The Big Down East Adventure Chapter 3

Bonjour Montréal! One of my favourite Canadian cities and it has been far too long since I last visited, but this time was extra special – first time by boat.

To reach the marina in Old Montréal, we exited the final lock (after they made us wait almost 2 hours at the dock and let us in just as the skies opened up, soaking me to the skin) passed île Sainte-Hélène and then made a 90 degree turn into the St Lawrence River to travel 2 nm against a 6-knot current.  This short distance is not for the feint-hearted sailor as we put our engine on full throttle to beat the current.  It’s no wonder we were the only sailboat making this trip – Montréal is a motor boat destination.

We found the marina in the heart of historic, charming Old Montréal.  We spent 2 days walking the cobblestoned streets, checking out shops, listening to street musicians and of course, enjoying some café au lait and croissants.

Two days later we cast off our lines and pointed the bow downstream, happy the current would be with us this time making it a smooth sail; however, the wind had other plans. The forecast failed to show the 25 knot winds on the nose, creating an enormous chop that sent waves crashing over our bow.  We soon realized it would be a miserable ride and ducked into the nearest port, Longueil, just across the reiver.  Longueil is a Montréal suburb and although this was not a planned stop, we made the best of it by doing some provisioning and stopping by a patio and discovered our new favourite adult beverage: Mad Men (recipe at the end of the chapter).

Over the next week we were fortunate to find good anchorages with good anchor holding, decent protection from winds and wakes, most were quiet and peaceful, with one exception: Trois Rivières.  While sail and motor boats aren’t always the most compatible, most boaters are respectful to one another and everybody gets along.  However, our night in Trois Rivières, a very popular spot for jet skis and small motor boats, was an exception to the usual courtesy boaters show one another.  Jet skis and motor boats bombed along the river all day long and almost made a game of seeing how close they could get to the sailboat and rock us with the wake. Then it occurred to us – was it because we’re a sailboat?  Or was it because we fly the red & white Canada maple leaf flag and have “Toronto” written on our stern?  Hmmm…for you non-Canadians reading this – Québec has tried to secede from Canada more than once, and some Québecois still think they should.

Our next big stop was another of my favourite Canadian cities:  Québec City.  Or just “Québec”, as it is called here (just like New Yorkers don’t have to say “City” for you to know where they are from).  If you have never been to Québec City, and you like Europe, put this city on your list.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and the only walled city in North America.  History, charm and French food, and more food…did I mention the food?  What more could you ask for?  Oh yes, a work-out too – the city is on top of hill so as an added bonus you can get your cardio work-out while exploring this magical place.

The Québec City Marina has unique feature – its very own lock.  The tides here are significant, about 5 meters/16 feet.  The marina always maintains a consistent water level, equivalent to high tide.  When the tide is high, the lock doors are open, and boats may travel through them freely.  At all other times, a boat wishing to enter or leave the marina must radio the lock master and request a lock-through.  This is usually a fairly quick process; however, if a boat needs to leave the harbour outside of regular lock business hours they must tie up in the outer basin the night before their departure.

We love our sailing lifestyle, but we also like to find adventures off the boat too.  There is an island just a 20-minute drive from Québec City, île d’Orléans, that is accessible only by one bridge and a tiny marina.  We were doubtful about getting into the marina, so we rented a car and took a drive.  île d’Orléans feels like it’s 1000 miles from the city and is mostly farmland, has a population of 7000 and 6 villages.  Each village is known by it own specialty from locally farmed produce (it’s STRAWBERRY season!), wineries, creameries, galleries of local artisans and my personal favorite, the fromageries (cheese!). It was a fabulous day trip and nice change from boat life for a day.

After 3 wonderful days we bid au revoir to Québec City and continued our sail downriver.  Québec City was a significant milestone because this was the point where navigating tidal water becomes real.  We now need to calculate and factor-in tides and currents into every arrival and departure from this point onward.  We can no longer sleep-in if we want to, arrive in ports whenever we feel like it or just drop an anchor based on how the anchorage looks now.  It is a little scary, but it’s also very exciting to be learning and experiencing new things. 

Mad Men Cocktail

Orange slice, muddled with Bitters

Then add:

1 oz bourbon

.5 oz spiced rum

.5 oz cognac

.5 oz simple syrup

Add ice, stir and strain and garnish with an orange wedge.