We set out for the Beauharnois Canal at about 10:30am. The first lift bridge in the canal is about an hour from the Valleyfield Marina. It is a similar design to the ones we encountered in the Welland Canal. The abutment at each end of the bridge has a massive tower with equally massive wheels and cables to lift the entire bridge deck when ships go under. The bridge operator sits in a little control room in the middle of the bridge and he (or she) goes up and down with the bridge. Now that would be an interesting job with many ups and downs per day.
We encountered a few freighters along our way through the canal but traffic was pretty light compared to what we thought we might see. There were about 10 pleasure craft tied up at the first lock when we arrived and before we even had time to approach the dock the Lockmaster set the control light to green and gave us the signal to enter in to the lock.Each lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway has a light control system that is pretty similar to automotive traffic lights. Several hundred yards upstream from each lock is the first control light. When it is solid red, you are not permitted to go past that point. When the light is flashing red, that is an indication that the Lockmaster will be soon giving boats the signal to advance in to the lock. When the light turns green, boats are then allowed to proceed in to the lock and follow the mooring instructions given by the lock staff.
Our first lock on the canal took us down about 50 feet. The second lock was just about a mile further downstream. When we arrived at it we were excited to discover that we could see the city of Montreal off in the distance. Our destination for this segment of our trip was within our grasp. The locking-down process was quick and smooth. Once the lock gates were opened we motored out of the final part of the canal and in to Lac St. Louis. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon and a beautiful sunny day. We could see many sailboats on the lake enjoying themselves. Up until this point in our journey from Cornwall, we did not have any opportunities to sail because of weather and/or narrow navigation channels. I was very excited to have come this far and very grateful to Tony and Fred for their help in accomplishing this. They had hoped to do some sailing along the way so we slowed down the engine, set up the sails and set a course for Montreal. The wind was blowing just right for us to maintain our course and we really enjoyed this little break from all the motoring we had done.
We sailed for a couple of hours and then figured we had better pack things up and head for the next canal that would take us safely past the Lachine Rapids and in to Montreal. There are only two locks remaining on the St. Lawrence Seaway and then we would be in Montreal. By the time we got through the last lock it was after midnight and only then did we realize that we had missed our intended marina destination. Thankfully, there was another marina just a couple of miles downstream. We motored quietly in to the basin and the marina office was locked up for the night. We had to stay somewhere so we tied up at the gas/diesel/pump out dock and headed for bed. Tony and Fred would head to the train station in the morning and I would make arrangements to stay in the marina for another day or two until my friends Chris and Joan Cavanaugh arrived. As I was getting ready for bed I looked out across the river and could see the tower for the Montreal Olympic Stadium on the other shore.