Always an adventure...

Home Sweet Home

We got home Saturday night after what we had hoped would be an easy day. Sadly, this had not been the case.

The day had started well enough. We had arrived in Lacolle mid-afternoon the day before with time enough to take off the sails and generally prep the boat to come out of the water again before dinner. We slept on the boat that night and woke up in good time on Saturday morning to eat breakfast and do last-minute prep before the guys came to take the boat out of the water at 9. The mast came down without issue, and despite a bit of water in the travel lift's fuel tank, the boat came out of the water and onto the trailer smoothly. It was done by 10:30, and then David secured everything to ensure the boat was road ready, and we were ready to go shortly after noon.

We hit the road and were approaching Montreal when David noticed flashing lights behind us. "Are they pulling us over?" Yes, yes they were. The cop who pulled us over told us he thought the boat might be wider than the legal limit, and that he had called for back-up to come take measurements. I wish you could have seen "the back-up" or that I'd taken a picture. You can take pictures of cops, right? That's not illegal or anything, like taking pictures at customs, I don't think. In any case, this guy was hilarious. He was probably about 5'7", bald, with aviator glasses. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, but I don't know how effective it would have been, considering his gut was protruding over his belt and under the vest. Watching him in the rear-view mirror trying to hold up the measuring tape was quite amusing.

Cop #1 came back to the truck after the measurement extravaganza and running our plates, and told us that the boat was indeed wider than the legal limit, and so he would have to impound the trailer and the boat because we didn't have a permit and couldn't get one until Monday.

Needless to say, we were not happy about this.

We drove behind Cop #1, followed closely by Cop #2 (did they think we were going to make a dash for it? Kind of hard to be inconspicuous when you have a 27-foot boat behind your vehicle) for what seemed like forever before finally arriving at the impound lot. We unhooked the trailer and apologized to Circe for leaving her in this terrible place, promising to be back on Monday.

Cop #1 then gave us the paperwork we needed to have the boat released when we got our permit, as well as a $333 ticket. All told, with the ticket, the cost of the permit, the impound fees (they charged us for 3 days even though the boat was there less than 48 hours - highway robbery, I tell ya!), and gas, we were looking at about $700.

Despite our Ontario plates, the Quebec cops were pretty decent about it all and surprisingly un-douche-y. It was nice that they didn't rub it in and make us feel worse than we already did.

So that was how our holiday ended. It was not ideal, but we learned a very expensive lesson. Always get a permit when driving through Quebec with a wide load and Ontario plates, kids. We likely won't be driving through Quebec with the boat again. 

Going back to work was rough, but I was told I looked relaxed and tanned (!!), so that was nice to hear. Both seem to have worn off already, just days later. David goes back to work next Tuesday. The sun is setting earlier and earlier. Temperatures are dropping. I guess summer is ending. But we are in denial. We'll put the boat back into our slip on the Ottawa River next week to enjoy the last 5 weeks of the season. We'll need more sweaters and less sunscreen, but we'll still be on the water, where for a few hours, we don't have to think about anything except which way the wind is blowing...