July 29  Pilot Whales

    Staying in Wood Island right next to the ferry terminals sounded like a good idea until the ferries came in for the night and left their lights on and their generators running all night.  We were up at dawn to untie and leave before they made the first run at 6:30 am.  Already cars were lined up, waiting to board.  It was good to leave that behind.

     The weather was overcast, the low clouds heavy and threatening, but the winds were light and the sea was calm and we made our way toward Ballantynes Cove just around Point George.  The guidebook described it as a great place to anchor if you like “neat places.”  Since the winds were supposed to pick up strongly from the SW, we thought this would be a good place to tuck into.  But the forecast didn’t seem to materialize as predicted (people here don’t even listen to them anymore) and the thunderstorms and flukey winds sent us on across St. Georges Bay to Havre Boucher (pronounced Harve Bushy) where we would be protected from any wind.  

     Dan was giving me a mini radar lesson, pointing out storm cells on the radar screen, and we observed some lightning strikes, when he called out.  “Look!  Porpoise!  LOTS of them!”  We fought over the binoculars and marveled at the sea animals rolling through the water.  They were too big to be porpoise, but not really big enough to be minke or finback whales, though they had a distinctive fin.  And we saw flukes.  I grabbed the camera, Dan took the helm back from Ziggy the autopilot, and we headed toward them.  

    We’d never seen pilot whales before.  They are small with bulbous heads, gregarious, and traveling in large groups.  Like minkes and finbacks, they have a large dorsal fin.  Like humpbacks, they show their flukes when they dive.  We idled for about an hour as they rolled around and past us.  We saw several mamas with their babies.  Don’t worry, we didn’t get that close to them - I have a telephoto lens, and this particular picture is blown up.  In this image notice that the Mama is in the foreground and to the right of center the baby is surfacing. You can see the baby's eye, blow-hole and fin.

    We spent a quiet night in Havre Boucher, and were even treated to a sunset!  

28 July 2015  Forecasts, Forecasts, Forecasts...

      The wind was light when we got up and even tho the forecast said it was supposed to pick up, then rain, I thot it looked like we had a chance to move on. We were on the move down the Southern edge of PEI making good time with the 2 knot current but the wind did come up and it was getting choppy, so we made use of the refuge harbor at Wood Island, also the PEI terminus of the Ferry to Pictou.

     The Harbormaster came down to collect for dockage, $10, and for that he would also give me a ride to the liquor store for ice.  Such a deal, hardly wet, and a ride back.  Thanks man,  see you in the sunny south!

      Internet access made possible by the ferries Confederation and Holiday Island while they are in harbor unloading and loading vehicles. When it quits raining, (they were right about that too) we will hike to town.

     Ok, we didn't make it to town, but we had a nice walk along the beach, to the lighthouse and back. 

26 , 27 July, 2015, Sunday-Monday Red Cliffs

      I awoke to what I thot was our bilge pump running, but upon closer inspection ralized it was the boat next door with their engine running. Our new friends Jamie and Lori were getting Sea Quester of Manchester Mass underway, they heading North into the St Laurence River and Bay. I helped them shove off then started making moves for ourselves to get going.

      Eventually we headed out of the harbor but found that it was a bit rough with the SW wind dead ahead and no prospect of it letting up soon. We diverted into Orwell Bay (really just a branch of Hillsborough Bay), where we were met by high cliffs of red rock and sand.

     The bay was well sheltered from the South and SW winds, such that it was hard to imagine it really blew much at all. Maybe it didn't, but to be sure we spent two cozy nights there hoping for red sunsets and admiring the glow of Charlottetown in the distance.

      We did a few projects, I re-worked a bilge pump, re-ran an exhaust hose, and installed the new battery chargers that Al and Marnie had delivered to us. I even had a chance to try flying a kite.

Kathy sewed permanent chafe gear onto our anchor rode at 30 foot intervals. She said she wanted to know if I was trying to make a sailor out of her. I told her she is more of a sailor than she thinks she is. I just need to teach her to swear. Hmmm...

25 July, 2015, Saturday at Charlottetown

      Marnie and Al met us at the Yacht Club at 0800, we found a coffee shop for breakfast and then walked the city. First stop was the Founders Hall, where we took the tour and learned all about the events and meetings that formed the start of Canada's confederation joining the provinces and territories in the 1860's. Well done.

