Rushing the Rideau Canal

Our first day on the water took us from Marina Leblanc to the Ottawa flight of locks at the start of the Rideau Canal. Going through the locks, we were one of the day's tourist attractions. Lots of people were standing around taking photos and videos of the boats. We docked on the canal in downtown Ottawa across from the National Arts Center (NAC). We certainly noticed the bustle after our previous quiet nights at Marina Leblanc. We ran errands from the boat walking the familiar streets we walked hundreds of times over the last ten years, but this time coming home to Geru on the canal.

Because we are running six weeks late, we could not take the slow trip down the Rideau Canal we had originally planned. We managed to take a breather on a mooring ball at Colonel By Island in Big Rideau Lake for two nights, but otherwise it was just a flurry of buoys and locks. We did, however, really enjoy some of the scenery, especially the narrow cuts with overgrown vegetation in the southern end of the canal.

We went through the last lock of the Rideau Canal - the 45th! - at Kingston Mills on August 14th, and then the engine adventure started....

Ottawa flight of locks

Geru in downtown Ottawa

Going by Carleton University in Ottawa

Entering the Smith Falls lock

A narrow spot on the canal

Pastoral landscape

Geru at the bottom of the Kingston Mills locks