TEXAS RANGER: Anse-Saint-Jean to Rimouski to Saint-Anne-des-Monts to Riviere-au-Renard, QC July 15--17

The marina at Tadoussac was full, and so we stayed a third night in Anse-Saint-Jean. We left that dock at 0300 (there was even a little daylight visible over the mountains as we left the cove), and cruised down the Saguenay Fjord to Tadoussac. Along the way we saw a few belugas and one or two other whales and seals, and crossed into the St. Lawrence River a little after 0600. We crossed diagonally to the south shore, and about 1300 arrived at Rimouski. After docking and looking around, we hiked to the grocery store and carried back a full load. Rimouski is famous as the site of the sinking of The Empress of Ireland, a large passenger liner, in May, 1914…just two years after the sinking of the Titanic. On a foggy night the ship left off mail in Rimouski, and was shortly thereafter struck midship by the Norwegian coal ship Storstad which was carrying 1100 tons of coal. Originally an icebreaker, Storstad penetrated 35 feet into the hull of the Empress. Over 1000 people drowned. The next day we departed at 0500 for a 90-mile day along the Gaspe Peninsula to Saint- Anne-des-Monts. The wind had the river kicked up a bit, and it was misty and somewhat foggy most of the day. We did see a large whale along the way, and docked in a decrepit marina about 1800. There was no electricity that we could use (only a 15 amp electrical cord), and the dock was too short for both boats to fully tie up. The harbor, however, was well-protected, and with a cold front predicted, that was the important issue.

The front blew through about 0300, and about 0530 we were off again for a second 90-mile day. The wind was quite strong, but since it was from aft, the ride was not bad. We passed a number of interesting villages, and without the fog we could actually see them. One of the landmarks we passed was a lighthouse and its outbuildings at Pointe-a-la-Renommee which was the site of the first North American maritime radio station, installed by Marconi in 1904. Another significant location was the northernmost point on our travels…at 1030 we passed latitude 49 degrees, 16.080 minutes. Thereafter, we will be returning (though quite slowly and obliquely) south. At about 1730 we arrived and docked in the delightful harbor at Riviere-au-Renard. Though little English is spoken, when the lady in the marina office found out I am from Texas, she pulled up her jeans to show off her boots, put on her cowboy hat, and turned on a Johnny Cash CD! On a hill above the town lies the site at which Jacques Cartier first claimed North America for France in 1534, and a church and cross mark the location of this historic event. Tomorrow we will have a shorter day, rounding the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula and visiting the town of Gaspe. The mountainous terrain dropping into the huge Saint Lawrence will soon thereafter give way to the lower topography of New Brunswick, and the common language will also soon revert to English.