Here is my route (as the crow flies) for Day 1. I faced a NE wind (10-15 km/h) which meant choppy waves and lots of tacking. Once I left the noisy city behind, the landscape was quite peaceful and relaxing. I saw many leaping Sturgeon (I think), aquatic birds, rolling hills and quiet forests. I could have rowed, but preferred to just ghost along.
The stuff that I brought. I packed very light and in the end used a quarter of my supplies (half of the water) and was very comfortable. I should have brought more water though, only to balance out the boat a bit better.
Here I am sailing off into the sunrise. About 20 minutes later, a huge sturgeon jumps clear of the water about 4 feet in front of the boat. As I'm sitting on the bottom I see it over the rails. It was about 4 feet long.
I'm not sure what this is, but it's probably related to those electrical towers. The farther downstream I went, the fewer buildings I saw and more trees, farms and cliffs.
A typical channel marker. If I had been smart, I would have stayed in the channel. Unfortunately, I wasn't smart and had a few intimate encounters with the rocky bottom... :(
Campsite on the first night. This was several kilometers from a bird sanctuary and there were many varieties of aquatic birds all around. Camping here was very nice, though a windstorm started up during the night. I woke up once to fix the tarp, and slept right through the rest.
Dinner on the first night. Generally I was too busy sailing to bother with lunch. I would sail all day and eat hearty when on land. During the day sunflower seeds are a fun treat that's easy to eat! Plus, when you spit out the shells you can easily tell which way the wind is blowing.
The second day was spent trying to cross this mega lake. Winds from the South, 0-15 km/h. Unfortunately, I sailed through many beds of aquatic grass with their colonies of mosquitos! That wasn't fun. The wind died early, so I ended up rowing about half of the lake, and sailing the rest. In the evening I rowed again from the bridge at Trois Rivieres to the campsite. I slept very well that night.
One of the many ships along the seaway. I saw many freighters, tugs and various other ships. Although they cast a huge wake (sometimes two) I would steer clear early on and had no problems. More annoying were the pleasure (motor)boaters who would whizz by to catch a glimpse without slowing down. One fisherman during the whole weekend slowed. Thankfully, Sjøhest handles waves well.
My standard position during the trip. At the end of the weekend, my butt was pretty raw from sitting on the sandy floor. My preferred method of passing time? Using a little sponge I had brought to clean and dry the interior!
Approaching the bridge at Trois Rivieres. I had sailed over the edge of the horizon and reached the other side. Distances can be deceiving though. What looks only a kilometer away may actually be 10.
Deer prints in the tidal zone. These were recent as hinted at by the sharp edges of the scattered sand. In the tidal zone I also found skeletons from 2 different types of large fish (big like my lower leg), bird remains and various shells.
Anchoring on the second night. I ended up dragging the boat higher as the tide came in. At Trois Rivieres I started to see and feel the effects of the tides. Some areas had unusual waves and currents to look out for.
Third and final day. Winds SW ~25 km/h. The last 40 km had the wind and current in parallel, so huge waves were able to develop. Sjøhest's ability to take following waves was remarkable, to the point where I found myself surfing or riding the wave crest! The bends and turns in the river really play with the current. Where two currents would meet I'd see "bouncing" waves and water flowing "upward". It's hard to explain without seeing it firsthand.
Here is a cellphone picture once I landed in Quebec. In the background you can make out the bridge just before Quebec city. I stopped at this long and narrow park at the waters edge that had concrete stairs conveniently leading up from the water. I was exhausted at this point and just sat down and sipped water.
Exhausted and thankful to be alive. Perhaps I should have packed some sunscreen... I fought every meter of the last 40 km. With the high winds, waves and wakes I can safely say this was the scariest experience ever. Ahead of schedule, I landed on the last day of my 20's. I turned 30 the next day.
