Montréal to Kingston.

We left Montréal (Longueuil) as soon as practical to be among the first boaters through the Saint Lambert Lock. Little did we know that there was a backlog of commercial ships (which take priority) and that we’d be waiting six hours on the “pleasure craft” dock. 

We met fellow Loopers though! Gary and Nancy from Alaska, on m/v “Summer Lynn,” were there to assist us with docking and they made the wait much more tolerable. Gary and Pete, both pilots, chatted about airplane details way over my head. 

Throughout the morning several other boaters arrived and, with limited dock space, they rafted-up to other boats. This was my first experience to the “raft-up process.” As we were on the dock, the majority or our fenders were deployed dockside. The boat that joined us used their fenders to protect their own boat. 

When the lock opened to pleasure craft, rafting-up was the norm. Bigger boats were directed to the port-side lock wall, smaller crafts to starboard side of bigger boats. We were among the bigger boats, so we did the all the work! 

Saint Catherine’s Lock was the same. Once through, we made it as far as daylight would allow and sought a quiet anchorage. We tucked behind an island (Îles de la Paix) designated as a wildlife refuge near Maple Grove (Beauharnois). The sounds of nature lulled us to sleep with nary a ripple of water! Ah, this is a wonderful way to live!

Our Tuesday morning travels took us to the next locks: Beauharnois Canal and their double locks. A relatively short delay of two hours wasn’t bad after our previous experience. No more technically difficult challenges! Simple ropes, two per boat, that we handled easily. Then we motored all the way to Île Saint Regis and anchored in a quiet cove much like the night before. 

By Wednesday morning we were traversing the US/Canada international border. Without GPS, it was impossible to tell which country we were in! The next two locks were American. Snell and Eisenhower Locks required another long delay. Apparently, general maintenance was the reason. And again, commercial vessels got priority. Our second six-hour wait required an adjustment in our float plan. 

We settled on Chrysler Park Marina Wednesday evening and ordered pizza and salad…it was delivered right to the boat. How great is that! This marina was 20 minutes to the closest town or market, so we just enjoyed the company of our neighbors. 

Thursday we conquered the Iroquois Lock before arriving to Brockville and the Tall Ships Landing for reprovisioning. The Harbor Host, Bob Duthie, gave us directions to the local Metro Market and provided recommendations for shopping and dinner establishments. We took a short walking tour of the town, including the historic Brockville railway tunnel.

The weather kept us close to the boat but we did enjoy a nightcap at the adjacent restaurant, Moose McGuire’s Pub & Grill. 

We made Gananoque about 2:30 p.m. Friday, for a two night stay. We had heard many positive things about this historic town and wanted to enjoy it. Even before arrival, I received a text message from the local Harbor Host, Jim Lund, who was monitoring NEBO, the boat-tracking app that shows my position to other boaters.

Jim and Lesley hosted a social hour that evening at his condominium overlooking the harbor. I am certain that the unsung hero is Lesley who assembles the welcome packages and makes the Butter Tarts!

Saturday was devoted to exploring the quaint little town. The merchants cater to visitors with many cafés, pubs and craft shops. Tourism accounts for a good part of the local economy. Gananoque is known as the “Gateway to the Thousand Islands,” home to the Arthur Child Heritage Museum and the Thousand Islands Playhouse, a waterfront performing arts venue offering a variety of shows throughout the summer season.

At the end of my solo walkabout, I found Stonewater Pub and enjoyed a local microbrew sitting in a corner seat overlooking the waterfront. I got back to the boat just as another cloud burst rained down.

By the end of the week, we arrived to Kingston and stayed at Confederation Basin Marina. I will elaborate on this adventure in the next post.