Tag: Down East Loop

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

Welcome aboard to usfman and NASIRUDDIN Foundation who started following the blog and became our latest virtual crew members! Glad to have you aboard? Special shout out to all virtual crew members who take the time to read and comment on the blog. It encourages Eric to keep chronicling the adventure.

Summary of week

The crew made four voyages this past week. They left Quebec on Tuesday and took a marina at Cape Eagle (1) in the evening. Then it was a foggy morning on Wednesday as they made their way into the Saguenay Fjord and stayed at the St Jean marina (2). Thursday, the crew went further up to the Bay of Eternity, then turned around and anchored a couple nights off the Isle of St Louis (3). They ended the week with a voyage to Tadoussac (4) on Saturday morning. The crew has lost count of the number of Beluga Whales they have seen in the past week, but the number is easily over a dozen and probably approaching 20.

Click on the Still Waters II Travel Map to see detailed Voyage Logs.The voyage of discovery did answer the following questions this week:

1. What is the National Day of Canada, and what does it pay homage to?
2. Which water fall is taller, Niagara or Montmorency?
3. What is a ‘sugar ‘loaf’?
4. What is a Fjord?
5. What is a nickname for a Beluga Whale?

At the Box Office

This week is a video of the first whale the crew ever saw on the Great Loop. The humpback whale spray from the blow hole startled the skipper when it came up just 10 yards off the port side of the boat. The skipper managed the wherewithal to grab his phone and capture the unforgettable moment on video. Enjoy!

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site.  The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Sunday, June 30th

Today the crew decided to go eat at Ciel for Sunday Brunch. It is one of those restaurants in a tower with a rotating platform.

Took about an hour to circle and get a 360 degree view of Quebec City.

Monday, July 1st

Happy Canada Day! This is the National Day of Canada which celebrates the founding of Canada back on July 1, 1867 by uniting the colonies of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.

The crew spent the day preparing for departure into the Charlevoix region of Quebec. After going to the local grocery for provisions, the crew moved the boat thru the lock guarding the marina basin, and took a spot on the floating dock.

Because of the tides and current, the cruising guides tell prudent skippers to leave two hours before high tide at Quebec City. High tide is at 0620 in the morning, necessitating an early departure at 0420. Sunrise is at 0454, so as soon as the skipper can safely see, the crew will shove off.

Tuesday, July 2nd

Well, it was finally time to say good bye to this magical place called Quebec. The skipper was surprised how light it was at 0400. He did the morning fluid engine checks and started the engines. The Admiral was up and moving and the crew cast off and were out of the marina by 0430.

Quebec at 0430 as the crew pulls away from marina

There was not much time before the first attraction of the day, Montmorency Falls. The Falls are 272 feet above the base below, 98 feet higher than Niagara Falls.

In winter, the spray at the bottom of the falls creates a large ‘sugar loaf’. Since the skipper doubts he would ever be in the frozen tundra to see this feature, he found this pic to view from the warm comfort of the boat.

One last look over the shoulder at Old Quebec City.

The region that the crew will be cruising in over the next week is called the Charlevoix, named after Pierre Francois-Xavier de Charlevoix, a French Jesuit explorer. The region is characterized by the Laurentian Mountains that come right down to the river.

An interesting fun fact about the region is that 90% of the area residents live in the Charlevoix Crater. The crater, formed from an asteroid hit, smoothed and flattened a 34 mile diameter section of the mountains and allowed farming and settlement.

The crew continues to meet large craft from around the world plowing the waters of the St Lawrence River.

The day’s cruise came to a surprising end when the skipper spotted something in the water, could it be, a Beluga Whale, here? The crew did not expect to see any whales until tomorrow as they approach the Saguenay Fjord. But just one mile from the marina breakwater wall they spotted not one but two Beluga Whales. What a deal, they could even hear the two whales communicating with each other with their high pitched canary sounds. Hence their nickname, sea canary.

Wednesday, July 3rd

The cruising guides all suggest to leave Cape Eagle four hours after high tide at Point-au-Pere. For the crew, that meant leaving at 0702. When the skipper first looked outside he was a bit surprised to see the heavy fog. There was not much choice but to leave as suggested and hope the fog burns off quickly.

