Days 18 & 19 Chicoutimi 24 nm today 509 nm to date

Image may contain: ocean, sky, mountain, cloud, outdoor, water and natureLovely morning with quite good winds so finally some sailing. Unfortunately, the wind was mostly from where we wanted to go so after about 2 1/2 hours we downed sails to get on with it. There was a bit of current against us until the river narrowed and then there was a lot of current against us, 2 – 3 knots worth. So a slow and uneventful slog up the river to Chicoutimi.

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Dock is positioned so boats can be bow to the current

At the Yacht Club de Chicoutimi is was an exciting docking against 3 knots of current. Boats well tied up to manage the current. Older, dated building but washroom/shower/laundry areas have been recently renovated and very nice. Dinner out at Inter …. this is quite a bustling town with many services and good restaurants.

In the morning the 17′ spring tide had Image may contain: outdoorthis ramp in reverse incline with water up to this side of the gate !

 

Nanci and John departed for a few days in Québec City and then home to Kingston. Good crew, the boat and I were well taken care of. My new crew, Debbie, arrived late afternoon.

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Classic old church but quite different from the single spires we’ve seen up until now
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Opposite Chicoutimi fine cliffs, views and homes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 17 La Baie 24 nm today 486 nm to date

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7am

Woke up to wisps of mist wrapped around the hilltops. Set off about 9am under sunny skies and little wind.

Difficult getting anchor up probably due to the rocky bottom —- had me worried for a few minutes!

 

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Ramble on 300’ off the cliffs in 400’ of water

Going by the towering cliffs only 300’ away and yet in 400’ of water. Several hamlets along the way in the few spots that weren’t cliffs. About noon we turned into Baie des Ha! Ha! (I kid you not) and the cold winds picked up and we had to really bundle up. We arrived at La Baie at their quite new cruise ship terminal that has places for about 5 boats in behind. Very nice facility meant to handle hundreds of passengers at a time. Happily for us there were no ships there. Nice town combing the old with the new where the new is all to serve cruise ship passengers. Lovely dinner in the cockpit under sunny evening skies.

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A 30’ Virgin Mary placed here in 1881
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A the new cruise ship terminal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Checking in at the marina office — very cute little tug

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Wonderful old church with dressed stone on the front facade

 

 

Day 16 Baie de l’Éternité 8 nm today 461 nm to date

Easy start late morning as we only had 8 nm to go. Very gusty into the mid 20s making it cold. Periods of wonderful sunshine fallen by driving rain. What fun! Baie de l’Éternité is quite spectacular with an enormous cliff at the entrance. The charts shows mooring balls but a post on Active Captain stated they were no longer there. True enough no morning balls so Finnish Line 2.0 anchored and Ramble On rafted off. Came in at low tide and let out extra anchor rode as the tide height is 15’. Most of the bay is 100s of feet deep and but gets rapidly shallower near shore. We dropped at 30’ but the boat sits in 90’. Lots of swinging around as the wind goes from almost nothing to a 15-20 knot gust. I wasn’t feeling well but Nanci and John used the dinghy you go ashore and explore. Onshore is provincial park land with an information centre about the park. They discovered a large cave formed by an enormous boulder falling on top of other rocks forming a cavern.

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Cliff at entrance to bay is 400-600’
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Our home for the night
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Anchored and rafted together
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John under the boulder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Another view of the cavern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 15 Anse St Jean in the Saguenay 60 nm today 453 nm to date

Off the dock this morning at 6:30 and although the rain had finally ended the morning was very cool, miserable and foggy. Turned on the radar just in case although visibility was about 1/2 mile. Both boats were visited by small birds seeking free rides and a bit of nosh. Also saw more whales and one seemingly lone seal. The mouth of the Saguenay was a bit of a dog’s breakfast. We’d ride with the current in our favour only to run into churning water which turned the current against us but then it would shift back. Over the course (or perhaps coarse) of an hour the range of fluctuation was over 3 knots. Entering into the Saguenay and passing Tadoussac about noon the sun came out and it became more pleasant. The sunshine certainly helped us enjoy the beauty of the Saguenay fiord. Very steep, mountainous sides with many, many cliffs. Arrived at a delightful marina at Anse St Jean about 3:30 and had Prosecco to celebrate John and Nanci’s 30th anniversary! Who does that anymore?? 

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Chris caught a calf whale
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My companion, visited 4 or 5 times

 

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Into the Saguenay and past Tadoussac (on the right)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Such a wonderfully, beautiful place
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Ramble On along a steep side of the Saguenay

Day 13 Port de Refuge at Cap-à-l’Aigle 65 nm today 393 nm to date

Set off at 5:30 under pleasant sunny skies. There was significant freighter traffic but the river is wide here so no biggie. As predicted, the current was a knot and a half against us for the first hour or so and then it turned. Boy did it turn!! At one point we enjoyed a period of 13.5 knots and were happy we weren’t fighting that!

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John and Nanci enjoy the sunshine and the view

Very beautiful scenery with cliffs, mountains and surprisingly many villages and other housing even on the islands like Iles aux Coudres. We arrived just before 1pm and found the marina with few launched boats. We were told there were no services but we were able to hook up to shore power and through other boaters get the Wi-Fi, gate and washroom codes. What else do we need? There is an amazing waterfall behind the marina plus a quite steep hill to reach the few houses in town. Due to weather, NE winds (bad for here) and a repair Chris needs to make, we will stay here 2 nights.

