SAINT-JEAN-DE-RICHELIEU, QUEBEC TO CHAMBLY, QUEBEC

Friday, June 19th, 2015

Day 319

Miles Traveled: 11

Total Miles Traveled: 4654

  As we traveled today with "Dollinger", we enjoyed peaceful scenery along the Chambly Canal.  The canal is not very wide, so, we were glad that we did not meet another boat going the opposite direction.  Off to our right was the shallow portion of the Richelieu River with its many rapids making it unfit for navigation.  The canal parallels along the course of the river.

Chambly Canal

  We traveled about nine miles before arriving at our first lock of the day, Chambly Canal Lock 8.  Over the next mile, we went through five of the remaining eight locks on the Chambly Canal.  Locks 6, 5, and 4 were very close together.  From the top of Lock 6, we were able to look down onto Locks 5 and 4.

looking down from Lock 6 to Lock 5 and 4

looking up to Locks 4, 5, & 6

  Each of the locks lowered us 7-9 feet.  These locks are all hand operated to open and close the gates and the valves that let water in or out.  At each of the locks there is a cute lock house/office.  Along the Chambly Canal, most all of them were painted white with green trim and had the same architecture.

hand operating to close the lock gate

Chambly Canal Lock House - Lock 3

  We stopped for the day just above Chambly Canal Lock 3.  We tied off to the lock wall close to downtown Chambly, Quebec.  "Dollinger" went on ahead in their travels and did not stop at Chambly.  It took us about 3 hours to travel from Lock 9 to Lock 3, and, we arrived just in time to make lunch aboard "Seahorse".  Afterwards, we put on our walking shoes and  explored Chambly.

  We first walked to the east side of town and saw Fort Chambly.  Around the fort is a beautiful park with a great view of Chambly Basin, which is just below the last lock in the Chambly Canal.

Fort Chambly

Chambly Basin view from Fort Chambly grounds

  After completing our walking tour around Fort Chambly, we proceeded to the west side of the town were the downtown shops and eateries are located.  We stopped at Bedondaine & Bedons Ronds, which was a beer pub and also a beer museum.  It was like a microbrewery in the United States, but did not serve food.  Dan, of course, got a beer while Angie took some pictures for the blog.  The walls were lined with various varieties of beer bottles and beer memorabilia (that was the museum part).

portion of beer museum in Bedondaine & Bedons Ronds

  We explored some more of the downtown and then returned to "Seahorse" to grill our dinner.  Although there were lots of restaurants to choose from, we can't afford to eat out every meal - both from a health and financial standpoint.  Fortunately, Dan is a great cook and can stand up to some of the best chefs.