To Handfield and Sorel

Day 3, Sunday

In the middle of the night we were awakened by the sounds of flags flapping and water slapping against the hull. A strong south wind had come up and John battened down the hatches.  After consulting the weather forecast we could see that the strong south wind of 20+ knots would prevail for the next few days.  We pushed off at 8:15 to be in line for lock 9, the first Chambly lock, but were told that the bridge blocking the entry wouldn’t be open for a while. The captains of our respective vessels cooled their heels, or keels, in the channel  coping with the strong winds and the current.  

Finally we got the word and proceeded on, sharing the lock with a Canadian boat. It was a relief to get into the relative calm of the lock. Lily quickly picked up her task of line catcher and she expertly tossed it back up when the water had gone down, the gates were opened and we were underway into the canal.  There, we were hardly affected by the wind and we enjoyed the trip through the town and the pastoral setting. The old tow path is now used for walking and biking and, since it was a weekend, many people passed us along the way.

Tow path along Chambly Canal

Serenity locking through

Most of the locks are hand cranked to open and close the gates

 The last few locks come in a flurry of steps down into the Chambly Basin and the view from the top is quite a sight to see. By this time it was midday and the sun was getting hot to be out on the bow, so we were all happy to lock through the last gate, back into the waters of the Richelieu. 

Looking out over the Chambly Basin

We had been warned about the boat traffic on a sunny Sunday, but I think you have to see it to believe it. We traveled along with the current carrying us and the wind at our back, and so were dozens of other boats and jet skis, most going at breakneck speed compared to our easy going trawlers. The speeders passed us on the left and right, going in all directions! Most were crammed full of passengers and the name of the game seemed to be trying to make as many wakes as possible.

We reached our destination of Auberge Handfield Marina which is a nice resort with an inn, outdoor pool, spa and restaurant. In honor of Father’s Day our son had made reservations for dinner, for us and it was a lovely meal after our waitress helped us decipher the French menu. Maybe we will pick up some French along the way – can you say “salade verte et vinaigrette maison?” John said, “Filet Mignon, please.” I think those are his favorite French words.

The day had been intense but after a relaxing dinner Lily suggested a dip in the Jacuzzi and it was a perfect way to melt away any tensions and guarantee a good night’s sleep.

Captain's log - June 17
Depart St. Jean 8:15am
Arrive Handfield 4:45
23.8 Nautical Miles, Average 6.1 knots, 8 hours, 30 min.
High South winds - had to hold for locks and bridge until 9am. Started locking through, initially had weeds wrapped around prop, reversed to clear. Held for 1.5 hours at lock 8 because one boat had overnighted in canal.

 Day 4, Monday

Off for a walk on Monday morning       photo by S. Paddock

Making a little change in plans we relaxed in the morning, took a walk past quaint homes, an impressive church and several lovely flower gardens. The wind helped push us off as we again headed north,this time to Sorel where we would finally be on the St. Lawrence River. What a difference day makes! We only encountered a handful of pleasure boats and a couple of small cable ferries.

Endurance leads the way into the last lock

Within two hours we approached the last northbound lock which bypasses a dam and small waterfall. This lock has a floating dock to tie up to and we all got out and stretched our legs as the water level dropped 8 1/2 feet.

We knew we were nearing Sorel when huge tankers came into view. As we reached the St. Lawrence we saw more tankers and the ferries that go across.

The water is very low which is slowing down the tankers and nearing the Sorel Marina we saw a small speed boat which had run aground on a sandbar, apparently the driver had ignored the channel markers. We later found out that rescuers had been busy the entire day before ,pulling grounded boats off the sand!

The water level also affected us because we had to walk up a long ramp from the dock to the shore and it was quite a hike up those long and quite steep ramps! 


Captain's Log June 18
Depart Handfield 9:55am
Arrive Sorel 1:30pm
25 Nautical miles, Average 7.6 knots, 3 hrs 23 min
Clear, warm, S wind 15-20
Took on 20 Gal. diesel