August 1 - Wednesday
Sorel was sliding by us at 06:45 as we headed south on the Richelieu River – once again the sky was clear and the sun was rising fast. Sorel, as well as Tracy on the western river bank, appears to be a real manufacturing town. There is a large grain mill and storage facility as well as a huge steel mill, both with loading docks for ships, and just a bit further on is a large marine manufacturing site. We had no traffic at all for the first several hours and just enjoyed looking at the range of home sites located along the shores.
The river is easy and unremarkable to navigate – just stay in the middle and honor the occasional buoy. Traffic on the water remained quite light until we got closer to Chambly and the first locks that lift you into the canal. Chambly is a mini waterfront resort town. Once again, we had no noticeable wait before entering the first lock and continued through the flight of 3 to a basin that allowed us to tie up for the night. The weather had gotten quite hot and we were ready for a relief so we started the gen-set and switched on the A/C. We wanted the boat to be cool when we returned from a grocery shopping walk and then a bike ride to explore for a dinner spot. We also needed to find a hardware store for a tube of silicon sealant to correct a water dripping problem at our shower stall. A simple but annoying problem. On the ride along the canal path to BMR (like a Lowes) we encountered, a lemonade stand being operated by a family of 3 children with mom on the sideline close by. Two sisters and an older brother (8 to 13 years) had conceived the enterprise and the middle (age) girl had a natural gift for sales and could switch from French to English with every other word, if need be. Yellow or pink in small or large was the product line – with ice of course. Of course Polly and I said yes when we were approached and I handed the girl a fist full of Canadian coins. When she began to INSTRUCT me that I had given her too much, I just had to smile and mom stepped in and told the little business woman that it was a tip and we were being generous. The little girl then announced what the day’s total was up to at that point – I think $12 or $13, and all profit, of course.
When we returned to the boat another trawler with a couple from Hamilton, ON was also at the wall and we chatted a bit. They had been at the same marina in Sorel the night before but we didn’t have the opportunity to visit then. Dinner was at a nearby Italian spot, good but not great and the service quite slow and lacking. Tomorrow we may be taking down the Canadian courtesy flag.