Our Epic Voyage

On July 21, we set off from St. Anne de Beaufils to L'Etang du Nord on Isle du Madelaine for what was to be a 126 mile voyage and our first overnight passage – ever. The islands are part of Quebec and lie in the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. From them the trip to the tip of Cape Breton is only 62 miles and saves us travelling down the Northumberland Strait past New Brunswick and PEI (no offence to dwellers of those two lovely provinces but we are on a tight schedule).

We were travelling with our new friends from Quebec, Richard and Diane on their Whitby 42 called Cap Oceane. This was to be their first passage as well. A quarter of the way there, Maggie noticed the bilge pump running, so I investigated and found a significant leak from our water pump. The shaft seal was defective and needed to be replaced – we had to turn back to make repairs.

The winds were up, so we sailed back, along with Cap Oceane, who stayed with us in case we needed assistance. We set sail for Chandler, a small town 10 miles down the coast from where we sailed earlier in the day. It is a regional centre with excellent services and a cozy marina, where we stayed for the next six days waiting for the replacement part to arrive from Pathfinder Marine. It was a welcome break from the near continuous travelling we had been doing since leaving Toronto on July 1.

The part finally came and I fixed the pump. With last minute provisioning done and a favourable weather window, H2OBO and Cap Oceane were set to try the big passage again.

We departed at 6 am and sailed throughout the day in 15 – 25 knots of wind on the beam. The seas were running 2 – 3 metres, so it was a little rough and not at all what we were accustomed to on Lake Ontario. Our boat handled the conditions beautifully with 2 reefs in the main, the yankee and the stay sail flying. As dusk approached, the winds started to die down and veer. This left us motoring through confused seas toward the islands until we got a radio call from Cap Oceane. Their engine failed to start.

We turned back to render any support we could offer them, but had to travel into the swells to reach them since we were about 3 miles ahead of them. By the time we got to them, Richard had managed to restart the engine and they commenced motoring toward the islands, since we had already passed the point of no return. After about half an hour, a lovely breeze picked up from our stern quarter and we sailed a broad reach through the night, steering with our Cape Horn wind pilot (an awesome piece of equipment). A beautiful bright moon hung over us and lit our passage through the night. Maggie and I took one hour shifts on watch to make sure we kept a respectable amount of sea room between us and Cap Oceane and to make sure we stayed on our route. We would make landfall at day break near a rock, Le Corps Mort, a few miles offshore and wanted to keep a respectful distance away.

Sunrise

Right on schedule, the island loomed in the dim light, and even though we were a couple of miles off, it felt like we were too close and the rock was drawing us closer. There were no beacons on the rock and I wondered how many mariners long ago might have soiled their drawers by finding themselves unexpectantly bearing down on this rock in the gloom or fog.

Millerand beach

Well, we made it into a little fishing harbour called Millerand and tied up to a lobster fishing boat. We helped Cap Oceane to the wharf as they limped in with a failing engine. It turned out to be clogged fuel filters caused by bad diesel churning up in the lumpy seas. With our first passage logged and after sleeping for a few hours in the morning, Maggie and I walked to a nearby village where we had a cod dinner and sugar pie – yum yum. Tomorrow we will sail to the other side of the island and check out new sources of pie. Life is great!

Branko

Careening the Boat...by accident!!

We were heading downstream on the St Lawrence, concerned about a strong wind issued for that night beyond Tadoussac.  Expecting 15-25 knots from the west, we motored in to L'Anse de Originale, an anchorage recommended by the guide books.

We dropped anchor with 11feet of water under the keel at around 5:30; had a light supper, read a little, then we hit the sack.  We figured we would get some early rest in case we awoke and had to deal with high winds.  The guide books stated the anchorage would give good protection in south to southwest winds with high hilly terrain surrounding us and had a sandy bottom, so we slept soundly.

I awoke at 11pm when I felt an unusual bump.  I got up, looked around the boat and did not see anything strange.  Back down in the pilothouse, I noticed only 0.3 feet under the keel.  The tide was going out and we were on the bottom!

