Quebec City 

The next day way kept on heading down the St Lawrence past Trois Rivieres this was one of the main names we had as a landmark for our progress all these places and names are new and unfamiliar but every so often one will stick in your head.  

The Three Rivers

Our next stop was again a little tributary off the main river we had to get out off the current to drop the anchor, this little spot has a yacht club we headed up towards it but the water got really shallow closer the docks. We were happy to anchor anyway.  We ended up spending 2 nights anchored in this spot as we had to work out our approach to Quebec, tides and currents need to be taken into consideration on the approach and entering the Marinas Harbour.  On the second morning we thought we would take the dingy and go and visit the yacht club it rained heavily as we jumped in… we or I should say Craig rowed through the rain up to the dock we could see the gate was locked and we didn’t fancy walking in through the muddy bank, then we realised neither of us had picked up Craig’s wallet so we had no money to go in with anyway and yes as soon as we got back on the boat the rain stopped and the sun came out.

Our arrival in Quebec had to be at a high tide so we left at 5.30am to get the timing right, we flew down the river using the strong current and arrived at the entrance to Marina De Quebec around 11am.

There is a lock that controls the water level inside the marina that we had to go through before we entered the actual Marina.  There were 2 boys on the dock to catch the lines so an easy tie up.
Once we visited the office and got our marina keys sorted we were ready to explore the city by 1pm.  
Quebec is a beautiful city with the Citadel set high on the hill looking down over everyone there are still many cannons on the walls and streets, relics of its turbulent past.  

The original Catholic Church built in 1688

There are Churches and buildings still standing that were built in 1600’s So many wars, fighting the English and the Americans so the French could hold on to their piece of Canada.  
We walked through the quaint cobblestone streets looking for somewhere to have a French influenced lunch and we found the perfect restaurant Le Lapin Sauté sitting outside in the courtyard we had a chartreuse plate, a Roast Duck and a Rabbit Terrine, assorted breads, Local cheese and olives to name a few of the delicacies accompanied by a local crisp white wine.  
We were not sure if living on a boat mostly easting mince and sausages made the food taste so good but it was delicious, then we really splurged- I had a chocolate fondue and Craig had a local speciality of honey tart with coffee.  

Better  than mince and sausages

Then we were ready to explore - we passed Chateau Frontenac, the most photographed hotel in the world apparently,  along the esplanade and up to the Citadel and the Plains of Abraham, and back down through the old streets. There was a brief rain shower so we sought shelter in an old little pub and people watched for a while. 
Our choice for dinner was a tiny little bistro, Chez Temporal it was quaint and owned by the same family since the 70’s I liked it but Craig not so much, but on the plus side it was inexpensive.  

Typical narrow streets

Chez Temporal

We trudged home to Adriana very happy to be home and to put our feet up.  

Our second day we wanted to make the most of our time so we were up and out exploring early, we decided to find the fresh produce market it was originally located right next to the Marina but the Mayor of Quebec had commissioned a new building and it had only recently been relocated.  It was a 4.5km walk, mostly on pretty paths along the river and there were no hills so an easy walk  but we were lucky google maps was not in French.

The new market building was custom built and there were a good number of local producers selling their wares and most were very happy to give you  a sample we couldn’t buy much as we had to carry it back !!  it was a sunny day of around 25c so not too good for meat or cheese. we picked up a spicy salami, some great veggies including fresh local garlic and sweet corn.  The patisserie was the best, we had baguettes and croissants for lunch then a taste test of the local donuts – made with mashed potato.  
We could have bought so much food..  We had no idea how to get back to the Marina but we asked and found out it was a 10 minute walk to a main road where a bus could take us back to the old city, then a second bus would take us back to the Marina not bad for $3.50 each.  
The plan was to drop off the food and head back out  - but we didn’t make it our legs were too tired but that’s ok we had our favourite sweet corn with butter and chilli sauce done on the BBQ and bruschetta with the fresh pain, local garlic and amazing tomatoes.

