Larry, I suspect the rational for being on the Rideau Canal by July 1st is two fold. First; it is a nice slow enjoyable cruse. I know of several people who have taken 3 weeks to enjoy it. The second reason I suspect is to miss the crowds. The province of Quebec has a Construction Holiday each summer. During that time many Quebecker flock to the waterways. This year the construction holiday for the summer is listed as " Construction holidays - For summer 2014 : July 20, 2014 to August 2, 2014 inclusive." HeartBeat Pacemaker Alglass 33 CFB Trenton > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 19 May 2014 13:52:13 -0700 > From: Larry <lhemmerich@knottydog.com> > To: "great-loop@lists.trawlering.com" > <great-loop@lists.trawlering.com> > Subject: GL: Rideau Canal > Message-ID: <73A73A05-7A76-4965-8947-FB148A9BC4D1@knottydog.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > We are planning on doing the Eire and Rideau Canals......i was reading in Skipper Bob publication and it stated that you must be at the start of the Rideau bay July 1 st > > We were thinking about August 1st so we would be coming down Lake Champlain late Aug and the Hudson in Sept.... > > What is the reason for that statement? > > Larry H > M/V KnottyDog