      Later we took in some of the downtown shops then walked the waterfront trail to the remains of their early fortress protecting the harbor.

      In the afternoon the Pease Prius ferried us around to get groceries and propane and we ended the evening at a fine steak-house only steps from the Charlottetown YC. After supper we said our thank yous and goodbyes as each party planned an early departure. Fun Weekend!

  23 and 24 July, 2015 Beaches, Bugs, Bricks, and PEI

       We met John, our host at the Sawmill Point Marina, at 0800 for a ride to the Irving Eco-center and beach Boardwalk. John gave us an informal local history lesson during the 5 mile drive. Our plan was to walk the half mile boardwalk then walk the bike-trail back to Sawmill Point, an advertised 10k.

      The boardwalk was very well done, a winding path back from the beach as the original (close to the beach) had been washed away by storms. We met several walkers, mostly local lady walkers out for their morning constitutional. Bird count was 1 Osprey, one songbird, and 2 pigeons. ½ mile each way. Pigeons win!

      Right across the road from the Boardwalk we entered the bike trail to Bouctouche. As we entered the trail a Kestral tried his best to drive us back, squalking and chirping and lots of wing fluttering. He finally let us through, and let his friends the mosquitoes take over. Oh boy.

      We had already doped up with citronella oil, but it was no match. The mosquitoes have a special love for Kathy, some sort of animal magnetism. We found we had the best luck by keeping up a fast pace, but still they were were swarming. We got a little respite when the trail crossed a paved road where we found a little breeze. We plunged back into the woods and moved on, crossing some fresh moose tracks and had to make a stop when I saw a Barred Owl, which flew up from the trail into a nearby tree. I said something like, “look, an Owl!” Kathy thot I said, “Look, wow” and I took a quick look with the binoculars then tried to point the camoflaged owl out to her. Neither of us wanted to speak and scare the owl, Kathy didn't know what she was supposed to be looking at, I was trying to steer the binocs for her over her shoulder, she was getting bitten. Didn't go well. We finally both saw the owl fly off its perch. Even with the mis-communication it was pretty special.

      The second time we hit a road I suggested that maybe we had given enuf blood for one day and I was pretty sure we could find our way home by road. Kathy was easily convinced so we carried on. Our new route brought us past the Irving Arena, the site of the very first Irving Gas station, and a Bronze statue of JT Irving

      We may have added a mile to our hike and even then when we finally made it back to the Marina we think John was surprised at our elapsed time. Total was at least seven miles, not bad for being on a 30 foot boat for nearly 9 weeks, and getting less frequent walking than maybe we should have.

      After a quick shower we departed Bouctouche at Noon. The bay had calmed down from the day before and we had a quartering sea as we made for Prince Edward Island and the harbor of Summerside. We made the Anchorage just a little after six and dropped anchor just outside of the Summerside Yacht Club.

      On the morning of the 24^th we had a good little distance to travel to reach Charlottetown. It is only 35 miles between harbors, but with the deep entrances to each the real distance was more like 50 miles, and we had a date to keep in C-Town. Al and Marnie, my folks were driving up to PEI to meet us this afternoon.

      Kathy and I joked that we were becoming acclimated to the longer distances as a year ago we never ever would have said, “Oh sure, we are in NorthEast Harbor right now and we will meet you in Camden this afternoon, no way, too far! 6 knot boat. But we can make that distance and made our meeting arriving within minutes of each other at the Charlottetown Yacht Club, where they shoe-horned us into a slip. We had a great reunion and supper and Cow's Ice Cream and visit and all slept well!

July 21-22  Officially in the Northumberland Strait

     We are solidly in New Brunswick now.  We left Baie du Vin early in the morning to make the passage of fifty miles to Richibucto, taking our chances with with flukey winds and unknown current patterns.   Canadian weather channels are similar to the NOAA channels in Maine - you hear a lot of information about what the weather is like in certain cities on land before they get to the marine forecast.  The land forecast is often extended for nearly a week, and quite detailed, with stats about the humidity and UV levels, while the marine forecast is just for today and tonight, sometimes tomorrow, and usually only mention a general wind direction and speed.  Marine forecasts are given for places we have to find on the chart, too, and often we can't find them and have to sit through the recitation several times - they give it in French and English - before we figure out which forecast is actually for our area.  Anyway, we decided this was our weather window to head out into Northumberland Strait.
      It was a grey day with intermittent showers, and a bit of a chop.  We made harbor in Richibucto early afternoon.  Due to constantly shifting sands, the channel moves around a lot, and someone monitors the channel buoys to make sure they are in the right places.  Keeping an eye on the depth sounder made the travel slow and a little heart-stopping at times.  Dan said if we went aground, at least it would be on sand.