So much for hope. The fog hung in there until about noon before it started to lift. That makes for a stressful day when you cannot see much past the bow.

The skipper tracked this sailboat on the radar for what seemed like forever. The sailboat overtook the skipper at less than a quarter mile.

I know what you are thinking, and yes the skipper let a sailboat overtake him. Normally this would be an embarrassment, but today, well today, the skipper was trying to time his arrival at the Prince Shoal Lighthouse. Because of the flooding, the current is stronger than normal and the skipper was running an hour ahead of schedule. He had pulled the throttles back to idle speed and was still making over 10 mph speed over ground.

Prince Shoal Lighthouse in the fog

The crew arrived at the Lighthouse 45 minutes ahead of schedule. Rather than find slack current as planned, they ran head on into a 2 knot current. Once the crew entered the Saguenay River, the crew began to hear fog horns blowing. The radar showed no targets within a mile and a half but the horns sure sounded close. Amazing how sound carries over water.

Ferry Crossing at Tadoussac

In just a few minutes two large vessels appeared on the radar, and then a few minutes later the crew could finally see the source of the horn blasts.

Between the Lighthouse and the Ferry Crossing, the crew saw seven more Beluga Whales. Unfortunately, with the fog, ferries and other boats in the area, there was only time to watch the whales. Hence no pics were taken.

When the fog began to lift it made for some spectacular views. The mountains came straight down to the waters edge (by definition, a Fjord), and then continue down under water for several more hundred feet. The crew cruised over some waters 750 feet deep today.

The crew continued up the Saguenay Fjord taking in the beauty of the mountains while keeping an eye out for more whales. However, no more whales were spotted, but it is worth the trip up river just to marvel at the scenery.

The crew took a slip at the St Jean Marina and plan to go to the Baie d’Eternity tomorrow.

Thursday, July 4th, Happy Independence Day!

I will start the day with an old Patriotic story that beckons back to the days of our wonderful country to commemorate Independence Day. Since the crew cruised Champlain Lake, I will use characters that hail from that region for the story. Ethan Allen, an American Revolutionary War Hero from Vermont, George Washington who needs no introduction, and the antagonist should be obvious.

As I remember, Ethan Allen ventured over to the British Isles after the war to make a visit to old friends. While there, his friends continued to make fun of his new country, the United States of America, and its new leaders. Of course, this means President Washington was the butt of the shenanigans. One stunt the British pranksters played was to put a picture of George in a most conspicuous spot in the privy, or outhouse. Ethan Allen saw his Commander in Chief in the privy, but made no mention of the picture upon return to the gathering of his friends.

This certainly caught the British by surprise, so one of them finally asked, “Ethan, did you notice George Washington in the privy?” For which Ethan Allen replied, “well it seemed like an obvious place for an Englishman to keep a picture of George so I didn’t think much about it.”

This was certainly not the response the Londoners were expecting, so they asked the obvious follow up question, “Why is that?” To which Ethan wittingly answered, “there is nothing that will make an Englishman shit so quick as the site of General Washington.”

Hope you had a wonderful Independence Day, brought to you by George Washington and his band of Patriots.

The crew made way to the Bay of Eternity up the Saguenay Fjord. The main goal was to see the statue that sits atop a hill at the entrance to the Bay. The crew could make out the white statue several miles before they arrived. As they approached the entrance, the statue grew is stature and came to dominate the point.

After the photo shot, the skipper had to dodge some kayakers who had paddled out to the statue. Once safely past the paddlers, he entered the Bay to see if he could find a spot to anchor.

The crew arrived at low tide so they could sound for water depth to locate a spot they could safely anchor. The problem is finding a spot because the water level drops so fast close to shore. Since the tide change is around 15 feet, the skipper was looking for a sliver of water 5 foot deep at low tide. At what looked to be the best spot, he stuck the bow into some soft sand/mud. Then took a sounding at the back of the boat, 55 feet deep. After considering the risk rewards proposition of this task the crew decided it would be best not to anchor and skip the hike to the statue.

