SVJoli: Seals, Dolphins and WHALES!

Monday, 7/22/19
We left the Port de Quebec Marina and were back on the St. Lawrence River at around noon. Our plan was to go all the way to Gaspe, about 376 miles, and we estimated it would take around 48 hours. The weather window was good, so we wanted to make some ground and we tried to time our departure with the tides. It has been a little tricky figuring out the ebb and flood tides combined with the current and wind. We motorsailed for the first 6 or 8 hours with the jib as the wind was a good direction; however, we had to pay close attention to the freighter traffic and the channel. There were still a few places where it was shallow on either side of the channel and there was a fair amount of freighter traffic. We were passed by Adriaticborg and Victoriaborg (yes, both WAGENBORG! freighters) along with several others before the sun went down. It quickly became very rural as we left Quebec with pretty farms on either side of the river and several islands in the river as well. We also passed a ski resort, maybe Mont Saint-Anne. As the sun was getting low, we passed an area with so many wind turbines, but none of them turning as the wind had died.
The first night passed with no problems; Bryan took the 9 pm to midnight and 3 am to 6 am shifts while I had the midnight to 3 am and 6 am - 9 am shifts. It was motor sailing or just motoring the whole night. It was very cold and Bryan noted a water temperature as low as 44 degrees at one point. When Bryan took turnover from me for his 3 am shift, I had noted that there were 6 or 8 freighters about 15 miles away, anchored just off the channel. Although they were not visible to me, I could see the freighters on the monitor using Automatic Identification System (AIS). By the way, if you are interested, you can track us using Ship Finder, Marine Traffic or other app on your phone. Just search for Joli and you should find us. Bryan said as he approached the anchored freighters, they were so lit up it looked like a city.

Tuesday, 7/23/19
When I got up for my 6 am watch, the water was pretty glassy. There were patches of seaweed and some debris. I saw what I thought was a log approaching but it looked a little weird, so I got the binoculars to check it out. It was a seal!! Shortly after, I saw another one and then a couple dolphins. The whole day was mostly quiet, no wind and we spotted seals and dolphins all day. Bryan polished the cockpit while I read on my Kindle. This part of the St. Lawrence Seaway was wide and there was less freighter traffic. I went to bed at 9 pm to get some sleep before my midnight watch. Shortly after I laid down, I felt a change in the boat's motion and pretty soon, we were pounding through waves. I popped up above to see what was going on. It was a tidal stream and we had 4 - 6 choppy waves coming right at us with absolutely no wind. It was very strange and unlike anything we had experienced before. We were motoring along at 10 knots; normally we motor at about 7.5 - 8 knots so the current and/or tide was definitely helping our boat speed in spite of the big waves. By the time I took the watch at midnight, the waves had subsided and it was calm a couple hours later. The rest of my midnight to 3 am watch was pretty easy.
When I got up at 6, we had turned south after reaching our northern-most point of the trip, at the top of the Gaspe Peninsula. It was partly cloudy and we were working our way along the shore of the peninsula. As I was scanning the horizon in front of me, I saw what looked like smoke. Hmmm, confusing as I did not think there was land right in front of us. I checked the charts and the AIS and there were no indications of freighters or anything that would have smoke from it in front of me. I continued to check with the binoculars but could not figure out what it might be. Bryan got up at 8 and asked if I had seen any whales yet. I explained, "No, I haven't seen any whales, but there's a freighter or something up there because I keep seeing some smoke or something." Just then, not too far in front of us, a WHALE spouted!!! I said YES, I see a whale!! That is what I've been seeing - whale spouts, not smoke! We motored through a whole pod of Minke whales, spouting and surfacing and diving back down. It was so exciting! My photos just do not do it justice.
We arrived at Gaspe Marina at around 1 that afternoon. All in all, a successful passage.