It was a "Hurray Up & Wait" Kinda Day!

All three pleasure boats waited 4 1/2 hours to enter the St. Lambert lock

After two blistering hot and humid days in Montreal, we planned to head to Ottawa, passing through two locks and then take a calm 1 1/2 hour cruise to get to St. Anne-de-Bellevue where we would stay for the night. We booked our lockage time for 9 am and arrived 30 minutes in advance of our lift time. Another power boat called Live Lucky, was waiting at the dock so we tied up behind them hoping we could lock through soon. About 15 minutes later a 75 foot Sailboat called Tabasco pulled up with six Canadians on board. They were delivering this sailboat from Maine to Toronto for a new owner. They had been on the water for 7 days and hoped to be in Toronto in another 3 days. They told us about their experience coming past PEI into the Gulf of the St. Lawrence River where the winds were howling. At times they claim they were sailing with all sails up, at 18 knots. We had a real social group going as time kept passing in the morning. We watched freighters go up and go down the lock. It just seemed that the lock master didn't care about personal water craft as the Seaway makes their big buck on the freighters.

Tabasco

One, two, three, & four hours passed, as we waited patiently to pass through the lock. Suddenly, we get a message on the loud speaker, "You have two minutes to get into the locks or you will miss your lockage today as we are very busy." We quickly hustled our crew, untied our lines, and headed for the lock. It was 1:30 PM when we finally made it through the first lock and it was just 15 minutes from the marina where we had been for the past several days. What a "Hurray Up and Wait" kinda morning that was.

After the first lock we proceeded down the channel to the St. Catherine lock and waited about 1 hour before they kindly moved us into the lock. Yahoo - we were through two locks by 3:30 PM in a record 7 hour duration.

By this time we had been tied up in hot weather, locked through the first lock in pouring rain and basically frustrated. Swabbie took the stern line and Cynthia continued her post at the bow. Both are doing a fantastic job of keeping our boat in control during locking. Even when wet.

Boating around the City of Montreal is not something that is on our "Gotta Do List". This is an area simply to avoid unless you plan to be in the Montreal area for a long duration. We spent a full two days getting in and out of the city.

The good news was, we had a short run to the town of St. Anne-de-Bellevue where we passed through the lock and tied up on the top for the evening. The winds died down, the sun was shining and the rain gone.

Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is an on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703. It is is a dynamic village just 25 minutes from downtown Montreal. The streets are lined with iconic restaurants and shops along the National Historic site of the Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue Canal.

The town is full of bars and restaurants and rumour has it that many years ago the kids took advantage of the vast number of bars in town. There's a bar called Taverne Cousineau (formerly Phyls) where the kids would hang out. They would pay 15 cents for a 6 oz draft beer and then tip the waiters 10 cents per glass because it was the only way they could drink, as they were under age. They claimed they could chug 10 beer for $2.50 and have a blast and we just wonder who one of those kids was.

Oh, the things we could do when we were younger.

If you check out this bar on the website this is what they say, "Commonly known as Cousi's or Pub Cousi, the former tavern is a hang out. You can get to know St. Anne's history by one of the patrons who is probably a regular who talks about the good old days. It's the cheapest place to drink in town. Come here to be by yourself or get acquainted with a drinking buddy who will be your best friend for life."

We walked part of the town and Swabbie and Captain had some Gelato which was home made and great stuff. The water front is dotted with restaurants and all the outdoor patios were packed. Cynthia did another fantastic photo walk throughout the town.

The other boat that locked through with us during the day, arrived a bit later and he stayed the night in town . He and his wife went out for dinner but we cooked burgers on the grill and enjoyed our home cooked meal on board Out To See III.

Our day was long, at least it was a long time sitting at a lock. Tomorrow we head to one more lock at Carillon before crossing the Lower Ottawa River. With the biggest drop of any lock in Canada, it is equipped with a 200-ton vertical lift door and the lock allows boats to negotiate the 20-meter descent. We can't wait to do this one.

But St. Anne-de-Bellevue is very quaint and worth the stop. Enjoy some images of the town.

The Hallman Experience - We are tired of waiting at locks in the Montreal area as they are poorly managed. They don't know what a scheduled lock time means.

Solution: When you schedule a lift time, stick to it and let the pleasure boats meet their schedules, as well as the freighters.

Tomorrow we are in Ottawa - Swabbie wants to meet the Prime Minister !