      This is a fishing town.  There are lobstermen here - the first we've seen.  Lobster season isn't open yet - it's only ten weeks long here and begins in August - but Native Canadians can fish now and we encountered our first pot buoys here. Not anywhere as many as what we have in Maine, but something to watch for all the same.  We tied up at the dock and paid $5 for the privilege to wander through town, stock up on supplies, and fill our water tanks.   We filled the diesel tanks and anchored outside the fishing docks for a quiet night.
       It rained hard the next morning and we waited it out before continuing on our way to Bouctouche where we took a slip at the Sawmill Point Marina for the night.  Bouctouche is the home village of the Irving family - the ones who founded the Irving Oil Company and this is a proud little town.  Also hands-down the nicest marina we've been at.  There's a very large plantation with botanical gardens and a little forest here that opens into a large park with a trail that winds down to the Irving Eco-Center with a long boardwalk along the sand dunes.  We plan to walk the trail tomorrow.  Today, we're watching a thunderstorm from the marina clubhouse, and making good use of the showers and laundry facilities.

19 and 20 July, 2015 I love a rainy night

      It turned out that we liked Baie Du Vin so much we spent three nights there. The first was pretty quiet, the second the wind was just in the right (or wrong) direction to have a clear 4 mile fetch and stir things up a mite. We did a fair amount of bouncing around, Tommy didn't sleep to well, she apparently couldn't get comfortable as she tried many positions, on Kathy's legs, on my back, between Kathy's legs, on Kathy's pillow, just couldn't find the right spot, or maybe she found many.

      For the third nite we moved a few miles south to hide behind another point, this also gave us a little head start out of the bay the next morning. When you cruise at 6 knots, two miles is a big thing, like 20 minutes!

      During the rainy days we did a few boat projects, I hung a few more LED lights in place of some 110 volt fixtures and changed our diesel fuel filter. Kathy made bread and scrumptious chocolate brownies! (I'm so spoiled and loving it) and she started a new pair of wool socks for me, (spoiled again). Every once in a while you need one of these stops, no distractions, just us and the boat.

      Addendum from Kathy:  Sitting at anchor for two full days and three nights on a thirty-foot boat makes for interesting conversations and creative ways to pass the time.  As Dan mentioned, he found projects to do and I cooked, knitted, and cleaned/organized a few spaces.  We hauled out the games - cribbage, Scrabble, crosswords, etc - every night after supper (there was some major husband-beating) and we sent out the occasional texts to let people know we were still alive.  I asked my sister for a Hollandaise recipe and whipped up some Eggs Benedict for our last meal in Baie du Vin.  Gotta love modern technology...

18 July 2015 Tommy's visitor, and Gut Feeling?

       Sometime in the Wee hours we awoke to a loud BANG. I jumped up and said ”What was that” Kathy said, “The hatch just slammed shut."  I was already on my feet, when she said “How did Tommy get out?” I checked the door and realized Tommy was at my feet, so I replied “I don't know, but she is back in!” It was then I saw a big gray cat on the dock, probably just as spooked as we were that the hatch had slammed shut, because she was ON the hatch and made it slam! She stared me down for a few seconds and was on her way.

      We had  decided last nite that we were going to stay put for a few days in Lameque, as the weather sounded poor. It is recommended to NOT leave Shippigan Bay thru the “Gully” on an East wind, as the Gully shoots out into the bay with a five knot current, and an East wind would make for an ugly breaking sea.

       But, I got up at 0600 and checked the latest forecast, and they predicted the Easterly would not show until afternoon instead of in the early morning, so I woke Kathy, said, “they have changed the forecast, I think we can make Miramichi, we're heading out” and I hopped onto the dock, dropped our lines and we were off.