Rubbing sleep from eyes, we started the engine and tried backing into deeper water but it was too late.  I checked the tide schedule and realized we were still one hour away from low tide and the tidal range was 14 feet.

Now we knew that the boat was going to go over on her side, which is exactly what starting to then happen, and there was nothing we could do about it.  At first, not sure if we would take on water as she went over, we considered inflating the dinghy or using the life raft in case we were going to get wet.  Then we remembered pictures of boats we had seen careening on beaches at low tide to have their bottoms cleaned, so then we were no longer worried about getting wet.

As Maggie secured stuff on the high side, I took a flashlight to check the water under the hull.  I was relieved to see, in about 4 feet of water, a clean sandy bottom, no rocks and no anchor under the boat.  If she laid on her hull, there would be no damage.

Having done everything we could, we turned out the lights and went to bed with our hearts thumping and minds racing. We waited as low tide approach to see if she would lay over, but she remained afloat albeit listing over at around 60 degrees - a surreal sight in the gloomy, quiet darkness.  After about an hour, she started to right herself in the rising tide and the relief was palpable.

We never did get the strong winds we were originally worried about and counted our other lucky breaks that we got that night.

1. It was midnight, so nobody could see what the fools from no-tide-no-brains Toronto got themselves into.
2. A sandy bottom with no rocks nor anchors under us.
3. No wind or waves to contend with.
4. Hull remained afloat with the keel on the bottom.
5. Everything remained secure and nothing leaked.
6. We did not panic and calmly assessed the situation.
7. Sophie seemed enjoy it all.

With that free but harrowing lesson indelibly etched into our minds, rest assured that we will never make THAT mistake again.  Others for sure, but not that one.  And as long as we sail away from those mistakes without a scratch to crew and ship, I will joyfully tell you all about them, as well as the triumphs.

Now if you will excuse us, we have some laundry to do.

Branko

The 3rd crew member.

Cleo-cat-ra (aka Sofie)

Finally...those other '2 crew members' have left the boat - now i have time to add my own bit of 'blog.'  Hmmm blog does not sound too apetizing,  personally i really only think about food.
Apologies,   i digress;

First,   i am a little put-out that they (the other crew members with  hands) have NOT mentioned me in the crew summary - i suppose that is what happens when you are 4 legged, furry, sleeps alot and seriously, just a  little plump.  
Apologies,   i digress yet again....

Quebec City, how European (so i hear from the other crew)  ca va bien (learned that on the docks.)  The marina we stayed in has it's own lock; that all boats in the basin must traverse - when the currents and tides are in line, the lock is left  open, otherwise it is closed and regulated for traffic.

Lock in Quebec City Marina

Leaving Quebec City

On Monday morning we motored away from Quebec City with views of the old city behind us and the island of Orleans to port (like my nautical talk?)  Beautiful day, beautiful scenery and unfortunately, no wind  hence the motoring.  Early afternoon found us in St Jean de Port Joli,    a most lovely French village with an IGA that unfortunately  ' the other crew member' could not find until  after it was closed.   Mind you there were many attributes to the village besides the IGA.   An old village kept in wonderful condition.
Our experiences thus far have only been fantastic - lovely country and generous people.

Right now we are anchored in Tadoussac Bay,  thank you Jim and your good friend Misha (who by the way does not think i am overweight) for the recommendation - Tadoussac is beautiful - everyone must make a pilgramage to this very special place - scenery spectacular,  huge cliffs, kayaking, whale watching (both ways), boating up the Saguenay river and all with a few 100 of your closest friends  :-)     all good!

Tadoussac

Tadoussac has a spooky mist/fog that comes and goes -  i liken it to sitting in a witches caldron being stirred up into a potion -" Boil and trouble, trouble and boil the spirits are about to speak" - or some such chant/spell.

