Port Bordon to Summerside August 30

A lazy morning, with breakfast at anchor, followed by a short sail to Summerside's Silver Fox Curling and Sailing Club once again. We are planning a two day layover hoping for north winds to take us across to Shediac.

We had been talking about doing some biking and went in search of a rental shop. We found the shop all right but it had been closed for some time according to a fellow we met close by.  We chatted a bit and he and his wife offered us two other bikes, which we gladly accepted.  We rode about 25 km, across the island to see the ocean on the north shore then down the confederation trail before we returned the bikes. Upon thanking them for their hospitality we found out they have a sailboat in the harbour and they made a similar trip as ours 15 years ago.  Also her mother was from Croatia - Small world.....

Wood Islands to Port Bordon. August 29th

We where up early to utilize the flooding tide for the first half of the 42 mile leg to Port Bordon. We sailed the whole way with a 15-20 knot head wind, took us 12 hours. I think we traveled 63 miles. Once there, we anchored beside an abandoned ferry dock that had been used to stage the building of the confederation bridge. The area looked like the remnants from World War II but it was a safe harbour and we were glad to off the Strait.

Pictou to Wood Islands August 28th

Started the day with a hike along the Pictou River shore, then watched a crew turn the Hector end for end in preparation to beach her and tip her on her side for some below water level haul repairs.

Then off the mouth and set the anchor to try fishing for mackerel. I make eggs Benny on a bed of lobster for breakfast while Bozidar fished and caught a 3/4 pounder. Had a good sail across the strait to Wood Islands port. 

Wood islands is a ferry port connecting Pictou, Nova Scotia to PEI. There is also a large fishing industry here. Because there are no floating docks and we are in a full moon cycle we had to consider the 5 ' tide when setting our mooring lines. Wood islands was a nice harbour with high sides, there was more room then we expected, and for an added bonus we could get WIFI from the ferry once it was parked for the night. There is a light house park area, a restaurant and a lobster shack that makes a great seafood chowder. We meet an interesting fellow with a hand make wooden ketch who is a bee keeper on PEI. He told us he was asked to leave one of the north shore harbours because he had not had his boat decontaminated for invasive species that are already on the other side on the island.  Good to know if you are heading that way.

Historic Pictou August 27

Left Ballantyne's Cove at 7:00 am. Exiting the well protected  harbor, we were saluted by the skipper of a German catamaran. We waved back and wondered where are they off to next. If not fully alert by now, we were briskly woken up by the 15 knots of Southeasterly causing violent chop just to make the hoisting of the sails more interesting.

Once set, we made for the Cape George. This was very enjoyable as the waves were only about two feet high which was less than expected comparing to our experience over the last week in the Northumberland Strait. This can probably be explained by somewhat shorter fetch and deeper ocean around the Cape (30-40' vs. 20-30'). Hugging the coast at safe distance of a mile or two we tried our fishing skills without success.

Arriving at the entrance to the natural Pictou harbour we found the approach to be narrow but well buoyed in the fashion typical of the harbours in the area. Entering the marina was a different story. Our attempts to contact the Pictou town marina office by VHF or cellphone went unanswered, so we entered the marina and tied on to an empty finger dock until we sorted out the formalities. This was a bit stressful as we were unfamiliar with the marina and were being pushed towards the docks by the Southeasterly. All was fine ounce tied in. The registration was completed without having to move to another berth. The water and power are available on the dock, and the marina facilities were comparable to other marinas in the area. 

During our stay in Pictou there was not much traffic in town, however according to the locals the town is regularly frequented by tourist and this was indeed unusual. Most tourist arrive by land in RVs and trailers and a few smaller cruise ships make Pictou their port of call each season.  As it is fitting for a tourist community, Pictou has a number or restaurants some right on the waterfront and some just a couple of blocks in. 

The town started as a centre of Scottish settlement of the Maritime provinces of Canada, to became a mining town now succeeded by a pulp mill and a small shipyard. The Main Street features many gift and craft stores, one tartan and a commercial fishing supply store. There are many impressive old buildings, some designated as a historic buildings, echoing more prosperous times and hopes for a greater future. Especially interesting are the old WMCA building from 1879 and the Canada Post building now in a great disrepair.

Anyone with an interest in boats and things of maritime nature should visit the Ship Hector Museum commemorating the start of the settlement of New Scottland with the arrival of Scottish on the three masted tall ship Hector in 1773. The museum has a 
replica of the ship Hector and shops used by various craftsmen working on it's restoration. 

Montague to Ballantynes Cove August 25th

Today we headed to Ballantynes Cove on the end of Cape George, NS. Sailing was awsome, beam reach to close hauled, 10 to 12 knots all day with 3 foot rollers. Just 34 naughtical miles for the day. 

This area of Nova Scotia is quite a bit higher than New Bruniswick and PEI and you could see land about 20 miles out as appossed 7 miles out for the flatter land. 

When we were 1/2 an hour away from the harbour, I called family friends, Alec and Tina Boyd to invite them to the boat for a rum. By the time we arrived, they were at the marina to greet us, also with  Sandy Boyd to take us up on the rum. They in turn invited us to their place for dinner, so off we went. It was great to see them and learn more about the history and commercial fishing industry of the area. Their house is on a lovely lot with a great view of the bay. On a clear day you can see across St. George's Bay to the Strait of Canso and Port Hawkesbury. A great time as had by all.

Beautifull Charlottetown (2015-08-24)

As a proper day of rest and recovery should be, today is relatively uneventful.  We remained in Charlottetown so Andrew could catch an early morning plane back to Winnipeg and to replenish our supplies.

