Month: August 2023

A great time in Gaspe – immersing yourself in Canadian history, the origins of New France, and transforming into a popular fishing area. In 1534 Jacques Cartier found a safe harbor in Gaspé Bay and erected a cross, claiming the land for King Francis I of France. This marks the beginning of the French presence in North America. In 1934, the Canadian government commissioned the installation of a monolithic granite cross in Gaspé, for the 400th anniversary of the arrival of Jacques Cartier in Gaspé as of July 24, 1534. Once again, our folding bikes came in handy on a trip around the town and on a long journey to Sandy Beach by a beautiful bike path along the bay.

After a successful shopping in the marina supply store, we decided to move on in order to get to Gaspé before the night storm. The start was great – sunshine, a light breeze that promised to pick up in the afternoon, and all in all a lovely 32-mile sail. Reality put everything in its place – after an hour under sail, we found ourselves in thick fog, a headwind and a tidal current that pushed us back. We had to put down the sails and switch to motor sailing. Soon it began to rain, turning into torrential rain and accompanying us, along with fog, all the way to Gaspé. We did not see the beauties of the Forillon National Park, diligently peering into the foggy distances, we barely saw the Cap des Rosiers Lighthouse blinking at us and safely (with the help of Ais) parted our courses with the transporter of wind turbines walking towards us. We got to Gaspe Marina after 6 hours of motoring and forgetting to have lunch, but dinner was delicious!

Originally settled in the 1790s by French-Canadian and Irish families, Rivière-au-Renard is located on the banks of a large open bay on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern end of the Gaspé Peninsula. The town was originally populated by immigrants from Ireland, mostly those who remained in the area following the sinking of the one of immigrant ships, the Carricks of Whitehaven, which went down off Cap-des-Rosiers in 1847. Of the 187 passengers on board, 87 perished at sea and 100 survivors were taken in by families in the village.

We stopped in Rivière-au-Renard to visit the marine supplies story, the only one in the area. Unfortunately, the store was closed today and we will have to wait until tomorrow for shopping. In our free time, we worked on the boat, filled up with diesel and water, performed CTD cast in the marina, did some grocery shopping and laundry, and explored the area using our folding bikes.