Moments Like These: Tadoussac to Riviere-au-Renard

Tadoussac

Our anchorage at Tadoussac turned into an ordeal where we swung too close to the shore as the tide went out. We floated around for a while with no ideas about where to go, then reset the anchor just behind our previous spot. Mom and I sat up until low tide at 1 am doing word searches and glancing at the GPS to ensure we stayed in a depth of 30 feet. The wind went up and down, howling then quieting throughout the night. Trying to sleep after the danger had passed I realized how attuned to the sounds and motions I had become. The clanks and creaks, water lapping on the hull, the pitch and cadence of the wind, all these things become so noticeable when you are on watch during the night.

Saturday was a great day in comparison and our favourite sailing day yet! The sun warmed the air nicely and the sky was a clear blue as we sailed on a long downwind tack along the southern shore of the gulf of the St. Lawrence. Despite watching for sea creatures we only spotted one whale early in the morning. The sails were set in the perfect downwind “wing in wing” configuration with the main on one side and a preventer to stop it from jibing, the genoa attached to a spinnaker pole on the other side with ropes (a foreguy, afterguy and topping lift) to hold the pole in place.

We consulted with s/v Raftan and the favourable weather and south-west winds convinced us to go through the night. We took three-hour shifts throughout the night (Mom and I; Dad and Sarah) and had a beautiful sail into the early hours of the morning. Stars illuminated the clear sky like thousands of fireflies and the moon made a strikingly orange appearance and great visibility. It was nice to just sail a course and not worry about aiming between buoys.

Like the night before, I found my senses awakening to the sounds and sights around the boat. It was so relaxing to listen to the salt water foam up as the bow cut through waves, letting off a rush and fizzle sound. We noticed that this fizzling foam doesn’t happen in fresh water. Being on watch involved a lot of sitting wrapped in layers of clothing and sleeping bags, adjusting sails, checking the depth, speed, wind direction and wind speed, watching Raftan’s progress beside us, staring up at stars, and watching lights on land slowly pass by. All in all it was a beautiful night to be sailing and I have to say that it’s moments like these that make all the stress of the trip so far worth it.

Today we sailed and motored through a sunny day and are now anchored at Riviere-au-Renard, a peaceful, large and empty anchorage inside the harbour of this small fishing town. Mom says this is her favourite place yet, as it has lots of “east coast” character with the fishing boats and simple white houses in a rugged landscape. This is a place like nothing seen yet and we’ve finally turned the corner into the east coast!

Riviere-au-Renard

To carry on with this trend of “favourites” here are the most memorable places for each of us so far: Dad enjoyed Tadoussac with the whale in the harbour and the currents as the Saguenay flows in and out of the St. Lawrence with the tides. Sarah liked Cap-a-L’Aigle because it was our first time seeing this hilly region up close, was very pretty and exciting because it felt like we had just appeared there out of the mist. And my favourite place was Quebec City with its windy streets and refreshing beauty.

Our plans for tomorrow aren’t firm yet but likely we’ll aim to re-provision in the Gaspe region before beginning a passage to Nova Scotia. 

Sorry it’s a long one, but hope you all enjoyed!

Nicole. 

Sarah on deck in Riviere-au-Renard