Like most of the province of Prince Edward Island (PEI) Charlottetown is picture perfect.  Most of the buildings in the quaint downtown, date back to the 18 hundreds, are made out of sanstrone, and most are beautifully renovated. Sandstone facades, flowers, manicured lawns, and old style hanging business signs are present on every street.  Every view builds a mental picture of times past when the streets were walked by sailors, fisherman, merchants, and farmers so when you hear a young waitress refer affectionately to an elderly acquaintance as "skipper" makes all these pictures so much more vivid. 

Only a block away from the marina we stayed in is the PEI Heritage Museum. It is an excellent place to search for the information on what to do in Charlottetown and the rest of the province. On most days you can even rent bicycles. If at all interested in the Canadian history or curious about how Canada was formed out of a number of former British colonies, then you should take the interpretative tour of the museum. The tour is an reenactment of the events in 1867and the political manoeuvrings which lead to formation of Canada which Doug and enjoyed.

The Gold Cup and Saucer horse race happened to be scheduled for this evening and we intended to go to this to this equestrian event which has the largest prize pool.  Unfortunately the race was rescheduled for the next day due to the incoming storm.

Charlettown to Pictou Island August 23

Winds were light and the waves where small so it was a perfect opportunity to install the new macerator pump that Bozidar had brought down with him. We where quite surprised to learn that in Charlettown the marina staff had no idea what a pump out station was about - I guess if you live on the ocean with large tidal action it just isn't recognized as source of pollution.

Once we arrived at the island we found lots of people waiting for the Sunday boat shuttle to go back to the mainland with their coolers full of fish. 

Pictou Island is mostly privately owned with one main road and a small park on the east end. The island is off the electrical grid and the homes use solar power for electricity and propane for cooking and refrigeration. There are only about 12 family that live there all year round.

It is about 5 miles long and 1 mile wide. 

We saw lots of rabbits and types of trees we hadn't seen before. 

We discovered an electrical problem with our own solar panel system due to salt water corrosion and I almost set the boat on fire with an electrical short, trying to fix it. After 1 1/2 hours the problem was rectified and Bozidar was off collecting fresh mussels for appetizers.

Pictou Island to Montague August 24th

We motored around the southeast side of Pictou Island to see the sites and improve our sailing angle up to Montague.   We sailed right to the mouth of the three rivers that make their entrance into the Northumberland Strait then motored 5 miles up the Montague River to the lovely little town with a great history of farming, fishing and shipping. 

The river was full of muscle aquaculture, that I have never seen before. Today the fisherman/farmers were busy pressure washing their stock to keep weeds and other unwanted sea growth from sufficating the muscles. The Station as it is called, a building on the grounds of an old railway station, which houses the marina office and a gift shop, a restaurant and the town visitor centre provided us with a map of the town and a list of things to see. So we had an ale in the restaurant and headed out on a self-guided walk enjoying the architecture and the wall mourals that were featured on the map. 

Time to Curl

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Well, it was time to leave Shediac and head for Summerside Harbour, now known as the Silver Fox Curling and Yacht.  A few years, ago the Curling Club took over the operations of the Yacht Club and now probably one of the only Marina's with it Curling club.  The winds are light all day and we have some good sailing to do to cross over to PEI, so we may have to do some motoring again to reach our destination in good time if we want to see the sights and buy some fresh seafood.  Because we left good and early and made really good time, we arrived around 4:00 pm and met the good folks that managed the Complex.  There is a Bar, Lounge, room for six sheets which are used in the summer for banquets and special events and private quarters for the sailors.  Seems perfect for people like us and we even got some good fundraising ideas for the club back home.  Later we went for a walk around this shanty town and found a couple of great fresh fish markets for Oysters and live Mackerel and souvenirs shops were we found some perfect gift ideas (PEI dirt shirts for Andrew).  After some shopping and listening to some live entertainment in Park, we visited Mark the bartender in the Deckhouse for for a pint.  Bob joined us a little later as he was befriending the owner of JMK Fish Mart who was showing some interest in sailing. In doing so he ended up letting Bob pick his choice of Mackerel caught earlier that day and gave them to us for free.  Mark too was enjoying our conversation as we exchanged some stories and told some tales.  Bob showed up later, ordered a cider while Doug and I wanted to only stay for one.  Mark seeing that Bob still has half a bottle decides that we can't leave before Bob is finished and pours us half a draft and then gave us some sample blender drinks.  After the great company, we headed back to the Yacht Club which happens to be the hang out for the locals - must be the curling connection.  The next day, we were to leave at 7:00 am but got off to a late start.  We had 30 or so miles to go before we reach Charlottetown and the wind starts out at 15 - 20 knots out of the south - this should be a perfect reach but as our luck would have it we will have to tack a few times due to some shifts.  On this leg we have to go under the Confederation Bridge which spans from Nova Scotia to PEI, 12,900 metres.  But wait, as we approach, the Snow Birds are doing their aerobatic maneuvers over the bridge from one end to another followed by an F16.  We then realize that today is the Confederation Day Parade in Charlottetown and tomorrow is the Air show - once again we have great timing!  Now we are almost at Charlottetown but we have to go around an island and down a marked channel for 8 miles to get into the bay by Charlottetown.  It's a perfect downwind leg with the wind on our stern and time for the spinnaker.  We are able to fly her all the way to the harbours edge.  Because of the later start to the day, its now 7:00 pm so we have time to chat with the people on the dock from two other local sailboats also just coming in and got some good local knowledge of the area.  Before we enjoy some sights though we have to eat the Lobster waiting for us in the cooler:)