       We headed across the bay toward Shippigan and then called the lift bridge on the VHF radio. I asked for an opening and the bridge master replied in his best French accent, “I can do that for you”. Shortly after he called again and said, “I do not see your boat”, but I told him we were coming right along and we hardly had to wait at all, and we were glad to have a short rig, and at that, there was not a whole lot of clearance.

      I would compare this area with Lubec Narrows, (Lubec's bridge does not open but we just make it under as well), and in both passages you had better use the tide to advantage, and you fairly well get spit out the other end. Shippigan Gully does that in fashion, and even when the bay was almost flat calm, there were standing waves s as we shot out of the cut at over 10 knots over the bottom!

      The East wind did hold off , there was only a 1-2 foot sea and we covered the 34 miles to Miramishi Bay by about 1300. I had in mind to take a side channel into the bay, just exploring, but turns out there are some shifting sands on this part of the coast. No more hundreds of feet deep near shore. All of a sudden the depth finder read 6, then 4, then 3, where the chart showed 8 or 9 feet! And we draw 3 and one half. Well turns out the depth sounder must be off by a couple feet, because we never touched, but we did turn and back-track very cautiously.

     This meant we had to retrace back out 2 miles to enter the bay thru the “Ship Channel”. Well I don't know what kind of ships they have here, but I sure would want a good pilot. None of the buoys were where they were supposed to be, probably because the sand shifts so often, and after having a near miss with bottom we proceeded with caution. Then as the current was still ebbing pretty hard, we decided to forego the 20 mile trip up the Miramichi River, and opted for a nice private anchorage in a cove by Bay du Vin Island. Several Lobster boats were having a beach party, (Saturday) so we figure we just found Canada's Stonington.

17 July 2015 What a difference a day makes

       At 0700 we headed out of our perfect little fishing harbor of Petit Riviere Est, the town of Ste. Therese. What a difference, the bay was flat as flat can be. Flat Ass Calm.  A pretty day for a little motorsailor to head the 40 miles across Baie de Chaleur. to Shippegan.

       It was a good day for spotting things on the water. Kathy spotted a whale, but he became devious and slid away with only one sighting. With a 40 mile crossing we didn't have time to go a-looking for him. Lots of Gannets still and a few seals. Soon the wind came dead against us, but not hard and hardly slowed us down at all.

       We made Shippigan in pretty good season, early afternoon, so did a little looking around. First I wanted to check out the local boat yard to see if they would be willing to haul a boat as small as ours if need be, or if they knew of other lifts along the way. We looked for a float or dock to get ashore at the yard and pulled in to an open float at the edge of the yard. Kathy made the comment that it looked as tho someone uses this dock as they had left their lines on the float. We made fast, walked up the ramp and found there was no way to get into the boat yard, it was all chain-link fence. Then we deciphered the signs that are only visible from land. “Absolutely No Admittance” We were tied up where the Canada Coast Guard 46 footer lands! We had passed them heading North while we came southward into Shippigan Bay, so we knew they wouldn't be coming right in, but we hustled right out of there.

       Next we went over to the big concrete travel lift dock and came in alongside. Not a very good place to leave a boat, so I ran up to the yard office while Kathy held the Willie off the concrete pier that had bolts sticking 4 inches out at the Willie Dawes.

       The Office was new, spotless and very upscale, and the folks there said yes they could haul us but they would have to charge prices as though we were about the size of an ocean-liner. I told them I would give it some thought. Not! I asked if the little marina next door had diesel, they said yes, and I ran back to Kathy and the Willie.

       We navigated the well buoyed channel into the marina and found several boats in line for the fuel pump, and then a fellow waved us over to tie up, so we asked about diesel. Sorry, only Gas.

       Back out the buoyed channel, but wait, Kathy got onto their WIFI, drive-by down-load!

       We decided to head east across the bay to check out the digs at Lameque and found another man-made harbor, two in one as a matter of fact, and tied alongside a decent looking glass covered powerboat, the Marie Catherine, (nearly Kathy's name in reverse). No one around so we figured it was a good spot.

