Tide and time wait for no man

Trois Rivieres: We arrived here on June 18^th, after crossing Lac Saint-Jean and anchored out between their huge amphitheatre and the Trois Rivieres Marina. There were several other boats moored and anchored there. It was very hot, so we used the wash-down pump we have in our anchor locker and long hose to hose down and thoroughly clean the cockpit. A little overspray was welcome, but the water flowing out of the river is tea-coloured. We relaxed, and made plans to take care of the huge laundry pile accumulating in the v-berth, and pick up a few odds and ends at a grocery store.

In the morning, we dinghied over to a private marina, and got permission to tie up for a few hours while we went into town.  A Google search led us 1.5 km to “Le Bucafin Café & Buanderie”, a cool little café-restaurant with a laundromat in the back! On the way back, with our clean dry clothes packed away, we stopped at the Super C, and found a sale of Heineken 36-packs, 2 for $41!!!  I am really starting to like Quebec! We could not indulge, however, because it would be too heavy to carry back, so with laundry and groceries we hiked back to the dinghy in the humidex of 37ºc.
 

Le Bucafin Café & Buanderie

It was another hot day, so we took a little dinghy ride over to the nearby beach, then to the marina to ask about getting to Quebec City. They were extremely helpful, and had a chart showing how many hours you need at various boat speeds to arrive in Quebec at low tide. This is important, because from here on, the water levels and currents are subject to the influences of tides, and it is best, safest, and fastest, to make the journey when the tide is ebbing. At 5 to 6 knots, we would have to allow 8 hours. The next question, is when is low tide…. Lots of calculations later, and we decided to split the trip into two days.

On Tuesday June 20, 2017, we left Trois Rivieres for an anchorage near Donnaconna that we could reach before the tide turns.  The day began very dreary, so to play it safe we sailed down the edge of the shipping channel. We had intense downpours, and at one point the visibility was nearly zero, but when it improved we saw two ships approaching from the east, and one from the west, and a little fishing boat in front of us for good measure!!  But the highlight of the day was when out of the mist we saw a sailing ship appear out of the mist: before us was the tall ship “Amerigo Vespucci” on her way to Montreal.

Tall ship Amerigo Vespucci on her way to Montreal

This stretch of the river was very beautiful with village after village on either bank, each with glorious churches marked with one or more steeples! While the scenery around the anchorage was nice, is was very windy, and rolly, especially after a ship passed!

In the morning we caught the ebbing tide, and the river’s current, and sailed for Quebec! We marked this first day of summer, June 21, 2017, by reaching Quebec City! What a beautiful place, and to visit by water somehow seems very appropriate considering its history.  We stayed at Parc Nautique Levy, who when we made a reservation, recommended that we arrive at low tide so the current and ebb tide wouldn’t be too difficult.  Any one who knows us knows we arrived early, and the current was almost unmanageable, but we gunned the engine up-stream and finally safely entered the marina. On Thursday June 22, we cabbed over to the Levi-Quebec ferry terminal and caught the ferry to Quebec City. We had breakfast at a tiny creperie in old Quebec and had crepes and sipped on a cappuccino.

View from our restaurant at breakfast

Then we toured the downtown of Quebec on the double-decker hop-on hop-off bus.

Le Chateau Frontenac with the statue of Samuel de Champlain 

Old Quebec with the Chateau Frontenac above, the most photographed hotel in the world.

A very informative tour! The history here is deep and demonstrated the perseverance of the French explorers and settlers so long ago.

We had a late lunch in lower Quebec, then caught the ferry back to Levi. We were planning to move downriver tomorrow, and find anchorages, but everyone warned that the St. Lawrence is not just a river: many ship captains fear the tides and currents and it’s the law to hire pilots to bring their ships up stream. Later, at the Club Nautique Levy, we spoke with a number of sailors who knew the river well, and they too recommended to watch the timing closely so that you arrive at the right time – not always low tide, if you want to pass over sand bars….

So tomorrow is Saint-Jean-Baptiste day, the biggest national celebration for Quebecois, and the area will become very busy, so we’re going down-river, at high tide.