Sarah Speaks

     Sarah here. I have been persuaded into writing a blog post for today, so I hope you enjoy.Today is Dad's 48th birthday so we will be celebrating with a nice homemade cake tonight! Today we remain anchored beside Block Island, Rhode Island. The plan as of now is to leave tomorrow night and hopefully be able to travel south aided by some nice weather for the next few days. Hopefully we will be arriving in Annapolis, Maryland for the Sailboat Show by Saturday or Sunday.

     We have been swimming here and the water is so salty that we are able to float without kicking at all. It's pretty fun just being able to float there with your head staying above the water. The bay we are anchored in is called Great Salt Pond so we think that may have something to do with it.

     Showering is a real treat when we are able to. Mom and I tried our solar shower a few days ago and it worked well. It consists of a black bag which you fill with salt water and lay in the sun for a few hours to warm up. Once you have hot water you can hang it up high and have a nice little shower. We used it in the bathroom where the water pools in a shower grate on the floor and then goes out the drain. I made brownies yesterday and we ate them all during our Harry Potter marathon. Nicole and I watched the first four movies! It was a wonderful day of rest and delicious treats!

Sarah

A Foggy Passage

This evening just before dinner we pulled into a serene marina in Cap a L’Aigle. The trip from Quebec City was foggy the entire way, so we didn’t get to see much beyond the water around us and the hilly edges of the Charlevoix region. Rain misted around us throughout the day and despite trying to sail a few times we ended up motoring most of the way. The marina in Cap a L’Aigle is small and peaceful, with steep tree-covered hills extending off into the mist and a waterfall rushing down into the basin. The air here is cool and crisp, bringing with it scents of the winter to come. It reminds me of ski trips in the mountains. It seems ironic that to escape into warmer climes for the winter we have ended up heading further north as the summer recedes into fall.

It’s also interesting that so far we have yet to meet anyone else following the same route to the Caribbean. Likely others left earlier in the season. Shortly after departing Quebec City the water in the river changed from fresh to salt, so today officially counts as our first experience sailing in salt waters! Over the coming days we will enter the Maritimes and have another “first” when we experience sailing in the ocean for the first time in our lives! Tomorrow we continue along the St. Lawrence to Tadoussac. We’re hoping for a nice clear day with favourable winds so that we can actually see the landscape around us…although the fog does add some mystery to the day.

Wish us luck,

Nicole.

Bonus! Just as I was about to post this, the sun peeked out for the first time today and presented us with a gift: a rainbow. Such a nice end to a day of travel!