The View to the City from Adriana 

Our night time view

Getting in and out of locks, marinas, fuel docks is always stressful, when you pay for a marina there is nearly always someone there to catch your lines so the pressure is off me but being such a big boat the wind can catch her and we need propulsion to keep control.  We also have bow thrusters on both sides which really helps.  We are getting better and less stressed each time we move as we get more used to her.    

We were up early purchased some fuel and out of the Marina by 10am only a short trip today as we have to use the tides and plan tomorrows arrival at Port De Refuge De Cap A Laigle  (this is another name that stuck in our heads) 
So we anchored 6.5nm from Quebec City at the side of the River between a bridge and huge power lines just after the Montmorency Falls,  

Montmorency Falls 

Its not the prettiest of spots its really open and we have swung around once already with the change of tide direction  and its really choppy we have been very spoilt, up until now the river has always calmed down and been very still in the evenings but its now tidal and running a fast current.  The weather has changed its cooler and we have had lots of rain it is only going to get colder from here on as we are heading further North.  

Up and away early again !! 

its actually a sunset but very pretty 

Today we had to conquer another 3 locks Beuharnois, Cote Ste Catherine and St Lambert.  The day started badly -  When we pull up the anchor Craig stands at the bow giving me hand signals – run the engine or idle, move forward or reverse, and also whether to steer right or left.  He does this so we move directly over the anchor and he uses the windlass and pulls it up, this morning I missed seeing one of his hand signals and kept the boat in reverse a bit too long... After righting my mistake we managed to get underway motoring along canal like rivers, again passing huge freighters motor boats and more river cruise ships.  

The next disaster was Valleyfield Bridge we had to radio through to the bridge master but we had no response so we decided to tie up to a convenient dock we turned around then realised our fenders were not low enough and a quick scramble to lower them still wasn’t quite enough.. we managed to tie up without wrecking Adriana but we did burst a fender on the wire mesh covering the deck, we were only tied up for a minute or two then the bridge started its  lifting process. 

We reached the Beauharnois  lock and we were the only boat waiting - we could see on AIS there was a freighter ship about to enter the other end so we knew we only had a 15- 20 minute wait so we decided to hover in the water - we stopped the motor and drifted towards the lock then we started it up again went back upstream and did it again we did this a few times I think we were traumatised after the anchor and docking incidents.   
We made it through this lock without incident, we were back to two lines just like the Welland Locks and using our boat hook and Bills stick to hold her off the wall.

The walls 

Keeping Adriana off the wall as we descend 

On approaching Cote Ste Catherine we actually had a green light as we were approaching and we were happy with that until we got in there and the lock was full of pleasure craft. 

We nearly turned back when we saw all the other boats waiting for us we thought the other locks where we were on our own or with another one boat had been stressful this was a whole new experience 

There were about 8 boats in front of us rafted in three lots.  We had to raft up to another yacht, so we quickly had to lift the wooden boards away so that it was just our fenders touching the other boat. 

You can see all the other boats around us 

We have two thick planks of wood, one for each side, that are used on the outside of the fenders to protect them from the walls rough surface. 

This was when we really started noticing we were getting into Quebec territory the people around us were all speaking French.  
The yacht we were tied up to was slightly smaller than Adriana which was a bit unfair that they were against the wall, Craig went onboard and helped keep their boat away from the wall.  
Things were reversed at St lamberts and we were on the inside with the other yacht rafted to the outside and the man from the other yacht jumped on board with us to help.  
The couple spoke French with only a little English and the man in the boat in front was the same.

The scenery started to look more French somehow!!

Once through we motored on until we reached Montreal around 7pm, oh we had to traverse down the canal type waterway again as the open waterway had rapids dropping into Montreal and causing huge currents. 

