…and I just happened to be a tourist in Ottawa

on this

World Tourist Day

but a tourist with a purpose…

On a beautiful warm sunny fall day

I went for a walk…

…past the Valiants Memorial

…along the Rideau River…

…under the bridge…

…to the Rideau Canal system

…it was surprising that each lock is opened by hand…
…brute force…

…the brute and the force…

…water spills from one lock to the next…

…while boats wait…

…this couple waiting to pass through, were quite happy to answer my questions…
…the locks can accommodate sailboats (masts down)
with draft of no more that 5 feet…

…you see our plan is to travel from Montreal

along the Rideau Canal system

through the centre of Ottawa

…to Kingston

and spend some time sailing the Thousand Islands

then back to Montreal…

…what a great way to keep our sailing dreams alive

during the upcoming

cold winter months!