Day 261 – 6/21/24

Starting location: Tied to floating dock on Chambly Canal just before lock 9 on the Richelieu River. St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada.

Weather: 64 am, 79 pm, mostly cloudy

Ending location: Tied to floating dock on Richelieu River before locks 3-2-1 in Chambly, Quebec, Canada.

Statute miles: 12

General summary: The lock was set to open at 9am, so we moved by 8:45am to the floating dock with the edge and cleats accented in light blue, which is for boats awaiting lock-through. (The docks intended for overnight moorage are grey.) An employee spoke with us, and the two other boats, to determine how far through the 9 locks we planned to progress. She then determined the order to enter and coordinated communication with upstream locks as well as overnight moorage plans. These locks turned out to be quite different again from the Inland Rivers and the Champlain Canal. They were much more narrow – only wide enough for two medium (35-45 feet long) or four smaller (less than 30 feet) boats. There are ropes handed to you from the lock employees, rather than pipes or ropes you manage on your own. The lock doors are hand cranked open or closed and then the flood doors are also hand cranked open or closed, rather than machine-controlled.

We arrived at the town of Chambly after 6 locks and tied to the floating dock there with plans to lock through the last 3 the following day. Walked to a nearby pastry shop and then grocery store to provision. There was a grassy park with picnic tables frequented by locals and many restaurants within walking distance. By the evening, three more Looper boats tied up to spend the night. We greeted them, exchanged boat cards, and swapped stories.