The guy from the yacht we were rafted to suggested we go to an anchorage outside of a marina closer to the old city than the one we had chosen… BIG MISTAKE the current was so strong we could not get across the river and we were running out of daylight.  Eventually we gave up  and headed back the way we came, we found all these yachts on mooring balls outside of a yacht club, so we thought it was as good a place as any to stop.  It was getting darker and darker and we didn’t like the spot we had dropped the anchor so we brought it up and moved forward away from the other boats. Once down the anchor held us secure the yacht club was off to the side slightly and well out of the huge current.  By this time it was about 9pm we had salt and vinegar chips for dinner a shot of tequila and a beer before we collapsed exhausted into bed.  We had started our day at 6am and finished at 9pm we had passed through 4 locks and 2 lift bridges and travelled 61 nm a huge stressful day.

Back into civilisation the approach to Montreal 

Our night time view 

Montreal

From where we were anchored, we could see the Jacques Cartier Bridge and the Olympic Stadium it was a really cool spot a bit industrial but close to the Old City.  Our plan was to spend a day at anchor and visit the Old City to have a look around.  I worked out we could dingy across to the Marina that is where we had originally planned to stay, that was until we decided just to anchor.  One of the kids working said it was ok to leave the dingy tied up for the day and to make things even better this was right next door to where the ferry departed -that would take us over to the Old City.  

On the ferry

The Old Port of Montreal is a beautiful old city very European with cobbled streets and a huge French influence, there is even a replica of the Church of Notre Dame that was built in 1824.  

We had a wander round the streets found a nice little café for baguettes and coffee.  The streets were very busy it is the middle of the Canadian Summer holidays and about 30c. 
All the street signs are in French everyone speaks French, we have been told the trick is to try and speak in French then because it sounds so bad the French speaking person will reply in English. 


It was way over 30c and were too hot to do any more walking we caught the ferry back to the suburban side of the river, checking Adriana as we went past. 

We needed to buy a snorkel so Craig could dive under the boat and check our propeller.  Coming down the river on the "stressful day" the engine had been revving really high and the oil pressure was up.  We had grasses wrapped around the propeller Craig put the boat into hard reverse a couple of times this seemed to get rid of it but he wanted to visually check it as well.  
We also needed a couple of bits and pieces and some groceries.  Google maps told us it was an hours walk to the closest Canadian Tire store but after about 10 minutes of walking in the heat we called an Uber it was way too hot for walking along highways. 
Canadian Tire and SuperC done and an Uber back to where the dingy is tied up.  I cant believe Google said it was an hours walk it seemed to take so long to drive there.  Dinner back on board and I think we were in bed asleep before 9pm again.

Up early and motoring away from Montreal we thought we should put up our Fleur De Lis flag now that we were in French speaking territory. 

The Captain putting up our Fleur De Lis flag 

On our way down the ST Lawrence Seaway after Montreal it is very industrial we are now passing huge international freighters loaded with shipping containers with home ports of Panama and Hong Kong.  All the made in china stuff landing in Canada  there was one terminals with 3 winches working unloading these huge ships.  

Its a sugar refinery 

So many shipping containers 

The river opened out but we still had to stick to the red and green markers showing the deep channel.   
Our excitement for the day was when were overtaken by a Lake Freighter we knew she was behind us doing 16 knots and we were doing around 6 - Craig was busy playing with google translate and forgot it was behind us until the pilot sounded its very loud horn warning us to get out of its way as it was quickly coming up behind us.  “oh shit” says Craig and we had to speed up and get out of the deeper channel off to the side to let it pass.
We pulled into an off shoot of the St Lawrence up a little channel  close to Isle La Pierre and close to Sorel.  We were surrounded by empty cottages and it was the most beautiful spot !! 

There were huge fish jumping out of the water all around us, I'm thinking they were trout and if you were a fisherman who used flies you would have caught yourself a beauty.  We just sat memsmerised waiting  to catch glimpses of them as they jumped.