King of Lobsters

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You have two ports to choose from in Shediac, that being the Shediac Yacht Club and the other being Pointe du Chen.  The people we talked to say Pointe du Chen is more popular with Captain Dan's at the wharf, the guide says PCYC is raucous and SYC was quieter.  Guess which one we picked?  Coming into Pointe du Chen, you have to stay in the channel (a boat length in width) and pull a hard right around a 10 foot wall of rock.  Being our first time we proceeded causiously hearing horns on the other side ever so often.  We found out after that this was protocol especially for power boats to alert anyone intending to exit or enter.  As we rounded the corner, there was a power boat waiting to leave so thank goodness they saw our mast and respectfully waited for our entrance.   Now we preceed to our designated birth for the evening with the Harbour Master standing waiting to receive with another Maritime welcome.  Registering for one night, the Harbour Master says most people think they are staying for one night and end up being a week or so.  We definitely had that feeling of welcome as two our three other boaters already welcomed us, one of whom was on the Board of the Nova Scotia Sailing Association.  So by the time we finished registering, it was two nights and we signed ourselves up for Wednesday night racing with our boat.  Marcel, the Harbour Master, was also quick to tell us that it's Wing Nut Night at Captain Dan's and you must sample the local attraction.  But before the wing nuts it was time to hit the beach with the tide out.  We asked if we should stay to the path, which was quit a hike or if there was a shorter distance and Marcel says, if you don't mind getting your feet wet, just walk across the bay.  So cool to be walking across this big bay and water going to your shorts.  On route, Bob discovers hermit crabs in the sandy waters and Doug makes a b line for the kite flyers.  I wandered along the beach enjoying the ripples in the sand and couldn't get over the amount of people on the beach, in the water and sitting on power boats.  Here, it's five o'clock somewere is lived to the fullest. Having completed one of our longest walks, it's time for an appee:).  But wait, Bozidar has a pocket full of live crabs tickling him and soon to be in a pot being sauteed and eaten with fresh french rolls.  So now after the freshest of fresh appees, we chill, but our chilling means barbequing ribs and druming up a tomato based pasta medley.  After dinner we head off to Captain Dan's Wing Nut Night but there are no wings.  Its the night for everyone to come out to the bar and that's on a tuesday night!  There's a $5 cover with DJ on the second floor and live band on the first floor - the place is packed.  We met a really nice guy and his friend - we will call them Louis and Jean.  Where do you come from - we are from Manitoba and the story goes on as to how we got there.  Holy shite Mr. Manitoba you guys are awesome - we are introduced to everyone in our section as Mr. Awesome Manitoba then in sees a guy with a big afro and another with a handle bar mustashe.  Hey great hair - Mr. Big Hair and Mr. Mustashio.  Needles to say the story goes on but we shouldn't bore you with the details.  The next morning we had a chat with our neighbours and Mike offers to give us a ride to a local restaurant which is next to a marine shop.  After breakfast we head over to Romeos were we meet Jackie.  She's from florida but has been coming back to help her dad run the shop for the past 8 year and her birthday is in 10 days but won't tell her how old she is!  Through making the new friend phase, we find out they store boats and we can't believe the deal she wants to give us.  We ask around and they are highly recommended.  I guess the harbour master was right because we are seriously thinking of coming back - what another great place!  Now its off to the largest Lobster in the world.  We walked 39 minutes through downtown and get sidetracked along the way to buy some supplies from another marine store (Boat House) and find ourselves in the tourist mecca of New Brunsiwck with a giant Lobster Sculpture. Bozidar has been talking about lobster for the past two days and I don't think this is what he had in mind.  After Lobster pics and getting recommdations for lunch, we set a track for a patio and fresh seafood. Afterwards, we do are groceries and fresh lobster/oyster and mixed seafood shopping and call Morris, the local taxi car.  It turns out he will also drive Doug and Bob the the Moncton Airport - the stars are aligning. After a long night before and a full day in the sun, we are back at the dock at 5:00 pm and we have an hour before Wednesday night racing.  At 6, we head up to the club for our race instuctions knowing its a 7:00 pm start. Once again the race chair is awesome - he gives us some tricks to the trade in the local area and a sheet with 31 possible courses. Crap what are we getting into with all these variations. There are channels markers, bouys, and club marks to input into gps that run from A to T.  I put in the most common ones recommended by the committee chair and we are given our PHRF rating according to the Nova Scotia Sailing Association.  Now we are off to start the race along the pier. The race course will be determined here, where the score keeper will show a number according to wind conditions.  So we see the number desplayed from the wharf and we now have to figure out the course all the while jockeying for position at the startline, watching for swimmers jumping from the pier and missing the coast guard boat at the end of the wharf.  We are in the 5 minute sequence now, the pressure is building and before you know it we are off.  We cannot believe the great start we had, but what would you think after spending a summer on the boat.  We are one with it and can sense her every move.  We are appoaching the first mark and are in first place.  Winds are very light but what we don't expect is dauling winds.   If you head to shore you get a shore breeze and if you go out, you get sea breeze.  We hit all the right puffs and make it to the Medea Mark second behind and C&C 32 and ahead of a J30.  Wow we're feeling really good about ourselves and then the wind dies to zero.  We are still going 0.7 knots due to current but no wind. There are already 5 boats calling it.  The sun has completely set and we are all sailling with running lights. We are coming to the next point and decide it's too much - we call it, happy with our performance knowing we have to traverse the narrow entrance under dark. There is tons of white light but once we are close to the rock, it gets better. Afterwards, it was steak and accessories and compliments from some sailors as to how we did that night.  

