Patrisia Nabida Entanga

Paddling the tides

story of a journey by sea kayak from Montreal to Bergeronnes Loeiz by Patte and Philippe Toussaint of 2 to 16 May 2008

Text by: Philippe Toussaint, May 2008

Photos by: Philippe Toussaint and Tab Loeiz

The first was that The idea has occurred to our mind was in February last, while a thick white blanket covered the Quebec landscape. The project: traveling the St. Lawrence River, Quebec landscape icon, from Montreal to Bergeron, a little downstream of the Saguenay River. Total: about 500 km. As a first release of the year, we could have found more simple to navigate these icy waters in May, moreover, when winds and tides are at their peak? For us, the choice was quite natural, however: such a pilgrimage, we would take water from melting snow flowing gently toward the ocean, accompanying the same time the snow geese in their migration. What a great way to greet the arrival of summer!

D n early April: the foundations of the expedition is thrown, everything remains to be done now. To start planning, because it represents the heart of a successful expedition. We must think of everything, and already, some choices to make, space forces. Food was about reducing the volume to maximum, we opt to make a supply mid-term, that is to say in St. Jean Port Joli at the residence of my parents. We will use the fire as much as possible n'emportons for cooking and therefore only four liters of fuel (naphtha) with us. And on a river inhabited like St. Laurent, an additional constraint is needed: clean water. There is no way for us to drink water from the river or nearby streams. Of course we can supply us with the residents along the way, but to reduce downtime "forced" to the maximum, we will move ten liters each.

C is how we find ourselves, for this beautiful sunny afternoon of May 2, 2008 in the grounds of Belle Rive, in the east of the island Montreal, ready for departure. Deep inside this beautiful waterfront park is a small beach easily accessible and ideal for the launch. When we start to spread our cargo, our two kayaks (one P & H Capella and Baffin Boréal Design) seem very small in the middle of it all. Almost miraculously, we somehow manage to load everything without leaving anything behind. As what the perspective of storage, a sea kayak is like a bottomless pit! It is ultimately about the middle of the afternoon we weighed anchor, watched a few curious.

N ll enjoy the first two days of our journey to find our rhythm and tame our boat. In this section, we take the sea and to cross the passage several ships loaded with mountains of containers. What a thrill to paddle so close to these trans-oceanic monsters! Gradually, as we move forward, our pace is accelerating, which means that we spend 22 small mileage the first day in over fifty second, reaching Sorel passage. The look of wide, we can see the industrial scale This relatively unknown city of Quebec (probably due to its distance from Highway 20). We appreciate the opportunity (as we are forced for once) to see these landscapes as it looks straight out of the industrial revolution! But just above us, hordes of white geese that flew over us remind us that there, not so far ahead of us, a much more natural ahead.

V ient then cross the famous Lac St-Pierre, between Sorel and Trois-Rivieres, in the rain wind and fog this step will prove a major test of our trip. In the spring of 2008, the banks of the lake are flooded, which virtually eliminates any possibility of a stop on the mainland, wholesome element to any kayaker's legs. The landscape is surreal, striking: we paddle over roads, through the cottages by the lake and drowned the mobile homes s houseboats now become a flood, then finally drop anchor in a gallery cottage to take a break. Later, seeking a piece of land protruding from the water to break the crust, we paddle through the trees and corn fields flooded by the waters of the lake, but in vain: we decide to eat on our kayaks in the middle of a sugar bush flooded, surrounded by buckets of water Maple. No doubt this vision at the very least unusual remain etched in our memories!

At from Trois-Rivieres, the landscape changes and the lowlands give way to steeper terrain. Our pace became very fast, and for good reason: the effect of tides begins here, and we enjoy the most, starting with the ebbing tide in the morning and stopping when it begins to rise. Finally, the a real surfing! The new challenge is to find a suitable campsite, sheltered from the tides. Nothing is planned in advance, which adds to the adventure! We also learn the hard way shortly after. Comfortably for the night on a beautiful beach near Deschaillons, we are forced by a tide more intense than expected to move our household gods in the disaster on top of a cliff. Lesson Learned : Never underestimate the high tides of spring!

L Lotbinière regions are Portland and home to some of the most beautiful villages of Quebec, and we take our location in the center of the river to observe both sides simultaneously. Already in the distance we see the Quebec Bridge, which provides us with a valuable source of motivation. We had talked about fast just after the Pont de Quebec, but we do not believe ... really wrong! The river narrows considerably here, which creates a current strong, so we find ourselves, in spite of ourselves, to surf on small waves just after the bridge. And everything loaded like mules ... phew! To give us our emotions, we dine on the fine art of Levis, opposite the Château Frontenac, while chatting with passers-by on the bike path behind. That is what is pleasant to paddle on the river: you can spend three days sleeping in the wilderness, without seeing anyone, then when desired, a little in between civilization and is socialized. The best of both worlds!