       I needed to do an oil change while the engine was still warm, so Kathy held supper up a few minutes for me to get started . I was just about to pump out the oil when I heard Kathy say, “Oh? You're  leaving? Ah, Dan, I think we have to move."   The folks on the M.C. were leaving for the weekend, and they offered us their spot at the pier, so generous, we thanked them and told them to look us up when they cruised to Maine. We got our fender-boards on and got all tied up again, took a short walk up the street and thru town, nice little town on the way to now-where, and that was about it for the evening.

15 & 16 July, 2015  Not-so-nice day to Gaspe; Sparkling Day from Gaspe; NorthWest wind, Complete protection.


       From Riviere au Renard we set off to round the tip the of the Forillon peninsula and enter the Bay of Gaspe to head up to the small town at the end of the narrow bay.  The weather started out gray and it wasn't long before it began to rain - not too much, but enough to drive us into the pilot house and to prevent us from taking any pictures.  The coast was shrouded with a heavy mist and it was a chilly and damp ride.  Thank goodness for our pilot house!!

      The point we were coming to was Cap Gaspe at the end of Presqu'ile De Forillon, or "nearly the island of Forillon", or something like that, and on the chart has a resemblance to Florida. So with our extremely outdated charts, and smart phone GPS, we expected to see something on the order of Pemaquid Point. HA! Hardly. We passed the noteworthy lighthouse on the end of the peninsula,  it stands 1426 FEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL! - it probably looks really spectacular on a pretty day.

      Rounding the point, we entered Gaspe Bay, and in the lee of the massive penninsula the rough sea was all but wiped flat. A close hauled motor sail 18 miles up the bay brought us into Harve De Gaspe, and Sunshine, and a nice anchorage outside the yacht club marina.

      After going ashore for showers, (shower rating of 9) and WIFI connection, and a block of ice, we were underway at 0900.  A nice 15 knot NW wind helped us down the bay,  and at the mouth of the bay, a 14 mile fetch the wind had developed some good waves.  It felt good to get around the point and head South West across a much calmer Mal Baie.

      Soon we were getting a glimpse of Perce Rock, (the famous one with the hole in it) and the spectacular red and grey cliffs that preceded it on the North side.

   And just off-shore of Perce Rock is Bonaventure Island a rookery for thousands of birds, a major rookery for Gannets, a large gull type aerialist that dives from 50 or so feet wings tucked straight into the sea for his dinner.  Sometimes we only see the tall splash the Gannet makes as he completes his dive.

      We got our pictures of the towering rock and cliffs and kept on to a section of coast that has become undermined by the sea action so there are rounded caves, some quite deep under forest and farm grazing land.

     Off the next point the wind shifted in our face and came against a strong opposing current.   This caused a rather steep chop of six feet sometimes only 10 to 15 feet apart.  In a thiry foot boat this makes for an uncomfortable ride,  so I slowed to an idle while we rode them out for 20 minutes which seemed like an hour.  Later when we docked there was a thirty foot sloop ahead of us with there vee-berth bunk cushions all out to dry,  I'm sure they must have been pooped by the same sea we passed thru.

      As soon as we were thru the tide rip and the steep waves we were inundated with Gannets, thousands of them, sailing in the opposite direction to us.  They were headed for the tide rip right behind us as it must have been stirring up a meal for them.  It was as tho the director of a movie had said "Cue the Gannets!"  and here they come, no exaggeration, thousands, and they all started diving into the water.  Sorry we have no picture, it was a bit too rough for photos.

      The sea had calmed some at that point but good harbors are hard to come by so we opted to try a fishing boat harbor called Petit Riviere Est, as small as small can be, but I will hand it to Canada,  they have figured out how to make a harbor.  This one had an outer harbor for the bigger boats and around a sweeping curved channel, about three boats wide was a small boat harbor, just big enuf for a 50 footer to turn in.  We were helped tie up by a kind older man who communicated to us that we would be fine there for the night.  Complete protection.

