Quebec City

Thursday June 18, 2015
46 49.177 N
71 12.278 W

We are now close enough to the Gulf of St. Lawrence that tide becomes an issue. It is not much here but builds to 15' feet in Quebec City. We studied the tide tables and decided to heave about 11:00 AM so we could ride the river and tidal current all the way. It must have been a decent plan because we made the 50 NM to QC by 4:30 PM - 50 NM in 5 hours, averaging 10 kts!

More boys and their toys.

We arrived at the Richeleau Rapids just as a large ship was heading up river. It was throwing a large wake as it fought the current. We hit the wake first and the water was turbulent for the next couple of miles. Tide Hiker hit 13 kts which is super light speed for her and surged left and right thru the eddies. So long as we stayed in the channel the water was 60' plus feet deep so it was no big deal. 

Sometime in the afternoon we all heard a bang. I do not like hearing "bangs". Very shortly thereafter both Deidre and I noticed that the stb engine was showing zero revs - but it seemed to be running and no alarms were sounding. I headed to the engine room and looked around and checked the usual gauges and belts - nothing seemed amiss. We have a secondary tach on the engine panel and it was showing the appropriate revs. The stb battery voltage seemed unaffected so I assume the alternator was operating OK. Returning to the wheelhouse I called Don on Cavara - we talked about the symptoms and concluded the issue was possibly related to the tachometer PTO. Nothing we could do underway so we continued on. However I did not want to change the throttle settings as I would not be able to synchronize the two engines without the tach. 

Five miles short of QC the river was constricted again under the XXX bridges. As the river narrowed we sped up and "shot" under the bridges into the QC environs at 13 knots over 150' deep water - as evidenced by the image below.

Holy smokes - 13 knots!!!!

Arriving at QC is pretty spectacular. Its easy to see why the city is so strategic and fought over in history. These days the XXX hotel and XXXX dominate the view over the river. It is such a unique type of architecture - sort of Canadian-Bavarian. 

Because of the tide we needed to pass thru a lock to enter the marina pool. The lock closed just as we arrived so we had to stooge thru a whole cycle and then passed thru the lock into the marina pool. The weather had changed - exactly as forecast - and the wind was blowing at 15-20 knots with stronger gusts. But we were assigned an easy slip and docked without much trouble.

It was about 6:45 before we were settled in so we left late for dinner. A line of storms was forecast to arrive about 10 PM so we found and ate at the closest restaurant we could find. We were seated outside and sure enough the wind was gusting hard as we left the place. Someone was looking after us because the rain did not start until we stepped on the boat. Happy ending except that Deidre's ankle was killing her.

Friday June, 19 2015

Nice sunny day. Mark and Donna have headed into the city. Don came over and we investigated the tachometer problem. We (I held the flashlight!) seem to have identified the cause - the "sender" that is bolted to the engine seems to have frozen up. We broke it reasonably free and spun it with the electric drill and it was reading on the gauges. Then used the Skype phone to call the manufacturer in Michigan and ordered a replacement that will be delivered here Monday. On the assumption it arrives on time we will leave Tuesday.

This afternoon we walked to a local market. Produce here is not inexpensive, but there are some great choices. We seem to be eating our way through French Canada - this afternoon snacks included pate and cheese on baguette bread. Dinner tonight will be a selection of gourmet sausages we purchased at the market. We have a nice looking quiche waiting for tomorrow.

Deidre's ankle is giving her some trouble so we did not walk around much - as tempting as it is. The buildings in the old town are so appealing. Back in the 19th and 20th century the Canadians seem to invent their own style of grand architecture. We also noticed this two years ago in Ottawa.

Chateau Frontenac in the winter - its an amazing building

View from galley window

Saturday June 20, 2015

A wise man once defined cruising as "repairing your boat in exotic locations". I realized I was in an exotic location today when we sat down for lunch and the hamburger was $C18. The Canadian dollar may only $US0.80, but that advantage disappears when the Canadians add 15% sales tax. And this morning after my shower I realized that the shower sump pump had failed and was squirting the used shower water into the bilge. I hate wet bilges. I spent a couple of hours figuring what part had failed and then ordering a replacement to be shipped to a marina a week or so down the river. I wonder if that will work? Meantime, no showers.

Can you see Deidre talking to the Frenchman?

Sunday June 21, 2015 (Father's day)

Donna and Mark headed back to South Carolina this morning. It had been a fun visit. They were very easy to have on board.

I pulled out the shower sump pump. I had a replacement diaphragm pump but need a couple of simple plumbing parts to install it - so that will have to wait till Monday when the local marine store re-opens.

Deidre and I took the bikes to the supermarket. I enjoy shopping in different cultures. Lots of Australian wine on display. This place really feels like a European town - except for all the USA style cars on the road. We do tend to buy more "bad for us food" when we are away.

Dinner on Cavara - Barb is getting pretty good with her new crock pot. We need to get out of this town ASAP! We are enjoying the cheese and pate just too much. My cholesterol must be going thru the roof.

Loaded and ready to ride!

Monday June 22, 2015

The local marine store did not have what I needed to install the new shower pump. Don dug through his bag of plumbing bits and pieces and had exactly what I needed. But as I prepped the pump the piece broke off in the pump - damn. Our new friend (Jean-Marc, two boats up) drove to another store and came up with a workaround. The pump is now installed and I took a shower to celebrate. The locals have been incredibly friendly and are amused at our stumbling French.

After chasing down the supplier in Michigan I eventually got a UPS tracking number for my tachometer part. That immediately revealed that the part as held up in customs because the proper paperwork had not been supplied! A couple of phone calls sorted that out, but its obvious the part will not arrive today. Now what?

It had been a bit of a dull day so Deidre and I rode into town to buy some credit for her local phone (the whole phone this is still a pain in the rear) and a cup off coffee. I was still a bit edgy so I took a ride along a bike trail following the St. Charles River.

Re the phone: We were assigned a number with our SIM card. Well the number must have still been "warm" as we immediately started receiving calls for "Jason" and "Amy". Seems like Jason owes quite a bit of money and we were even getting collection calls. I called ROGERS and had the number changed.

Dinner on Tide Hiker tonight was based around sausages purchased at the local market - there was a hundred varieties to choose from. More cholesterol.

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

The weather has solved the tachometer part problem - gale force winds and rain today. So we will be here when (hopefully) the part arrived. But I am getting quite antsy. Apart from the fact that this place costs $100 a day, its time to move on.

The forecast for Wednesday is better, but not great. A few miles northeast the St Lawrence opens up into an estuary with strong tidal currents. Today the strong winds will be blowing against the tidal current, and that tends to build short sharp waves. No fun.


Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Horrible morning - windy and rain. We decided to stay put. But Deidre and I were a bit stir crazy so headed for the railway station. We wanted to go somewhere - anywhere. There was only one train - the express to Montreal - so we passed and headed to the buses. The 800 went 40 minutes to the XXX falls so we took it. And the rain came down.

I have always like railway stations

Looking over the edge from the suspension bridge

Looking over the falls towards the St Lawrence

Admirable

The falls are a bit higher than Niagara, but obviously not the same volume. After walking over the suspension bridge spanning the falls we wandered into "town" and found a casual cafe for some lunch. Back on the bus we decided to stay on the bus to see where it went. Two and a half hours we were back on the boat with tired bums.

The tachometer part had arrived in our absence. After a cup of coffee Don came over and we installed it. All seemed to go OK, we will know for sure in the AM. After dinner we visited Cavara and played cards - I am teaching them "500". As tradition requires the guys lost miserably.