Happy Canada Day! It's been a week of wet weather and happy travels.

Sunday June 25 Last two locks

Leaving Point-Clair and Lac St Louis, we went through the last two locks, Ste Catherine and St Lambert and traveled past Montreal without seeing very much of it - not because of the haze but because the route through the south shore canal doesn't afford any views of downtown other than the large industrial port in the east.

We did see the La Ronde amusement park on Île Ste Helène, through the smog, and could see the cars on the roller coaster go up up up and then whoosh down with faintly audible accompanying screams.

Photo: Roller coasters

We anchored in current off Îlet Vert near Varennes just east of Montreal. It was odd to be so close to a large metropolis but with no city in sight, just channels and uninhabited islands. There was a lot of Sunday pleasure boat traffic that quieted down at night.

Monday June 26 Chafed anchor line and thunderstorms

There were two mini-adventures today.

First was some difficulty up-anchoring. Due to the current and despite our anchor kellet we managed to get the rode wrapped around the keel, pinning us in place. Eventually we had the idea to let a bit of rode out, and that released us. But, as Andy was pulling the rode in, he noticed a bad chafe. There was no way we could trust this line for another night.

Photo: Close-up of chafed anchor line

Fortunately Andy had brought a new anchor line, planned for use later on in the trip, to anchor in deep waters in the Saguenay fjord. It wasn't completely ready for deployment - Andy puts color-coded marks with electrical tape to be able to tell how much he is letting out, and also wanted to splice an eye at one end of the rope. The splice was optional which is a good thing because it wasn't going well and had to be abandoned when mini-adventure #2 started. In any case Andy spent hours below while I was at the helm (we were motoring).

I only got tooted at once by a freighter, not an angry toot, just an invitation to get out of its way which I did. I had another moment of concern when I was passing a ferry crossing. I noticed the two red lines on the chart marking where ferries go back and forth near Sorel-Tracey. Just as I was approaching the first line, one ferry left the north shore and started across. I altered course and he went in front of me no problem. Now I was in between the two red lines. Oops, now a second ferry from the opposite shore was starting its trip. But there was plenty of room to maneuver. I don't think Andy liked my exclamations of "oh sh*t" though, as he was trying to concentrate on his work in the cabin.

Then we got caught in a series of intense thunderstorms that rolled through just past Sorel. Wind, pelting rain, waves, and thunder and lightning hit us for what seemed like hours. The worst was a loud thunder crack that seemed to be right next to us. We just kept going, huddled under the dodger and bimini but getting wet anyway. (Rain gear can only do so much. I did later buy proper boots in Quebec as my runners were wet for days after that.) It was scary. Finally we reached our chosen anchorage off Île Plate and luckily the waves subsided a little as we turned in. It was still a bit bouncy in the anchorage and we spent the afternoon trapped in the boat while the rain continued, very happy to be safe and secure.

Tuesday June 27 Lac St-Pierre to Trois Rivières

Today was a great sailing day as we tacked into the wind all the way across Lac St-Pierre. It was a good antidote to the previous day's endless motoring and intense squalls. At the end of the lake the wind shifted in our favour so we could sail a straight line under the bridge at Trois-Rivières and our anchorage at the mouth of the St Maurice river between downtown and a park on St Quentin island. I went swimming for the first time this trip, inspired when I saw people swimming off another sailboat. I swam 5 minutes to shore, to a deserted beach in the park, and walked along it feeling a bit like a shipwreck survivor in bare feet and my bathing suit. There was a sign posted that I could only read once I got there saying 'baignade interdite' (swimming forbidden) outside the buoyed area due to dangerous currents but I didn't think anyone was going to prevent me swimming back to the boat!

Photo: Danielle on beach as viewed by Andy on Heartbeat

On my beach walk I saw dragon boats waiting on the shore, and later around 5pm they headed out one by one for training which was fun to watch from the cockpit as we ate dinner.

