After an idyllic sail yesterday, we set out at 0700 from the Ile de Barques anchorage. We followed the exact path we took into the anchorage to make sure we had deep enough water to get out again. Well, you know the saying… there are three kinds of sailors: those who run aground, those who never leave the dock, and those who are liars. Well, we definitely left the dock and we don’t lie so that means we ran aground. Due to the strong Saint Lawrence current, there had been silting overnight and what was 7 feet of water was now down to 4 feet of water.
Dan’s been called a stick-in-the-mud before, but it was never literal. This morning, we were really stuck in the mud. We lowered the dinghy, Lil’ North, tied her to the bow of True North and tried to rotate her off the shoal. That didn’t work. So we tied Lil’ North to the stern of True north and tried backward. Sandy backed down True North’s diesel engine pretty hard while Dan tugged her astern with all the power the 10 HP outboard of Lil’ North could muster. Thanks to that effort, and some luck, True North became unstuck. Sandy drove her out to the deep channel and Dan met her out there with Lil’ North.
The day was tough, driving into strong Northeast winds and big chop. We descended the Richelieu Rapids, a section of the Saint Lawrence with currents so strong, it creates whirlpools. This pushed us along at 11 knots! We finally made it into Portneuf Marina, about 34 nautical miles up-river from Quebec City. Our welcome there was a major thunderstorm with tornado warnings!
We are now close enough to the ocean to start having tides. Trying to read the Canadian Tidal Current Almanac requires a PhD in rocket science. We’ll stick to websites that tell you when the tide is ebbing, flowing or slack. That’s all we really need to know for now.
Tomorrow, we’re very excited to be heading to Quebec City!