days to Ottawa

Day 7, Thursday

There must have been a hatch of insects in St. Anne, because mayflies and their friends had been swirling all around the area, especially under the maple trees. When we got up in the morning, the back deck and gunnels were littered with DEAD BUGS (for Iris & Ethan – you know what to do) .
Since the St. Anne lock opened up at 9am, we didn’t have to rush to get ready and John had the engines turning  and the lines  loosened when the gates swung open right on time for the two foot rise. There was a floating dock to tie up to and two young men who may have been students from a marine academy looked sharp in their green shorts and white shirts when they tied us up expertly. They weren’t looking forward to the very hot day ahead. All of the Canada Park Service employees we have encountered have been polite, friendly and helpful.

View along the Ottawa River

As we motored out onto the Ottawa River it broadened out and reminded me a great deal of Lake Champlain with some open fields, wooded hills ,homes and an occasional silo or steeple reaching up.  After 3 hours of easy cruising, the Carillion Lock, which bypasses a big dam on the river, came into view.

Steve & Micki wait at the Carrilion lock

Endurance tied up in the lock

Now this was a huge lock, with a lift of 67’ which takes about 35 minutes. We had to wait at the wall when we arrived to let an eastbound boat through. At about 1:30 we emerged out the other side back onto the river. It was a hot and sticky day with temps near 90 so it felt good to keep moving and make our own breeze. A long day on the water, we pushed on to Montebello.

For those of you who have been to Montebello, you know how beautiful it is. The world famous log chateau, built in 1930, is supposed to be the only of its kind in the world and is a popular resort. Lily was only interested in one thing, and that was the pool. The three of us walked up the underground tunnel to the original indoor pool which certainly looked like a relic from the past. Even that building was constructed of logs, very old and dark, with wonderful details that make it a showplace.

Chateau Montebello

This trip is almost all about the locks, so it is wonderful to come across a place like this along the way!

Captain’s log, June 21, 2012

Depart Ste. Anne de Bellevue 0900
Arrive 1740 at Montebello    8 hrs, 40 min
47.7 nautical miles
Arrive Carillion at 11:20 am delay 1 hour
WX clear, hot, west winds

 Day 8 Friday

It was difficult to leave beautiful Montebello. John and I took a walk on the grounds in the early morning and they were lovely. A complete recreational resort, they had stables for horses, a golf course and many other activities.
We were back on the Ottawa River by 10am and cruised along against a moderate west wind. Just as the skyline of some tall buildings came into view in the distance John noticed a small pontoon boat off to the left with a woman waving frantically. Micki, on Endurance in the lead, said later that she happily waved back. Then the woman pointed to a figure in the water about 100 feet away. Micki waved again and indicated that they saw him and wouldn’t hit him. Luckily John heard her say, “He can’t swim, and our motor is dead!!” We all realized the situation at the same time. Steve had just purchased a rescue kit before the trip, thinking he would never use it. They circled and picked the man up who was clinging to two life jackets. We were preparing to toss the stranded pontoon boat a line in case it needed a tow but Steve was able to get the man back to the pontoon boat, now with his life jacket ON, and finally he got his engine started and they were able to motor away.

Endurance gets the award for rescue at sea! We later found out that there was a woman holding a baby plus two other children on board. Only the toddler was wearing a life jacket. Apparently the baby had dropped a bottle overboard and when the father tried to retrieve it, he fell overboard. The strong wind quickly pushed the boat away from him and they threw the life jackets to him, but, well you know the rest. 

Pulling up to the bottom of the locks in Ottawa

Moving on with our day we passed the small marina just east of Ottawa where we had made reservations, not knowing what we would find at the locks on a Friday afternoon. Bon chance! There was space on the blue line at the bottom of the locks. We quickly pulled in and tied up and Micki cancelled the backup. Since it was already 3pm and we knew it could take up to 3 hours to lock up the 8 gates we were thinking we would be there for the night. One of the lock guys appeared and told us we would be going up and getting in the locks by 4pm!

Entering the first lock with Lily on the bow          photo by S. Paddock

We were so glad, again, that Lily was with us because there was a bit of a wind and we went in first. John handled the boat with his usual skill and Lily stayed cool and calm as she reached for the cables with the hook - she has longer arms and legs than her grandmother. Need I say that we all had our life jackets on... Thank goodness the day was cooler because it was non-stop fun as we counted the locks going up. When we reached number seven we thought we were done, but no, one more to go. What a feeling of elation to reach the top, found room on the wall and be in the center of the city! Yippee! We made it and plan to be here for a couple of days.

We tied up on the lock wall just past these boats.

There is a jazz fest going on and we can hear the beat of the music from the boat. There is also a big barbeque in town and we have lots of things to check out.

Captain’s log, June 22, 2012

Depart Montebello 9:40am
Arrive 6:25pm Ottawa, top of the Locks on Rideau Canal   8 hrs, 45 min
47.7 nautical miles
Great trip, clear, westerly winds