The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining us!

We finalized the purchase of our boat Moon Dance IV in Salaberry- Valleyfield yesterday. The cheque cleared and we cast off our lines around 8 a.m. to head for the Beauharnious Canal. The canal begins just around the corner from Valleyfield Marine where Moon Dance has been docked for the last 5 years.

It was a long day to our destination, Carillon Locks on the Ottawa River. Approximately, 50 NM. The previous owners, Denis and Andree, were kind enough to travel with us that day to make sure we found all the right switches and gear. We had both woken up wondering what on earth we had done. We have been talking about it for ages but reality is something else. I think the previous owners too had woken up that morning asking themselves “Qu’avons-nous fait ?”

The first challenge was tackling the Canal Beauharnois our first seaway lock. Commercial traffic is given precedence on the Saint Lawrence Seaway with pleasure craft fit in around the commercial transits at each lock station. However, we had checked the seaway website vessel transit information the night before to see what commercial traffic was expected so we could avoid a long wait. 

We had to wait 30 minutes or so for a train to pass before the bridge would lift so we could entered the canal. John was quite happy to hold station as it allowed him an opportunity to get to know the boat. To this point, he had “piloted” a total of about 15 minutes. Otherwise, our timing was perfect. I had just enough time to run up to the pay station to pay the $60 transit fare while a laker cleared the lock. 

In this lock the attendants hand you two lines; one for the bow and one for the stern. I stood looking somewhat stupidly at them until I realized there was nowhere to tie up. Boaters hang on to these lines while the boat drops 60 feet or so. The lines help hold the vessel close to the wall. The attendants reel in the lines once low water level is reached.

We exited the Beauharnois Canal into Lac Saint-Louis heading to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue – the lock separating the Ottawa River and the St Lawrence. The previous owner offered us a choice. We could take the long way around Lac Saint-Louis or a short cut. He had checked with some friends who said the water levels were high enough to allow us to use the short cut. “But,” Denis said, “ It is your boat now so you decide.” Knowing the care that they had taken with Moon Dance while they owned her, we took the short cut.

The next point of interest was Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. No pictures but suffice to say they make good use of the water front as the canal is lined with bars, restaurants, bike paths, trees and benches. Even on a cloudy day in September, there were cyclists, pedestrians, people hanging out – obviously enjoying a beautiful venue. 

Lac des Deux Montagnes was next. It marks the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Saint Lawrence. We had no time to explore but the region is ripe with history from the earliest days of New France to the stand-off at Oka where The First Nations asserted their right to traditional lands in 1990. Google satellite image still shows signs of the Seigneurial system of New France that resulted in long narrow fields running down to the water front.

We ended the day at Carillon Lock. The previous owner took a few moments on the foredeck as we neared the lock to bid farewell to the boat that had given them so much pleasure over the last 5 years.