Montebello, QC to Hull, QC

Miles Traveled 42.2

Total Miles Traveled 5023

Day 291

We woke up this morning with the sound of raindrops landing on the boat, what a great day to sleep in…….but the rain was supposed to stop around 9, partial clearing around noon, then thunderstorms late afternoon.  We planned to make it to Ottawa before the storms, so we only had a window of opportunity if we left early. 

We encountered another ferry crossing, this was a busy one, there were several ferries and three of them were constantly moving across the water.  They were also cable ferries, which makes me nervous running over the cable after they pass.

Some of the homeowners have planes in front of their houses instead of boats.

We arrived at Hull, Quebec this afternoon before any storms, but the wind was an issue getting into the dock.  We were lucky to have “Gypsea” arrive before us and help with the lines.  Hull is located across the river from Ottawa, ON. 

We learned that the North American Summit, attended by the Presidents of the United States, Mexico, and Canada,  will be held in Ottawa on Wednesday and the waterway will be shut down tomorrow and Wednesday for security reasons.

We took a water taxi across the river to visit Ottawa this afternoon.  This is the “Flight of Eight” locks, eight consecutive locks raising boats 79 feet from the Ottawa River to the Rideau Canal in downtown Ottawa. 

When we continue our adventure Thursday, we will leave the Ottawa River and enter the Rideau Canal through the locks.  The route the Rideau Canal follows has been in use since the beginning of recorded history.  The Indians used this route to get from the Ottawa River to Lake Ontario, even before Champlain traced the route in 1615.  Construction of the Rideau Canal began in 1827 and it was finished in 1832.  Most of the locks are still operated manually today.

When we arrived at the locks from the water taxi, we saw looper “Livin the Dream” locking through.  The lock attendant is hand cranking the lock gate closed after “Livin the Dream” leaves lock 8.

Ottawa Ontario