The TERMINATOR is on board !!!!



  "THE TERMINATOR"  Rick West

We got underway at our usual 7:30. We had planned for our usual departure time of 7:00 (which we have never made). The river was flowing smooth and we had a tailwind so we were thrilled to arrive at the Richeleiu River at 11:15, nearly an hour ahead of schedule. As we turned into the Richelieu our speed went from 12.5 MPH to 7.6 MPH and we hadn't changed our throttles. This river was flowing FAST and in the wrong direction. We had been averaging 1.5 miles per gallon (you read that right) and now we were getting a whopping .8 miles per gallon !!! I throttled up the engines so we could get at least 8 MPH (which further reduced our fuel efficiency). We reached St Ours lock at 12:45 and the attendant asked if we planned on traveling through the Chamblers locks, we said yes and she said we better call ahead for a dock space in Chambler as the Chambler locks closed at 3:30 and we were 27 miles away (apparently Whatever It Takes doesn't look like a speed boat). I'm glad we did because we didn't arrive at Chambler until 5:00. At one point the river narrowed down and a railroad bridge was spanning it with one 25 foot section of the structure high enough for a boat to pass through. That was also the only deep area in the river so the current was ferocious. We approached the rapids at 8.2 MPH and as we entered the we slowed to 5 MPH (without adjusting the throttles). For a moment I thought we were losing ground but the old girl ground her way through the torrent and we emerged safely.The river was storybook caliber as the attached photos will show.

Coffee, diet Coke, 2 smokes, ready for another day.

Breakfast, trip to the grass, ready for another day.

Enjoying the sights....

While we pilot the boat !!

It really is as narrow as it looks.

She really draws a crowd when we stop.