"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in
its net of wonder forever."—Jacques Cousteau

Aug. 5 - Ottawa, ON

Rainy Day
Downtown Dock

Today was a lazy Sunday…the wind and rain kept us on the boat most of the day. We did make a trip to the grocery store for a few staple items and one more trip to ByWard Market for blueberries, corn and colored peppers.  We will go through the Ottawa Flight of Eight locks tomorrow and start our journey towards Montreal.

Ottawa uses the Rideau Canal as the world’s largest skating rink in the winter. The Skateway is 4.8 miles long (the size of 90 Olympic-sized rinks), and begins just steps from the Parliament Buildings and extends to the Hartwell Locks and includes Dows Lake. In between, there are warm up areas, with toasty fires, hot drinks and tasty snacks. Turning the Rideau Canal into the world’s largest skating rink requires much more than just removing the snow. Work on the Skateway starts well before the skating season. After the water level of the Rideau Canal is lowered in the fall, chalets and other structures used on the Skateway are installed. Maintenance crews work 24 hours a day, seven days a week to keep the skating surface smooth and clear. Special ramps are installed so snowplows can clear the snow from the canal. Portions of the Skateway are flooded every night and the ice is kept groomed with a 52’ wide Zamboni that was designed just for the canal. 

Summer view of the Rideau Canal
Winter view of the Rideau Canal

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