August 11 – Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue
45°24′14″ N 73°57′12″ W
This morning (Saturday) we were leaving Oka & headed to Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue. Our destination was only an hour away but this was still a VERY eventful day!
To start with, Angela, John & I were sitting on the flybridge having coffee. We were going to leave the marina in about 10 minutes. A small sailboat went past us, coming into the marina. I had my back to the marina so I could not see the boat as it passed by. Angela commented that the boat’s name was “Navasana” & questioned me “didn’t you used to have a sailboat named Navasana?” I turned around quickly to see & sure enough, that was our old boat – a 2004 Catalina 25’.
I hopped off Santosha & tracked down the owners at their slip. They were from the Oka area & have owed the boat since 2014. They were intrigued that I was in the same marina. Ten minutes earlier & we would have missed them! We had a nice chat about the boat & I wished them well.
Photo above: the current owners of Navasana. They have done a great job caring for & improving the boat.
That is the 2nd time I have encountered Navasana since we sold her in 2008. A similar meeting happened in 2010 when I was taking Ananda down the St. Lawrence River to the Bay Of Fundy. We were just getting ready to leave the marina in Quebec City & I saw the owner (from Montreal) pulling Navasana up the boat ramp. He said “what are you doing here in Quebec City?” & I asked him the same question. We had a great laugh about the coincidence. I’m thinking that I should run out & buy some lottery tickets after these chance encounters.
Photo above: Oka Marina is loaded with sailboats. This area is awesome for small boat sailing & their yacht club facilities are top notch.
The trip from Oka to the lock at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue was very short but there were a lot of boats on the water. That focused our attention even more because even though the “lake” we were in was several kilometers wide, the navigation channel was less than one kilometer wide. As we approached the lock a jet boat went roaring by. That would not be the last we saw of him!
The lock drop down to the town was less that two feet but similar to Carillon, the lock was packed with boats & it was party time!
It was only 1:00 when we exited the lock & we were in luck! There were still a few spaces left on the overnight dock walls. I told the crew about my plan & we made a beeline for the first available space. It was a prime location on the boardwalk. Close to canal-side restaurants & shopping.
We were just settling in nicely & the “show” began around 3:00pm. The kickoff was on a 40 foot trawler on the other side of the canal with about 15 young people on board. They cranked up their stereo. The party was underway & it continued until around 11:00pm. Thankfully the music was worth listening to – but the truth was – we had no choice & neither did the rest of the people in the canal area.
There were hundreds of people on the boardwalk & hundreds more on the canal-side restaurant & bar patios. Everyone was bopping to the music. Through all of this there was a constant parade of boats of all kinds & sizes going up & down the canal. Massive cabin cruisers, speed boats, jet skis, kayaks, cigarette boats & party barges (i.e. pontoon boats).
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any weirder another large express cruiser came up the canal with about 20 men on board. It must have been a stag party because they were slowly towing a fella holding onto life ring (he was wearing a life jacket) & they were teasing/taunting him in a friendly way. Meanwhile, the fella in the water was pretending to be in a water ballet & was pointing his leg & toes in the air to the hoots of laughter, applause & encouragement of the crowd watching from the docked boats & on the boardwalk. I can only describe all of this as a complete circus! As my former work colleague from North Carolina says “you can’t make this sh*t up!”.
Photo above: Angela & John seek shelter from the mid afternoon sun. John’s chest & back were approaching the same colour as some of the (red) panels in the umbrella!
Angela & John & Levi were mesmerized by all the action. Levi thought that he might be bored trapped on a small boat for several days with his parents & his grandpa but this was a grand finale to his boat trip that simply cannot be topped! His friends back home will have a hard time believing this!
I was exhausted by all the action & headed to bed around 9:30. The remaining crew hung in there until 11:00 & then they packed it in too. The rest of the canal & the all of the people on the party boat were still going strong. My snoring was not going to bother anyone on board tonight!
Cheers!