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