July 3
From Gananoque, we proceeded to Brockville where we met up with friends, David and Regina. During that weekend (June 24-26), the Tall Ships were there.
One of the vessel is a replica of one of Magellan's. The Tall Ships' next stop is Cleveland July 10. David and Frank always have so much to talk about; both enjoying anything technical. We all have plans to meet up again in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. How exciting!
After Brockville, we now hit 7 locks in 4 days (plus 2 travel days). I tell you: these locks are not a walk in the park! ... except one: Iroquois Lock. That one was easy. The most difficult were the 2 US ones: Eisenhower and Snell. They have floating bollards inserted in the walls, about 3 feet wide, no staff to help hook our ropes. Wind and current in our back, so it's hard to slow down.
To avoid boring with you with the details, by the time we passed these 2 locks, I was sweating and my legs were shaking. We didn't break anything on the boat but it was not easy. Besides, the physical challenge of passing through the locks, there was the logistics challenge that Frank explained in his blog a few days ago. Again, without going through the details, many details you read about reservation and procedures contradict each other or are missing. The best method is to call the lock or the St. Lawrence Seaway in advance and ask all the questions you may have. I'm glad we're done with locks.
We're now in Longueil. The entrance to the marina is 90 degrees to the current and West wind. So we had to enter the marina at 30 degree angle, a bit like a crab: we advanced in a straigh line but the boat is facing sideways, nose facing the current/wind. Interesting, to say the least! This marina has about 5% sailing vessels, the rest is filled with motorboats. Our slip is beside another sailboat. Two guys who are preparing to go around the world! We ate at Silva's with friends Danny and Andree, walking distance from the marina, a Portugese restaurant. Very good tapas and main dishes. Every Saturday, at nearby La Ronde, there is an international fireworks competition. The streets around the marina were lined with people picnicing then later watching the fireworks. The show was impressive.
We take it easy today: bicycling, blogging, napping, reading. Tonight, my brother and my nephew are coming for dinner!
We're leaving Longueil tomorrow morning. We plan a 8-hour trip to the area of Sorel-Tracy. There's a sand anchorage where we'd like to spend a couple of nights. It's now time to do a lot of research about the anchorages, current and tides from Trois-Rivieres to Quebec City. We need to time our daily travels with the ebbing flow. We'll make daily progress of about 6-7 hour increments. We might be in Quebec City by July 7-9.
One last thing, today is the 100th birthday of Frank's Onkel Sepp! Sepp and Tante Friedl are beautiful people, big hearts and gentle smiles. Happy Birthday Onkel Sepp!