One of the prettiest locations just off the main river 

Eisenhower and Snell Locks 

Up early again, continuing our journey down the St Lawrence River we are going with the current and it pulls us along sometimes giving us up to 2 extra knots of speed. 

Check out this image there are thousands upon thousands of shipwrecks in these lakes and rivers not so much in recent times but in the olden days ships sunk all the time.  

So you can imagine we are sticking very closely to the designated shipping channel.   The scenery reverted back to industrial as we moved down the river.  

We thought this was rather interesting 

So many bridges

The Irqunois lock appeared before us very quickly, we had been moseying along taking in the scenery when oops there was the lock in front of us well not the lock that was off to the side but a very low bridge was blocking our path, not that we bumped into it but we could see it before it registered with us what we were looking at.  We were using a booklet issued by the St Lawrence Seaway Authority the same as we used for the Welland canal but we found this lock a little bit harder to work out after a quick circle to suss it our we worked out we had to tie up to a tiny dock and climb some metal stairs to the communication telephone to contact the dockmaster and advise him we were waiting.

Some bridges we could get under but some we had to wait for them to be raised 

we could just see the phone box and the steps 

 And of course our credit card would not work for payment !! We had to search the boat for coins to make up the amount needed to pay.  Paying as you go through involves the guy on shore using a box on a very long pole leaning over and I had to place the money in the box, he tried to give us a receipt but it blew away.  We had about a half hour wait so we made a cup of tea.  Once we got the go ahead we entered slowly we had to use our ropes this time (the other locks supplied the ropes) the attendant looped it around and we descended holding Adriana off the wall.  This first lock was only a short drop.  

Out we went back into the river and on our way downstream between the 3 locks we had to go through the scenery felt more like a canal it was quite narrow with low land on either side there were still houses and motor boats but not nearly as many. 

The second lock again we had the information book but we could not work out where to tie up eventually we cottoned on that it was a tiny dock off to the side we headed over there but a sign caught our attention “water depth 6 feet or less” we reversed out and did a few circles calling the dockmaster on the radio he assured us we would be fine but if we wanted we could drop the anchor a bit further back and off to the side, we had to go back up the channel we had just come down, we dropped the anchor and had some lunch when 4 power boats exited coming the other way about half an hour later we knew it was time to get ready to go through the Eisenhower Lock this Lock and the next one Snell Lock are American operated all the others have been Canadian.  

We slowly entered the lock this time it was up to us to hook our rope over a bollard recessed into the wall.  The operator asked us if we wanted to tie up one rope or two, we chose two which didn’t really work with this type of bollard/descent.  

Being tied up with two lines one on the bow and one on the stern didn’t work like the other locks so we had to stand with the boat hook and bills walking stick and physically hold Adriana away from the wall, I had to push with all my strength a few times as she started veering in a bit too close to that wall!! 

The Snell canal used the same recessed bollard system we used a centre line and it worked perfectly with no dramas.  Whew we were through all 3 locks for today.  

We anchored behind a small island ( Pilon Island ) just off the main channel close to a pretty little town called Ile Saint - Regis.  

We were just relaxing with a cold beer when we were visited by some very friendly locals who had come out to see us when they saw the Australian flag I think it was also a good excuse to jump in their motor boat and take it out for a spin.  They asked us if we needed anything but we were fine they offered ice and did we need anything from the shops?  how nice was that?  

On Active Captain the app we use for navigation and finding anchorages we had seen another place close by - but the reviews said it was a meeting place for drug runners and unfriendly locals so we gave that one a miss but looking around us we could not imagine that would be the case, probably a local writing that to keep the area quiet and to themselves.

Coming out of the Snell lock we saw a family of deer and we had watched a baby eagle on a high post when we were waiting to go through the Eisenhower.

Kingston  

We slept from 4pm straight through to 6am, I don’t think I moved all night.  

Our destination today is Collins Bay where there is a marine shop we need to visit for some charts to get us down through the St Lawrence.  