   

July 13 & 14 Grande Vallee & Riviere au Renard

      Monday we left the marina at Ste. Anne des Monts about eight am and headed out for the easy run to Grande Vallee, about 50 miles down the coast.  Grande Vallee was the Northern most point of our trip so far;  The sea was calm, the winds were light, and it was sunny, all of which made for a beautiful passage.  We still had some haze enshrouding the rugged coastline, but we could easily pick out the valleys between the cliffs where there is a phenomenon called ‘katabatic winds’ - the wind howls down the valley and out to sea, especially strong at night, sometimes reaching 30 knots.  We had toyed with staying in one of the small anchorages along this way to experience this phenomenon but ended up aiming for a more protected anchorage behind a breakwater in Grande Vallee instead.  As we passed each of these valleys, we did feel a slight shift and increase in the winds.  One can only imagine what it is like at night.

      Five miles away from our destination, Dan called out “Spouts!” and turned the boat around to go back to see if we could spot the whales themselves.  The spouts were tall and white against the dark cliffs.  All whales exhale, but not very many whales actually have a visible spout.  We thought at first these were humpbacks, but when one surfaced and rolled, we saw no flukes, only a very small dorsal fin.  Finbacks, we wondered?  There were three of them and as we got a little closer, we could see their spectacular spoutings and knew they must be blue whales.  Our fourth kind of whale sighted on this trip!!  Neither of us had seen blue whales before.  Unlike the other whales we’ve seen recently, these guys didn’t want to come too close to us - good thing we have binoculars and a telephoto lens - but we spent about an hour watching them, awed by their size.  

     Grande Vallee was another charming small town, also dominated by a large church, although this one was newer than others.  We went ashore in the evening to take a walk and found a covered bridge.  The guide book claims Canada boasts the most covered bridges in the world.  This one was built in the early 1900s.

      Dan caught a few more fish after supper, and he fried them up for his breakfast on Tuesday, just before we set off for Riviere au Renard.  

     The winds picked up in the night, and continued all day Tuesday, growing in strength by evening, and we were glad to make harbor when we did, about four pm.  The wind howled well into the night before dying out - gusting over 40 knots at times - and Dan set out two anchors to keep us in place.  We were safe and snug behind the breakwater, and had a good view of the fishing fleet as they came and went. 

July 11 & 12:  Ste Anne des Monts & In Which Dan Goes Fishing - For Fish

     We stayed two nights in Ste. Anne des Monts, a small town whose tiny harbor is completely dominated by a large, twin-steepled stone church. 

     The marina here was only a little smaller than the harbor, and like many along this coast, was enclosed by a large man-made breakwater.  It was a good place to stay during the Southwest winds - Saturday night was not bad, but it really started to blow Sunday well into the evening.  The marina was full, and was run by a charming young couple Joel and Marie-France.  

     The marina opens onto a small park with a small museum/’explorama’ and caters to children.  The park exhibits sculptures carved by someone with a good eye for seeing his dreams in driftwood.  Lots of driftwood piles up along the outer edge of the breakwater.  We found driftwood carved into birds and people and sea creatures here and throughout the town.  There was also a sort of fire tower here overlooking the St. Lawrence, the marina, and the adjacent jetty where locals come to fish.  

     We passed the time doing laundry and exploring a little during the nicer weather windows, and made a trip to the grocery store to stock up.  Sunday night we went to a local poissonerie for dinners of fresh fruits de mer (I had cod, Dan had shrimp) and came out to see a gorgeous, sailor-friendly red sunset.  

      Dan noticed how active the jetty was with fisherman, and hustled back to the boat for his rod and supplies.  I followed him to document this adventure on film.  As night fell he joined the throngs of fishermen and cast off the corner of the jetty, one of the few spaces available.  Five minutes later he’d caught three small cod and we were back at the boat while he dug out his fish-cleaning knives. 

During this process, one of the fish managed to throw himself back into the sea, so we only ended up with the meat from two of the cod, but it was enough to make a chowder for lunch the next day.

11 July, 2015    Our first Canadian Tire!

     After breakfast and trying to figure out the weather forecast, we decided to take advantage of some shopping opportunities.  We knew there was a Walmart in town and had been told to check out the Canadian Tire Store for everything else.

      We managed to almost fill a cart at WM, with stuff like a doormat, catnip mice, ingredients for gorp, some food storage containers, soap, a nerf ball, and a couple shirts for me.

     Then on to Canadian Tire. Now if you have never been to a CT, I would describe it as a cross between Renys and Tractor Supply times 100.   They have hunting and fishing supplies, hardware, boots and clothing, housewares, home decor, automotive, etc.  We found some more storage containers to organize the boat and  I found the folding hand-cart I had been looking for.

