16 Jul 15

Up at 04:15 to make an 05:00 start to catch the best tidal current from Quebec City to Cap-a-l’Aigle (which means Cape of the Eagle to all you non-Francophones), we had a quick breakfast and were off before sunrise. We bucked the last of the flood for the first two hours, averaging speeds over the ground (SOG) of 4.5 kn, but had good views of Quebec behind and Montmorency Falls before we passed the south end of Ile d’Orleans at Point du Bout de Ile and entered the Chenal des Grands Voiliers (Channel of Great Sailing Ships). About 07:15, the ebb finally set in and before we knew it, we were racing along at an SOG of up to 12.5 kn. We had some fun with tide rips and wind against tide (which set up some square waves directly on the nose) to the south of Ile aux Coudre, but it did not last long. The winds were generally very light and, contrary to the predicted direction, on the nose until almost the end of the trip. We finally got into and tied up at the Marina Cap-a-l’Aigle at 13:45, just before the flood started. Cap-a-l’Aigle is a pretty little marina about 3 miles from the town of La Malbaie, so we did not go into town. They have a small restaurant on site, but it is only open for breakfast and lunch; we tried to buy a beer to enjoy on their lovely terrace, but their liquor license has not come in yet, so it was back to the boat. We are so worn out after our early start and long day, not to mention 6 days of walking all over Quebec City, that we are actually happy to just sit on the boat and relax for a while. And besides, they have really good WiFi, for a change; much better than either Montreal or Quebec could offer. We had dinner aboard. 72 N-m in less than 9 hours; and another new northing. After we got settled in, a well-used Waquiez 40, hailing from Toronto, came in behind us, so I offered assistance with dock lines. They were mighty glad to find another English speaker, having come west all the way from Chandler, on the east side of the Gaspesie, with even less French than I have.

The link to the time-lapse video of the trip from Quebec to Cap-a-l’Aigle can be found here:

http://youtu.be/S8bEMNCNzto

47-39.788’N, 070-05.747’W