Up early we were motoring into the marina that we had called ahead to book, as we were approaching the marina -  heading up an inlet we noticed that the depth showing on our instruments was shallower than what the chart plotter showed and we had 0.2 mt under the hull.  Ooops we had to quickly reverse out of there do a tight circle and basically just move on to the next Marina which was around the corner but miles away, 

The marina we had tried to get into was just down the road from the Marine shop!!  and no one had mentioned the depth when we booked i'd say it was a build-up of new growth weeds as apparently this can be a problem at this time of year.  

We radioed ahead and pulled into Kingston Confederation Basin Marina where we filled up with diesel, did a pump out and topped up with water

Once we were tied up, “life is so much easier when there are helpers on shore to catch the lines”  we quickly got ourselves ready and headed out to find the marine shop, the guys on the dock told us we should be able to catch a bus in that general direction.  

We need to buy chart books and other information for transiting down the St Lawrence, (that  includes the other 7 locks we have to go through) and a book showing tide times that we will need further down the St Lawrence as we reach salt water and tides. 

The Kingston Marina was opened by the Queen in 1976 for that years Olympic Games and it is built right next to the Kingston Penitentiary, which is no longer used as a prison but is open to the public as a tourist attraction.  It took me a few minutes to work out what side of the road we needed be on to look for a bus stop that would take us in the right direction I had forgotten about the cars driving on the other side !!

We didn’t have to wait too long, and the lady bus driver was great she told us when to get off and did an illegal stop for us so that we got off at the closest point to our destination.  $3.00 for a bus ticket and you can use it all day.

It was still another half hour walk to the shop and the sun was beating down.

The marine shop was a disappointment!  chock full of stuff but nothing that we had set out to buy….. Craig picked up a couple of shackles and we still managed to spend a small fortune but the charts, books, oil, filters and bits and pieces we needed were not in stock.  As we were asking the staff if there was an easier way back downtown another customer was in the process of ordering a taxi and he didn’t mind sharing it with us -  he had hired a pushbike and was not inclined to ride the bike back it was a lot further than he thought and probably about a 30 degree day.  The taxi dropped us off at the entrance to the Marina right next to a cute little pub, we couldn’t resist going in for a beer we ended up staying and having 2 and a burger for an early dinner.  I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get to visit downtown but we chose to go back to Adriana I especially have a much better sleep when we are tied up to a dock.

Saturday 3rd  August 2019

The next morning, we were up early and continued on our journey heading down the St Lawrence.  

Now this area is much busier with watercraft, there were jet skis, power boats, really fast power boats and a lot of what looked like floating cottages with engines.  We didn’t even attempt to sail there was no wind and it was hectic.  

Just to give you and idea of how busy it was !!

They look the same but are different clips

The closer we got to Brockville the busier the water was.  This is in the middle of an area called 1000 Islands Craig had to be on the ball following the red and green markers dodging the other boats and then we had River Cruise Boats sailing past as well. 

The Canadian side is much prettier than the American side with lots of cute cottages.  Many of the Islands are tiny with just one cottage on it but fully set up with dingy docks, pergolas and  swimming platforms with access steps.

Singer Castle over 100 yrs old

Cute Houses with the lot 

The statue of St Lawrence 

We passed Singer Castle built over 100 years ago by the Singer Sewing Machine family, we passed the statue of St Lawrence set high on an escarpment looking over the river and we passed so many huge mansions mostly on the Canadian side, we did criss cross a bit to look at each side.  

We reached our destination around 4pm and set the anchor down behind a small island  - Smith Island, I think we were in a very exclusive part of town as there was a seaplane parked out the front of one of the houses.  Then we had a visit from the water police, I think we will have lots of visits they are mostly curious about our Australian Flag.  We had a good chat with them, Craig had to go and put on his shorts first he was sitting in his jocks when they arrived.  They did check out our passports and paperwork for Adriana.  It was a joint US and Canadian patrol, they are combined in this part of the river, we were wondering how the two countries managed their borders in such busy waterways, this strategy has been in place for a few years now.  
More locks tomorrow so an early night for us.