      Now that we had skewed to trade balance between Canada and the States we headed back to the boat, handcart loaded right up!

      We departed Matane at just before eleven and set out for Ste Anne des Mont, 45 miles off.  The current was supposed to help us outside 2 miles from shore so we headed there.  With the outgoing current and the incoming wind we got into quite a steep chop.  It seemed strange that by heading inshore 1/4 mile it was very calm,  so we decided to forego the favorable current and take the smooth ride.

      Now while we are coming down this coast, there have been wild-fires raging out West, so there is a hazy pall to all the landscapes, which give depth to the layers of hills and points we see.

      We look forward to seeing the many distinctive "vertical axis windmills" that mark the port of Cap Chat but instead see 100 or so typical windmills covering the hillside.  Finally we spot the one vertical windmill,  which is billed as the tallest windmill structure in the world.  It is very tall, dwarfing the others,  but it is not turning.  We wonder what happened to the rest.

(We mentioned it was hazy, right?)

      At six pm we make Ste Anne des Mont and are greeted by Marie France, the young lady Harbormaster in charge of the marina.  Marie set us up with a berth for the nite and showed us around the grounds.  High wind warnings are out for tomorrow and several boats are already canceling sailing for a day.   This is a tight little harbor and we will be secure here tonite,  we'll see what tomorrow brings



   

10 July, 2015  Ile du Bec to Matane
   
      The phrase, "If you build it they will come" came to mind about the bird sanctuary.  But the birding was nothing special from our perspective.  This is a part of the coast where you really can't get close to shore except in rare cases as in harbors only.  The rest of the shore seems to be a boney, rocky, mess.  And the harbors are few and far between,  and almost all man-made at that.

   
      We had chosen to skip Rimouski, so our destination , Matane, was 60 miles to the North East.  With luck it was almost flat calm and having turned to the dark side, being primarily a motor-boat, we were pretty happy.  Most of the day we had very little current so we powered along at about 6.5 knots, and viewed the coast from a couple miles off.  As usual each town has a dominant church, and maybe some kind of industry,  but but no harbor.

      Now Matane for whatever reason has two harbors, one yacht and one commercial.  We made Matane at about 5 PM and chose to use the commercial harbor and were chased in by the big Matane to Baie Comeau ferry.

     They really come into harbor meaning business.  We were advised to either anchor or tie to a fishing boat,  but as there was a whole 200 foot floating dock empty but for one fisherman, we tied up there.  Kathy asked a guy in an old ford pick-truck if it was okay to overnite there, and whatever he said, she took as a yes.

      We took a little walk up the busy main 4 lane road and returned along the frontage road along the water.   We had a quiet nite if you can call being serenaded by 300 gulls quiet.





   

July 9:  Crossing the St. Lawrence

     We left Tadoussac early to catch the tide and make the best of the current, and also to give ourselves some time to view any wildlife that might be hanging around.  I don't think we were fifteen minutes out of the harbor when we started seeing belugas, and we happily slowed down to watch them roll and dive.  When else will we get this chance?  Dan said "I think they're coming right for us!" and put the boat in neutral.  I was on the cabin top with the camera, watching some off the starboard side when Dan cried out excitedly "Come see this!!  Come back here!!"  Three beluga whales swam right up to the stern of Willie Dawes to check us out, or perhaps to bid us farewell.  We were so awestruck I almost forgot I was holding the camera.

     They each took a good look at us and after ten minutes or so, swam away.  About half an hour later we were surrounded by minke whales and one finback whale, all of whom played around the boat for almost an hour.  It was an amazing experience - we would be watching one or two playing off the port side and hear a large blow and turn to see one off the stern.  There were five or six of them just hanging out with us.  For about half that time a large grey seal watched all the frolicking.  

     What an incredible day!  We will always remember this encounter.  We reluctantly left the whales behind and started across the St. Lawrence.  We've read many an account about how difficult this can be, given the strong and contrary currents, tidal range, and wind.  However, we had a beautiful day and very calm seas, with light winds.   It was an easy cruise across to the Southern side, where we dropped the hook in Anse a L'Orignal (Moose Cove), part of the Ile du Bic Bird Sanctuary park.