We finish our cruise north on the last bit of the Richelieu River at the City of Sorel and turn westerly at its discharge to the St Lawrence River. It's earliest name came from the Mohawks and translates to, "the Big River", go figure. With an average freshwater flow of 380 billion gallons per day, it is the largest estuary in the world and serves as the primary drainage of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. Our route has us going upstream to Montreal and we have some anxieties about hearing what going against the current can be like.
Along the 2 day journey we crisscross the main shipping channel to take advantage of the lesser currents flowing in the small craft channel. We also have a remote anchorage less than 8 miles from the city of 4 million. In the main stretches of the river, it's width and depth keep adverse currents down to 1-2 mph. But where the river narrows or shallows, that big flow of water can be very focused.
The last run in to our marina in the heart of the city has us encountering the strongest currents we’ve experienced anywhere. With our motors working at would normally have us moving along at 12 mph we slow down to a crawling 1.7 mph at one point in the narrows. Thankfully this only lasts about half an hour and we cross into the marina bay and all is well, whew! On the way back out of Montreal we have a short, quick run out to get all that energy back.
The main shipping channel is a busy waterway.
The "small craft" channel can be busy too, getting buzzed by a jet ski gang!
Turning in to our anchorage on La Grande Riviere/Iles de Boucherville on a saturday afternoon, we start to see more and more boats.
Wow, raft up city!
Luckily there's room for everybody.
The next day we battle our way in to the City fighting the strongest currents ever!
Leaving Montreal a few days later we get all that speed back.