We woke to another beautiful but chilly morning on the Ottawa River. We moved from the overnight dock to the "Blue Line" at the Carillon Lock to get in line for locking through. Since it was such a beautiful weekend, boats were beginning to arrive to lock through.  

 The Carrilon lock was constructed to replace 7 step locks . To replace so many locks, it must have a very high lift (or drop in our case) of 65 feet. It is a very large and busy lock and is able to handle a large group of boats by tying the boats inside three or more abreast. We locked through with about 12 other boats of all sizes. The lower gate of this lock is unique in that it opens vertically like a giant garage door. It took a while to get all the boats in and secured and dropped the 65 feet to the bottom. English was definitely a second language among the boaters inside the lock. The locking was easy so we had time to marvel at the process.

After exiting the lock we had a several hour run to the next lock at Ste. Anne-de-Bellevue. We locked through here with several other boats and tied up to the wall at the bottom of the lock, along with at least 50 other boats that were in town to eat drink and be merry on a georgeous Saturday afternoon. Our friends Gerry and Sharon from "Cast-a-Net" live nearby and came by to see us. We walked the town which on a normal day might be a sleepy tourist town, but today was packed with boaters and tourists. Our original plan was to spend the night here but Jerry and Sharon suggested we continue on to their yacht club where we would have electricity and a quiet night's sleep. We took them up on their offer and Camille drove with Sharon while Gerry came with me as a pilot for the hour and a half run to their club. 

After docking at the Royal St. Lawrence Yacht Club, we were treated by Jerry and Sharon to a very nice dinner at the club's dining room. They have graciously offered the use of their car for our outing to Montreal on Sunday. Considering the options of train, bus, or taxi, we accepted their offer and will drive to Montreal tomorrow.