July 21-22, 2024 St Ours lock and Montreal

Sunday July 21, 2024 Chambly to St Ours    5 hours and 33 miles

As promised by the lockmaster we were the first downbound boat to go through the lock.  That still meant we had to wait for a group of upbound boats, so it was 9:45 by the time we got the call to head for the locks.  Flight of 3 locks which either due to lower winds or better positioning of our fenders seemed to go more smoothly - or maybe it was just having the lock to ourselves instead of jammed in with another 50' boat. 

View leaving lock 3 and going into lock 2

Looking back on the flight of 3 locks at Chambly

 Once out of the lower lock it was several hours of slow cruising to St. Ours.   This section of the Richelieu River between the two sets of locks is basically a long thin lake.  Houses on both sides, plenty of docks, boats, marinas, kayakers, fishermen, paddle boarders.  So, we limited our speed to minimize our wake.  Overall, still a relatively short cruising day.  Only tricky part was getting through the old railroad bridge at Borell.  At a left hand turn in the river the opening for the bridge is on the left side against the bank.  Almost impossible to see until you're on top of it and by then the current is flushing you through.  Glad I had read about it before hand.

Verry scenic approach to the Borell RR bridge

Then the bridge and channel become visible

And you get flushed through hoping traffic on the other side will hold up for you.

We made it to St. Ours lock and were greeted with open gates.  This is a full size lock.  When it was installed in the late 20's to replace the original lock it was sized like the Erie canal locks to allow larger barges, but since the Chambly canal and locks were never upgraded they became the limiting factor in barge traffic through Canada. By that time roads and rail were taking over transport and further upgrades to more locks were just deemed unnecessary.  Interesting arrangement in St. Ours lock.   They have a floating dock along the port side that you tie to.  Actually, the nice Parks Canada summer help grab your lines and tie you.  Just a short 5-6' drop. 

View of St Ours lock looking north - closed for the day

End of the day with As You Wish secured to the gray line
 and ready for an early morning departure

Busy lock. We had 6 boats total with us.  We were hoping to stay the night at the lock as it's beside a nice island park. When the gates opened, downstream boats lined the entire length of the blue line (waiting to lock) and the gray line (visiting).  Lockmaster said don't worry.  Pull to the side and idle,  several boats on the grey line would be locking and provide us a space.  Worked out great and we had our spot for the night. Another interesting feature at this lock is a fish ladder at the far side of the dam.  Several endangered species that spawn in the rapids above Chambly use it.  There's a viewing window but since we were past the spawning season no fish to be seen. 

The fish ladder on the west side of the dam at St Ours

Journey for July 21, 2024

Monday July 22, 2024  St Ours to Montreal  7.5 hours and 59 miles

Planning for a full day on the water today we left the St. Ours dock at 7:45. The final stretch of the Richelieu River goes all the way uninterrupted to the St. Lawrence River.   No locks today. We're carried initially with favorable current to Sorel Tracy where the Richelieu and St. Lawrence meet.  This is our northernmost point on the trip at 46.031'187"N.  Unfortunately, from there all the way to Montreal we've got the current fighting us. Our normal 1400rpm and 10mph is reduced to 7 mph.  In this area there is the main deep water shipping channel but also another channel called the small boat channel.  Small boat meaning no ships. Still plenty of water, usually 20' or more.  We use that route and find a reduced current allowing us to gain an extra mph.   Wide water with nothing overly notable other than churches along the shoreline and reading the names and home counties of various ships docked or at anchor along the way.

Interesting looking old churches seemed to pop up every few miles at each riverfront town

Some were quite impressive. Still trying to determine why
or the purpose that most have silver roofs and steeples.

Still plenty of bulk cargo ships using the St. Lawrence Seaway

The river narrows entering Montreal causing the currents to increase.  We've read about it but were surprised at the strength. Dropping us at times down to under 5 mph. We are staying at Port d'Escale  right in downtown old city Montreal for three nights.  Crazy entrance fighting maximum currents right until you turn into their entrance and then thankfully calm waters once in the marina.   Long day today so just took it easy with dinner onboard.  We'll spend the next few days exploring.

The clocktower is an historic landmark at Port Montreal. 
 Built in 1918 it commemorated those lost in WW1 but also
 was an homage to the importance the port was in Montreal's history.

As You Wish secured at Port d'Escale with La Grande Roue De Montreal
 in the background - built in 2017 to commemorate the city's 375th birthday.

Journey for July 22, 2024