Photo: Dragon boat training

Wednesday June 28 Batiscan

We were able to sail most of the way today, with some motor-sailing when the wind died. It rained off and on throughout.

Photo: Notre-Dame Sanctuary of the Cape

Photo: Sailing under cloudy skies

After we anchored in the small harbor at the mouth of the Batiscan river, it started to really pour. But we were fortunate to see 3 bald eagles on shore and watch them for an extended period through the binoculars. One was eating a fish, stepping around it deliberately and leisurely biting off chunks. The other two perched nearby on low branches waiting their turn. A cheeky crow hopped in and grabbed a chunk left aside by the eagle.

We got tired of being stuck on the boat and waiting for it to stop raining so we launched the dinghy and went to shore anyway for a walk. There was a few inches of water in the bottom of the dinghy when we returned but it was good to stretch our legs.

Photo: Brief evening sunshine lighting up the shore opposite Batiscan

Thursday June 29 Québec City

We left at 5am today to ride the ebbing tide downriver to Quebec. It was a long slog with not much to see due to the near-constant misty rain and clouds. One advantage of an out-and-back trip is you get a second chance to see things in better weather so I hope we'll be luckier on the way back.

Photo: Pont de Québec in the mist

We stayed at the Yacht Club de Québec, at the foot of the cliffs below the Plains of Abraham.

Photo: Heritage wooden boats at YCQ

Our expedition to get groceries involved walking up the brand-new (2022) Bois de Coulonge stairs through a lush mature forest and emerging in a beautiful arboretum and garden.

Photo: Down the Bois de Coulonge stairs with our groceries

Mon oncle Gilles and his wife Martine kindly picked us up and treated us to dinner at Cafe du Monde, downtown in the old port. The restaurant has wraparound windows with excellent views of the river and old port. The food was delicious and it was wonderful to spend an evening in good company and conversation.

Photo: Gilles and Martine meet Heartbeat

Photo: Heartbeat in the yacht club basin at dusk

Friday June 30 Chenal des Grands Voiliers

We were originally planning to stay in Quebec 2 nights but decided to take advantage of some wind and push on, and are resolved to stay 2 nights on our way back.

The wind was teasing us as we passed downtown alternately drifting and motor-sailing but we had nice views of the Chateau.

Photo: Chateau Frontenac

When we turned into the Chenal des Grands Voiliers we had better wind and a lovely sail. I wondered about this grandiose name and found out it was called more prosaically the Southern channel until 1984 when it was renamed Chenal des Grands Voiliers (English: channel of tall sailships) in honour of the 425th anniversary of Jacques Cartier's first trip to the Gulf of St Lawrence.

We stayed at Club Nautique de l'Île d'Orléans in the centre of the historic village of St-Laurent. The village is picturesque although it does have a traffic problem as it is stretched out on the busy main road circling the island. Well-maintained traditional Quebecois homes line the main street with their sloping metal roofs, painted trim, flower boxes and gardens with blooming wild roses.

Photo: Former presbytery, now ice cream and chocolate shop

This was the first sunny warm day in a while and we enjoyed the weather and relaxed pace (ice cream on the veranda; reading a book at the beach; doing laundry).

Photo: This way to the beach

Photo: Andy in the sea grass and rocks; my Kobo ereader lower left-hand corner

Saturday July 1 St-Laurent de l'Île d'Orléans

Today we have another day in St-Laurent. We are treating ourselves to this rest day because tomorrow we are leaving at 4am (really!) to catch the tide.

We poked our noses into the church.

Photo: Eglise St Laurent, interior

We visited the Parc Maritime de Saint-Laurent which is an open-air museum on the former site of a shipyard where boats were built, repaired, and stored in winter. The most interesting part was the "forest of rails", remains of the system for hauling a ship out of the water up a single set of rails, and then pushing the ship sideways resting on rows of squared timbers to free up the rails for the next ship to come in. There was a good self-guided audio tour with stories from people who worked here in the 1920s and onward.

Photo: Parc Maritime

Photo: Happy Canada Day!