We left the lovely island behind us at 10 am and ventured forth in very choppy waters. 20 nautical miles later at 12.30 pm we arrived at Berthier sur Mer. Keith was exhausted as it was all he could do to hold on to the wheel to keep our vessel on course due to the heavy following seas and high swell. The weather was not in our favour as we travelled up the southern channel. We could see the heaviness develop over the northern channel and knew it was just a matter of time before it was to affect us so we headed into the little harbour of Berthier sur Mer. We made it in about 4 hours before the storm erupted and happily so because the harbour dries at low tide and we would not have been able to enter through the muddy channel much later.
Shortly after we arrived 3 other sailboats travelling together came in. They had children aboard and were concerned about the skies as well. The captain of one of the vessels explained to us that he could feel his keel graze the muddy bottom as he made it toward his berth and he knew he was in just in time too. Another seasoned local like minded sailor told us not to be frightened of the mud in the southern channel and that we would experience it for another 100 nautical miles up the southern shore. He said he had been mired in it 3 times and he just waited for the tide to rise high enough to take him out. The man explained that the mud is soft and clean and would do no damage to the boat if we encountered it. Many of the small harbours and marinas and ports must be executed with care and good planning for arrival and departure so that you can actually get in or out. So we remained safely tucked in to the sandy, muddy, silty, little cove for the night.
The next day's weather forced us and many other vessels to remain in port. Our problems were with heavy rain and no internet access so we were fine. We were all getting to know one another, sharing stories and adventures and travel stories and we gained much as we listened to advice, points of interest, and vast arrays of nautical knowledge.
Gerald Boyer, a local senior who had spent all his life sailing, took a keen interest in us and invited us for lunch with him. He loaned us charts for Chaleur Bay and the Northumberland Strait. He is quite the character himself; quite a worldly man who owns 5 sailing vessels and had many stories to tell. He arrived in his car to pick us up for lunch to drive us all to Montmagny to a favorite haunt of his own. The back seat of his car had been gutted to accomodate his modifications for opportunity "to take a nap when necessary." He lives locally on his friend Andre and his wife's farm over the summer and spends the winters on the west coast of Florida. He trailers one of his small unique wooden vessels there with him each fall so that he can sail the Gulf waters there.
The wonderful little restuarant that we arrived at was located on a pretty little back sidestreet of Montmagny about 20 klm from Berthier sur Mer. It was a narrow quaint french bakery/cafe with the bakery off to one side, high ceilings, and decorated with a mild nautical theme. The table and chairs were of antiqued well preserved pine furniture and one full wall was adorned by a huge mural. Taking full control of the meal, Gerald ordered for us; smoked ham and guyere cheese served on a freshly baked warm croissant delicately placed beside a bruchetta salad, followed by a raison maple butter creme pastry for dessert. We all drank iced water that was served from a large corked wine bottle into chilled glasses. While we waited for our meal to arrive Gerald delighted in his quest to have us find himself depicted in the mural painted on the wall. He was pleased that we could identify him as a much younger man in a dark beret standing on a loading dock surrounded by other deckhands and labourers milling about a schooner tied up in some local french port. He was thrilled we had spotted him and told stories of how he came to be in the mural. Gerald introduced us to the couple seated in the next table to us who were of his accquiantance. They too were interested in our adventures and were an interesting couple themselves. The man is an accomplished accordianist and had just returnned from St.John's NL where he had participated in a music festival there. His wife is an artist and we all chatte for some time in a lovely setting with the rain pouring down outside.
After lunch Gerald insisted on driving us to the local Canadian Tire where he was sure that Keith could buy a diving mask. We shopped for the supplies we needed and did get the mask and returned to the car as quickly as possible so as not to hinder our gracious travelling aide as he waited in the car. When we arrived back to the car we were surprised to find Gerald's deck shoes neatly tucked under the rocker panel of the car on the pavement and him fast asleep in the back seat of the car "taking a nap."
We hated to wake him but did and within minutes he was up and back in the driver's seat and on our way back to the marina ......or so we thought......
Gerald chatted with Keith about his 30 foot wooden ketch and asked if we would like to see it. So on the way back to the marina we stopped at the farm where he lived to see his boat. He explained that much of the upgrade done to his boat was done by his friend Andre who was an outstanding carpenter and builder. That was evident in the work done on the boat. Andre was working in the barn when we arrived and he and Keith chatted about sailing and Canadian horses, logging and building houses. Andre and his wife and their 2 children had taken Gerald's boat across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean for 2 years and then to South American from there. Another voyage in the same boat took their family to Cuba for 1 year. Upon their return from that trip they purchased that farm and Andre had built it up to the prospect it is today. He offered to show me their restoration project of the 250 year old french farmhouse that was on the property when he bought it. My uneducated eye could tell that the craftmanship done on that home was a labour of love and the work was over the top. Andre was truly a humble man, in his early forties, and one of many fine qualities and capabilities. Keith and I left their company feeling pleased that we had this brief encounter into the lives of these truly amazing individuals. Upon meeting Gerald as he arrived to pick us up for lunch that day, he handed me a dozen eggs which he had brought for us from that farm. I could not pay him nor thank him enough and his answer to me was that he was a very wealthy man. He had given us a memorable day to know exactly what he meant!
Back on our boat, we chatted about the day, hunkered down to the sweet melodies of Leonard Cohen and glasses of wine and wondered what we had done to deserve such happiness. It is a tough life!
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