Our visit to Quebec City was marred by torrential downpours for several days delaying our departure. And then it rained some more. The morning of July 8th rolled around and the rain and winds stopped. We targeted a big jump from QC to Tadoussac, 125 miles.
With expectations of smooth waters and easy cruising, we caught the first locking out of the marina at QC and headed, ready for this, North - DOWN River. Yes, this river flows south to north.
Our expectations were not met. The first 25ish miles were 3 - 4 foot seas in a 2 - 3 second period. The boat did fantastic, but none the less - the Admiral frowned. But, once we cleared some islands that were confusing the water, it smoothed out beautifully and did in fact make for a nice run. The admiral smiled!
Lighthouse in the middle of Nowhere
Tadoussac
Oh, we are SO back in the saddle again. Tadoussac is a stunning little town just off the St. Lawrence River at the mouth of the Saguenay Fjord. Whales everywhere. Mostly Minke Whales. Unfortunately, they require a significant distance from the whales so getting a good picture was difficult. But, they were there and so were we!
The Saguenay Fjord
This body of water's beauty is matched by only a few other places in the world. It is ~60 miles of stunning bliss. It is so pretty that the Shorebilly speed was set to 9mph and we drove the entire way from the bow. It was as nice a way to spend the day as imaginable.
Endangered Beluga Whales
And to close this post, we are now in the very serious waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway. It is spectacular. We have to be VERY careful understanding the go/no go conditions and most days we wake to intense fog. Piloting in fog is not fun but very possible due to the electronics on the boat. Usually the fog is burned off by ~10:00AM. We tend to leave at ~8:00ish so the first few hours are focused, but after that, it is all fun and games!
Each town is yet another cultural experience as we are really getting into the Canadian, non touristy, areas. Everyone speaks French but with Google Translate and the occasional English speaking employee, we are doing just fine.
Three more towns we hit, Chicoutimi, Rimouski and St. Anne du Mont.
Chicoutimi Wine Festival
Rimouski Town Festival
St. Anne Du Mont
The Incredible Happens
Terri's career as an OTA was made spectacular by the team she worked with. She loved them and they loved her. Now years after retirement, they stay in close touch with reunions being more like family than colleagues getting together. The woman that ran the team and is her dear friend is named Kerry.
Kerry is currently cruising from Raleigh through the Canadian Maritimes in a self made camper van.
We were cruising down the St. Lawrence when Terri and Kerry realized they were passing each other. Kerry actually saw us out the van window as they drove the highway. We quickly found a marina and pulled in and they turned around. The interaction between Terri and Kerry was not dissimilar to Yudee's reaction after I have been gone a week!
By the way, Yudee went on a really nice hike. Yudee has not lost his touch. He LOVES it.
Next posting will be once we round the Gaspe peninsula. Wish us luck!
June 28, 2025 The Down East Circle Loop (DECL) I have debated doing another blog for this trip. I am not sure why. I realize that it is important for many reasons, not the least of which to aid my ageing memory. However, multiple people have reached out encouraging such and for that I am humbled and grateful. So what is the DECL? From a route perspective it is as follows; Start at New York City and go up the Hudson through Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence Seaway. Follow that out the mouth of the St. Lawrence and around the Gaspe Peninsula dropping down on New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Rounding Nova Scotia brings you back to the USA at Maine. From there you follow the coast south passing Newport, Boston, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and more until you enter Long Island Sound. This leads you past many cool things like Mystic and the Connecticut River and back into NYC. Being that we starte...
August 3, 2025 JACKPOT!!!! We have hit the mother load of fun. WOW. This is true cold country, so cold in fact that I don't think us southerners can really understand it. But, when the weather breaks in the summer, all communities come out to celebrate. The events, games and fun are by the people and for the people. Some of the towns we have been in have little to no tourist impact and yet the events are held like it is the King's inauguration. Charlotte Town, PEI The fun began in Charlotte Town, PEI. The city marina was festive the moment we stepped off the boat with a Tiki bar, band and red sand floors right at the marina. Off the boat to get some famous PEI oysters. Now mind you, they are extremely proud of their oysters at $3.75 each ... but hey, that is Canadian $3.75 so does it really count? (about $2.75 US). Whereas they were stupid expensive, they were outstanding. To see more of PEI, we rented a car and drove all over the is...
July 25, 2025 Wrong Way! It was bound to happen. And things do happen when you least expect them to. So what am I talking about? Well, this is actually hilarious... The other day we pulled into Bouctouche, New Brunswick Canada. It was a beautiful marina with a fantastic dockmaster. We snuggled into our slip after taking on fuel. All is good and it was time to take Yudee for his walk. Now, Yudee is one amazingly well trained dog who works very hard to please us. Among his rather broad vocabulary are a series of commands dealing with the boat. One of the most common is "jump" to get him on and off the boat. The specific command for getting off the boat is "Off - Jump" and away he goes. Well, I opened the door to let him out and issued the command, "Off-Jump" as I reached to grab his leash. Without hesitation, he goes to the port side of the boat and jumps. Unfortunately for him, the boat was tied to the finger pier on the starboa...
Comments
Post a Comment