Lobster Mines

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Before we talk about the Lobster Capital of the world, we should talk about leaving Miramichi.  You know from the last post that its 28 miles out of the river and bay through a winding channel that traverses from shore to shore.   Its not like a road where you simply stay on the right or left depending on where you're reading this from but rather a series of bouys and ranges that you look for in open water and have to stay between.  As we leave harbour red pointy ones are on the left and green flat ones are on the right.  As we leave we note the wind is already 10 knots on our stern and this means a spinnaker run up the channel with time to practice our jibing.   But before we have time to set sail, Bob notices a stranded moose calf on the shore. There is nothing that we can but get a little closer and grunt at it and besides it didnt look to be in stress. So on we go with setting main and then spinnaker until the wind picks up as we are crossing at the widest part and its more of a reach than a down wind leg. By this time Doug has cooked pancakes topped with peaches, apple sauce and maple syrup. This all makes for a best sailing experience ever; flying a spinnaker and eating pancakes. who sead we can't multi task! We decide to douse the spinnaker and take it in from the stern instead of bow because of the wind and set the head sail.  Meanwhile, the Coast Guard / RCMP boat that was docked at Miramichi has left and is coming up the channel behind us. But they are taking their time and  allowing us to leave safely.  We sail out to open sea and set our new waypoint to round another series of shoals, meanwhile the coast guard follows the coast and cruises by all the fishing boats.  Starting from Miramichi south, lobster season is in and there are hundres of traps all over the place.  It's like walking through a mine field because sometimes you can't see the markers and they are on you before you know it.  Now as we round the point the wind starts dying off again so we made the decision to motor around up to our around it and float for awhile and go for a swim.  The water here is warming up again as its starting to get shallower through the Northumberland Straight.  While we where floating I saw a jellyfish swim by.  Doug and Bob are already in the water but then there are more jelly fish, one after another.  Bob has know idea but I take some pictures and they are all around him.  Its ok though, apparently these don't sting:).  After pictures I jump in too and the water is absolutely gorgeous. We finish our swim and we are off again - just in time too as the wind is building once again and we can almost point to our destination of Richibucto.   We are now sailing in 20 knots with two reefs and the head sail furled to a 100% from a 135. We keep going as long as we can before decideing to motor the rest of the way as the wind is once again on the nose to our resting place.  Now with sails down we are cutting through short rapid wave and shaking the shite out of everything - I am down below typing as the floor is vibrating throught the waves.  After 8 miles of this we are now entering another well marked channel. And good thing, as the guide book clearly states "do not follow the fisherman with local knowledge as you will be sure to hit ground".  We approach the harbour and I call on the VHF channel 68 for birthing instructions but no answer.  We enter the harbour and the harbour master is standing on the dock waiting for us.  Once again, full service but wonder way no answer on the radio. Apparently, he couldn't understand my Richibucto said three times in an acaidian accent and thought it better to come to the dock anyways.  The harbour is filled with fishing boats and at the office there is Norm, the harbour master and four regulars sitting as I am sure they do every day.  We chatted for a while and I asked if there is a place to sample local refreshments.  They all said the Legion is the only place in town and when I asked for directions, I got finger pointing over thier right shoulder and a polite "it's up over dare".  Once we got things settled for the night and Doug and I decided to venture out into town, we reafirm the location with the night crew and got the same over dare instructions so we are off. Walking around, there is nothing near except a family restaurant on the commercial side of the wharf with no one in it and a pizza place again with no one in it. With a 45 minute walk completed, we return full circle and one fellow says: "you didn't make it, jump in my car and I will give you a lift". But by this time, its to late and we are off to bed.  The next morning came in no time flat, shower time and we're gone by 6:30 am.  Again not long before we are sailing and having another gourmet eggs omlette with pancake batter to thicken it topped with cheeze, onion, peppers, and seazoned with Italian spicing. Did I happen to mention, Bob likes to cook, with the three of us we're not going hungry soon:).  Anyway with breakfast under foot and sailing out of the harbour, there is now a dredging machine being towed by a fishing boat with a long hose out the back.  With little options, we alter course and sail behind them but not to far as we have to skirt the channels' edges and miss the hose.  We are by and with room to spare at the end and now its time to round another shoal with another great sailing day all the way to Shediac.  Because we have time to spare, we decided to again drop sails and go for another swim.  The water is even warmer than the day before and Doug wants to try out the drogue that he got from Ed Smith.  So while motoring at 4 knots we throw in the drogue and were immediately surpised to see 2 knots taken away. This is great if we have to use it in fowl weather to slow the boat down and keep her from pitch poling (prevents a boat from hitting the bottom of a large wave and rolling end over end).  Once the testing and swimming is done, it a short meander to Point du Chen Harbour were we spend the next two days.