Lake Eire

An early start took us running out of the mouth of the Detroit River into Lake Eire, we had about 3 knots of current pushing us along.  Lake Eire was calm with almost no wind we tried  putting up the spinnaker it went up and down a couple of times  but eventually the wind picked up and we cruised along and managed a couple of hours of quiet progress.

The only thing worth noting is that we now know what flies the fish flies are !!  They stink like lake trout and we were inundated with them YUK.  They leave a green slime when you squish them, who would have thought that the woollen duster we inherited with Adriana would be so useful.

Captain woollen duster 

We knew the wind was going to pick up, so we had an early dinner of beef curry from the freezer.  The air was still warm we were in shorts and t-shirts, but we could see the storm clouds building on the horizon. 

Around sunset the wind started to pick up and we were flying along. it was still incredibly mild.  The thunder clouds rolled in, there was only a crescent moon lighting up the skies.  

We were heading down the lake to the end so there was land on the horizon on both side, cities on the American side giving off a faraway glow and the red lights from the wind turbines on the Canadian side.

The wind increased but so did the size of the waves.  Lake Eire has a reputation of blowing up quickly because it is so shallow.  They will issue a strong wind warning in Australia at 25 knots but in Canada they issue one at 15 knots, we now know why, the shallowness of the lake produces short sharp waves and today they were growing into large short sharp waves, only 10 mt apart.  Then the lightening started.  Craig hates lightening!!!  

What it is like sailing at night but wait for the lightening 

What a show Lake Eire put on for us, we were flying along - Adriana didn’t disappoint, she cut through those waves, dodged the lightening and sailed on through the night.  

At one stage she peaked at 9.8knots - her optimum hull speed, she hummed, the hull started vibrating – that’s where the term humming along comes from.   

It wasn’t long after that that Craig realised; we were maybe going a bit too fast in these conditions.  So, we furled in the headsail and reduced the mainsail to about ¼.  And wow we were still flying along at 8 knots with only the smallest sail out.  There was still lighting striking all around us and the temperature was still really mild. 

Eventually around 4 in the morning we hit a really choppy patch, where we seemed to just stop, our gages still showed 4 knots but the lights on the horizon didn’t seem to move past us.  After about half an hour of being bashed around on went the engine and we ploughed on through the big choppy swell. 

We were heading to a public docking area at the entrance to the Wellan Canal.  As the sun rose we were motoring through huge rolling waves, the thunder and lightning storm abated and rolled away behind us, the thunderstorm had lasted for hours.  Craig went below for a quick nap and my job was to keep a watch on the chart plotter checking that we were staying on course, it would beep if any ships on AIS came into range and I had to check that I could see them.  I also had to keep a watch on the horizon front and rear for any lights/vessels not on AIS.  We did not pass anything else out on Lake Eire that night only the huge freighters.

Craig awoke about an hour from the entrance, I wish I had taken a photo of Craig at the wheel as he navigated our way past the break wall into the canal entrance we were punching through the high seas.  I now know what the term “High Seas” means we seemed to be sitting really high on top of the waves being pushed forward by the swell, riding much higher than usual.  As the sea was so rough we couldn’t put out our fenders getting ready for docking, until we were within the shelter of the canal behind the break wall.  I had to steer Adriana up the channel keeping her in the centre was a bit of a challenge in the strong winds while Craig made us ready for docking. We had to manoeuvre back and forward a few times to get the right angle for me to throw a line over the bollard on the dock, but eventually I managed to snag it and tie the rope around the cleat, Craig did the same at the stern. Once we were tied up securely, we had a high five a big hug and then a moment, so relieved to have made it across Lake Eire, through the lightning and huge winds and into a port.  I didn’t mention we were running down the shipping channel so the AIS would beep whenever any freighters were close.  But that kept us busy through the night. We did have the Coast Guard radio on the whole time.  We had travelled 180 Nautical Miles from Pele Island to Port Colborne, the entrance to the Welland Canal.