The end of the Bay of Eternity

The crew turned around and headed to the Isle of Ste Louis where they dropped the anchor in 10 feet of water, played out 150 foot of chain, and still had 20 feet under the keel. That should hold them just fine for the next few days.

Still Waters II at anchor

Within the hour of anchoring, the Admiral noticed a Harbor Seal sunbathing on a rock protruding out of the water.

After watching the seal for a while, the skipper decided to use his stalking skills to sneak up on the unsuspecting seal. These skills would have made a French fur trader proud. The skipper dropped the dinghy, and rowed ashore out of view of the seal.

After securing the dinghy, the crew snuck around the backside of the island and had a great view of the seal. After repositioning a bit, the skipper was able to get some good pics of the sunning Harbor Seal.

After a bit, the seal got a little nervous and slipped back into the water. Or did he know the tide was rushing in and his rock would soon be under water? By the time the crew got back to the boat, the rock was barely visible.

Friday, July 5th

The crew took a wonderful relaxing day just watching the water and scenery around them. There was not a whole lot else to do because they had no cell service out in this neck of the woods. The crew did get caught up on a few boat chores and got plenty of quality reading time. All in all, a great day!

Saturday, July 6th

The crew woke to rain and light fog. After the rain stopped, the crew weighed anchor and started towards the town of Tadoussac. The skipper kept the throttles set at idle speed and was making 10-11 mph as the current ebbed out with the tide. Once a cell signal was achieved, the skipper called the marina to make a reservation. Luckily the marina had a spot for them.

After arrival, the crew took lunch aboard and then set out to go explore the Whale Interpretive Center. All the displays were in French; however, the museum had books that were in English that explained the displays. A very good curated museum.

After dinner, the crew hiked a loop trail to see if they could spot some whales from shore. Their walk was rewarded with several pods of Belugas swimming out in the entrance channel to Tadoussac.

Boat Name of the Week

Who knows what all these boat names mean since they are written in French.

Next Week –

The crew will continue to search for whales along the north shore of the St Lawrence for a few more days. They will then cross to the south shore to the Gaspé Peninsula and visit Saint Anne des Monts. If the weather is good they may even begin to round the peninsula and head south towards New Brunswick.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red

Hello virtual crew members and fellow adventurers!

The skipper wrote a little poem to welcome everybody back on board for the Down East Loop.

Upon her decks she welcomes you
The lady’s name is Still Waters II

Treat her kindly while aboard
And she’ll bring you safely back a shore

We had a few new folks come aboard in New York City to join the virtual crew by following the blog. Welcome Aboard: Jake A., Lori D, and Rob W.

Statue of Walt Whitman in Bear Mountain Zoo

The skipper is no Walt Whitman, but the crew discovered this poem (written by Walt) carved in rock at the Bear Mountain Zoo. Who knew, Walt knew, that you were coming aboard and wrote this poem just for you.

Summary of week:

The crew travelled from Atlantic City to New York City on Wednesday to anchor by Ellis Island. On Thursday, they headed up the Hudson River and anchored in Haverstraw Cove.  Then on Friday they moved up the Hudson to Bear Mountain to spend the Memorial Day weekend.

Click on the Still Waters II Travel Map site to see detailed Voyage Logs of last week’s travel days.

The voyage of discovery did answer the following questions this week:

1 Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?
2 Where was George Washington’s first victory after retreating from New York City?
3 Who is credited as America’s first international author, and what is the name of his home?

At the Box Office

To see past videos, click on the link to the Still Waters II Vimeo site. The library contains videos of Still Waters II cruising America’s Great Loop.

Wednesday, May 22

Normally, the crew would consider a weather window of less than 10 mph winds and less than 2-foot waves as favorable to run out in the Atlantic Ocean.

Today’s forecast was for winds less than 5 mph and waves less than 1 foot. Based on the forecast, the crew decided to leave at first light, about 0530, and try to make a 100-mile run all the way to New York City. The weather did not disappoint. The sea conditions were practically perfect all the day long.

