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....