Water is the reason we actually have a city here rather than just a little town. The rapids, as shown here at top in a historical photo, was what made the city happen, as it was safer to dump your goods off here than to continue against the rough current.
Long before anybody had a drivers' license, people rode the water hoping that the driver knew what he was doing.
Now I've spent some time studying drowning stats and being in a boat with someone who doesn't know what they're doing is a pretty bad idea, so try to be aware of the rules of the waves and get a boat licence if you plan to do any such stuff.Necessity is the mother of pleasure so we went from the problems posed by the Lachine Rapids to turning boats into a party experience. Collard has written a ton about riding the rapids, as pictured above and although they might seem foolhearty, they at least were reminded that Montreal is an island, we are not a piece of the main as that poet said, so unless you're getting out over one of the few bridges or the single tunnel or flying off the island, you've got to deal with the water, (which makes me wonder how the animals living here even got here in the first place. Presumably some native population like squirrels or raccoons might have some ancient lineage here, as they'd otherwise have to walk over frozen ice to get here and I'm not sure that's so easy). So we urge readers to send suggestions on how Montreal could get back in touch with the aquatic essence of this urban settlement and meanwhile suggest people get out there on a boat if they can. But be careful, in spite of the hype about fences around pools, almost all of the incredibly high number of drownings this year were out in lakes and rivers, many involving boats.
Pierre, who used to run Les Courtisanes Nude Waitress Restaurant on Ste-Catherine at Frontenac, wanted to run "girlie" boats on the St-Lawrence and Richelieu, basically a "Danse a 10$" on the paths of the courier de bois...bois=wood(ie)....giving new meaning to "whatever floats your boat".
ReplyDeleteWater, water, water. Drowning, drowning, drowning. If Charest really cared about the epidemic of drownings, he'd do something about it: Fence off the St.Lawrence, Saguenay, Richelieu, and all the other assorted hazardously accessible streams and lakes in this province. It's the government's fault I tell you- It's those lazy bureaucraps failing to do their job of protecting the people from unnecessary danger.
ReplyDeleteI have often wondered why we have no passenger ferry service like just about every other island city in the world.
ReplyDeleteBefore the bridges were built, there were indeed more passenger ferry services linking Montreal with the South Shore.
ReplyDeleteThere was even a short-lived railway across the ice, believe it or not. (Yes, it inevitably sank!)
The few ferries that do remain currently run from the Old Port to Longueuil.
there is a sort of passenger ferry service to ile ste-helene and longueuil. A very nice way to see Montreal from the water.
ReplyDeleteI agree that water taxi could be implemented here. The problem is that the St-laurence seaway cuts off a huge swath of the south shore from direct water access to Montreal, and then autoroute 20 neatly cuts off the rest.
And while we're waiting for that problem to be solved... maybe one day we will get ice skating on the lachine canal.