Hull, QC to Ottawa, ON

Miles Traveled 0.4

Total Miles Traveled 5024

Day 293

Today was the North American Summit held in Ottawa, and it pretty much shut down the waterway and major roads around the downtown area.  We kept getting conflicting reports of when we could cross the Ottawa River and tie up to the lock wall to enter the canal tomorrow.  One report said after 8 p.m. and another said 11:59 p.m., I flagged down a patrol boat this morning and they said all times are subject to change, but the 8 p.m. time would probably be correct.  There were patrol boats and helicopters in the area all day.

At 7:40 p.m. there were several patrol boats between us and the lock so we decided to move the boat to the pump out station at the marina to empty our holding tank before entering the canal.   We did not have to cross the orange restricted zone markers to get to the station.  After our pump out it was 8 p.m. and decided to wait about 10 minutes to see if the patrol boats started to move.  One of them came toward the marina and I asked them if we could proceed to the lock wall.  They gave me thumbs up so I called “Gypsea” on the radio and we crossed the restricted zone markers without a patrol boat speeding toward us.  Canada Day, which is the same as our Independence Day, is this Friday July 1^st.   The canal through Ottawa will be full of boats and we want to stay on the downtown lock wall during the celebration.  By being at the lock tonight gives us a better chance of locking through in the morning before all of the spaces are taken downtown.

Approaching Ottawa……..

The “Flight of 8”, eight consecutive locks raising us about 79 feet, then we pass under a bridge to downtown Ottawa.

We are the first boat at the wall, and should be the first boat into lock #1 in the morning.  We could sit here a few hours tomorrow though, if the lock master decides to lock the boats waiting at the top to come down first.

It was a very busy day waiting to cross the river, I washed the boat, and it was laundry day for Moni.  I think we’re ready for a few days of fun.