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Contented skipper with coffee

 

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This mark is really motoring along! Gave us 13.5 knots – not bad!

 

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Ramble on manages the river traffic

 

 

 

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Ski hills with just a touch of snow left … just east of Mont Ste Anne
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Beluga whales … several pods of them. Chris took this pic and I use it since mine all looked like white blobs ?‍♂️
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Into the harbour ….

 

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The falls behind the marina

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Boat launching. Most boats along the river are on wheeled cradles and get backed in by a tractor. Once floating free of the cradle there is little time and room to manoeuvre away from the wall. Good entertainment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 12 Ile de L’Orleans 9 nm today 336 nm to date

Left noonish to stage ourselves 10 miles down river thus saving 2 hours in the morning. Means leaving at 5:30 rather than 3:30. This part of the river is all about leaving at the right time to catch the most favourable current. Wind up around 15 gusting to 22. Ramble On put a jib up but we opted for enjoying lunch. We arrived at our marina on the south side of Île d’Orleans about 2pm. Winds strong abeam down the fairway but on the nose nto th slip — all good. Nice old village spread out along the river.

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Nanci Corrigan joined us in QC. John took the pic, we didn’t lose him along the way — at Club Nautique de l’Ile Bacchus.

 

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Wind on the nose coming in … church spire and marina club house in the background

 

 

 

 

 

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Now that’s a small church

Day 10 and 11 Quebec City

Relaxing days …. got some boat work done and wandered around the market and then the old town. Much fun time spent on figuring out where dinner will be! The next morning spent wandering the old town to find a bank …. there are none only ATMs. It’s not that I’m old fashioned but I needed coinage for the laundry machines.

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The OD of this ring is 20″. Would be secure to tie to if one could lift it

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Overlooking the harbour we’re in
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From the ramparts looking down river where we are headed
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Artists’ Alley

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Many houses have beautiful patios if not a view

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 9 Quebec City 33 nm today 327 nm to date

A race to the bridge with a freighter — we lost

Day 9 Quebec City. Off the dock about 6:30 this morning with good sunlight and calm waters but around 0C although it didn’t feel as cool as yesterday in the rain. Left early to catch the ebb current. Finally a pretty part of the river with steep sides, lots of trees and some beautiful homes and, of course, many church spires. After theImage may contain: sky, outdoor, water and nature Pont du Quebec we saw the citadel and the Plains of Abraham. Shortly after that we could see the Chateau Frontenac looming above us. Many, many ships as this is an active working harbour. We turned into the narrow entrance to the outer harbour with (thankfully) little current catching us. The lock master saw us coming and started opening the gate —- there is a lock to raise/lower boats for the level of the inner harbour, Louise Bassin. Locking through very civil: one ties up to a dock inside the lock and it floats you to the new level. The marina is lovely and spacious with good services and very helpful staff. We have a view of the old town from our dock. We will be here for 3 nights when John’s wife Nanci joins us and we depart for the Saguenay.

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Locking through into Louise Bassin, the inner harbour
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Original lock doors

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Doors open on the inner harbour. Lock means the harbour water level is consistently maintained thus no tides
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Marina is in the heart of Quebec City

Day 8 Portneuf QC 70 nm today 294 nm to date

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Trees but no visible land as it’s all under water

Day 8 Portneuf QC. Decided to reduce the number of days to Québec City. We chose Portneuf 70 nm away which necessitated a 7am departure. Lots of current up to 3 knots in our favour and we arrived about 3:30pm. Although sunny when we left it quickly clouded over (as per the forecast) and then rained for a while(not in the forecast!) and it was chilly to say the least. By spelling each other off each hour we were able to keep warm and catch up on our reading ?The sun coming out in the afternoon made the voyage quite pleasant. Lots of ship traffic both ways kept it interesting. The (unforecasted) higher winds made docking a bit of a chore but each boat helped the other so all went well. Tomorrow Québec City.

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Well decorated mark shows the extent of the almost 3 knot current

Day 7 CNBI QC 44 nm today 224 nm to date

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John enjoys coffee and the 12.3 knots

This morning we enjoyed riding the current out of Montreal at 12.3 knots. Gradually the current decreased to 1.5 to 2 and with the winds picking up we were able to join wind power, engine and current to stay in the high 8s to low 9s most of the day. After 40 nm we were off our destination on the south bank in Sorel about 2pm.

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Ramble On and Finnish Line 2.0 experience some heavier traffic before raising their jibs

Unfortunately, the marina wasn’t open. A woman from the CNBI club overheard our intra-boat conversation and suggested we backtrack 4 nm and stay there. Although they usually launch late April due to the high waters (currently 9’) they only launched the docks yesterday and their boats today. Even some entrance marks weren’t out yet so we had to navigate in via the marks on our chart plotters. The charts show thin water but with an extra 9’ we never saw less than 14’. A very welcoming club and we were treated well. Kudos to this club!!

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All tucked up at CNBI after a lovely reception
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Creative cooking onboard, Linda uses a heat gun as the final step

Beer in our cockpit to decide what to do over the next few days to get to Quebec City given that many places are not open yet according to our new friends at CNBI. We now also must begin to take into account the tides and the resulting currents.

The revised plan is to stay across the river from Quebec City in Levi to be able enter the following morning at the recommended hour before low tide. Otherwise the entrance can be extremely treacherous.