Day 125. August 18. Locks 4-9 Chambly Canal. 10 Nm. Total 2420

Woke to a bright sunny day. Get a few chores done while we waited for our turn to lock through. We have two very large boats, so big they fill the entire lock just with the one boat, ahead of us in the locking sequence. So we will be in the third locking.

The locks in the Chambly Canal are much smaller than in the Rideau. They are 110 feet in length and 23 feet in width. There are also 12 bridges which have to open for us as they are only 3 to 4 feet off the water. Many of the bridges are tied to the locks, it five we must hail to request an opening. Two of the bridges have restricted openings. The channel itself is also very narrow. There are places where two boats cannot pass by one another. The staff at the locks and bridges must coordinate boats moving in the channel as well.

We started locking through the series of locks 4-8 at 10:00. Locks 4-8 are within four miles of each other with basins just after the locks to allow boats to pass one another. So lock staff will hold a boat in a lock to until approaching boats can get to the basin to allow them to pass one another. On our trip we had to give ways twice to boats heading north. By 12:00, we made our way through our of lock 8. We enjoyed watching the bikers, runners and walkers on the path which followed the canal.

Then we had to negotiate bridges 4-10. After a short stop at bridge 10 we were cleared to go through the 4 mile channel to lock 9. There at lock 9 we finished our 80 foot rise to the level of Lake Champlain.

Yes, we finally made through the 6 locks and 12 bridges of the Chambly Canal and settled into a dock by 2:00. The speed limit is 5 knots in the canal so we were going slowly. Along the way the scenery was mostly rural at first, then gradually becoming more and developed with homes and towns as we headed south.

At Lock 9 we entered the larger town of St Jean sur Richelieu. Where we tied up for the night. Our docking required a shuffling of boats at the dock so we could fit in. In the process we met several people who shared their enthusiasm for boating and traveling. So many friendly Canadians!

After coming to a meeting of the minds about where we will stop in Lake Champlain for the next few days, we changed and headed out to get dinner and find WiFi. Had a delicious meal at a Colombian restaurant and typed this blog. Just as I was finishing hot balloons passed down the river. Was fun to watch them float by.

Reflections on the Bahamas

Reflections on the Bahamas Over the past 10 weeks, we have traveled through Abaco, Eleuthera and Exuma Islands and enjoyed the hospitality of the Bahamian people. We have learned all about the islands, its unique geography - limestone, caves, blue holes and chalk cliffs; and colorful history-pirates and rum running, salt ponds and cotton plantations, boat building and wrecking/salvage. Traveling over 1300 miles through narrow cuts and wide bays to vast depths of ocean, we negotiated the islands and found safe harbors, calm coves for anchoring, bays filled with moorings and marinas large and small. This trip required us to pay close attention to the weather, the tides and currents as we traveled between and through the islands. The Bahamian people are warm and friendly, willing to give us rides, advice and directions, as well as some secret recipes!! We enjoyed hiking trails, walking the beaches, snorkeling the coral rocks and reefs, discovering ruins and ol...

June 4-5. Day 63-64. On to Cape May New Jersey. 53.4nm. Total 1534 miles.

Left Delaware City at 5:35am to be able to take advantage of the strong currents going with us while traversing Delaware River and Delaware Bay. The Delaware River goes south about 15 miles and flows into the Delaware Bay. As we travel south, New Jersey is to the east and Delaware is to our west. We are traveling just outside the shipping channel and are really moving at 10.9 knots. That is three knots faster than we normally travel, as the outgoing tides are pushing us along. Nice to have Mother Nature helps us save on fuel. The Delaware River is about 8 miles wide so there is plenty of room for the freighters and the pleasure boats. So far, we have not encountered any commercial traffic, but there is a large freighter behind us that will eventually pass us as they travel at 14 knots. The Delaware Bay proper varies from 23-29 miles wide and 26 miles long. There are five lighthouses on the Delaware marking the shipping channel. We went by Ship J...

Day 98. 2nd year. August 27. On to Manistee. Miles 25 Total miles. 3910.

We weighed anchor on a sunny 50 degree morning. So we put on our sweatshirts and drove from below as we left Frankfort. Going through Frankfort’s channel and breakwater we encountered a few intrepid fisherman and further along as we cleared the breakwater there must have been over a hundred fishing boats. Almost like playing bumper cars, but with boats. Had to negotiate a path between them as the fishing boats were all trolling fishing lines behind them. We were still seeing fishermen 4 miles south of Frankfort. These guys sure take their fishing tournaments seriously! The shoreline that we pass heading south are still sand dunes bluffs some as tall as 200 feet. As we travel, we pass the small town of Arcadia and Portage Lake, each situated on an inland lake which is connected to Lake Michigan by a dredged channel. Interesting to note that the dredged channels were originally small rivers connecting the inland lakes to Lake Michigan. As we passe...

Crustacean Travels

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