M/V MASCOT: THE REED-O (Kingston to Ottawa)

Happy Canada Day from Kingston, ON

From Kingston to Ottawa we pilot MASCOT along 125 miles of waterway collectively known as The Rideau Canal. If you are a local (i.e. Canadian) it is simply called “The Rideau” and is pronounced “Reed-o”. We are instantly recognized as “from away” (i.e. American) with our pronunciation of “Re-doo” and corrections are promptly made. With the naming now firmly established, we begin our travel along this historic waterway. Constructed in just 4 years and completed in 1832 the original intent was to establish a military supply route to keep troops and supplies out of reach of the pesky Americans. Apparently we did not learn our lesson in Sacketts Harbor during The War of 1812. Since this is before the advent of steam power, the labor is provided entirely by man and beast. Many thousands of French, Scottish and Irish worked and died while constructing the locks and canals.

The system is a collection of rivers and lakes tied together with man-made canals and locks. Some of the canals are extremely narrow with jagged rocks sticking out from the sides where the cut was blasted from bedrock. The locks and bridges are still operated by hand just as they were over 175 years ago. The highest point of the system is Rideau Lake. During construction this lake was split in two and is now called Big Rideau and Little Rideau with a lock in between. In some places the lakes are over 300’ deep and the clear water flows down to both Kingston and Ottawa keeping the locks and canals full. The shores and islands are dotted with cottages with some being modest while others are quite grand.

We will spend 17 days traveling this route and will spend most nights tied along the wall at one of the 49 locks. Many locks are located at nice towns that also need to be explored, usually for some exotic food such as poutine and always for crème glacée.