We had to call the St Lawrence Seaway Port Authority to check  in and pay for our transit $240 CA. we told the where we were tied up and they said relax you will be going through at 9am on Tuesday morning, it’s a new policy they only let pleasure craft through on Tues, Wed and Thursday, so we had an extra day to recover.   The dock we were tied up to is a free dock for transient boats entering or exiting the Welland Canal, there is a Marina around the corner and we had a visit from someone from the marina saying the slip was reserved and we would have to move to the marina, Craig politely told him we were not moving, he made a phone call and came back to say it was alright for us to stay where we were, we think he was trying to scam us into using the Marina. After we had showered, and we were chatting to the guy on the boat next to us who was just about to leave after passing through the canal, we had a visit from the Border Patrol Customs officers there were 4 of them and 2 came on board Adriana.  We think the St Lawrence seaway people must have contacted them.  We had to explain our Australian flag, show our proof of purchase, show our Australian passports and Canadian visa emails. When we had entered Canada coming in through the airport  everything was processed electronically and we had no stamp on our passport to show visa status or arrival date in Canada.  Our visitors very kindly stamped our passports for Canadian entry.  They were happy we could prove who we were and verify our story with relevant paperwork, they said we would be surprised how many people just arrive in Canada by boat probably with no intention of leaving again.

We went for a walk to stretch our legs and have a look around, Port Colborne is very pretty around the dock area in front of where we were parked,  with lots of cafes and gift shops.  We found a guy selling marinated beef rolls outside of a gourmet butchers shop  - they were delicious.  Being a Sunday most of the shops were closed and they were closed Monday too in fact there were more shops open on the Sunday than the Monday. After a walk around we had an ice cream and headed back to Adriana for a sleep.  When we woke up around 5pm we were like zombies.  Craig cooked a chilli beef and whipped up some sausage rolls ready for Tuesday.  Monday we did some had washing, cleaned up, did a grocery shop.  We also walked to the local hardware where among other things we picked up an electric kettle.  As we have solar panels we have free power during the day but we have to pay for gas and the gas can get expensive and hard to source in other countries.  As Adriana is American built all her power sockets are US so anything electrical, we want will need to be bought before we leave USA, we are thinking we might pick up an induction hot plate too.  We picked up a power socket with 2 usb charging sockets.  I left Craig installing the new power point and I wandered off on my own and had a look around I picked up a couple of new paperbacks at an op shop.  I found the local museum and library and they were opposite a laundromat so back I went to pick up Craig and our bedlinen. We spent an half an hour or so at the museum and sat in the library using their free Wi-Fi until the clothes were dry. An early dinner and we collapsed still exhausted from our overnight sail.

Tuesday we were up bright an early excited but nervous about our Welland Canal transit.  There was only a power boat travelling through with us and they had done the transit before, so we just followed them. We were ready by 9am but didn’t get the green light to pass under the first bridge until 10am. This bridge was directly in front of where we had been tied up.

The bridge had to lift in the centre to let us through.  The first lock we just bobbed around in while the water dropped a few feet.  Then we motored for 10 nm (18.2km) we went under the next bridge and into our first real lock.  As we were entering, we were parallel with the guys on shore, Craig had to motor close to the wall so they guys could throw on the 2 ropes.  I held on to one at the bow and Craig held the other one at the stern.  The idea was just to hold the boat in place and let the rope out as we descend.  
There were 6 locks after the first easy one.  The stressful part was keeping Adriana from crashing into the wall, at one point there must have been a water outlet in the wall next to us and Adriana’s stern was sucked into the side, causing the solar panels to crash into the wall (there was no major damage)  We used the boat hook and a walking stick Bill had left on board to fend ourselves off the wall.  In Warton we had purchased a huge 24” orange buoy and that was our saving factor it was worth every penny. 

