Leaving Cap A L'Ailge and heading for Tadoussac at the mouth of the Saguenay River, we had to once again have our departure timed with the low tide at Pointe-Au-Pe're. This is so that we don't have to fight the flow of the tide and river current coming out of the Saguenay, it can be very choppy and a 3-6 knot flow against you on top of that. Shortly after we departed we spotted a seal swimming along the top of the water, then about 15 minutes later we spotted our first pod of Beluga whales. They are easy to pick out on a calm sea, with them breaching the surface and being white and all. After the first sighting, it seemed like they were all over the place and one pod of about 5 or 6 surfaced right beside Xanadu's cockpit, 5 to 15 feet away. We didn't even have to pay admission. Before the day was through, we must have sighted a hundred whales, 80% Belugas and the remainder Minke and Pilot Whales, a couple of Harbour Porpoise and six seals. One of the guides told us that this is the best start to the season that they have had for years.
Beluga whale about 15 feet away from boat
On the way to Tadoussac
Tadoussac is a great little town to visit and there are all kinds of excursions to do whale watching. The entire area is a protected marine sanctuary and it is very strictly controlled with regards to the whale watching and how close they can approach the whales.
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Hotel in Tadoussac. This is what you see as you approach the marina
Leaving Tadoussac, in company with our new friends from Que Sera Sera, we had to once again time it with the tides and currents, for the last time. From here out we just deal mainly with some tide issues. We couldn't leave until 1400, so we got to an anchorage at Anse L' Original at about 2230 in the moonlight using the chart plotter and radar. It wasn't that tricky. The night was uneventful, that's a good thing, and we were up early the next morning and moved down river to Rimouski. We walked into town to pick up a few provisions and other things, everybody is very friendly and they speak a lot of English here, they apologize for their poor English and we for our lack of French.
We decided to stay another night here because of the weather. We'll get caught up on some boat chores and pick up some other items that we need. I couldn't resist buying a lottery ticket here, it seems that their is always a winner from Rimouski. We met another couple in Rimouski that are from Toronto, Kevin and Mary aboard Rolaro and are headed to Halifax. We will see all of these other boats from time to time as we move along.
Rimouski is more of a commerical port with ferries and fishing boats.
Jack and Linda
Xanadu
