This morning we left Rouses Point, NY, at 8:45 AM, crossed the 45th parallel and were cleared into Canada by 9:15 AM. The Canadian Border Patrol on Lake Champlain has a dock you tie up to, with a small office to process boaters entering the country. We had the customs dock to ourselves, but cannot say the same about our trip up the Richelieu River. It was a gorgeous Sunday, and the “Quebec Navy,” as the huge population of recreational boaters here is called, was out in force, zooming north and south, creating numerous wakes and a washing machine on the waterway.
We traveled 25 miles to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, QC and got a spot on the busy town wall, which had boats coming and going all afternoon and evening. Interestingly, we are about 25 miles by car from Montreal, but more than 100 miles by water, which you can see on the chartlet below.
We are at the southern entrance to the Chambly Canal, which bypasses numerous rapids on the Richelieu River over 12 miles and nine locks. Our first obstacle tomorrow will be going under this beautiful cantilevered lift bridge that is right in front of us. The last photo was taken from the bridge, with the town dock visible and Dragonfly in the middle. Map Link: Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu
The temperature and humidity are still uncomfortable—we did a little exploring along the canal and bike path and poked around town long enough to find some ice cream.
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