We had to work hard keeping back from the boat in front of us 

We had to keep away from the wall 

And we had to pass through a few of these bridges 

Another stressful part was keeping a safe distance from the motor boat in front of us.  We also had to change the sides that the fenders were on between a couple of the locks so I had to steer while Craig repositioned the fenders as quickly as he could.  Craig worked hard all day accelerating - reversing and using the bow thrusters.  I was at the bow in the sun most of the time it was a big long day but we were through by about 4pm.  

Just around the corner from the Canal exit there was a pretty little bay called Chicken Bay where we dropped the anchor.  The water looked really clean and the temp 24.5c we jumped in to cool down, we don’t have an actual temperature gauge on board but I pulled the one out of the fridge it rose to 30c but I think it was hotter we couldn’t tell as that was the highest temp the thermometer went up to.  After a swim a beer and the sausage rolls we didn’t get to eat earlier we tidied up ready for an early dinner and collapsed into bed exhausted.  Lucky there was no wind as we slept solid through the night. 

One of the last locks of the day 

we made it,  the exit out into Lake Ontario

Sausage Rolls at Chicken Bay

Lake Ontario

The next morning, we were up and away by 6am out across Lake Ontario we decided not to head towards Toronto but to keep going, we had visited the city when we first arrived and I had driven down with Heather.  We are also very aware of how far we have to go and how cold it is going to get here very soon.  Winter is coming.  

We could just see Toronto on the horizon

There was a nice breeze and we moseyed along at about 4knots but by midday the wind had dropped, up went the spinnaker but there was nothing, so on went the engine.  We busied ourselves showers to freshen up the running the engine heats up the water, we made nice salad wraps for lunch and watched the passing scenery.  You can see ripples on the water when there is breeze so as we approached these patches up would go the big red spinnaker but we still couldn’t catch any wind we were motoring along in the centre of lake Ontario its huge just like an ocean.  

After a nice dinner of fried rice cooked by Craig we prepared for another overnight passage, we have on hand water, snacks (our favourite is rice thins and peanut butter we don fleecy jumpers and have our wet weather gear ready and blankets ready if needed.  
The wind started to pick up  - this time there had been no indication on the weather reports of any wind increases we had all the sails up heading NE down the lake, the wind was coming from North West in increased 15 -18 knots then 20-22 knots the seas kept increasing and increasing the waves got bigger and bigger and as usual on the lake they are close and sharp pounding into Adriana. 

Don't watch if you get sea sick 

We had to endure about 10 hours of incessant waves and high winds, we were heeled over so it was not very comfortable, Craig managed a bit of a sleep sitting up early on and I kept watch.  
We could see the flashing red of the wind farms on the Canadian side and the glow from the cities on the US side.  I had to keep watch that the wind direction did not change and keep an eye on the chart plotter for any ships on AIS and the horizon for any ships not on AIS and that we were staying on course.  
I think most sane people stick close to the edge of the lake and day hop  form Marina to Marina but not us we pushed through the night straight down the centre.  
Dawn broke and the sun came up with no change in the sea state, wind strength or direction.  We were still being pounded and heeled over one thing that was good was that the wind direction did not change and so we were traveling in one straight line the whole time and heading in the right direction.
Once the sun was up Craig had another short sleep with I kept an eye on the horizon.  I found it first a great little secure spot to lie down when Adriana is heeled over.

A welcome Sunrise

One it was daylight Craig took the wheel for a while to see if he could navigate a smoother path through the swell but there was no rhythm to the seas. Around 10am things started to calm down, the boat righted herself and the seas abated, so much so that eventually we were becalmed and we had to motor to our destination Amherst Island in Stella Bay.   We dropped the anchor in a lovely little bay with the hum of a power plant in the background.  We certainly have left the remote North Channel far behind us.