The Port of Montreal and the Locks

Drain the bilge under engine 2 bottles.

8:00 am Departure 

The day will be long, we return to Dorval and we have two big locks left. 

To avoid a little the current and the big ships, we take the secondary channel that will allow us to see these pretty villages and their beautiful churches. 

The Montreal port is normally bustling with activity but this time it was relatively quiet.

We arrived at the port of Montreal, we look closely at all these big ships that were moored. Bellum is tiny in front of these giants! How lucky, 

The London Star maneuvers to leave the port tethered with two tugs - one pushes the stern, the other pulls the bow and rotate it almost on the spot. 

London Star

Champlain Bridge

3:50 pm St. Lambert Lock. Three power boats.  One of these power boats had cut in front of us, causing unnecessary shaking of Bellum with her mast horizontal.

Leaving the lock, the two boats in front of us slow down to adjust their fenders, we pass them quietly. Once they have everything in order, it is their turn to overtake us at a brisk pace and especially without worrying about the waves left behind them. Bellum gets brewed nicely. I am on the front deck, I cling firmly to the mast so as not to go overboard. 

5:00 pm St. Catherine Lock 

At the opening of the lock doors at the exit of the second lock, Allan is very concerned about the dark clouds in the distance. He consults his weather radar. A storm awaits us. 

The further we go in the seaway, the more threatening the weather. Between the clouds, the light show is started.

And then lightning that tears the sky find their targets on the ground. It is beautifully disturbing. 

There is the Kahnawake marina on the territory of Indian reserve at the exit of the channel ... What will be the best anchor in the bay in front of the marina where to dock? 

No time to dock, the wind is blowing stronger and we now see the curtain of rain coming towards us.

We enter the bay, we face the wind we cast anchor and we leave the engine running. Now, we are soaked to the bones and the rain pinches our faces. We can hardly see anything in front. Storms of water are falling on us. Sometimes, it is his port that Bellum presents to the wind sometimes it is his starboard but she still hangs well at the bottom. The anchor holds up well despite the 30 knots of wind that shake the boat. Waytogo Rocna Vulcan.

As we were waiting out a storm, a mayday call came in near Chateauguay.  A boat was hitting the rocks in the storm.  Not much we could do.

Once the storm is over, we decide to spend the night here. The Royal St. Lawrence will have to wait a few more hours before we arrive. 


End of the trip meal: Hot Dogs and well-earned Scotch.