Miramichi Ways

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Taking the river up to Miramichi was interesting as its a few miles across in most places and there is a channel winding through from shore to shore that you have to stay in or grounding was inevidable as the river and bay are silted in.   Even the charts say dreadging was last done in 1994 and depths shallower may exist. Straight in is 22 miles, but when you factor in the channel its actually 28 miles to Miramichi. The town itself was once a thriving pulp and paper town consisting of three towns, Chatham, Miramichi and I beleive Newcastle.   There's lots to see and do in the area and am told we just missed the biggest party of the year.  Every August long weekend, hundreds of boats and thosands off people flock to this little Island, Bay du Vin.  They camp out all weekend - boats are beached, moored and rafted around the entire island and its coined Giver on the River.   Here you can also take a boat ride back in time to a 19th-century shipbuilding site were you hear tales passed down by ancestry.  There is also Beaverbrook's Finest Hour and his role in WWII winning the battle of Britain.  With so much to do, we actually just chilled at the harbour as its plus 30 out and too sticky to move.   Its a Saturday and everybody is out on the boats.  We even noted that the stores are all closed here around 5:00 pm.   People will drop their boat in as many a six times a week for pleasure and fishing.  So for us to be at the visitor dock with a sterns view off all the action, it was actually kind of fun to watch all the antics.   While there we made friends with some fellows from Mac's Seafood and it turns out they have a deal with Pratts, whom we buy our food from at work - Canad Inns.  They had a wooden fishing boat converted to pleasure which was perfect to spend an afternoon on:).  Later that day we ended up downtown at Mac's Seafood were we were purchased some fresh lobster and stuffed clam shells.  Once again the people here make the difference - everyone is so nice and always willing to lend a hand  or just stop by for a friendly greeting, "How ya boys doin today".  And by the way, blueberry beer is still our favouite:).  John Walsh is the local harbour master here and we had asked him for some help in renting a vehicle, so we could drive to Bathurst, some 45 minutes away to pick up Bob for the next leg of our trip.   So John, with his great sense of humour says that the car rental wanted two days minimum - "F#%k dat", he says, "you can take my truck and just put some gas in her". Its another brand new 4x4 Chrysler 2500 fully loaded.  With our chores done including groceries, we're off to Bathurst to meet up with Bob.  It's interesting, we are told there are lots of Moose and apparently that's so - all along the highway, there's a large fence to keep them off the roads and signs everywhere telling them where they can cross.  Anyways, Bob's flight is delayed so we have some time to see the local sites there as well.  We pick him up at around 5:00 pm and its back to Miramichi for a late dinner and prepare for the following day.   That evening the Coast Guard / RCMP Ocean patrol vessel come into harbour for the night and park right beside us on the wharf.   And now its time for the next part of the leg.  

Legendary Sail

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Miscou to Val Comeau Wharf

It's 5:30 am and we have a long trip planned as we first have to leave the Harbour on the south west side and go around her to the north before heading down the east side to our distination of Val Comeau.  This added an extra 20 miles to our trip, therefore we will have to do more than 60 nautical miles today.  It's an eerily calm morning with dense fog setting in and perfect for Phantom Ship sightings.  People tell the story of Captain Craig, one of the more notorius pirates of the region and say that on mornings like this people have seen the "fire ship" coming out of the mystique waters.  People have seen it from the beach and fisherman have tried to over take her but none have been successful.  As legend goes, the tall ship would come into the bay and raise a flag to send a signal to the local Pilot to come aboard. The pilot has the local knowledge of the area and can navigate the ship to a disignated point close to an Indian village.  Once the crew was done there trading and got the furs they could, they would then give them alcohol and steal the rest.   On this fateful afternoon when the business was done, the pilot was summoned to once again take the ship out to sea waters, but as he did so he could hear someone crying down below.  The pilot, a hugh man, immediately ordered the ship to stop and he found two young indian girls kidnapped and tied up for the Captain and his first mate.  They would later have thier way with them and then once finished, discard them over the side to the sea.   The pilot knew this so freed the girls and sent them to shore.  The girls fearing for their lives ask the pilot to also come to shore as the ship was destined for disaster.  The pilot did not believe the girls and stayed with the ship only to have it hit the rocks and break into a ball of flames.  The entire crew parished except for the pilot, captain and first mate.   The pilot swim to shore but the other two drown as they were not good swimmers.  And so the legend of Captian Craig was born of the "fire ship" in the bay.    Thousands of locals, fisherman and even scientists have debated whether it is a natural phenomenon of supernatural manifestation.  We were not lucky enough to witness the "fire ship" but it allowed for some entertainment as we slid through the foggy morning.  Our destination is a park and said to be very shallow.   We were not sure if we could even get in so we phoned the coast guard the night before and they thought is should be ok.  The person on duty was kind enough to call his Captian and later recommended that we go in on high tide which meant getting there by about 5:00 pm.  Going into the channel was plenty deep but there are areas of silting and we saw some depts below 5 feet.  The harbour itself was under 5 feet at our designated slip but the tide was only going down one foot at this location so we had a few inches to spare.  We are the only sailboat here as the harbour was filled with fishing boats.   Our excitement came later that night as we heard an alarm around 10 pm and within minutes over twenty cars showed up circling the wharf.   We later found out it was the coast guard calling them because someone was setting off flares at the local trailer park which by the way is a big no no.  

Val Comeau to Miramichi

We don't have far to go today so we planned to leave around 8:00 am.  Doug and I went up to the office to speak to some locals including the harbour master.   One old timer, says we will have to build a cottage here and come back for a visit.  When we do, his was the first house on the left and he would like us to stop by for some free coffee and cake. During our conversation the harbour master  suggested we should go sooner than later as the falling tide creates lots of current in the channel and we wouldn't want to be pushed into a sandbar.  Taking his advice we were off in the building knot and a half of current.  We stayed to the track layed from the day before and all was good once again.    The winds are perfect as we set sail and can point straight to our turning point.  A few miles out from our turning point though the winds shifted and are now on our nose as we enter Miramichi bay and river system.   We still have 22 miles to go before we reach Station Wharf where we plan to be for a couple days.  This is a perfect place to be as Bathurst is 45 minutes to the north and we have to pickup our friend Bob for the next leg of our trip.

