Author: Jeff

We got underway yesterday from Shippagan through the Gully, and set course for Richibucto.  By noon the wind had dropped, and I was looking at a forecast for moderate to strong SW winds for Sunday and Monday.  So we decided to travel the north shore of PEI rather than go through the Northumberland Strait and altered course by 90° to head for the north cape, then around to stop in Northport last night. 

Today we followed the coast to stop in North Rustico, with a detour in to Stanley Bridge.  We were cruising along in 10-20 ft of water about 1/2 mile from shore most of the day with a warm offshore breeze.  We’re tied up with the fishing boats for the night.

This is all new waters for me.  I’m enjoying it.  Tomorrow we’ll get close to the east end of the island, and the weather looks good for the run down to Port Hawkesbury on Tuesday.

It was smooth sailing today down to Shippagan.  We’re anchored here. 

Tomorrow we’re planning a bit longer hop to Richibucto, about 80 miles.  I haven’t been there by land or sea, but it’s a few miles up a river, which makes it appealing to me.

Weather looks great for the next few days, sunny and warming up a bit.  Temps have been below 20C for a few days.  Warmer is OK. 

Bill has been fishing, but no success yet.  We’re eating well.  All good aboard.

We’ve set a target arrival date in Halifax of Aug 3.  That’s looking entirely feasible.  The long term forecast looks good.  I’m looking forward to going through Canso and exploring the NS eastern shore a bit more. 

Another fishing port with floating docks for guests, this one here.  We’re sharing the dock with a couple from NC doing the DE loop.  They’ve been loving the area, and stopped in Gaspe last night as well. I understand the appeal.  Gaspe was a nice stop.  I’m glad to see places that I missed last time through.

Today Bill was ashore for a bit, and we left at noon for the five hour run down here.  Things were a bit sloppy around the capes, and we were both happy to be tied up.  The highlight was the rock at Perce.

Tomorrow promises to be calm, and we’re headed for Shippagan.  Should be an easy day. 

We’re anchored here in the town of Gaspe.  Long day, underway at 6 am and arriving here at 8 pm.  Flat conditions the entire way.

That’s a screenshot from this morning’s wind forecast.  It doesn’t get much better for cruising down the coast, and I wanted to get off the north side of the Gaspe Peninsula while the going was good.

Here’s a selection of Bill’s photos, whittled down from 163.  The scenery was interesting and at times spectacular.

Limited critter sightings.  No blue whales.  I spotted a pilot whale, and we saw lots of seals. 

We’re on a more relaxed schedule now.  Will get ashore tomorrow and then have a shorter travel day down through Perce and along the Quebec shoreline.

We’re tied up here.  If you look at satellite view things might get clearer.  Great spot.

This is the only photo I took today.  It’s my view as I write the daily blog.  Bill has walked into town(?) to get some exercise and find fresh food.  I’m really enjoying his cooking and companionship.  In addition to food he has also taken on the role of trip photographer.  So the following photos are Bill’s.

Today was an altogether pleasant day.  Sunny with a high of 19C, tailwind, and mostly following current.  We got underway at about 0645 and arrived here at about 1700.  I had planned to go about 20 miles further, but the tide was about to change and the wind was at about 20 knots.  It was a good time to stop.  Tomorrow looks like another perfect travel day, and we’ll get around the tip of the peninsula.

That sailboat in the photo was ahead of us and came in to anchor.  We may be traveling together tomorrow.  We haven’t seen many boats underway.

Today went according to plan.  We got in around 5:00 and anchored here.  North winds made for a bit of rolling so I was happy to have a short day. 

We filled up with fuel and water this morning, and Bill did a grocery run.  To come 646 miles since last filling up in Trenton used 348 l of fuel.  That’s a nice benefit of downstream cruising. Good to go for a while.

The weather looks good for getting around the Gaspe Peninsula in the next two days.

We’re anchored here.  Tomorrow morning we’ll visit the marina to refuel and reprovision.

Today was flat calm for pretty much the whole trip.  Bill saw whales this morning before rousing me, and after shadowing the pro captains coming out of Tadoussac we saw a big fin whale close up.  Cool.  Apparently there’s the occasional blue whale around here.  I’m always watching.  That’s on my bingo card. Here’s Bill’s video from the stop.

Last time I came this way 4 years ago I was pretty nervous about the next 250 miles.  Escapade was new to me.  It’s a harsh unforgiving shoreline, with strong variable currents that can kick up nasty seas.  So, as I sometimes do, I basically sprinted from here to NB.  It’s all here in the blog. 

This time I’m going to noodle as much as is practical.  There are small fishing ports every 30-50 miles.  The forecast looks good for the next couple of days. 

The picture above is my only one for today.  I was captured by the natural beauty.  Clouds, high ground, and endlessly changing water and wave patterns. Here’s one Bill just took.

We’re eating well, and Bill is comfortable and enjoying the trip.  It’s nice to share the experience. Next port is Matane, about 50 miles away. 

As Susan mentioned, we did a crew swap in Montreal on Thursday, and Bill and I left Thursday afternoon.

Thursday night we anchored here, and on Friday we stopped in Berthierville to pick up some parts.  Then on down the river.  Friday night we stopped here past Quebec City, and yesterday we got to Tadoussac.

I was hoping that Bill would see some whales here, and we weren’t disappointed.  Saw belugas on the way in, and fin whales were swimming among the anchored boats.  One came by us and Bill captured it on video.

All good aboard.  We’ll be continuing east on the south shore of the big river.  The biggest challenge so far is current, which runs both ways due to tidal influence.  This affects speed over ground as well as wave shapes and sizes.

These are my pics.  I may add some of Bill’s at some point.

It’s been a while since I’ve been somewhere completely new and unfamiliar.  Today we left Brockville and headed down the river.  I’ve never been this way by boat.  Came through Iroquois lock with no major delay or issue.

We’re now clearly in a big river, with Canada on one side and the US on the other.  We’re anchored here for the night in reasonably calm conditions.  It’s fun watching the ship traffic.  Guess I should get used to it for a while.

Biking and boating is working well.  Tomorrow I’ll unload the cyclists and meet them downriver later in the day.  The following day they’ll boat with me through the next two locks.

Here are my pics.  Susan will post more.

I came out of the Trent Severn late this morning, and am now cruising down the Bay of Quinte.  Nice day, with a following breeze.

The trip down from Healey Falls was pleasant and unremarkable, except that I hit solid bottom unexpectedly.  I thought I was in the marked channel but had swung a bit wide to give an oncoming boat lots of room.  I was going slow and got into neutral and bumped over it.  Charts showed lots of water.  I dunno.  Maybe it was a sunken car.  There seems to be a lot of that recently.

I filled up with fuel in Belleville.  436 litres since my last fill up in Tobermory, 642 miles back. 

Had a nice dinner out last night in Frankfort with a couple I met going up to Couchiching on their new-to-them Bayliner 4788.  We traveled down together from Healey Falls.  I hadn’t realized that there is a little downtown across the river.  Another nice spot to stop.

I’m due in Gananoque in a week to meet Samantha Sarah and Susan.  In the meantime I need to fix some stuff and get things habitable for guests.  Will stop in Kingston for a few days.

You can see what interests me in my travels.  The first is a Greenline 40.  Lots to like beyond the hybrid power.  The second looks like a very practical mini-houseboat.  Cute.

And a bridge pic for Sarah.