Our last night in Burlington proved to be an exciting one for Roy. If you know Roy, you know that he can’t resist any sort of situation that looks like there might be cops or firemen or Coasties present. Or just like he might be able to be of assistance. Well, looking across the marina from where Mer Sea was docked, we could see some Coast Guard activity involving a small runabout that looked like it might just sink if the lines were removed from the dock. That’s how low the stern was in the water! Roy, of course, had to go over to investigate.
I stayed on Mer Sea and periodically glanced over to monitor the action. There were four Coast Guard guys and perhaps three marina kids (college or high school), and Roy and another onlooker. The Coasties had a power-driven pump with a pull-type starting mechanism (like an outboard motor). It seemed, from my perspective, that they were having trouble starting it. After many attempts and starts and stops they finally got the thing pumping, and here come the water! That boat was LOW – they got that thing going in the nick of time!
As the stern began to rise, it seemed that it might get hung under the floating dock, so a couple of the kids were tugging on the stern lines to try to control it. Roy came back to Mer Sea to get a couple of “bongs” and some tools (apparently the Coasties don’t have stuff like that…), and then headed back to the excitement. Once they reached some kind of equilibrium, if there were no way to plug up the offending hole, all would be for naught!
They finally reached a point where they were ready to look for the leak. The marina kids crawled all over the boat, and found the leak in the stern. After some difficulty because of the cramped quarters, they were able to get the bong in place and stop the encroaching water. At this point, they expected the bilge pump activity to ease off, but such was not the case. And the bow was still low in the water. Obviously, there was another leak somewhere forward.
After quite a bit of investigation, crawling around, and squeezing the young, flexible bodies into some very tight places, the kids found that all the forward compartments were completely full of water (no drains into the bilge!!), and they got them pumped out and found the other leak. Plugged it and reached some kind of equilibrium. Whew! I heard about this the next morning, as things were still going in full swing when I went to bed at 11:00 or so. Roy had an exciting night!! And those kids saved that guy’s boat!
The next morning was just perfect, and we got off at 7:00. The sun comes up really early (full light at 5:00 or so) and it stays light until very late because we are so far north. I love having all those hours of daylight!! First things first, we needed a pump out, and so headed to the service dock to take care of that. Having done that, we headed to another marina in the area to take on diesel before heading to Canada, where we knew the prices would be much higher.
In spite of the tame start, the wind picked up rather quickly once we really got going, and we were very shortly in some pretty choppy seas. Oh well, we’d done our best to wait and monitor the weather, and it wasn’t dangerous, just a bit lumpy. We pressed on. By the end of the day, things had calmed down again, and we had calm winds for docking once we reached our destination.
The marina at Rouses Point, NY, didn’t have much to recommend it, except for a dock to tie to and power to hook up to. The worst thing there were these small insects that congregated all over the boat, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that there were parts of the boat that you couldn’t see through the blanket of insects. I’ve since been told that they might be mayflies. Whatever they are, they’re HORRIBLE, and we had them in every nook and cranny both inside and outside the boat! There didn’t seem to be any point in cleaning until we were in an area where they weren’t, since they reaccumulate so fast. Boy, they are disgusting!
We discovered one other problem at this marina, probably a function of us being there relatively early in the season. We had gotten pretty low on water in Burlington, and since we knew we would be staying at a marina that night, Roy decided not to get down the hose before leaving Burlington, because he could fill the water when we got to the marina in New York. Well, that evening, when he hooked up the hose and turned on the faucet, there was nothing. SHIT. And the marina guys had all already gone for the night. Fortunately, with some judicious conservation we would be OK for the night, but we don’t typically like to get in this position. Additionally, our plan was to be on a free dock or lock wall for the next couple of nights, with no power or water hookups. We decided we’d find a marina along the way the next day, and just ask if we could fill up our water there.
Sometime during the night, I was awakened by the loud slapping of water against the hull, and the rocking of the boat. I got up and looked out the window, and the wind was blowing like crazy! I peeked at our lines to make sure we were OK, and went back to bed. Tomorrow was time enough to deal with the weather!
It was really blowing the next day. We were headed into the Richelieu River, which would be plenty protected, so we decided to go ahead in spite of the wind. Our first adventure was getting off the dock, which we handled by walking the boat backwards to the end of the dock so that we could just scoot off backwards without any danger of blowing into other boats. Always a good thing to avoid! We were offered assistance by a nice couple on the boat across the dock from us, but we decided to provide them with entertainment instead of making them do some work! Anyway, it came out OK.
In short order we came to the Canadian border. The customs dock is short, and all concrete, and we had a heck of a time getting secured there in the wind. Mer Sea has a few scars from that little episode! But we finally made it, and the customs guy was great – no problems, and he came and helped us off the dock as well.
Once we got into the river, the wind had much less effect on us, and we had a lovely ride to St. Jean sur Richelieu. It was unclear to us exactly where we would be permitted to tie up, and what, exactly, the lock schedule was (there is an elaborate timetable, with several permutations depending on the dates and which part of the week), so it was serendipitous that the wonderful young man at the marina right before the lock, who cheerfully let us fill our water, was able to clarify some things for us. Now there was a guy who loves his job! He’s been working at the marina since he was 14, he’s now 21, and is now manager. He’s enthusiastic, friendly, and truly bilingual (something that we haven’t always seen here in Quebec). What a great ambassador for the Province!
The lockmaster was able to further clarify things for us, and we finally understood that we should tie up on the wall before the bridge and the lock. There was a nice Canadian couple in a sailboat already there, and they kindly helped us with our lines. No sooner were we situated than here came the boat that had been with us at Rouses Point, September Morn. We were able to help them with their lines, so the goodwill just keeps getting passed along! Within the next hour, there were at least two more local boats on the wall with us. Here we all are lined up: True Love, Mer Sea, and September Morn with more behind!