Terrasse à Steve

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We have left L'anse-a-beaufils and are bound for a little harbour on Miscou Island 40 nautical miles away.  With the pending bad weather on the horizon, we set sail early in the morning to beat the rain and more importantly 30 knot winds.  Well, we beat the 30 knot winds and it seems all the wind as its flat again and we are forced to use the iron genny, she sure has become old faithful. The trip itself was uneventful but as we cross the bay we can't help but wonder where the land is.  We have become accustomed to rising cliffs that can be seen for miles away.

Land ho, we are about 15 miles out, the Island is very low and as we approach from the bay side, there is a bridge that we have to cross under in order to reach our distination.   We do our quick calculation of 50' high on chart datum, we are also at high tide - no problem we have room.  We clear and enter the harbour (this is the first harbour without depths and its dark blue on the chart, this means below 6 but no problem again we have room to spare here too.  At the dock we see a lone fellow sailor waitng  to catch our line.   He immediately said he was expecting us as the couple we met from the previous two nights were his friends and they called ahead to let him know.  How nice is this place:).  But it only gets better, through our conversation with our new friend he says that Steve up by the restaurant is the proprietor and you can introduce yourself. He finishes with, do you need anything right away like food or groceries because he could go pick some things up for us. Not wanting to be too inconvenient we asked for some ice which he promply returned with, 15 minutes later and a tour booklet - amazing:).  It didn't take long for us to meet and make friends with Steve and the ladies at this bustling family restaurant where they introduced us to some local blueberry beer and fresh (I mean fresh - the fishing boats are in the harbour fresh) lobster sandwich.  The restaurant has shellacked plank tables with stump legs and no matching chairs, lean-too on either side and personnal cabanas fashioned with local drfit wood, planks and the odd Fin Whale bone for decoration.   The building is covered with glowing sentiments of previous customers and various historal pictures of the area.  But we know that bricks and mortar, no matter how charming, doesn't make a restaurant.   Here the owner is most welcoming. We were introduced to other patrons and asked to share our summer adventures as we met new friends.  The above and beyond part comes when Steve offers us his vehicle to see the sights and recommended some points of interest including the Ecological Park of the Acadian Peninsula, the Acquarium, Lighthouse point, Old town and the list goes on.  Not having much time the next day we settled for the New Brunswick Acquarium and Marine Park.  This was a great opportunity to reafirm all that we have already seen and learn more about the delicate balance that we live in.   We ended up closing the place playing with the seals and enjoying the touch tank.   Now its time for some groceries and supplies and heading back to Terrasse à Steve's were we enjoyed some fresh oysters and Lobster sushi:).  We can't thank Steve enough for his geniune hospitalty and going out of his way to ensure we enjoyed our bad weather day.   Thanks again and enjoyed signing your wall in the provided special place for us!!

Perce Moments

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Rivière-au-Renard to L'Anse-À-Beaufils

It's the morning of the August 10th and the wind is forecasted to be out of the west all day as we round Cap Gaspe and head south.   It's a double reef day and we are doing wing on wing through six foot swells and 15 knots of wind - what a great ride all the way to Cap Gaspe, some18 nautical miles.  As we get closer to the Cap, we are greeted by 400' cliffs peering into the Gulf - this as an impressive sight to behold.   As we round it we note the wind too follows us into the bay and slowly dies out.   It's now a quick motor back into the channel breese as we head between Pointe-Saint-Pierre and Ile Plate on route to Rocher Perce.  The landscape here is definitely worth visiting and as we approach Perce from the north, its noted that the entire side is incased in its' own shadow.  We fully take in this splended wonder as we circle it as close as we can.  From here it's off to Ile Bonaventure across the way.   This Ile is a national park noted for being an ideal breading ground for the Northern Gannet.  They look like giant Gulls but have gold heads and black winded tips.  They are not scavengers but rather impressive fishers flying high in the air spoting their pray and then driving straight down piercing the water like an arrow through its target.   Can you imagine being a school of fish and suddenly this flock of birds all drive at once like streaming comets through the sky.  So much fun to see:). Anyways we anchored out from the Island and had a nap as we waited for 5:00 pm when we were told was the last of the guide boats to the island and were safe to use the local dock.  As we proceed to tie up shortly after 5:00 pm, two nice you girls come strolling down the hill in offical park uniforms.  They very politely told us that we cannot stay on a national park overnight and that we were welcome to cross back to Perce or go a little further to the Yacht club down the shore.  We elected for L'Anse-À-Beaufil, the recommended marina and found ourselves in a beautiful but shallow spot.  As we entered at low tide, we noted an earlier Beneteau grounded half way to the slip.  Here, slips are for powerboats and the wharf is for sailboats, so we camped out beside the local restaurant that had a theatre in the back, an art gallery on the second floor, great seafood apps and Caribou Pit brewed directly across the harbour from us.  