Prince Shoal

So far 'no' exciting stories or near misses;  hmmmm except for those two huge freighters who we met all together in one spot,  a very small spot really - a perfect meeting and one that thankfully we are all still here to talk about.  Honestly,  those freighters were certainly a little frightened when the saw the likes of us barreling down the channel - thanks to goodness for AIS !

oh wait,  we saw Belgua whales - how fantastic is that? Yes we know,  calm down for goodness sakes - but we are happy to not be jaded nor ho-hum about what we see (yes this is the rhetoric on the boat, i am only repeating this stuff to stay in their good books.)

Beluga whale

till the next time,
Sofie the cat.

Quebec City

View of Quebec City from our boat (in marina.)

Houses along the shore -west of Quebec City

Arriving Quebec City

Maggie and I have been here four times so far and we never get tired of this lovely city.  Walking the streets is a joy and steps taken back in time.  There is a festive atmosphere during the summer due to all the events going on from buskers and street exhibits to large organised events.  We will be sorry to leave tomorrow.

To get here we basically had to motor most of the way through the Thousand Islands.  We found lovely anchorages along the way, but one that stood out was the archipelago in Lake St. Pierre.

We had close encounters with the freighter traffic but it was all very manageable.  I believe that having the AIS system helped out because the freighter would see us on their plotters and could plan to be to the other side of the channel - it is an indispensable bit of gear.

We met a very friendly Quebec couple with a Whitby 42.  We are joining them on the next leg down river to Port Joli for the night on our way to Tadoussac for some world class whale watching.

bv

Just the three of us......

Sofie

Branko

Maggie

Started off Monday morning bright and early from Kingston;  crew of 3 - Maggie, Branko and Sailor Meow meow aka Sofie the cat  (thank you Mon Mon.)

Winds were perfect. Wonderful sail around Wolf Island to the main channel - peaceful, lovely and then July 4th weekend hit us - full frontal.    Boats, all manner of watercraft and things I have never seen before blew past and around us at breakneck speed   Seems that all watercraft must be driven at the highest speed possible - busy people, going back and forth, forth and back.  OK enough of the July 4th hubbub - back to the crew of H2OBO.

We finished the day anchored around the corner from Brockville,  tucked away behind Smith Island.  Had a much needed swim and amazingly enough Branko still smelled like a daisy :-)

Waiting for 'traffic' leaving a lock

The next two days found us traversing locks and bridges.  It was a good thing that we never paid or spent money for my St Lawrence 'boat delivery' excursion back mid-May;   since I confused all the locks and seemed to have taken incorrect notes.   The bonus - was that it was like I had never been down this way before,  so enjoyed it for a second/first time :-)

Anchored in a nice little bay on Lake St.Louis (suburb of Montreal) looking out over the resto/bar of Melocheville and enjoying the hot weather.

H2OBO entering a lock 

It's a Great Start!

We could not have asked for a better beginning to our new life.  We set off at 6 am (folks at EYC may have heard our horn) towards the Thousand Islands with our friends Peggy and Charlie.  A beautiful beam reach with all sails up took us to Cobourg where a fantastic surprise awaited.

Their Canada Day fireworks were glorious!  The four of us sat on the deck as we watched the heavens explode overhead while we were anchored.  This is a must see for anybody that can get there.

The next full day of sailing (and motoring) got us to Waupoos, where again we anchored, and the wind blew steadily.  We motored over to the marina where the girls had a chance to take a badly needed shower.  I was still fresh as a daisy but I took one anyway.

Yesterday was our best day of sailing, with broad reaches taking us all the way to Navy Bay.  This is a quaint little anchorage tucked between the Royal Military College and Fort Henry in Kingston.

Today are crew is leaving us, and we will miss them greatly.  It was wonderful having them with us to share the beginning of our voyage.  Now it's just Maggie and me until we get to Nova Scotia for our next rendezvous with friends.

Peggie and Charlie (5:30am)

Charlie and Martello tower in background (Kingston)