We left Quebec City in mid-July, stopped for a few days at l’Anse St-Jean, then headed down to Gaspé with the weather. Three weeks later, we are moored in Gaspé for a few days. If you ever think of doing the same trip, here is what to expect and how to plan the navigation.
The River and Its People
The story is full of fascinating encounters, from habourmasters to local artists, showing just how rich cruising the river is in cultural encounters and discoveries.
We met people from different sailing schools, from the regatta Cap à l’Est, attended a show by the Québec Redneck Bluegrass Project, took part in the Festival de musique du Bout du Monde and tested the wifi connection in at least three million coffeeshops (three millions…at least!). We interacted with Transport Canada workers, fishermen and Canadian Coast Guard personnel. Lots of helpful people, all helping in good spirits.
Jean-du-Sud being a relatively known boat, we also chatted with many curious sailors eager to tell us about their connection or story with the boat: “I’ve got a CapHorn too!”, or “We changed the regatta rules [between Gaspé and the Magdalen Islands] because of Jean-du-Sud“, or “Are you the one who blogs about engine installation? We also had a few funny and clumsy assertions: “Why give your boat the same name as Mr. Gélinas?
Jean-du-Sud has also left its mark on the Quebec sailing scene. In Rimouski, two boat names caught the eye (photo below). The owner of “Gens du Nord” (People of the North) was kind enough to tell us that his boat name was inspired from Jean-du-Sud. As for the boat “Saint-Yves”, we can only speculate on the reference…
We saw beluga whales, fin whales, seals, gannets, seagulls, animals we cannot name, and beautiful pebble beaches that begs for a longer stay.
Our navigation was conditioned by Jean-du-Sud‘s hull speed, forcing us to do “little jumps” of 35 to 45 nautical miles a day, and forcing us to make more stops than a faster 40-45-foot boat can afford. Another text, jointly written with Zac Harie and Bastian Raulier, will specifically cover anchorages. But in retrospect, we should have stopped more… and for longer periods. A sailboat probably doesn’t have enough of a summer to grow tired of the river.
We would like to highlight the work of Matane watercolourist Anne Bilodeau, who drew Jean-du-Sud during our visit (below). We also liked the work of Fannie Desmarais, from Gaspé, one of whose illustrations (right, above) is now aboard Jean-du-Sud.
Navigation Tactics
Navigation on the river is divided into two distinct legs: the leg between Québec City and Matane (or Baie-Comeau, on the north shore) and the leg between Matane and Gaspé. On the former, the tidal currents dictate the navigation. In the latter, the sea state dictates the navigation.
Québec to Matane
In the first leg, tidal currents dictate the daily travel windows. As we sailed downstream, we made the most of the ebb tide and Suroît (southwest) winds. This made for some fine downwind sailing. Jean-du-Sud is a relatively slow boat (a top surface speed of 5-6 knots), and we were aiming for navigation segments that maximized the use of the tides to make headway. In this context, our first rule of thumb was to set sail more or less an hour after the local high tide, maximizing the use of ebb currents. This sometimes meant departures in the early morning. (Note, however, that the entrance to the Fjord requires different planning. Consult the sailing instructions if necessary).
Along the way, we also noticed that the currents indicated by the Boating application did not adequately reflect the evolution of tidal currents. Navionics works on a global scale, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service only made its application public interface this year, so we will forgive them for this hopefully short-run integration problem. However, such problem needs to be corrected for Boating to be a reliable instrument on the river.
The Atlas of Currents remains a useful official source at the planning stage, but on deck, during navigation, we quickly came to appreciate the user-friendliness of the St. Lawrence Global Observatory’s navigation application (OGSL, image right). Not only does the app estimate currents in real time, but it immediately frames the information around your GPS position. It doesn’t take long to get used to the information-reading interface. We only wish the slider for moving the forecast times were a little less stubborn.
If you are planning to cross the river from one bank to the other, you will certainly need to plan for the current drift caused by the tides.
As an example, the image on the left, a screenshot from Boating as we crossed the river, illustrates the difference between where Jean-du-Sud points (the white line, a heading at 309° true) and where Jean-du-Sud goes (the red line, roughly at 010° true). To get to “Haut Fond Prince”, the entrance to the Tadoussac channel, we had to aim for 309° from Ile aux Lièvres. This sighting is calculated and incorporates the drift caused by the current, allowing us to arrive at the desired location.
It is better – and more elegant – to plan this navigation… than to overshoot the entrance and rush your way back under engine. Of course, you then need to know how to use your navigation application… and what calculations to make.
In terms of weather forecasts, the European wind forecast model, available via PredictWind or Windy, proved much more reliable than other weather models, including those from Environment Canada. We still incorporated Environment Canada’s official forecasts and warnings into our planning routine, but if the information diverged from the European model, we put more emphasis on the latter. The only exception to this general statement relates to the Fjord du Saguenay, where wind conditions cannot be reproduced well by large-scale models.
Matane to Gaspé
In this segment, our Navigation tactic was to keep a close eye on how big the waves were. It is not impossible to sail in three-meter seas, but on a 30-foot boat, it is not exactly comfortable. In doing so, we mainly chose our displacement windows according to the evolution of the waves. In this respect, Environment Canada’s marine forecasts proved reliable.
The waves made us stop in Grande Vallée, a well-protected bay, for a few days. The passage between Mont Louis and Grande Vallée is the most northerly part of the river’s south shore. As such, navigation is directly exposed to the Suroît (southwest winds) and the waves, with very little protection. So it is best to prepare your sails and stomach accordingly… or to take your time. After Grande Vallée, the coast offers more protection and sailing is kindlier. Our most beautiful stretch of sailing was undoubtedly between Rivière au Renard and Gaspé. Passing the Bout du monde (“End of the world”, the tip of Parc Forillon, photo below) is certainly something special.
A Few Coffeeshops Where You Can Work
There comes a time when getting off the boat feels good. Settling down in a café to work has certainly been part of our routine for living aboard and getting a change of scenery. Below is a list of pleasant cafés where you can spend a few hours working.
| City | Place |
| Tadoussac | Café l’Abri Côtier |
| L’Anse St-Jean | Nuances de Grain. |
| Ste-Anne-des-Monts | Microbrasserie le Malbord |
| Grande Vallée | Café Boutique Pub |
| Rivière-au-Renard | Microbrasserie le Frontibus |
| Gaspé | Le Café des artistes |
Jean-du-Sud and Gaspé
Forty one years ago, Yves Gélinas completed his solo circumnavigation on Jean-du-Sud by arriving in Gaspé (picture left). The historic dimension of the return trip certainly influenced our visit to Gaspé (also the Festival du Bout du Monde).
We were lucky enough to bump into people who were there both today and forty-one years ago, as well as many who were curious to see the boat. Those stories are always entertaining.