S ur South Shore, Quebec-St-Jean-Port-Joli, things get a little complicated. Rain, strong winds back and side, then the flats and shallow bays and mud give us a lot of problems: in the Bay of Montmagny, we paddle to at least 3 miles from shore, yet it does are only about thirty inches of water under our kayak. At least, our friends, the snow geese we always follow, as to encourage us (that's what we want to believe at least!). And then, off a myriad of islands adorn the landscape: the Big Island, the island Crane, to name a few.

F inally, we come to St-Jean-Port-Joli, our stage of "mid-term psychological" in the late morning on the eighth day and the weather is back to accommodate us. We spend a day and a half of well-deserved rest, during which we take the opportunity to rebuild supplies, do some minor repairs, and of course relaxing! We take good care by cons not to sleep warm, about not taking too much comfort in the taste!

N e had planned to cross the river from St-Jean-Port-Joli to Cap-Aux-geese, on the north shore of St. Lawrence, but two days of high winds (30 to 40 km / h north-east) we are giving. Matter of time, but especially security (it does not precipitate a crossing of the river about thirty miles), we choose to carry our equipment by road (with the help of my father) to Cap-Aux-geese , where we continue our path.

C navigation removed, we quickly realized that the north shore of St. Lawrence is very different from the south shore. The water is colder, deeper, and the waves are bigger. Most importantly, though, between Montreal and Quebec, the current is almost linear, here, the currents are so complex that they look more like a spider web. That is why we have a lot less busy days for this second portion of the journey. Wise decision: our first day in Charlevoix, "enlivened" winds of northeast 30 to 50 mph, results in a distance of only 15 kilometers between Cap-Aux-geese and Cap Sain, just prior to Pointe-Au-Pic. Tough day! Some places simply prove insurmountable, given the cross-waves 1 to 2 meters that prevail there. Little time for celebration in the midst of all these difficulties: Christmas, a very nice fisherman caplan, carrying our kayaks with his all-terrain vehicle across a perilous point (tip of the Father), we allowing to continue our journey. A good meeting that gives us energy!

L e next morning we were up at dawn to listen to the weather radio, inseparable companion of the browser. The Good Samaritan went for the first time in five days, the forecasts point to weak winds. Motivated to block, we offer a day of thirty miles, admiring the passing scenery of Port-Au-Saumon and Port-Au-Persil, Charlevoix true icons. The undoubted highlight of the day (and perhaps the entire trip) remains the crossing Pointe-au-Pic to Cap à l'Aigle. For over an hour, a group of about twenty escorts us belugas, which frequently surface a few meters from our kayaks. Two calves (small whales), more daring than their elders, to pay the luxury to come and flirt with the stern of our kayaks, like to play with us: what an experience to remember! That evening, we elect domicile in a place accessible only by water but well worth a visit: the beautiful Anse Au Building, shortly after St. Simeon. We savor the last moments of this day cooking over a campfire. A mystery remains, however: but where is this famous building?

L e trip is going well and the imminence of the Saguenay brings with it an impressive diversity of wildlife: little penguins, seals (gray and ) and beluga whales have replaced the white geese, who seem to prefer shallow waters of the south shore to feed. The end of the journey approach, but the step that will prove to be one of the most difficult of our journey remains to cross: Crossing the Saguenay at its mouth. At first glance, no problem: thousands of people have done it without flinching. But here: take the natural flow of the Saguenay, add to the two highest hours of ebb tide, and then suddenly in the middle of the crossing, winds from the east begins to blow at 30 km / h and the few miles we s éparent the other side suddenly seem far more remote! So after a good 45 minutes of sustained effort and thousands of strokes, we finally get to the other side ... totally exhausted! We use the little energy we have left to reach the beach where we will sleep tonight. The moral of this story: the Saguenay, it is crossed in calm weather, at high tide, period!

L e final statement is started. As much as we had started the expedition lion devouring the miles between Montreal and Quebec, as we want to finish calmly. Two days, it's time that we agree to travel the 35 miles that separate us from the finish. Two days therefore, to explore the small bays in their nooks and crannies, to scan the horizon in search of whales and other marine mammals , especially two days to just take time. For if any shipment is born of a thirst overrun, it does include a desire to discover, explore, take the pulse of the places we come across. This thought, we will need to apply our departure from Tadoussac until we arrived at Anse à la Cave, the Broad-Bergeronnes, where we set up May 16, 2008, tired but especially proud of have led forward such an expedition.

Table of distances

Day 1: 21.75 km
Day 2: Day 3
50.5 Km: 46.5 km
Day 4: 63 Km
Day 5: 52 Km
Day 6: Day 7
68.5 Km: 39 Km
Day 8: 26 Km
Day 9: Day 10
------- ------
Day 11: 15
km Day 12: Day 13
50 Km: 32 Km
Day 14: Day 15
20 Km: 14 Km

Total: 498.25 km