Category: 2019 Down East Circle Route

Lovely 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.

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 this 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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?? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 the 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

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.

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!!