July 1 is Canada Day and with it, Parks Canada provides free lockage for any vessel on the holiday. Knowing these two factors, we expected a busy day on the water. The Chambly lock opened at 9:00 with three boats coming south. Our friends on Carolina loaded in for the first northbound sequence around 9:45. We were in the second run going north and entered the lock around 10:30, all by ourselves. We passed through the flight of three locks easily and exited into the Richelieu River, leaving the Chambly Canal behind.
The Richelieu River again was bordered by many nice houses and many more of average working folks. We saw one large home with an infinity pool. We saw another with a blue plastic wading pool. No matter the neighborhood, it was good to see everyone outside and enjoying the day.
One thing that caught our eyes were the new-to-us sights of steel church spires. These spires both glistened in the sun and faded into the haze. A little Google research showed it is common practice in Quebec to use galvanized steel for spires.
Our main focus, however, was on the water traffic of all kinds: water skiers, wake boarders, tubing, jet skis, pontoon boats, and plenty of go-fast boats. Overall, folks were well behaved and we never saw the marine police pull anyone over.
Today's destination was the north side of the Saint-Ours lock. We had hoped to tie up at the free dock, but it was packed full of boats taking people to the Canada Day Celebration on the island. From our position in the lock chamber we could hear the band and see the vendor tents set up. Kids and their adults came up to the rails and asked questions as we locked through. This lock is the easiest one we've been in -- you tie up to a floating dock and it rises with you, just like an incoming tide. We exited the lock and dropped anchor in the river. Once the lock closed at 6:30, there was no boat traffic. We will be all set in the morning for our 5:30 departure for Montreal.
And, yes, it was hot here today. After we anchored around 3:00, I checked WeatherBug and confirmed what we were feeling -- heat index at 99 with minimal breeze. We probably hit a heat index of 100 or more, but I never looked. My phone went on the charger and I sat on the swim platform for an hour or so with my feet in the refreshing water, just watching the boat parade. Barry joined me for about a minute until a wake splashed more than his feet.
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