June 15th - Montreal Canada

June 15th – In Montreal, Canada

·      Current Location – Montreal Canada

·      Latitude 45°30.4’ N Longitude – 73° 33.1’ W 

·      Total Miles - 524

Hello friends and family.  Since we entered Canada on June 2^nd, I’ve had quite a few highlights but Linda has only had one – going to the F-1 car race.  But I’ll start at the beginning:

Our Next Boat Project

St Paul, Isl de Noix – We departed the United States from Rouses Pointe NY and headed North into Quebec Province.  After clearing customs (easy except their dock was rough and windy) we went to the “Island of Nuts” and into the small town of St. Paul.  We stayed at a marina called Gosellins and were flabbergasted when we walked into their back lot.  It was full of literally hundreds of big Canadian sailboats that they had stored for the winter.  Of course they had a few boats that had been there a few winters too many.

Lock sign on the Chambray Canal

View of the Last Lock on the Chambly

Chambly (Quebec Province, Canada)– We spent most of the day slowly winding through the countryside and going down through nine locks that form the Chambly Canal.  We shared this experience with Mike and Gale Wright from Vancouver Island on their beautiful Mainship 40 that they had recently bought in Maryland to do the Great Loop.  After the last lock in the town of Chambly they continued on and Linda and I stayed on the lock wall.  It was a great day and we enjoyed walking around the town which traces its European History back to the age of discovery in the 1600s.  the British built a stone fort in Chambray which still stands and the church graveyard is full of 1700 and 1800 gravestones.

Anglican Church built in 1820

Beloeil (Quebec Province, Canada)–

The Billy Ray is out on the end

This is a VERY French village.  My goal was (and still is) is to be able to say “bonjour” without getting laughed at.  Pretty much failed my French proficiency at Beloeil.  Even the marina owner didn’t speak English.  Luckily he spoke Spanish and he and I were able to communicate somewhat.  Linda and I went to a very upscale restaurant and I swear that I felt like I was in France.  Of course that is the whole town’s purpose in life.  It has been hard communicating in all of Quebec Province but it makes for a real foreign experience.

Cruising on the Richelieu River

Sorel (Quebec Province, Canada)–

Flags over Sorel

One of the Big Boys on the St. Lawrence

We wound our way through the French countryside ever northward on the Richelieu River until we hit the Saint Lawrence River.  Holy Crap.  All of a sudden there it was with great big freighters traveling upstream.  It was 40 miles further to go on to Montreal so we decided to stay in the town of Sorel near the junction.  We had a walk of about a mile each way into the town so we were limited in what we could carry back to the boat after shopping.  Wine and steaks made the list.  We passed through a park where they had a big flag stand.  They had the French flag flying at the same elevation as the Canadian and Quebec flags.  Sorel has tides of about six inches. 

Isle St Helene off Montreal – Two miles from downtown Montreal

Rain-out on Day One

This stop was all about seeing a Formula 1 race.  We stayed at a marina on the island where the race was being held that provided rides to and from the race each day.  The first day (Friday) was practice.  About a half hour into the “big car” session (they also race a couple of slower car classes to fill the time), the skies opened up and everything and everyone got soaked.  The day was over.

Saturday was a beautiful day and the “big cars” had more practice and qualifying.  This was only an eight hour day at the track.

Ferrari "Owner's" Class

Tod Relaxing at the Race

Sunday was the big day.  We got there at just after 8:00 to stake out a good spot for the actual F-1 race which started at 2:00.  Luckily I took a folding chair to sit in.  Linda didn’t.  So sorry! The actual race was pretty straightforward without any hold ups for car problems.  It took about 85 minutes to get in the 70 laps.  The Mercedes team cars came in #1 and #2 although most of the fans seemed to be for Ferrari.  After the race was over we were able to walk around on the track.  I thought that this was the best part.  Of course the cars were pretty cool too.

A Real Formula One Car (Honda)

The “Old Port” in Montreal –

It’s hard to believe that during the last two weeks we did all the stuff I described above AND visited Montreal City.  It seems like we have had an entire vacation right here in Montreal.  It’s a great walking town from the port but also has a good metro system to visit the far away spots.  We took a bus tour to get a city orientation have been getting to know the city better every day.  Cool things about Montreal include:

·      The Chateau Ramezay – The fanciest house in Canada in the mid 1600s.  Benjamin Franklin spent time on a visit here in the late 1770s trying to no avail to talk Canada into “going with us”.  They had been guaranteed religious and cultural freedom by Britain to keep them happy.

·      Mont Royal – This is a huge park on a hill about 2 miles North of downtown that is pleasant in the summer and used for winter sports (snowshoeing and skiing) in the winter.

·      The whole “Old Town” – There is lots of Montreal history still here that hasn’t been ruined for some reason including old buildings, one of the museums is built on an archeological site. 

The Atwater Market

·      The Cathedral – Built in the early 1800s to replace a church built in the late 1600s, it was made a Basilica by Pope John Paul II in1982.  That is apparently a big deal.  It was made in the days of cheap labor and has never been damaged by war.  It’s a fantastic church for the symbolism and history represented.

·      The “Frenchiness” of everything – This makes it feel like you are on vacation in Europe.  Of course it also makes it hard to communicate if you aren’t a Francophone.

·      The Exchange Rate – This is a big world class city.  It’s expensive but a 20% exchange rate eases the pain.

·      The Lachine Canal  – It cuts through Montreal was a totally smoke choked polluted mess in the 1800s and beyond.  It was key to Montreal

The Lachine Canal with a Cruise Ship in the Harbor

being the most industrialized city in North America at on point.  Now it’s a park.

Cruise Ship Passing the Marina on the River -
Is this Your's Susanne?

·      The Waterway - We're on one of the most historic waterways in the world.

·      Little Italy” – fantastic veggie and fruit market.

·      Art Galleries and shopping – Sez Linda.

·      The people – Hey, they’re Canadian

·      We have a thousand other pictures.  It's overwhelming.

But a week in one place is enough and we are anxious to head down the road (OK, the waterway).  We plan to get fuel in the morning and then enter the Saint Lawrence Seaway, go through three or four locks upstream (west) and to the junction with the Ottawa River where we will stay the night at St Ann d’Bellevue on a lock wall.  More about that on July 1^st.

Tod and Linda on the Billy Ray (Tiara 3600 Open)