Flying High

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Saint Anne des Monts to Rivière Madeleine

Today, the forecasted easterlies came as anticipated but shortly after leaving the harbour, the rain came and stayed with us the entire day until an hour before reaching the picturesque harbour of Rivière  Madeleine.  So there is really not much to say about this leg except again the occasionnel whale, seal and dolphin sighting.   The harbour was one of our smaller more intimate locales where the people are very friendly. The town fills, ok 6 boats, with recreational fisherman that come back year after year for the famed cod and mackerel.   I took a picture of one fellow with his prize cod.  He tells me they are only allowed five fish and there is no catch and release, what you catch you keep no matter the size.   His was average size as the big ones are no longer around due to over fishing.   Mackerel is by the plenty as they hunt in schools.  Here they use jiggers and if you catch one you wait a minute because soon the rest of your hooks are filled and you bring up three of four at a time, no bait, just a fly and gold hook.  

Rivière Madeleine to Rivière-au-Renard

The wind is gone and its another flat day and great if you're a power boat.  But this was one of our best wildlife days yet.   It was not long before we see a pod of humpback whales swimming along peacefully down the Channel. They are easy to see on a day like today as plumes of mist shoot 15 feet into the air while they surface.  But it gets better, one flys straight up out of the water, turned ever so slightly and then lands on its side - it was an amazing thing to see.  We were in awe as we stood frozen in time.  Not thinking about pictures we captured a few off the internet to show you what we saw.  I finally found a walking stick I liked so in between wildlife adventures, I decided to clean it up and try my hand at carving - not bad for a first time:). It's now 2:30 pm and this is a good time to be at our next harbour as we are in need of some groceries.  Rivière-au-Renard is a larger commercial fishing community with a small yacht club at the end of the harbour called Club nautique Forillon.   This is a great place to stop for supplies as they have everything you need from marine supplies, engine repairs to basic needs.   We made some friends here with another couple and a young baby girl. While chatting with them, we came to learn that they too are into construction and she is nurse, fancy that!   The plan is to sail their 47 foot steel boat around the world in 2017.  Later after chores, visiting and a great dinner, Doug and I found the local watering hole, had a pint of Muddy Ale and played some pool - Doug 2, Andy 1.

Long days short nights:)

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Tadoussac to Rimouski

We said our goodbyes to Joann as she headed off for the bus station driven by a local Samaritan.  It was almost like Driving Miss Daisy except this was a Frenchman hailing by the name of Michele in a little red car barely big enough to fit her bags.  From there, it's off to Quebec City to catch a plane.  With her bon-voyage at 8:30 am, we first thought that we may have to stay an extra day as our typical start times were 6 and 7 due to ensuing tides and heaven forbid we leave Joann standing on the curb waiting for little Michele!  But the tide currents are waning now and we can start at 9:00 am to catch the ebb current building 1 hour after high tide.   Now it is the two of us until our friend Bob joins us near Bathurst on the 16th of August.   This will change the dynamics on the boat with less leisure time.  The winds are forecasted to be 10-12 all day and we might have an opportunity to do a spinnaker run down the Seaway.  Now in the channel and crossing the rip tide where the Saguenay meets the St.Lawrence we can see the winds are building.   They crept up to 30 knots in the afternoon and waves are averaging 4 feet.   Going down wind was awesome though, it was wing on wing for a large part then full main only.  The boat felt balanced and we were surfing along between 6 and 8 knots.   With the winds a steady 25-28 we decided it was time  to reef the main as we were cruising not racing and the rule here is not to carry more sail downwind that you can carry upwind.   So now with 2 reefs in, we were still doing 6 knots.  It was a great day for sailing although now the water temperature is down to 10 degrees and its time to dawn the flannels.  Along the way, we were accompanied by a visiting dolphin for 20 minutes.  We never expected to see that. We had a few more beluga sightings and harbour seals keeping a watchful eye.  Some 53 nautical miles later, Rimouski is our stopover for the night.  We were greeted by the very friendly harbour master, Roger, "Welcome to Rimouski the Gateway to the Gulf of the St. Lawrence and where summer is but a thing on the calendar!"  Needless to say the heater was on again to keep the dampening sea breeze at bay.  The Rimouski Yacht Club had a delightful seafood restaurant but you needed reservations so we straddled up to the bar in our western ways for a pint.  Then we settled for cuisine à la Summer Wine, made it an early night and planned for the next few days.   

Rimouski to Matane?

This trip was not the twin to the day before.  Wind, ok we started with 15 knots out of the west, but it was not long lived.  Pretty soon it was down to 3, 2, wait for it, no wind - the water was like glass. But we saw some wild life including harbour seals and a pair of Dolphins bathing at the surface enjoying the sun and sights of "To and Fro" passing by (you may remember we named our large orange mooring balls).  Well it's only 3:45 and we have reached our destination already.  With a pending forecast in the next couple of days to be easterlies we decide to press on to our next spot, Saint Anne des Monts.  Our new eta is midnight but this will allow us to put a day in the bank should we need a withdrawal later on and after all, the water is like glass...   As the sun sets and night falls upon us, the stars directly above us are encased by the shoreline cloud.   We are on half hour helm shifts now so we can maintain our energy for the evening but of course dinner is elegantly prepared underway.  This was a magical night with the calmness of the water and moonless starry night.  But it gets better, we notice the white glowing trail coming from the back of the boat and realize its the phosphoresensce in the water stirring in our wash.   It stayed with us all the way to harbour, which we eventually found in a stealth like manner so as not to wake the neighbouring boats in this shanty town.  It's off to bed with another 50 miles to go tomorrow. 

A Whale of a Time

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Tadoussac - What a great place!

