Time
to Leave – the last Rideau locks
Leaving
the Rideau Canal takes time – time to wait and time to lock – since the last
flight includes 8 locks. Fortunately we
were able to combine one and transit two chambers, but it still took almost an
hour and a half from the time we started until we exited into the Ottawa
River. As we waited to enter the lock we
met Chuck and his grandson, Kyler, who agreed to ride down with us. (They did not have time to go down and back
on their boat and jumped at the chance to ride with us one way.) We enjoyed
visiting with them on the ride down and appreciated the extra crew plus Kyler
jumped off and took photos for us to document the journey. When we got to the bottom we stopped at the
wall there to let off our expert crew and put up our mast for the next leg of
our trip down the Ottawa River and out on the Saint Lawrence once again. Since
it was late by the time we got the mast up and everything ship shape above, the
lock master agreed to let us spend the night on his blue line as long as we
were away before they opened in the morning, so our last night in Ottawa – punctuated with
cannon fire from the Fortisimo – was spent on the Ottawa River below Parliament
Hill, just us an a gaggle of Canada Geese.
8 locks? no big deal
One final Note - this KINDNESS meter is a fitting symbol of the Canadian Spirit we have experienced. All deposits go to charities.
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