Today was the day for Ananda to move on to the next phase of our adventure. I had several more locks to transit between Cornwall and Montreal and was required to have at least 3 people on board to complete each locking procedure. Tony Oosterman from Goderich Yacht Club and his long time friend Fred Schuurman agreed to come with me from Cornwall to Montreal. Tony and Fred drove their car from London to Cornwall and parked it at the train station. Ren picked them up at the train station and brought them to meet me at the Long Sault Yacht Club, which is just above the Eisenhower and Snell locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway. It was about 2:30 when we connected up. Quick goodbyes between Ren and I along with promises to see each other again soon.
Tony and Fred and I motored about 5 miles over to the Eisenhower lock entrance and were hopeful that the Seaway Authority could put us through quickly. When we arrived around 4:00pm we found about 15 other boats rafted up to the pleasure craft dock which was really only suitable for 2 – 3 boats. Pleasure craft are a pretty low priority to the Seaway Authority compared to freighter traffic, and, as a result, some of our fellow boaters had been tied up at that spot since 11:00am that morning waiting for permission to pass through the locks. The prospect of getting through before dark was not encouraging. We had just nicely got tied up to a pier wall when the Lockmaster finally called “the fleet” on the radio and gave us all permission to enter the lock. This was one time that I was not complaining about having to move right after docking!
There was only one other sailboat in the crowd so when we entered the lock we were instructed by the Lockmaster to tie Ananda up to the first floating bollard and to have the smaller sailboat raft up to our side. As it turned out, this smaller sailboat, christened “Beeper” was out of Kingston, Ontario and bound for Halifax. Her crew, Rob and Karen were a young couple from Nunavut, in Canada’s far north. They were on a summer holiday and adventure. We spent about 30 minutes moored in the first lock before the stepping down process began so we all had time to get acquainted. Rob is an electrician by trade and Karen is a reporter. They are also both musicians—Rob plays the bagpipes and Karen sings and plays guitar. She has also made a few CDs. By the time the lock was at its lowest level we had had a great visit and were ready to continue our conversations at the next lock which was just about a mile downstream.
When we arrived at the Snell lock we were informed that an upstream bound group of pleasure craft were being “locked up” and that a freighter was just behind them. As a result we would have to wait about an hour before we could be “locked down”. Our little armada just slowly circled each other in the basin beside the lock entrance rather than going through the process of tying and rafting up to the tiny pleasure craft dock. Finally the freighter was passed through the lock and it was our turn. By the time we finished the locking process it was after 8:30pm and dusk was coming fast. Our plans to make it 20 0r 30 miles further downstream were dashed and we decided to find a place to anchor just below Cornwall.We bid farewell to our new friends Rob and Karen and hoped that we would see them again on our trip to Halifax. As it turned out, we were going to see them much sooner than we thought.
Fred and Tony and I motored past Cornwall and found a nice little anchorage a few miles east of Cornwall. It was closing on 9:30pm and we were all hungry and tired—ready for a quick supper and bed. We were just about to drop our anchor when we heard a “Mayday” call on the marine VHF radio. Karen and Rob on Beeper were in trouble. Their engine had quit in the middle of the channel and they were drifting towards the shore. The Canadian (Montreal) Coast Guard responded to their call for help and gathered more detailed information about their situation. Once they had exchanged the information I radioed the Coast Guard and told them that I knew Beeper and was close enough to help them quickly. We then radioed Karen and Rob and made arrangements to find them. So much for dropping the hook and supper—that would have to wait because we had new friends in trouble and boaters need to help each other whenever they can. It was totally dark now so I contacted Beeper on the radio, confirmed their general location and then we established a light-signaling procedure to help us find each other.
After about 20 minutes of motoring upstream we found their boat. They had drifted out of the main shipping channel and had wisely dropped an anchor to keep them from running aground. We motored up beside Beeper, informed Rob and Karen of how we would tow them and then set about to get them tied up to us and in to a safer area. Tony handled the helm while Fred and I worked with Rob and Karen to secure towing lines. Once that was done we headed back down river towards the anchorage that Ananda was almost ready to stay at earlier. By the time we got to the anchorage it was after 11:00pm.
Rob and Karen were not going to be able to get any help with their engine until morning so I suggested that they raft up to Ananda for the night and then we would tow them over to a marina so they could find a mechanic to help them. By this time we were all pretty pumped up from the excitement and starving too. I asked Rob and Karen if they had eaten and they said “no” so I invited them to join us for supper—on the condition that they entertain us with some music. As the optimists say “if life gives you some lemons, then make lemonade!”. So, what else do you do in a situation like this other than fire up the BBQ at midnight and have a party! Karen sang us several songs from her CD and then Rob played his kettle pipes which are essentially a mini set of bagpipes. Then the two of them played some duets. It was absolutely awesome and we all had a great time. After the music we all sat down to BBQ’d chicken, potatoes and some fresh yellow beans from Ren’s garden. By the time we were done eating it was after 1:00am. The excitement of the day was now catching up to all of us and we headed off to bed. What an adventure!
We rose at 6:00am and Tony and Fred finished packing their belongings for the trip home. They were going to take a train from Montreal back to Cornwall, pick up Tony’s car and then head back to London. We arranged for a taxi to pick them up at the marina and then said our goodbyes. Thanks Tony & Fred for all your help. We had a very busy few days filled with lots of adventure and memories.
After Tony and Fred left, I spent some time straightening up the cabins and began the process of getting ready for my next set of victims, I mean crew J. I was also looking forward to a day on the dock in Montreal—soaking up the amazing view across the river of a city that I have visited many times as a land lubber but never as a sailor.
