Cap-a-l’Aigle, QC to Saguenay Fjord and Anse-Saint-Jean, QC July 12--14

      We departed Cap-a-l’Aigle and headed downriver (northeast) toward Tadoussac, QC and the Saguenay Fjord.  Arriving around noon, we saw seals and a number of the white Beluga whales which are an endangered species.  While many were well away from the boat, some came alongside to take a close look at us.  We slowly moved up into the Saguenay River and fjord, passing high rocky hills covered with surprisingly dense forest.  This is truly an area that manifests the wonders of God’s creation.  We may not have seen the cattle, but we’ve certainly seen the 1000 hills!   Water depths of over 800 feet were common, and the water depth might be 200 feet within 50 feet of the shore.   About 22 miles up the fjord, after scouting several spots for anchorage without success, our traveling companions secured dockage for us at a small marina that had not answered its telephone for several days previously as we had tried to call for reservations.  Texas Ranger proceeded another few miles up the fjord to visit Baie Eternite, whose entrance is flanked by Cap Eternite and Cap Trinite.  On the latter, looking out over the fjord, is a statue of the Virgin Mary.  Sculpted of white pine in 1881 and then covered with lead for protection, it was evidently placed there by a merchant grateful for surviving a fall through the ice, and passenger ships passing by at night used to spotlight it while Ave Maria played on their sound systems.  Returning to the marina, we docked with lots of help and scrutiny from the many boaters on the dock.
     We stayed longer than planned because the weather was not favorable, and the marina at Tadoussac had no space.  Therefore, we spent two nights, and part of a third, with these friendly folks.  They presented us their yacht club burgee, and another pennant to fly proclaiming us “ambassadors” of the club.  We hosted three couples aboard one evening for snacks—our traveling companions Ron & Michele, Tom and Cathy (semi-retired shipping company exec), and Paul and Jillian (semi-retired Canadian federal judge).  I had met Paul in Quebec, and we met Tom on the docks.  They are all from the Montreal area, and it was fun to rendezvous again.  On our last day in Saint-Jean, I installed a radar reflector on my masthead light support, and we then hiked into town to mail a birthday card to a friend back home.  According to Google Maps, the post office was about 1.5 kilometers away.  Well, it wasn’t!  We did see a quaint one-lane covered bridge, the old village church, etc., and after inquiring in a bank where no English was spoken, we finally reached the post office 5 km distant.  No English at all there either, but I knew enough French to make my request known.  Our traveling companions had requested some milk if we passed a store, and we saw one another 100 yards down the road.  On entering, I spied one of the local residents I had met at the marina, and, having just walked an hour, asked if he would give us a ride back to the boat.  He graciously agreed, so we grabbed a couple of 2L jugs of milk ($4/each) and with great relief rode back instead of walking.  I profusely thanked him in four different languages!

St. Lawrence River Light Station

Saguenay Light

Saguenay River Entrance

Beluga

Beluga Checking Us Out

Saguenay Fjord

Cap Trinite Statue of Mary

Cap Trinite Statue of Mary

Club Nautique l'Anse-Saint-Jean

It Fills Up At High Tide

Quebec City, Quebec to Cap-a-l'Aigle, Quebec July 8--11

Incredible Toy Store

Montgomery Falls--30 ft. higher than Niagara

Current is Flowing!

Underwater An Hour Ago

     We had three full and interesting days in Quebec, and then traveled 70 miles downriver to Cap-a-l’Aigle, Quebec.  A few days prior to arrival in Quebec, I had suffered an autopilot compass malfunction.  Not only was the compass for the autopilot off by 100 degrees or so, but it was unstable, and so could not maintain a course.  I hand-steered from Sorel to Quebec, but upon arrival an immediate priority was its repair!  After phone consultation with an expert and former vendor in Florida, I was fairly certain that the compass itself was what had failed, and so a local electronics technician was engaged to order the parts and install them…not a “plug and play” endeavor.  To make a very long story short, one morning was spent arranging all of this, and then 2 days later after arrival of parts, 5 hours was spent on the installation and troubleshooting thereof.  But the bottom line is that I have an autopilot again, and travel is once again feasible! 

