Content to Stay Put

Day 47  |  Melocheville 

A cold front moved through with rain overnight and we awoke to much cooler temperatures, lower humidity ... and a stiff breeze, gusting to 30 knots. With our target lock passage set for 10:30, we had an opportunity to walk around the marina, inspect the conditions, and make a decision. Knowing that the wind was blowing from our port stern and that once we untied from the finger pier we would be pinched even harder against our neighbor, we elected to stay put in Melocheville for the day and wait for the wind to die down.

A trio of kite surfers entertained us in the late morning. They were flying -- both in speed over the water and with the ridiculously big air they were getting.

We took a walk around this small town and made our way to the the Beauharnois Lock gate. Unlike the locks on the Chaplain and Chambly Canals, there is no access for public viewing of the ships passing through these primarily commercial locks. We were amazed that the road actually runs under the lock chamber. It would have been cool to get a photo of a ship going over the road, but it didn't happen. We came back to Crossroads and were met by the local mallard family. The three ducklings have grown to be just as large as mom, and they're starting to get their feathers. Following lunch we worked on a few boat projects. Barry fine-tuned some of our navigation software by hooking his laptop to the chartplotter while following instructions from his phone.

I retreated to the flybridge where it was warmer and out of the wind, making an afternoon of reading more pleasant. Somewhere after starting Chapter 8 on Living Content, I took the hint and fell asleep. Turns out Barry was downstairs napping as well and when we both woke up the wind had died down and the marina was filling up with folks for the weekend. Before dinner we walked down to an excellent family park. There was a baseball field, tennis courts, playground equipment, a really nice pop-a-jet splash zone (not running), and a swing set. We met a local canine and her mom at the swings. Luckily ear scratches have no language barrier. I had a great time getting some big air of my own and could have stayed much longer just swingin'.

     
As the sun set, the folks in the boat of concern next to us easily pulled out of the slip for the weekend. That sets up our departure tomorrow morning to be a little less white-knuckle. We will sleep a bit better, content with our decision to stay put today and wait for better weather.