REFLECTIONS from JOE …. so far
Here we sit in Anse-Saint-Jean, a small village 20 miles up the Saguenay Fjord, with hills towering behind, waiting for the bad weather to pass.
It's been an interesting adventure so far, and a challenge to our navigational skills. We left the familiar waters of Georgian Bay, six weeks ago. Two days after leaving
Owen Sound the mast had to come down in preparation for travelling the Trent-Severn, … what a funny feeling to do that in June.
It took about a day and a half to carry this out, with the help of the staff at Queen's Cove, Victoria Harbour.
We took extra time to ensure the mast was securely fastened to the boat for the next 10 days, and anticipating wakes. Ensuring it wouldn't be in our way too much
while travelling, anchoring and docking was important.
One of the things we did differently was to lower the mast from the front so the furling could lay on top. This worked well.
As we move along our voyage, it seems to be broken into sections. The first was the Trent-Severn waterway. Once we got into the groove it was quite nice.
Lock through and number of times, tie up to a wall for the night, get water, prepare the boat for the next day and deal with the heat. One incident in particular
stands out .. when the lock master let us have a garden hose to cool our selves off. Boaters in the canal tend to be locals, vacationers or
travellers, like us. We didn't meet many of the travellers as they were ahead or behind, but we did spend time with many vacationers. It's a nice
way to spend a few weeks. The Big Chute railway lift was awesome. There were 44 locks.
Out of the canals and onto Trenton to put the mast up …. yea a sailboat again. Our friend Peter, met us to help and then took us to his place to meet up with
Patricia, and some of their friends. We had an evening of visiting and homemade pizza, cooked in an outdoor oven he built.
This led to the next segment of our journey, Trenton to Cornwall.
The Picton area and 1000 Islands were an opportunity
to anchor out (and as it is turning out, the last for a while). Bays where shallow and full of weeds.
After a few nights on the hook, Kingston was our next stop. A change for me to meet Yvonne's friends, Debbie and Rodney. Lots of great
visits. Debbie took us to breakfast one morning and then drove us all over the place doing errands. Kingston has the marina in the middle of town.
The hustle, bustle, history and a Busker festival where exciting. The St. Lawrence River starts at Kingston.
Next it was off to the 1000 Islands, a cruisers delight. Then it was on to Brockville.
As we arrived in Brockville a change in land scape and people became noticeable. (all of a sudden there where boaters who had sailed on long
Journeys, one had even circled the globe)
Jack and Ava, long time friends secured us a spot at the Brockville Yacht Club for a few nights. The arrival opened Yvonne's eyes
pretty wide. As MODAKI, entered the basin there where no docks, just posts to pull in between. For two days it was climbing on and
off the bow via the bow pulpit and anchor roller. Supper at Jack and Ava's was a fantastic reunion.
From there it was onto Cornwall and the beginning of a change in the river, strong currants. Friday, July 20, saw us in Salaberry de Valleyfield, Quebec.
What a delight. As MODAKI, pulled up to the town dock the couple, in the boat next helped with the landing. It turned out to be a friendship that I
hope lasts for a lifetime. Elaine and Andre took us around town and introduced us to the delights of Quebec culture. I love cafe's, croissants and
cappuccino. One evening there was a spectacular laser light show over the water. As recommended in a guide book, the trip by bus and subway into
old Montreal was wonderful. Travelling with an American couple (Nancy and Ed), we met in the locks earlier was fun.
There are 7 commercial locks between Morrisburg and Montreal. These are 780 ft long. Lock staff where friendly and made this experience enjoyable.
Departing Salaberry de Valleyfield was hard in a way. It had been restful and eye opening.
The next phase of the trip I will call Tides and CURRENTS. At one time we had considered stopping at the port of old Montreal, but the current is 7
knots in the channel. Don't think MODAKI could have handled this, so on to Parc Nautique de Contrecoeur and Trois Riveres.
It was the beginning of fellow boaters sharing local knowledge on tides and currents … all new to us. It began gently but would soon become dominate in the
rytheme of travelling down stream when the tide is ebbing, usually about six hours. Sometimes it means getting up very early in the morning and stopping by noon.
Currents speeding up the boat can mean good distances travelled in a short time. Just before Portneuf, the Richelieu Rapids gave
a speed over ground of 13 knots, pretty good for a 30 ft sailboat.
Portneuf was our first experience with marinas in tidal waters. Entry was through a narrow channel with strong currents into a basin
with high stone walls and floating docks attached. Over the next four days we would be amazed by the floating docks going up and down 9 feet, four
times a day. We stopped in Portneuf to visit friends of Yvonne's, Eloise, Isabelle and Rejean, who made me feel like one of the family. They wined and dined
us, took us into villa de Quebec, shared their family home and hearts. Once again it was so hard to leave.
From Portneuf it was past Quebec, with its strong currents, and onto a quaint village of Saint-Jean- Port - Joli. Its here that we really learned the
effects of tides. Timing our arrival so the current carried us down the river, but there was sufficient water to get through the mouth of the
harbour. We found out that at low tide there was only one foot of water in the entrance and when tied to a floating dock, the keel went a foot into the mud ---- quite interesting.
The tidal range is 19 feet. Cap a l'Aigle was the next stop. A very rugged landscape with a waterfall beside the basin, and there was no town. By this point we
had kept hearing about the Saguenay Fjord. Tadoussac is a port at the mouth of the fjord, the place where everyone goes when travelling
this part of the St. Lawrence. This is where you go to see the whales. The three hours before Tadoussac we where in dense fog. Thank god for chart plotters and radar. As there where many freighters, shoals and a 85 ft tower, we only heard the freighter blow horn and the towers horn as we came close.
The decision was made to take a side trip up the Saguenay for a few days. In places the water is 1,000 ft deep with 900 ft cliffs. Seeing Belugas and a Minke whales
has been awesome.
I can't believe how open and friendly everyone here is.
Along the way we have travelled through spectacular scenery, landed in many harbours …. but for me its been the people, that make the trip.
The staff at martina's have gone out of their way to help, local towns people have opened them selves to us and the other boaters become friends and
guide us along the way. …………
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