We really enjoyed Sainte Anne de Bellevue, with the many
boats tightly docked (rafted and parading in the lock channel), the string of
restaurants, the scores of couples and families that walked by all day long and
well into the evening, and the way the women wore dresses for the occasion. It
was a great atmosphere.
One surprise was watching the many people who stopped along
the rail to point and stare at Great Laker. I would hear someone say, “Look at
this beautiful boat,” or “This is the boat I want,” and, if I stuck my head
out, they would ask me question after question about the boat. This morning a
man stood at the rail and beckoned me out. He told me how much he liked the
boat and asked who made it. It turned out he was in the marine business and had
worked on boats all his life. As I explained Great Laker’s virtues, he
exclaimed, “Now this is a real boat, not some toy boat like the others here!”
And then, “I just knew this had a working boat’s hull.” It was fun hearing about
what he thought makes a real boat and satisfying to know that Great Laker had made
the cut!
We went through the lock just before noon, packed in
expertly by the lock personnel along with 11 others boats. In this area, we are
finding ourselves in one of the larger boats for a change, which earned us the
privilege of tying up to the floating dock in the lock with other boats rafted
to us. Once inside, the lock personnel came with handheld remote terminals to
collect our fee, and one woman, from a boat rafted to us, had to walk across our
bow to pay. The rafting is quite fun, and everyone is friendly and seems to be
in a festive mood.
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| Rafting in the Sainte Anne Lock |
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| Woman paying her locking fee |
On the Ottawa River ,
each lock, when closed, backs up the river flow, creating a substantial lake. We entered and crossed Lac Des
Deux Montagnes up to the Carillon Lock. This lock, upgraded in 1963, is unique in
that it not only raises boats up 65 feet, but has a one-piece, guillotine-style
gate that is lifted up over the boats as they enter/exit the south end.
As we tied up to await an opening, another boater informed
us that the lock door was not working, several boats were trapped inside, and a
maintenance crew had been called in from Montreal
to try and fix it! Our fear of another Erie Canal
experience hit us hard, and we couldn’t believe this could happen again.
Fortunately after an anxious 90 minutes, we got the “all clear” to prepare to
enter. What a relief, as we might not have survived another delay.
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| Carillon guillotine-style lock door |
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| Door closing after we went in |
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| View of the 65 foot lift in this lock |
After the Carillon Lock, we crossed Lac Dollard des Ormeaux and found
a free dock at the town of Hawkesbury , and this
is our first stop in Ontario Province .
Here, Anne cooked a delicious meal of lemon shrimp with spinach and couscous. It
is remarkable what she can prepare here in Great Laker’s galley, and we
continue to eat very well on this trip.
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| Great Laker at sunset on the Hawkesbury town dock |
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