Tadoussac...a whale of a placeJul 17, 2005
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Fog
J on fog patrol
Oldest church in N. America
We departed Quebec on Sunday 17 July around 0800 and the kind lockmaster had the gates open just for us. The 73 Nm run to La Malabie was flat calm and clear as a bell. Most of the journey followed the north channels as we passed the impressive Montmorency falls and spectacular ski resorts. There were lots of large vessels to contend with, but the area is well marked with navigation aids. We have noticed that there is very little radio chatter here as compared to US waters. Either that, or we have not found the right channel.
Our Quebec marina host had been good enough to make reservations at Cap-a-la-Aigle, where we arrived late to an almost full house. This stopover on the way to Tadoussac has it's own landmark hotel...the Richelieu...that looks over the La Malabie area. We had dinner at the marina and retired early after a long day.
The 41 Nm trip to Tadoussac the next day, was almost totally in thick fog. Water temperature drops dramatically in the deep channels and the warm land flow serves up a moist, soupy fog. Jean stood watch huddled in a chair on the bow, holding her ears to our fog horn, each 2 minutes. Bill learned a lot about tuning up the radar...nothing like a pea soup fog to force you into the instruction book. We had a lot of warning with Jeans keen hearing...her kids will attest to that talent. She also spied hundreds of seals, some Minke whales and even a pair of rare Belugas. These two drove right up to us, looking like white ghosts in the fog. We went right up to the breakwater before anything of Tadoussac became visible. Jean explored the town, visiting the oldest church in North America. Bill made an oil change on the Cummins main engine. Dinner in town was great...so was the people-watching. But, whale watching is a major attraction here and boats filled with life-jacked tourists filed past us until the sun set.
