Marathon Lock Day
Chambly Lock 9 Wall
Our plan today was to stop at the top of lock 3 on the
Chambly Canal in the cute village of Chambly. We got an early start so we'd
have all afternoon to explore the town and nearby fort. When we arrived at the
first lock, we were told we were too large to fit with the group of boats going
up, so we'd have to wait till the next lock up. These locks are much smaller than
the ones on the Rideau Canal, they are 21'x110’. We thought it would be no big
deal and tied up on the blue line to wait. While we waited we walked up to the
locks to look around and ask how long the process took. We were told about 30
minutes...no big deal, until we told them we wanted to moor in the basin
between lock 3 and 4. Since we weren't moving on they wanted us to wait until
more boats came or someone else locked down...that was crazy. After waiting
over an hour I walked back to the first lock and told them we wanted to move
on. Hearing that they jumped right up and opened the gate! I guess we could
have still docked where we had planned, but we were too frustrated by then. Why
spend money in a town that doesn't want you? Once you go through lock 4 on this
canal, you have to go straight through to Lock 9 in St. Jean.
The Chambly Canal was built in 1843 to go around the rapids on the Richelieu River and it is very narrow, most places two large boats would not be able to pass. The canal is ten miles long with nine locks and the top speed is 10 km (6.2 MPH), so it takes a long time to get through. The locks can be filled quickly and don't take that long, but twice they made us wait for another boat locking up, so by the time we were in lock 6 there were three boats. Then we had to wait for other boats locking down. When we finally reached lock 9 in St. Jean it was 5:30 and raining...definitely not the day we had planned.
The Chambly Canal was built in 1843 to go around the rapids on the Richelieu River and it is very narrow, most places two large boats would not be able to pass. The canal is ten miles long with nine locks and the top speed is 10 km (6.2 MPH), so it takes a long time to get through. The locks can be filled quickly and don't take that long, but twice they made us wait for another boat locking up, so by the time we were in lock 6 there were three boats. Then we had to wait for other boats locking down. When we finally reached lock 9 in St. Jean it was 5:30 and raining...definitely not the day we had planned.
We are so glad we decided to do the Rideau Canal, it was very pretty and the locking staff was so outgoing, it was a wonderful experience. I
feel we would have missed the best part of this trip if we had just done the
St. Lawrence and Richelieu. Those waterways are just that…a way to get where
you need to go. The Rideau Canal is a destination, an adventure, a vacation worth
taking.
St. Antoine, QC
St. Antoine, QC
Every town or small village has a wonderful Catholic Church
St. Charles, QC
Point Beloeil
The Chambly Canal
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