After a long 8 hours running 3 miles off shore, the crew finally caught a glimpse of the New York Skyline in the distance as they approached Sandy Hook. However, it would be another three hours before the crew passed under the Verranzo Narrows Bridge and entered the upper Hudson Bay.

Verranzo Narrows Bridge in background

Lower Manhattan after bridge, orange boat is Staten Island Ferry

Then another hour and the crew arrived at Lady Liberty. The advantage of arriving after 1800 was that the tour boats had all closed for the day so there was no competition trying to get a good picture of The Statue of Liberty.

After taking advantage of the photo op at the statue, the crew motored into the anchorage behind the statue. Unfortunately, the anchorage already held eight other boats and there was not much room for Still Waters II. The crew tried to set the anchor in the one spot that was left. But it became clear pretty quickly why that spot was still available. The anchor would not set because of weeds and grass fouling the anchor.
The crew decided to go around and anchor beside Ellis Island and enjoy the night skyline of lower Manhattan. The skipper had to weave his way through a sailboat race, but finally managed his way into the anchor area.

As expected, it was very rolly as the water taxi wakes continued to create havoc on the boat until after dark. But in the end, the view was worth the trouble.

Thursday, May 23

The crew spent a rolly night on the hook. Hope none of the virtual crew members got seasick as you regained your sea legs on day 1 of the voyage.

The skipper decided the best time to weigh anchor was about 0900 so they could ride the current on the Hudson River. The water taxis were busy plowing thru the water causing the normal washing machine effect as the crew headed north up the Hudson River along Manhattan Island.

Fleet Week started on Wednesday so there were 15 Naval Targets docked in various locations around Manhattan.

Grant’s Tomb overlooking Hudson River

The skipper always thinks of the riddle, “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?” when he sees or hears about General Grant. So, he sent a picture of the Tomb to 7 of his grandchildren and popped the question, “Who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?” Within just a few minutes the first response rolled in from the boys……..”Maybe someone named Grant.”

So, the skipper encouraged them to try again. He also provided a hint, the key word in the riddle is ‘buried.’ The oldest granddaughter got on the internet and announced it was Ulysses S. Grant and his wife. Where upon the skipper said, “yes they are in the tomb but are not BURIED in the tomb, so the proper answer is Nobody.”

The skipper ended his dialog with the G’kids with, “This concludes both your history lesson and grammar lessons for the day. You are welcome. That skipper, always splitting hairs of little words like buried.

As the crew went past the north end of Manhattan Island, they set their sites on the Dutch villages of Sleepy Hollow and Tarrytown, just past the Tappan zee Bridge.

Sleepy Hollow Light

One of the more famous characters from this region is Ichabod Crane from the Headless Horseman story by Washington Irving. The Sunnyside resident was America’s first international author and his home is visible from the water.

Sunnyside

John Gould’s Lyndhurst Mansion is just beyond Sunnyside. Lyndhurst was actually used to film scenes of the TV series Dark Shadows.

The crew continued on up the Hudson River Valley and dropped anchor in Haverstraw Cove. The skipper readied the dinghy and the crew went ashore for a cultural shock in the Village of Haverstraw.

Hudson Valley

Not sure what the crew was expecting, but a Latino town was certainly not the picture they had. The crew walked about three short small blocks before turning around. In those few steps, they saw no less than 10 Barber Shops and 6 small grocery stores. Folks were sitting and standing around watching the gringos walk around town.
They stopped in one small store and bought cokes and cheese. While inside, a man blocked the skippers exit from an area in the back of the store. Thinking fast, the skipper reached for a door on a refrigerated unit, opened the door, reached in while saying excuse me and nabbed a coke. The man stepped aside and the skipper brushed by the guy as he headed for the cash register by the front door. Strange, strange indeed.
After paying, the crew made way back to the mother ship just as a down pour started. The stormy night was just getting started.

Friday, May 24

The crew turned in at 2100 once there was no visible light for what Looper’s joke as Looper midnight. Unfortunately, at midnight the crew heard a bump in the night. Then another bump. The skipper hopped out of bed and looked out to see a boat pulling away. Once the boat moved, the skipper noticed that they had drug anchor and were only 20 yards from shore.

