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Loop update - We just completed our passage down the Richilieu River, via the Chambly locks and canal. The locks were interesting, with 8 of the 9 being completely hand operated. We're now at Sorel on the St. Lawerance Riverpu, where we'll end our northward passage and turn west. We're going to try and figure out public transportation here, and make our way by bus or train to Quebec for a few days visit, before bringing the boat upriver to Montreal, where we will try to hook up with Starscream. Looking forward to that. Lots of great locks, canals, historic waterways and beautiful Canadian scenery in the immediate offing.

U definitely want to go see Quebec City beautiful place

https://www.quebecoriginal.com/en/listi ... na-9781289

https://www.ville.quebec.qc.ca/en/

Quebec1
Bertram lives up that way & is a great guy too & knows the town almost as much as I do lol !

J

Tomorrow we embark on an adventure. From Sorel we will attempt to travel to Quebec by bus. 3 different bus rides, local Sorel bus to station, station to Montreal, Montreal to Quebec, taxi to B&B. We'll be 3 nights in Quebec, including Friday night for their Fete National, which should be great fun. Then, buses back to the marina on Saturday. Sure wish I'd learned French way back when.

We arrived at the Pointe-Claire Yacht Club on Lac Saint-Louis, just above Montreal yesterday afternoon. We were greeted at the dock by Ilya, aka Starscream, and he's a wonderfully hospitable choice. He's located in the midst of great MacGregor cruising waters. We plan to hang out here for a few days, reprovision and make a sight seeing trip into Montreal before heading on toward Ottawa and the Rideaux Canal. The waters in this part of Canada just keep getting better and better.

We just completed our transit of the Rideau Canal system. It's an amazing system of locks (49 in all), canals, lakes and rivers, connecting Ottawa with Kingston on Lake Ontario. We're at Kingston right now, and we plan a short detour to explore part of the 1000 Islands region on the nearby St. Lawrence River before heading west, toward Trenton and the Trent-Severn Waterway.

We reached a milestone yesterday, logging 6000 miles for the trip to date, and still going. We went down the Kirkfield Lift Lock yesterday, and today rode the amazing Big Chute marine railway down to the vicinity of Port Severn. We've transited nearly 150 locks since starting out last August, and we have just one more lock to go. We've had the mast down since leaving Lake Champlain, and tomorrow I'll raise the mast once again. It will be great to look and act like a sailboat once again. We're at the end of the Trent Severn Waterway, and once we get the mast up we'll begin the Georgian Bay portion of the cruise, following in the wake of RIS on the Jill Kristy. They are about 3 weeks ahead of us, and I get regular calls from them, complete with tips and recommendations of things to see and do, and places to stay along the way. Thanks Richard, the recommendations are always spot on.

Wow! 6,000 miles. Hard for me to imagine. I really enjoy your trip log and beautiful photos. Thanks for sharing your adventure with us!

Mike you do a great job on the blog. We are in the US about 26 miles from Mackinaw island. We have traveled only 2675 miles. The north channel was beautiful. Crocker island and Bear drop harbor were great places to overnight.

Richard - I'm enjoying the exploits of the Jillkristy as well. Thanks for sharing the trip.

Our Great Loop cruise is at an end. We pulled out of the water at Macinac City, some 240 miles short of our launch point at Grand Haven MI. The early pull out was necessitated by health problems with my dad in Los Angeles. We needed to expedite our return home, so rented a car and brought the truck and trailer up to Macinaw City where we hauled the boat out. We're now on the drive home, at Des Moines IA right now. Should get home in 3 days or so, and then on to LA to help mom and dad out. It was a great cruise. We got to meet up with several folks who are regulars on this board, and it was great fun. Many thanks to those who helped us out along the way. The Great Loop is an incredible experience, and a bigger challenge than I originally anticipated. RIS and Lee Morgan, who are still en route on their loop cruises know full well what I'm referring to. Us cruisers in small boats are in a class of our own when doing such a long range, extended trip.

Mike and Sandy,

We are sorry to read that your trip had to be cut short because of family health problems. We are however glad you took your trip; it allowed us to meet the both of you along the way.

We wish you all of the best, and look forward to someday meeting up again.

Best wishes,

Ray and Natalie

P.S. After I wrote this, I felt like breaking into ol Roy Rogers & Dale Evans “Happy Trails To You”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcYsO890YJY&sns=em

Yes, what Ray said. We so enjoyed meeting you both and sharing time together, and we hope that your dad finds comfort. We will keep you all in our thoughts.

All the best,
Kevin (and Jan)

What a great story to tell, it was a real pleasure meeting with you back in spring.
We really enjoyed your your excellent blog, it was almost like we became part of the crew.
I sincerely hope everything works out well with your trip back home and especially with the health problems in your family.

All the best.

Obelix

Chinook wrote:Our Great Loop cruise is at an end. We pulled out of the water at Macinac City, some 240 miles short of our launch point at Grand Haven MI. The early pull out was necessitated by health problems with my dad in Los Angeles. We needed to expedite our return home, so rented a car and brought the truck and trailer up to Macinaw City where we hauled the boat out. We're now on the drive home, at Des Moines IA right now. Should get home in 3 days or so, and then on to LA to help mom and dad out. It was a great cruise. We got to meet up with several folks who are regulars on this board, and it was great fun. Many thanks to those who helped us out along the way. The Great Loop is an incredible experience, and a bigger challenge than I originally anticipated. RIS and Lee Morgan, who are still en route on their loop cruises know full well what I'm referring to. Us cruisers in small boats are in a class of our own when doing such a long range, extended trip.

I'm sorry to hear of His health problems..... My Prayers are with You All/. Dauntless.Ron.

We backed into our driveway yesterday evening, around 6:30pm, completing our yearlong Great Loop trip. The drive home was long and tiring, but went without incident. I'm very thankful for Chevrolet and the great 3/4 ton Duramax diesel truck they built for me in 2001. It did a great job. Roger's trailer also did good. I suspect we have more miles on that trailer than any others that have been built. It's been a great trip, and we'll spend the winter sorting through thousands of pictures. For now, it's time to unpack, and I need to get ready for a flight to LA to be with the folks. Many thanks to all of you who we've met along the way, as well as those who have been following the blog and posting encouraging comments along the way. I have a lengthy punch list of repairs and replacements which will be needed before I take the boat out again. We've put a lifetime of use on the boat in just one year, and the wear and tear certainly shows.