The Big Down East Adventure Chapter 7

A daunting journey awaited us as we left Gaspé , a 150 nautical mile sail across the Gulf of St Lawrence to Îles de la Madeleine, our first real ocean crossing.  To prepare for this 25-hour trip, with no land in sight for most of it, we carefully monitored our weather apps and picked the best time to leave, making sure we took advantage of the best wind conditions and timed our arrival at Isle de Madelaine in daylight. 

We departed on a sunny, blue-sky morning, passing by Percé Rock one last time, and set sail for the horizon to the east.  Soon we realized that although the wind, sun and temperature were perfect for a long sail, the waves had been more difficult to predict.  We found ourselves rolling in 6-foot swells from the aft quarter, and while not dangerous, it made a very uncomfortable ride (thank goodness our vet supplied us with anti-nausea meds so Cat Stevens hardly minded the ride). Fortunately, we had enough wind to cruise at 6 knots with both main and jib sails (no motor) almost the whole distance.  As a bonus, we sailed right through whale territory and were treated with two whales showing up – we think they were Minke whales – and about a dozen dolphins played in our bow wake for several miles. I wish I had been able to snap some pictures, but they came and went too fast.

We shared watch duties, sleeping in shifts overnight and I was the lucky one to have the sunrise watch and see the shores of Îles de la Madeleine in the morning light.  At 10:30am Atlantic time (new time zone) we arrived at the yacht club, greeted by two friendly members who had us tied-up and secured in just minutes.  Now our main priorities were food and a nap. 

Once we recovered from our long voyage and got our “land legs” again, we wanted to explore this island that we had never even heard of before planning this trip.  As we saw from our approach in the early morning, it was beautiful with red rock cliffs and long sandy beaches.  Time to rent a vehicle. 

It’s a good thing Allen and I both have motorcycle licenses because every single rental car on the island has been reserved until the end of September, but they still had scooters, motorcycles and 3-wheeled Can-Am Spyders available.  Since we both had plenty of experience with motorcycles and scooters and had never tried a 3-wheeler, we rented a candy-apple red Spyder!  A very strange bike, the Spyder is, with 3 wheels, one brake pedal and no clutch.  It rides more like a skidoo than a motorcycle and takes a up whole traffic lane. We give it full marks for stability and comfort, but a failing grade for manoeuvrability as it’s tough to turn that thing.

This archipelago, barely a speck on a map at 79.36 sq miles , was named after Madeleine Fontaine, the wife of the first seigneur of the island.  Sometimes they are also called the Magdalen Islands. In 1765 they were inhabited by French speaking Acadians who worked as walrus hunters for the British.  The Acadian dialect is some version of French and still used today.  We also found it very interesting that many houses fly an Acadian flag, a handful fly the Quebec flag and only government buildings fly a Canadian flag – its very clear where loyalties lie on this speck of land.

The islands themselves are as diverse as they are beautiful.  We rode along enormous, white sand-dunes for miles, where kite surfers by the hundreds enjoyed the steady winds and shallow bays.  We rode steep mountain roads with impenetrable Coniferous forests and ended up on the edge of the red rock cliff and sent the drone for a spin to capture the breathtaking, rugged shore. 

We loved the Madeleines and would love to come back some day for a longer stay.  Historically the main industry has been fishing, but with collapsing fish stocks in the Atlantic, tourism has taken over. The towns on the islands are bustling with shops and we heard it’s nearly impossible to find a rental unit this season (and we know cars are sold out too).  There are not many restaurants and those that are there are very good and very busy – Allen and I were turned away for lack of a reservation on both a Monday and Tuesday night – but they have a couple very well stocked grocery stores.  The toughest part about these islands is getting there.  If you don’t have your own boat and 25 hours to spend at sea, the two options are a 5-hour ferry ride from PEI or a plane that arrives a few times a week from Montreal or Quebec City via Gaspé . 

We only had 2 nights to spend here as we have to go with the weather and the best window opened at 3am on Wednesday for our 21-hour passage to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland.  We set off the dock in the dark to begin the next journey.  This time the seas were gentler, but so was the wind and with full sails and motor on, we crossed another large stretch of water to begin our next adventures on “The Rock”.