Rimouski, Quebec

Monday, August 11, 2008

048-30.000 N
068-30.720 W

Bonjour from Rimouski, Quebec where it's much warmer!

Yesterday we made the 15 mile hop from Cape Ha Ha (Ile du Bic) in dense fog. I mean fog so thick that you could barely see 100 yards. It was so thick that I had to use the compass to figure out which way to turn when we pulled up the anchor. As a result, I can't tell you much about the landscape in between, but I can tell you that it's much warmer. We're now on the S shore of the St. Lawrence and the NE winds that have plagued us for weeks aren't blowing across the 52 degree water any more. It's amazing how much warmer that makes things!

One of the interesting things is that the St. Lawrence has gone from being a narrow river to being a very wide one. It's about 18 miles across at this point and will continue to broaden as we head NE. The major implication that has is that the strong currents that we had to play in the past are gone. That helps, as we don't have to time things anymore, but it hurts as we don't get the current boost. We're also now in full salt water.

Rimouski is a very commercial port and isn't a destination other than for refueling and breaking up the long hops that we need to start making. We needed fuel and we wanted to visit the mall to get some warm clothes, so we pulled into here. We had to wait for a trawler who was at the fuel dock sucking the marina's tank dry. They took on 450 gallons at...$6.11 a gallon! That's the same price that we paid in Quebec City, so this is pretty consistent. It made my 42 gallons look pale in comparison.

The mall was about a 15 minute walk away and it was nice to get off the boat and stretch our legs. We expected to find lots of fall clothing, but instead they had tons of summer stuff on drastic reductions and virtually nothing fall-like at all. I can also assure you that the fashion industry has nothing to learn from here. Boring and frumpy are the two terms that come to mind. Oh, and expensive! You would be amazed at how much clothing costs.

This morning I woke up to the sound of rain on the deck, but now I see blue sky, so perhaps we'll have a nice day. We're headed 45 miles to Matane, which is supposed to be a nice stop.

-- Geoff & Sue

For the cruiser:

The staff here speaks English and is very friendly. Dockage is $1.50/ft. There's a mall nearby that has lots of stores, including a Canadian Tire, which is kind of like a cross between Sears and Home Depot. The other major store reminds me of a Kohls department store.

Log ID: 1259