A very long time ago – 20 years, in fact – we had driven to Tadoussac in late winter when almost everything was still closed, and there was still ice on the Saguenay. This time, arriving by boat, we found a bustling, happy place, with lots of funky restaurants, numerous whale watchers and the whale watching boats they watch whales from constantly coming and going, a multitude of gift shops – some of them not at all bad – a wonderful new whale museum & interpretation centre, and at the marina, sailboats visiting from all over, with bronzed, good looking men strumming guitars and singing love songs to good looking women as they sipped wine at sunset. All in French. The grand old Hotel Tadoussac, surrounded by all this, still manages to retain its dignity, though its glory is a trifle faded.
Of course, weather is still king, whether you’re on land or on the water, and we had two days of rain, mist, sun and fog coming up, so we had booked into our slip for three nights. But when a place is as magical as this, you don’t necessarily need “nice” weather to enjoy it.
After three days here we were going to head out for the ultimate goal: The Saguenay fjord. We had booked into a marina in the heart of the area, just about the only place in which to safely put ourselves: L’Anse-St-Jean, and on Day 53, Monday, July 16, we started the engines as the fog was lifting and made our way to the pump out dock, avoiding all kinds of driftwood hazards.
We left Tadoussac safely, and the fog had almost all gone by the time we turned into the Saguenay itself, staying clear of whale boats and ferries. We had about 40 miles to go.
Cruising at 8 knots we’re pretty much on our own, with the occasional coast guard launch, whale watching boat and kayak passing by. And we see another Beluga.
After three hours we deliberately pass by the bay we will be staying at, in favour of going a further 8 miles to see Baie Eternité, the jewel in the crown of the Saguenay in terms of its majesty and, we think, the subject of that painting in our living room which, if you saw the May blog, was the inspiration for our ultimate destination.
As we get closer, we bring out our cruise plan book, which we have put together over the winter, on the cover of which is that painting…
It starts to look like it is, and then, as we get closer still, we realize for sure that this is the very rock formation Tom Roberts painted back in the Fifties.
Jiggling around to the right and left we get as close to the perspective on the Baie as we can, take a shot, and that’s it – we’ve made it.
In fact, later on we compare our shot with the painting, and it’s pretty close, in composition if not colour or lighting.
We cruise the bay, a most beautiful spot, and then make our way back a little downriver to our lovely marina in L’Anse-St-Jean, where will base ourselves for four days before returning to Tadoussac.
The next day will be rainy and the one after that windy, so we plan accordingly, leaving the boat tied to the dock.
Our third day here and, the weather turning for the better, we go back to the Baie, tying the dinghy to the small dock there, and going ashore for a few hours.
It’s Thursday July 19 and the winds are forecast as fair for our two-day trip back to Cap A L’Aigle and Quebec City/Ile D’Orleans if we leave The Saguenay on Saturday. We may well not get as good a chance for a while after this, and certainly not one that would dovetail with the tides, so we will return to Tadoussac tomorrow, for the first day of the return voyage.
The fact that we made it this far, and did not stop at Quebec City – which would have been a perfectly reasonable and responsible choice, given the navigation challenges of this section of the St Lawrence – is a source of happiness to us. Now we hope we – and the weather – make the trip back as safe and comfortable as the trip out.
Love your blog. I plan to cover some of the same itineraries as you have so meticulously recorded. Thanks for sharing your experiences and making it all seem more accessible to those of us who haven’t yet been there….all the best!