He ran up into the helm, fired up the engines, turned the helm over to the Admiral, and went out to the bow to raise the anchor in the howling wind and rain. After getting the anchor up, the crew spent the next hour unsuccessfully trying to reset the anchor. And then suddenly, the wind and rain stopped and it was once again flat calm. Just like that.

The crew set the anchor and the skipper checked the radar to discover several more waves of storms in their future. The skipper spent the night in the helm while the Admiral slept on the couch in the salon. Luckily, they did not drag anchor for the rest of the night. The other boat in the anchorage was not as fortunate. He drug three more times before sunrise. Then three more times before 0800. Even though the winds were in the high teens with gusts over 20, he elected to leave and try his hand somewhere else.

Around 0900, the gusts reached 30 mph and the gravel bottom just did not provide the holding necessary for those winds speeds and Still Waters II began to drag anchor again. That was it for the skipper, he had had enough, weighed anchor and also left.
With the winds out of the northwest, the skipper hugged the western shore of the Hudson River and headed north towards Bear Mountain State Park.

Stoney Point Lighthouse

While headed north they passed the Stoney Point Lighthouse. Stoney point once housed a Fort controlled by the British. When George Washington retreated from New York City, he headed north up the Hudson River and attacked the Fort. The Patriots lost 15 men in the fight but managed to take the Fort. The battle had little significance in the outcome of the war, but it did provide a huge morale boost for the Patriots after they had to retreat from New York City.

Still Waters II on Ferry Dock

Upon arrival at Bear Mountain, the crew decided to attempt to land on the old Ferry Dock. After scoping it out the crew managed to get a line over on the south side of the dock and get lines down to hold them fast.

The winds were predicted to fall off late in the afternoon, so the crew decided to get off the boat and go exploring. They stumbled onto the Bear Mountain Zoo, who knew?

Bear Den at Bear Mountain Zoo

They took the trail thru the zoo and discovered a couple of Bears. Fitting to find Bears in Bear Mountain Zoo. There were several other exhibits with animals, but the best exhibit was a sign along the trail.

That is a good sign, but not the one I am about to talk about.

All along the trail were small signs explaining the different types of trees and shrubs along the path.  As well as other factoids.  Then they came up to this sign and it explained that the utility pole was made of white pine. The skipper thought that the timing was perfect, especially since his Dad was an outdoor enthusiast, lineman by trade, and it just happened to be his birthday.

Saturday, May 25

The crew decided to tackle the Bear Mountain portion of the Appalachian Trail, about a 2-mile hike with 1,000 foot of elevation gain.

The trail monitors have spent the last 14 years cutting a new trail to the top of Bear Mountain. Cutting thru rocks and laying over 1,000 steps along the trail path. The new section opened in 2018.

Overlooking Bear Mountain Bridge

The reward for making it to the top was an unobstructed 360-degree view from the Perkins Observation Tower that sits atop Bear Mountain.

New York Skyline 60 miles away

Someday the skipper hopes to thru hike the Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain in Georgia all the way to Maine. While walking thru the zoo though, the skipper was answering some questions about the trail to a young couple in the zoo with their kids. The skipper mentioned his dream of hiking the trail someday and the women said, “you better get started.” The skipper turned towards the Admiral and commented, “I think this young lady just said I am old.” She quickly countered, “Oh no, I did not say you were old, I said you should start soon.” Everyone got a good belly laugh from that line.

Boat name of the week

Papa’s Paradise

Next Week –

The Erie Canal System was scheduled to open May 17th.  Due to flooding issues, the Canal has been slow to fully open.  The Champlain Canal has yet to open, and there is no estimated opening as of this writing.  The crew will move the boat to Poughkeepsie on Monday, then take a shore excursion to Oklahoma City to watch the NCAA Women’s World Series of Softball.  Maybe the Champlain Canal will be open when they return and they can continue the Down East Loop.

Loop On – Where the road ends, the water begins. The water goes on forever, and the adventure never ends.

Eric the Red