Jack Tar Adventures

Mon Sept 14:  Montréal to Saint Ours (St Ours Lock)

Link to today’s route:  https://share.nebo.global/voyage/8e116159-10e7-4e58-aadf-5cf674197735

We got a relatively early start because we were anticipating seven to eight hours to Saint Ours lock.  We had to brave the current again in reverse.  It was a lot less hair raising in the daylight and even though we thought we’d have less control of the boat with the current at our stern it was much less swirly than the night we arrived. The current moved us 12.5 mph at only 1400 rpm (which normally would put us at about 6 mph).  Still, Peter had to stay focused and actively steer without benefit of the autopilot for several hours until we turned onto the Richleau River, which proved to be very tiring.

I was trying to get a pic of how fast the current was moving, but I couldn’t really capture it. You can kinda see the water is flatter in the foreground where the jetty is slowing the water.
You can see the water moving fast on this buoy, but it was after we had gotten past the worst of it.
Commuter ferry headed into the city
There were triple layers of tires all along the long dock wall that extended all the way from the marina to where the rapids ended. Not sure it would have done our boat much good if the current had slammed us against it.
Another view of the Cartier Bridge and the clock tower

The west shore was industrial with lots of cargo ships for about the first hour after we left the city.  Then it was interspersed with houses, towns and cities.

Basilique Sainte-Anne de Varennes

We moved to steer from the lower helm when the wind picked up and it got even chillier. The high was only 64° but it feels a lot cooler than that when you’re moving on the water.  

We saw many more cargo ships anchored when we reached Sorel-Tracy just before we made a U turn off the Saint Lawrence River and onto the Richelieu River.

We did almost 60 miles in 6.5 hours which is really fast for our boat. Having the current behind us for about 4.5 hours really pushed us along.  We moored on the lock wall after we passed through.

This café and pâtisserie was just across the street from the lock. We will very much miss all the delicious breads and pastries in Canada that have been maintaining our waste lines.

These oTENTiks are a cross between a traditional tent and a rustic A-frame cabin. They’re available to rent at most of the Parks Canada locks.

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