Creeping Along the Rideau Canal - Part 14.0

August 9 – 11, 2011

Part 14 – Ottawa, the canal neighborhood

We left the Long Island lock dock at 8:00 a.m. We encountered a lot of shallow water, but didn't have any groundings. We locked through Black Rapids, Hogs Back, and Hartwells locks with ease since we had gotten such an early start and only running into a few other boats. Despite just 14 miles to go to reach Ottawa, it still took us 4 hours!

The aquatic weed eater

We had first heard about this machine when we were at the Narrows because the guy who invented it lives near there and frequently shows up at that lock to hang out with all the boaters. We could see that the mechanical harvester had recently been in operation in the canal going into Ottawa because the water looked like it was pureed vegetables. We thought for sure we would have our water intake clogged in that goo, but we made it to the wall without incident and then could clean out the strainer.

The city is in sight

After Black Rapids lock, the trip ends in the Rideau River and you just travel in a canal, like a huge cement bank channel which leads all the way to the Ottawa River. Most of the land on the side of the canal is a combination of parks and/or bikeways. We had never seen so many people riding bicycles, not just for leisure fun, but to get from point A to B, just like most Americans would take a car, even if it is just 2 blocks!

I've decided to divide our Ottawa stay into multiple posts because I'm going to use pictures to take you on a tour through each post. Ottawa is the capital of Canada, a very vibrant, clean, and beautiful city and I took a lot of pictures that will let you see more of the city than I can better describe with words. I'm starting out with the Rideau Canal information since that's what this whole trip has been about.

FLUKE on the canal wall, right in downtown

At noon, we reached the wall where we could tie up, and we were relieved to find a suitable space. Within another couple of hours, the entire wall was filled up. The 4 French boats we had been trying to “beat” managed to get tied up in front of us before all the space was taken.

On our starboard side, where we are tied, is a major roadway for cars and another one for bicycles. You really have to watch out for both, since some of the bicyclists go flying by at really high speeds.

Eddie's self image

On the same side, just a hundred yards ahead is the Convention Center, with a geodesic dome shape on the side facing the canal. Eddie took advantage of its mirrored panels to take a self-portrait, wearing his Tilley hat.

Ceremonial Guard in Confederation Park

We are on the opposite side of the canal from Confederation Park. Each morning, the Ceremonial Guard of the Canadian Forces band and military drill team march through the park all the way up to Parliament Hill for the Changing The Guard ceremony. It is really neat hearing the music in the distance and then looking over and seeing them go through the park. More photos of them coming later in another section.

At the blue line

The blue line, where you wait to enter the lock, is just ahead of us, on the port side. Notice that boats begin lining up under the big tunnel. The first lock is just on the other side of the tunnel. The tunnel bridge and areas on both sides of the locks are filled with hundreds of people watching the unique staircase locks in operation throughout the day.

FLUKE in the top chamber

Eddie took this photo from the roof of the pilothouse when we entered the lock chamber. There are 8 locks to go through; once you begin the process, you must go all the way to the end since you just go from chamber to chamber. The total drop is 79'. Wayne and I are both on the bow waiting instructions from the lockmaster. I'm the one in the dull, drab, line-handling outfit. I never could buy into the Canadian “flash and glitter” program although I may have had on my purple underwear.

Repair hold up

Lock repairs have to be made right when they are needed. In this case, a chain that is used to pull the lock gates had to be repaired. The chamber had to be fully emptied; no boats will be in any of the other chambers when a lock is shut down like this. At least they don't have to drain all the other chambers, since it would take a LONG time to fill everything up again.

Looking up from the Ottawa River

The staircase flight looks beautiful when seen from the Ottawa River. It is truly a signature landmark for the city. That pretty stone building on the right side of the photo is one of the oldest buildings in Ottawa. It was the Rideau Canal Commissariat where the building supplies for construction of the canal were housed. Today it is the site for the Bytown Museum where you can learn about the canal and see all kinds of artifacts. Oh, Bytown was the name of Ottawa before it became the capital and received the name we know today. Remember Colonel By, builder of the canal?

So, here we are, right in the midst of all kinds of activity, day and night. It's the night activity that I will tell you about now. Our stay in Ottawa didn't get off to a peaceful start, despite all the relief we felt in finally having gotten through the canal.

At 2:00 a.m., we all were awakened to footsteps on the outside upper deck, after hearing the back upper hatch hinge get opened. Each of us knew that not one of the other of us would ever be there at that hour of the night. Eddie and I ran to the cockpit doors, while Wayne went up the stairs to the pilothouse. Wayne wound up face to face with an intruder, trying to pull open the port door. He yelled at him, saying “what are you doing on my boat?” The guy ran back down the hatch, through the cockpit, and jumped off the boat really quickly. He was carrying a bag, and we didn't know at that point if he had taken anything off FLUKE. Eddie jumped off the boat after him, saying that we were going to call the police, and the guy started running down the street. Eddie, wearing only his underwear, went running after him. Since the guy was in his 20s, slim, and agile, and Eddie is almost 70 (I'll just be nice right now and not make a comparison about the other two physical characteristics!), Eddie couldn't keep up with him. A security guard drove passed Eddie and turned around to find out if he was crazy or had a problem. They both came back to FLUKE, and the security guard called the police. All that we could do was give a description and file a report. We didn't have anything stolen at least.

This was the first time in all these years we have ever had an intruder come aboard. While the experience made us feel uneasy about leaving the boat even during the day, we didn't let it keep us from getting out and seeing the rest of the city like we planned. We set an alarm in the cockpit, and we pulled in the bow line, which pulls out the stern line, making it very difficult for anyone to even be able to get in the cockpit while we are aboard.