M/V MAERIN

We departed Sainte-Anne-des-Monts Friday at 0550 with intentions of covering the 92 miles to Rivière-au-Renard by 1900. Weather is predicted to be very favorable, and if we can get some help from the Gaspé current, we’ll make it. We headed out of the breakwater to greet swells of about 4 ft. Not miserable, but tolerable.

This will be a milestone day, as we passed the northern most point of our trip at 1130, reaching latitude N 49°17′.514, some 760 miles north of our starting point in Middle River! Weather began sunny, clouded up significantly by 0900, but cleared up to yield sparkling sunny skies. No fog in sight, and we have a beautiful view of the mountains as we round the top of the Gaspé Peninsula. Seas are settling, and thanks to the stabilizers, we’re enjoying a fairly comfortable ride, improving as the day progresses. Winds are veering as predicted, so we should end our run with following seas and winds, giving us a very gentle ride to finish up a long day’s cruise.

An ongoing mechanical issue has surfaced, and after some diagnosis as we cruise, seems to be resolved. Our cruise to Tadoussac was a long run, and during regular engine room checks I noticed the house batteries were gassing more than normal. I added this check to the routine after having to add significantly more water than usual to one pair of batteries in the bank. The conclusion is that one or two of the 6 volt batteries in that 6-battery bank is ailing, so I disconnected the ailing pair, and charging has returned to normal. Our house bank capacity is reduced by 1/3, but it’s reserve capacity, so we’re operating just fine on the remaining bank, an intentional redundancy that has paid dividends. So the list of maintenance items for October now includes replacement of 6 golf cart batteries. If we find a special sale between now & then, or another battery goes south, it may happen sooner!

We arrived at Rivière-au-Renard at 1800, a bit ahead of the original cruise plan, getting some help from favorable currents. Our ride ended up very smooth, with following seas and light winds, a very gentle swell to end up our day. A good day’s cruise covering 92 nm!  We made contact with the dockmaster and had arrangements for a slip. The approach to the harbor and marina is around the public wharf and past the fishing fleet, but is deep and very straightforward.

Rivière-au-Renard is known as the fishing capital of the (St. Lawrence) Gulf coast. The presence of a large fishing fleet along with all the related support, e.g. repairs, ice plant, processing plant, shipping, and a shipyard with a monster 300 ton travel lift- all confirms that reputation. Our arrival was a bit late to see much of the daily activity, and on a Friday, things were wrapping up pretty promptly. Still, a very busy place. And if you were blind, you’d still know you were in the fishing capital just by the smell. Our slip is directly down wind of all that activity, and there was not a doubt that we’re in a fishing town!  Lots of interesting things to see here, but we don’t plan to stay more than overnight.

We plan to head from here to the village of Gaspé in the morning, but we won’t need to make it early since the run to Gaspe is only 40 miles, less than half what we covered today. Gaspé is also a fishing town, and we’re getting into the area where fresh seafood abounds. Our proximity to Newfoundland and Labrador is also evident in the number of Labrador Retriever’s we’re seeing. Our evening walk turned up two chocolates and one black!