Once we were settled in, we started exploring and chatting with our fellow cruisers. The Canadians were on their way home to Montreal, and the Americans on September Morn are doing the Loop! She is a native of Quebec City, so they’re on their way to visit friends and family.
After a bit, the lockmaster came to gather information about the boat and our customs clearance and lock and mooring permit numbers, and to answer any questions we might have. He was great – very helpful and friendly – and also explained how the lockage would work the next day. The locks are small, and can only fit two decent sized boats, so he invited us to proceed as follows: since True Love and Mer Sea were first in line for the morning (there were to be no more lockages on that day – the canal system wasn’t taking in any more boats, since they have a somewhat restricted locking schedule at this time of year) he told us that he’d take us through his lock only at 3:00, and we could tie up on the other side. Then, the next morning, we could leave at 8:30, and the locks and bridges up ahead would be expecting us. The boats behind us would lock through in turns, and they’d come along behind us. Sounds elaborate, but it actually worked pretty well.
When we’d finished with the lockmaster, I decided to try to get some photos of Mer Sea on the wall in the Chambly Canal. I walked over to the bridge formed by the closed lock doors, and was in the process of positioning myself, when a male red-winged blackbird started hovering over my head and making quite a racket. Obviously he had a nest somewhere in the area. I was kind of enjoying the spectacle, when it occurred to me that he might just leave something unwanted in my face or hair. I scooted away, he left, and I went back. This scene was played out several times, then he enlisted his mate. She came over and harassed me from the railing of the little bridge. I’d taken a couple of photos of the boat by this time, and when the male came back, I decided to try to get a photo of him. Well, he was having none of that! This time he dive-bombed me, and I figured out that it was time to get out of there! It was like being in a Hitchcock movie! I watched several other innocents get similarly dive-bombed as they crossed the bridge or sat on the bench to eat an ice cream cone ( Roy). Very entertaining!
After we moved Mer Sea through the lock, Flore, from September Morn, and I took a walk through town. It’s not a prosperous town, but we had fun going into antique stores, I cashed some travelers’ cheques, and we found a restaurant for dinner. And, best of all, it was fun getting to know a new friend.
The next morning we had a leisurely (for us) start, and with True Love in the lead, headed into the canal. The canal is only 10 miles long, but there are 9 locks and 7 swing bridges, so it takes between 3 and 4 hours to get through. There’s also a strictly enforced speed limit of 5.2 knots (we actually had some trouble going this slowly) to protect the banks on either side from erosion. It was a lovely trip, and we got to know Frank and Eve on True Love a bit enroute (talking to them in the locks). They’re a really friendly couple, and invited us to stay at their yacht club when we leave Montreal. Maybe we will!
We really wanted to have the opportunity to get the flavor of some of these small towns along the Richelieu River (the Chambly Canal simply bypassed a portion of said river, but we’d been in the Richelieu since leaving Lake Champlain, and would be until entering the St. Lawrence). According to the cruising guide, there aren’t many places where you can secure your boat, so I’d picked one of the few, St. Charles-sur-Richelieu, as our target. One cruising guide said there’s a free town dock, the other said that it had been taken over by a restaurant. Worst case, we might have to eat dinner there in order to spend the night. Darn, I hate when that happens! If the dock was full, or turned out not to be workable for some reason, I had a backup plan in another town. We’d see when we got there. Ya gotta be flexible.
When we got to the town, we sorted out which dock was the one we were looking for, and were the only boat for miles! We got ourselves secured, and Roy went to chat with the restaurant. He came back saying that they were thrilled to have us, and September Morn, and that we’d definitely need reservations for dinner (Saturday night). We contacted Flore and Duane on the radio and gave them the scoop, and then waited for them to get there so we could help them get tied up.
In the meantime, several smaller local boats pulled up to the dock, and Roy became the unofficial dockmaster, helping them dock, while simultaneously saving the spot for September Morn. It was pretty slick! I took a walk into the town, which was, indeed, very cute. All these Canadian towns have little parks all along the rivers or canals, and this one was no exception. There are benches, picnic tables, and trash cans, plenty of shady trees, and people really use them! They’re not necessarily large, maybe only one or two benches and one picnic table, but they’re there and appreciated. Now, that’s my idea of a park – not a ballfield! Only my humble opinion…
I got back to the boat in time to help September Morn dock, and then Flore and I took a walk. When we got back, Frank and Eve were also on the dock! Very jolly!! We went to dinner at 7:00, and were seated in what I assume was a primo spot closest to the water (not to mention in the direct path of the setting sun!), where we looked out on our boats! Such a view!
And what a meal! Roy and I had lobster (well, we’re pretty far north, after all – why not?) and it was delicious! The chef/owner’s wife is a fine singer, and she provided the entertainment for the evening, singing a mix of everything from Edith Pilaf to Neil Diamond! She was accompanied by pre-recorded orchestra (sort of karaoke, I guess) and she was really great! Dinner took a long time to come, but we were having a great time with Flore and Duane, and didn’t care! The folks at the neighboring table struck up a friendship with Roy, and insisted on giving him several of their crab legs as well. The restaurant was packed, our waitress was lovely, and we had a great evening!! When we went back to our boats we were able to continue to enjoy the singer for a while, which was fine with us. All in all a wonderful evening!
Tomorrow we’d be entering the St. Lawrence River, further north than we ever got last year. The weather’s gorgeous and hot, the generator’s working great, and we are without complaints!!