Summer's here! We are enjoying hot sunny days, sailing in shorts, t-shirt, bare feet, and swimming at the end of the day to cool off. I thought the whole trip would be like this but variety is nice. Here's a day-by-day summary of our past week.

Sunday July 16 St-Jean-Port-Joli to Île d'Orléans

This was our third day in a row of exciting downwind sailing, with northeast winds 18-20 knots gusting to 25 knots. The waves built to 1-1.5 meters, enough that we decided to get out the harnesses that clip into our life jackets and attach us to various fixed points on the boat. That was mostly for my peace of mind when Andy went up on deck, as he would have to do when taking down the mainsail at the end of the sail before entering the harbour. Luckily the wind and waves subsided nicely before then. We got in just before a downpour of rain so we hunkered down in the cabin for dinner. The skies cleared and we had a nice evening walk around the St Laurent church and quay.

Monday July 17 Île d'Orléans to Québec

We tried to sail in the gentle southwest winds but had to give up and motor as we were just tacking back and forth along the exact same line due to the current.

This time we stayed at different marina in Quebec, in the Old Port right downtown. You go through a lock to get in - the lock holds the water from draining out at low tide, to keep depth in the marina basin.

My uncle Gilles took us out for dinner at L'Échaudé in the old town, easy walking distance from the boat. We had a fun evening with Gilles and Martine, and my uncle Charles and Charlotte. Luckily Andy speaks French because I understood less than half the conversation. The food was excellent, a real treat.

Photo: La Vivrière statue and water feature that invites touching

Photo: Québec old town from the marina

Tuesday July 18 Québec

While it rained in the morning we did laundry, and when the rain stopped we rented bikes and rode along the bike path towards the bridge, along the green linear park at the foot of the cliffs. The city has very good cycling infrastructure. We rode back downtown, then up along the Riviere St Charles to Le Grand Marché to buy treats. I loved the sculpture of the deer looking at its reflection.

Photo: Deer sculpture, plaza in front of Le Grand Marché

After dinner on the boat we walked through the basse-ville and up to Dufferin Terrace and around La Citadelle and past the National Assembly and the Tourny fountain lit up with purple lights. Québec is a walker's paradise, so much to look at.

Photo: Stone houses, Basse-Ville

Photo: Notre Dame des Victoires, Place Royale

On the way back to the boat I joined a drop-in beginners line dance lesson. It was fun!

Photo: Line-dancing at L'Oasis du Port du Québec

Wednesday July 19 Québec

After getting groceries we visited the nearby Naval Museum of Québec and walked around the old town. There is a public art exhibit on this summer and we had fun searching for installations by a Swedish collective called AnonyMouse that makes mini storefronts in existing openings at street level like basement windows or grates.

Photo: AnonyMouse strikes again

Photo: Andy drives the rock car

Photo: Rue Côte de la Montagne

Thursday July 20 Québec to Portneuf

Today was an early morning, wake at 4:30 for a 5am departure. We left from the holding dock just outside the marina locks, which we'd moved to the evening before because the lock only operates from 7am and we had to leave with the tide earlier than that.

We had the whole afternoon to relax in Portneuf. The marina is on a very long jetty that seems like it's halfway across the river. We walked into the village of Portneuf, and found the local bar laitier (ice cream stand). I borrowed a bike from the marina and rode a quiet portion of the Chemin du Roy, a road laid out in the 18th century. It was a single gear bike that you pedal backwards to brake, which took a bit of getting used to and brought back memories of me being 12 years old.

Photo: Portneuf marina at the end of a looong jetty

Photo: Birdhouse sculpture in Portneuf

Friday July 21 Portneuf to Trois-Rivières

Thanks to the current state of the tides we had a relaxed start today, as 9am was the time to leave to go through the Richelieu Rapids with almost no head current. Winds were strong and we motor-sailed most of the day.

A prolonged thunderstorm hit just after we anchored in Trois-Rivières, so we didn't launch the dinghy.

Photo: Arriving Trois-Rivières, we just beat the storm

Saturday July 22 Trois-Rivières to Île aux Corbeaux

We started out sailing towards the Trois-Rivières bridge but as we neared it the current got too strong so we motor-sailed. It took most of the day to cross Lac St Pierre which is surprisingly big. I saw many beautiful cloud patterns. There was blue sky overhead and no actual rain fell on us but you could see it was raining in many spots nearby.

Photo: Clouds and blue sky in Lac St Pierre

We had a nice anchorage in a narrow channel lined with marsh grasses, trees, and small cottages. Birdsong, a gentle current, and croaking frogs made for a peaceful night and morning.

Sunday July 23 Île aux Corbeaux to Contrecoeur

Photo: Clearing the weeds from the keel before up-anchoring at Île aux Corbeaux

Today we passed Sorel, where we'd previously boated through a thunderstorm, but today there was nothing but blue skies. We had a peaceful couple of hours sailing but the wind was on our nose from the southwest, and what with all that tacking plus the current we were not making much forward progress. So, on goes the motor. One good thing about motoring is that it removes the uncertainty about your arrival time if you have a fixed destination. We got to Contrecoeur mid-afternoon with time to row and swim.

Photo: Andy rowing at sunset in anchorage near Contrecoeur

Monday July 24 Contrecoeur to Île aux Asperges, near Varennes

We anchored 3 times today. Two were planned, as we made a quick stop off downtown Contrecoeur and rowed to shore then walked to the grocery store 15 minutes up the road.

Photo: Grocery run in Contrecoeur

Our next anchorage was in among the islands and channels near Varennes. We'd picked what looked on the map like a channel that wouldn't have much current running through it but it turned out to be at least 1 knot. It was fine most of the afternoon and we cooled off in the water (holding on to the swim ladder so we didn't get swept away) and relaxed. The area is popular with local boats coming out for the day, as well as paddle boards and kayaks. But the wind picked up after dinner, there was a thunderstorm warning, and the wind was opposing the current so we decided to move 5 minutes to a nearby channel where we'd seen a lot of day boats (and figured they knew something we didn't), so that was anchoring #3 for the day. The channel was very narrow but we were now bow in to the wind and the gentle current held us in place.

Tuesday July 25 Varennes to Brossard

It was almost all motoring today, past the huge modern port of Montreal. We had some views of the mountain and downtown skyline in the distance, and it's hard to miss the Olympic Stadium aka Big O. We watched a helicopter rescue practice - a police helicopter was lowering a person into the water, dropping them off, then coming back to pick them up. This went on for a while. A police SeaDoo hovered nearby. Helicopters are very noisy.

Photo: Old bridge, new bridge - Pont Champlain - I like to think they left one of the old supports there in memory of the old bridge but maybe they just haven't finished dismantling it.

We went through St Lambert lock and are now anchored just outside the shipping channel, behind a small island. It's too weedy to swim here but I had a good look at a great egret fishing. It stands stock-still for ages with its neck and head leaning out and then - splash - makes its move.

Tomorrow we'll stop in Dorval for 2 nights as the Pointe Claire Yacht Club where we'd stayed before has no space. We're booked in at the Royal St Lawrence YC - sounds fancy! I'm not sure how they'll take to Heartbeat's slightly bedraggled look (we really need to replace our dodger and bimini canvas). We're looking forward to another short visit with Eric, Alicia and Adeline.