Jul 28, 2016 | Flotsam
Yet another experience added to our repertoire. Night passage. And the weather couldn’t have been more perfect to cross Lake Saint-Pierre. Relatively flat water, light winds and clear skies.
Trois-Rivières at Night
We pulled anchor around 21:30h from our place on the River Saint-Maurice and headed out of Trois-Rivières. The city lights lit our way.
Pont Laviolette
As we reached the Laviolette Bridge the night descended fully. No longer did we have the city lights to see the buoys that marked the Saint-Lawrence Seaway.
Plotting our Course
Francois had, in advance, placed waypoints into the chart plotter and into the iPad just in case and we had of course our paper charts to be able to consult our progress. As it turned out, radar could have been a great tool but we found that when the skies are clear nothing can replace a kean eye on the water. At first, in the dark, all we could see was a sea of green and red buoys all mixed together, port, starboard, to the left and right, like a two dimensional arcade game. It was impossible to tell which was which at first. I felt a bit of panic in the beginning wondering if we had again taken on too much. During all of this there came an emergency call on the VHF about a collsion of two boats in the Port of Montreal so you can imagine what visions were going through my head. Crazy partying boaters heading home in the dark. It wasn’t a pleasant thought. Not to mention the container ships that frequently navigate the river at night. On land I have trouble driving at night. My depth percetion isn’t that great, but as time went on it became much easier following the channel markers and when it wasn’t obvious which buoy was next the range lights showed us the way. But as always, François was the voice of calm in my head.
Star Gazing
The stars were amazing, like a blanket of sparkling lights they covered the sky. Mars and Jupiter were the most clear planets. And the moon, wow! As it rose, its light on the water was magnificent!
Clair de Lune
We were prepared with cockpit cushions fully intending on taking shifts of two hours on, and two off but there was so much excitement generated with the newness of this experience that neither of us felt like closing our eyes.
Concentration
A coffee and some snacks were all we needed to keep the vision. The container ships (our BFB’s) were foremost the most concern along the way once we figured the party boats were way past their sleepy time. We passed one at anchor being serviced by a pilot boat and farther on, one heading east. We can keep fairly well off channel if necessary but it was a trick judging in the dark when we would hit their wake but it all went very well. The only other one we met was as we reached our anchorage eight hours later.
Sunrise on the Islands
We dropped the hook securing all, then crashed (sleep-wise that is) just as the sun was rising over the Sorel Archipelago. Now after two days have passed, François commented that it all seems like a dream. I guess it was in a way a dream. A dream with a successful outcome.
Jul 18, 2016 | Flotsam
Knowing there was weather of a severe nature behind us and coming our way made our choices today so much easier. We hauled anchor in our little paradise at low tide to take advantage of the current push and headed farther west.
Cap de la Tête au Chien
Thick fog at times meant using the radar although the majority of the day was cloud with sun breaking through. It was all so innocent.
Pointe des Rochers
A beluga breaching not more than 50 feet from us really made our day!
Beluga
But then the wind picked up and the skies darkened…
Hand of Mother Nature
In 1608 Champlain arrived here and named this place Malle Baye meaning ‘poor or bad bay’. Now called Malbaie we have to agree. This area, with today’s weather conditions and SW wind direction (squall watch, severe wind warning, thunderstorm) is not the best place to anchor.
When there aren’t even 2 seconds between lightning flash and thunder strike you know that a safe harbour is where you want to be.
Jul 14, 2016 | Flotsam
So sorry for our absense the past few days. We have been having lots of fun but continue having challenges of finding safe anchorages and a consistent internet signal since leaving Rimouski Marina.
Keeping with our off-grid focus it would have been very difficult to move farther east. We have talked with locals who have been really helpful with their wealth of experience and they confirmed that unless we are willing to stop each night at a marina our pushing farther up the Saint-Lawrence would be very challenging. With that in mind and with a good deal of discussing we are heading westward to find places missed along the way and maybe spending more time at some of our favourite anchorages.
So moving on with the story, we left Rimouski Marina under heavy fog which disipated near noon, giving us a few glimpses of the yachts of the Quebec-Satin Malo race. We had the perfect front row seat at our anchorage in Le Bic Harbour as they passed.
Havre du Bic anchorage
Sunset Over Le Bic
For the next night we anchored across from Trois-Pistoles at Îles aux Basques, a place used by Basques whalers during the 16th century. It’s now a bird migration sanctuary and preserved historic site.
Fin Whale
…and while I’m on the topic of whales, now that we are in deep waters (150 feet +) we’ve had many sitings of whales, belugas and the ever-present grey seals.
Seals and Belugas
From time to time we would see what looked like flying penquins or what François referred to as flying torpedos and what we now know are razorbills, a penguin relative. One of the things on my ‘to see’ list was a photo op of a puffin but this ‘tordedo’ bird will do for now.
Razorbill
On our ever-growing list of things to see and do during this adventure was to see the Îles Verte Lighthouse, the oldest lighthouse on the Saint Lawrence. The grey foggy day didn’t allow for a very clear image but there you have it, completed in 1809 and still guiding our way through the mist.
At Île Rouge the wind was perfect for taking us the rest of the way across the last few miles to Tadoussac.
The Crossing
BFB
With limited visibilty we were very thankful for radar to guide us past the big boats which loomed up on the screen very quickly as a big yellow blob.
Île Rouge
We are once again safely anchored in Tadoussac Harbour waiting for a good weather window to allow us to continue westward.
Shades of Blue Grey
