Richelieu Canal to Montreal June 20 - 22

After leaving the 10 Locks on the Chambly Canal we only had one lock to pass through in the Richelieu on the way up to Sorel (the northern most point we will reach.) We did tie up for a night at the St. Ours lock mooring wall. Since we purchased a Seasonal Locking AND Mooring Pass from Parks Canada before we left the US (before March 31 we got a 10% discount) we were able to stay at the lock with no additional charge. Most canal mooring spots do not have power or water but a few do have 30 amp power. We reached the end of the Richelieu River at Sorel. It is very industrial looking from the water so we didn't stop there but turned southwest onto the Saint Lawrence. The current was strong against us since this river, which drains much of eastern Canada, is heading downward and out to the North Atlantic.


We have been surprised at the number of seaplanes we see throughout the waterways and lakes of Canada. This example is one of the first we saw on the Richelieu but there were many more to see along the way. With relatively calm water conditions on the rivers it must be easier and more convenient to take off from water than to do to an airport.

Three were not many bridges on the Richelieu, but every community of decent size had a ferry to get across the river. Many are cable ferrys like the one pictured that use cables strung across the river bed to pull the craft back and forth across.

In several spots in Canada we have seen very large and distinctive range markers. These on the St. Lawrence were some of the brightest.

It seemed that every community on the Richelieu River and up the St. Lawrence had a central church building with tall spires. Most of the spires were silver so they shined for miles. These are a few examples that we saw.

Several large freighters passed us as we cruised up the St. Lawrence.

The picture shows the view entering Montreal on the St. Lawrence. The St. Lawrence Seaway canal goes to the left and a channel to the old Lachine Canal and our marina are slightly to the right although not visible in this picture. Some shipping still unloads in Montreal. The current was very strong here. I saw 5.4 knots against us as we went under this bridge. We had been fighting current the whole way from Sorel but this was really strong! I had to make sure I kept the bow heading straight up river.

We arrived at Vieux Port D'Escale which means something like Old Port for Transients or port for old transients! This is the old docking area for merchant ships. Before the Saint Lawrence Seaway was opened all the way to the Great Lakes in about 1959, Montreal was as far as ocean going vessels could go. There were unloading docks, warehouses, cold storage buildings that are mostly abandoned or turned over to private use. Port D'Escale is now a private marina. You can see our boat in the left center. The Cirque du Soleil performance tent is the yellow tent structure on the end of the wharf.