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| Looking NW at the Pont l'Île-aux-Tourtes. It's still raining but the thunderstorm has passed. |
The donut shop didn't open until 9 am this morning so there was no rush to get underway--the crew, afterall, needs their sustenance. By 9:30 am, we were on the lock's blue waiting line. Unlike yesterday's commercial locks, where the delay can be hours, the Parks Canada locks, which are much more pleasure boat oriented, are very quick to get you through. That's why it was strange when after 45 minutes we were still on the blue line looking at a closed lock door and a red signal light. Fifteen minutes later the door opened, an 18' wood runabout exited, and we were green-lighted in. There was a floating dock inside the lock and two friendly, college-aged kids, smartly dressed in their green Parks Canada uniforms, helped us tie up. Since we'd spent last night on the park's wall we paid them the $C33.30 ($C.90/ft) fee. Then we sat and waited. And, waited some more. Then we heard someone say, "The lightening storm just took out our power." Storm? What storm? The sky was overcast and grey, but hardly threatening. A quick check of the MyRadar app confirmed that a big, powerful thunderstorm to the NW was indeed bearing down on us. Up to this point all the delays had been irritating. Now, seen in their proper light, the delays were providential. It's not much fun being tossed around in a squall while dodging lightening. Thank you Parks Canada.
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| 28 miles from Saint-Anne-de-Bellevue to Baie-de- Brazeau, Quebec. |
Worried that our anchoring skills have atrophied we decided to drop the hook in a nice quiet Bay off the Ottawa River. There isn't a house in sight. The waters are calm and the winds light and cool. DBH
