Well, the time has come for serious tests, both for the sailboat and for us. After a good time in L’Anse a Beaufils, chatting with local sailors over a glass of craft beer, we decided to change course from south to east and sail to the Magdalene Islands for a number of reasons. Firstly, we had not been there and were interested in seeing those remote places, secondly, the distance there required a whole-day passage with a night watch, which for us should have been another test of our capabilities, and thirdly, the testing of the sailboat under sail on a longer route.
Our route took place in winds of 10-20 knots, with NW and N wind. The remarkable night adventure was meeting at sea the research vessel Cariolis-II, which we had previously seen in Rimouski. We literally went port-to-port (thanks to AIS, you can see and read the description of the ship on the plotter) and we greeted them by flushing the bright light of our spreader’s lamps (thanks Frank!). The night watches passed more or less well, but already in the morning when there were about 10 miles left to the shore, the next test awaited us – the steel wire holding the foresail (jib halyard) broke and the large jib began to fall down. Using a safety line (thanks Steve!) I reached the bow and pulled the jib onto the deck. To ensure the stability of the yacht in the waves and quite strong winds, we had to turn on the engine and do motor sailing. We decided to go to the capital of the island Cap-aux-Meules, where there is a marine supply store and a better chance of finding rigging specialists. Approaching the island, we found ourselves in dense fog, which accompanied us throughout the route, requiring special attention and operation of the radar and AIS system. It turned out that some fishing vessels do not turn on AIS, probably, hiding their position. We turned around the island, the wind direction changed and we again had to go against the high rolling waves, cutting them with our heavy full-keel sailboat. Here we were deeply satisfied with the strength of the hull, but our strength was almost exhausted, so we turned to the nearest marina in Havre Aubert after 28 hours of sailing and 165 miles left behind.
A thrilling adventure, a fascinating account! Also, a marvelous piece of literary work!
I am very much impressed.
Thank you!