We left Cap a l'Aigle right on time at 7:00 a.m. in a shroud of fog. Got the AIS system on checking for any other boat traffic that may be ghosting along. Before long the fog has lifted and there is a whale sighting. Wait a minute.... there is a whole pod of belugas!! They decide we are of interest and come right over to the boat to check us out.  OMG!!!! This is unbelievably fantastic! As you can see from the pictures, they are very curious. We thought one was coming right up onto the swim platform! Needless to say, that totally made our day and is an experience we will remember forever!  After that we only saw them from a distance. There was a few sea lion sightings also, at least their heads bobbing along...

We had a good spinnaker run down the channel in 15-20 kn winds (SOG 11kn). Closer to Tadoussac, we doused the spinnaker and motored through rapids where the water depth goes from 400' to 100' in a short span.  The waters outside Tadoussac harbour entrance can be very treacherous.  We watched an ugly lightening storm in the distance. Fortunately, we had favourable winds and timing. As we approached harbour, there were 10 boats all converging towards the marina at once.  It was "take a number and wait your turn" but we eventually docked at 2:00 p.m. in a lovely, secure harbour. Our early afternoon arrival gave us a chance to hike up the hillside to a lookout spot which provided a great view of surrounding vistas of the harbour, the St.Lawrence and the Saguenay rivers.

The plan for the next day was to take a charter cruise up the Saquenay about 10 miles for some whale watching and Fjord experience.  We decided this because the Saguenay has 5 knots of current at the best of times and we are not up to fighting it again.  It's wasn't long before we had our first sightings along the west side of the channel but this was no comparison to our experience the day before.  The boats here will see the sightings of whales but will not approach as they are endangered.  I guess we didn't know how lucky we were to have experienced them the way we did.  On the trip we learnt that belugas in the late 1800's numbered 10,000.  It was once thought that they were taking part in the dwindling cod stocks so hunting was allowed from adult to babies.  This was later proven not to be so as they don't eat cod but that was too late as when hunting stopped in 1972, there were only 800 left of this species.  In 2000 the numbers grew back to 1000 but since then numbers have been falling again and no one knows why.  Belugas can live up to 60 years and will have calves every 5-6 years, so it's becoming harder to maintain and grow the population.  You will also see some pictures of a manmade point in the Fjord called Passing Point. This goes back to Jacques Cartier days when the French would come across the ocean loaded with trading goods for the well sought after furs.  Once the trading was done and the ship now loaded with furs, it's now much lighter so they would form a human line and pass rocks one at a time until the ship has the proper ballast once again.  

Now with the tour done, it's off for another hike and then back to the boat for some boat made curried rice coconut and squash soup.   In the afternoon it's time for laundry, groceries, diesel and pump out.  Tomorrow, we part ways as we leave for Rimuoski and Joann has a day trip back to Winnipeg. It's been a slice with the three of us but with the cooler temperatures in the horizon I think Joann will enjoy the forecasted temperatures on the Prairies. 

Pièce de résistance

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Day one in Quebec City was once again doing the tourist thing, shopping, hiking ( not walking as the terrain is often 30 degree inclines or more) and taking in the sights of old Quebec.  Chores that we have do though include finding a car rental for tomorrow's planned excursion, and finding a post office to send Doug's completed charts home( now weighing 12 kg) and to send Andrew's belongings home that he is not using 'cause he packed way too much and he is tired of moving them around every night! This box ended up being 15 kilos! In our travels, we found a nice Irish pub, we visited the Chateau Frontenac, walked along the old wall of Quebec near la Citadelle de Quebec and the Plains of Abraham and enjoyed all the street entertainment. We are not sure if the people of Quebec are really big sinners or just really holy as there seems to be a cathedral on every other corner..... As the day wore on we found ourselves once again pressed for time and there is just so much to do.  We made it to the post office 5 minutes before closing and then ended up walking back to the boat to get a change of cloths for dinner. Apparently the weather here has not been the best as we find out first hand as another sun shower ensues.  For dinner we found a little hole in the wall cafe 70's style with red bar stools.  The food was very reasonably priced and served the best meat pie, baked beans and French Canadian pea soup.  This place was obviously a local favourite.  It was really neat sitting in the diner in old Quebec on another fireworks night listening to the cannon fire in the background. If one had a vivid imagination, this was the place to be!

This brings us up to current day, our last day in Quebec City. We picked the car up at the Delta hotel at 10 am and off we go - first another Church - this one though is in Ste Anne-De-Beaupre (30 km outside of the city) and the site is now a dedicated shrine to Ste Anne.  This was in the "top ten things to see in Quebec" of which we will knock of four of them by day's end..  Next we went further down the highway to Canyon Ste Anne.  This canyon has three suspension bridges and trails around a gorge overlooking enormous waterfalls. Rather than ziplining, they rock climb the gorge tethered to cables - not for the faint of heart! The pictures don't do it justice!   After hiking the canyon circuit, we continued on our excellent excursion to the Ile d' Orleans. It is quite an impressive bridge to cross to get there. The island is filled with wineries, restaurants, cheese and chocolate "factories".  We made it to the winery, Cassis Monna & Filles,  where all products are made from black currents rather than grapes....c'est tres bien!  We stopped at a roadside vendor and bought fresh berries and garden produce. Next stop was for local cheese but alas we ran out of time for the chocolate factory.... c'est dommage!  It's close to 7 now and we still have to make dinner, buy groceries and get ready for the next leg of the trip.  We will do a drive-by of the Parc de la Chute-Montmorency - these falls are taller than Niagara Falls and clearly visible from the highway. Later tonight we have to move the boat outside of the lock because we have to leave before it reopens in the morning. We have a 6 am departure planned according to tide and wind conditions....