     We spent a couple of days sightseeing Quebec, a fascinating city and one of the oldest in North America.  We saw the old, walled city, and buildings and churches nearly 400 years old.  We saw the Plains of Abraham where a decisive battle in 1759, won by the British, wrested control of Canada and a great deal of what is now the United States from France.  We enjoyed a taste of Europe in the western hemisphere, rode the Funiculaire up the hillside, practiced our “pigeon” French, and had a great time.  One day we navigated our way by bus out to a more modern part of town to visit a Bell Canada store, where I was able to work around the system to obtain some data access for our IPAD via the cellular system.  You would not believe how convoluted and complicated this is for “non-citizens”.  We have cell phone/text service available (pay by the minute) on our home cellular plans, but data access off of American plans is not affordable…$2/Mb!  I now have 5Gb of data for $35/month, though in theory my access is limited to only one month.  But I have a plan for that also!  The evening before our departure, 3 couples that own K-K yachts and a Canadian couple from a Grand Banks trawler went out for a great dinner together—and way too late an evening!

     We had television cameras around our boat for 2 days!  Not because of us, but because of a huge racing sailboat about to depart for a transatlantic crossing to Great Britain and then France.  However, the government became involved related to the qualifications of the captain, and whether or not it was a vessel for hire and therefore subject to intense regulation.  The government refused to allow departure, and negotiations and lobbying were ongoing in both Quebec and Ottawa.  When we left the marina, the boat and its somewhat disheartened crew were still there…
     We traveled downriver to a quaint little marina in Cap-a-l'Aigle (Cape of the Eagle).  The tide change is about 15 feet, and lots of land and attachments for the dock that were underwater upon our arrival two hours earlier soon became bare.  Little English is spoken here, but people are friendly, and it is one of the few stops available along the route to the Saguenay River and fjord, which is our next destination for its scenery and whale watching.

Ursuline Convent 1642

Quebec Marina with Two Visitors

Old Quebec City Viewed from Marina

Rue Saint Jean

Notre Dame Church



Rue Sous le Fort

Rue du Petit Champlain

The Funiculaire

View from the Funiculaire

Fairmont Chateau Frontenac

Samuel de Champlain

Center of Parliament



Anglican Church

St. Roche Church

Augustinian Monastery 1639

Wayne...this is for you

Chambly, Quebec to Sorel, Quebec, to Quebec City, Quebec July 5--7

     We were to leave Chambly at 0900 when the locks opened, but it was actually later before they got us locked through.  The last three locks of the Chambly Canal are stair-stepped—i.e. the exit gates for one lock are the entrance gates for the next, so three locks which drop you 35 feet only have four gates.  They basically let you into the highest lock, then send your water on ahead of you into the next lock.   After departing the locks, we crossed the wide Chambly Basin, then headed down the Richelieu River towards Sorel.  We passed Pont Boleil, a very narrow very low bridge accompanied by rapid current, with about three feet to spare on each side of the boat.  Many neat, small communities with nice houses, well-manicured lawns, and impressive old churches, three cable ferries, and one larger lock (St. Ours Lock) were along the way.  We reached Sorel, passed out of the Richelieu River into the St. Lawrence River, and headed into the islands of Lac St. Pierre.  We anchored up a nice channel, and had a quiet, peaceful evening in 25 feet of water about 50 feet from the shore. 

Chambly Church

Fort Chambly

Stepped Locks 3, 2, 1 at Chambly

One of Many

He's Coming to Meet Us!

And He's Off!

Bridge Opening to the Left

Low and Narrow...Rear View



Not all Churches...Stacked Silos

Sorel

     The following morning we were off downriver to Trois-Rivieres.  It was quite windy, with west wind being sucked into the low pressure remnant of Hurricane Arthur in the North Atlantic.  We arrived, navigated the narrow channel into the marina, avoided the unmarked sandbar (they say their markers blew away in the last day or two), and docked.  Just before arriving, we had visited by radio with another K-K 48—Alizann—anchored just around the corner.  Later that afternoon Marty & Suzanne came around in their dinghy, and we had a great visit!  We explored the marina area, and found muskrats scampering around the grounds waiting for a handout.  The marina is adjacent, but upwind, to a paper mill.  It reminds Kay of East Texas.  Those of you who have ever lived near a paper mill will understand the importance of the upwind logistic!  The next morning we were underway for Quebec City.  Again, there was a lot of current and moderately strong wind, but we traversed the 68 nautical miles in about 8 hours, entering the outer harbor, passing through the lock into the inner harbor, and docking at the Quebec City Marina about 1730.  The view of this historic city from the marina is awe-inspiring.  We will be tourists here for several days.

Don't Get Out of the Channel!

Great Lakes Cargo Ship

Trois Rivieres, QC

Quebec...Fortified City



Quebec