47 04 856 N
64 53 131 W
Could not leave Shippegan till Noon because of the tide, so we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in and then took the bikes for a ride around town. Sunday in a conservative catholic town, not much going on.
The exit navigation was pretty straightforward but Barb's depth/tide/current concerns had spooked me a bit. The Noon tide was one of those half tides that some places have between the two real tides - so the extra depth was only going to be a foot or so, but on the other hand the current should not be as strong. The guides had also suggested "local knowledge" re the exit thru the "Shippenan Gully" so I had asked three local boaters - the sum total of their advice was basically "go at high tide and stay inside the channel". I am so pleased that I asked!
First we had to go under an old style lifting bridge, he opened almost upon our call, so that was good. The dredged channel was narrow and the tide was moving pretty fast but we had plenty of depth the whole way. There was a decent rip between the breakwaters but that was soon over. It seemed a buoy had been dragged out of place so we discounted it but did report it to the bridge tender over the radio.
Out in Gulf the wind was blowing 20-25 kts out of the west on our beam, as forecast. The water was definitely choppy, we had the stabilizers active, and Deidre was eating ginger. But it settled down after an hour or so and turned into a nice afternoon with calm seas.
We arrived in the Escuminac harbor about 6 PM. No marina here, its one of the many fishing harbors, and is owned and operated by the local fishing co-op. It was a bit shallow, but we found a spot on the wall and tide up without any fuss. There is not much here. The spring fishing season ended a few days ago. A lot of the boats are already out of the water. The fish processing plant is deserted. Its pretty quiet. Local people seem to drive the wharf for their entertainment and at least a dozen cars stopped: "Where are you from?" "Nice boat" etc etc. A dentist would do well here if there was dental insurance.
We walked over to the fishing co-op canteen to eat. Lots of excitement there - tonight was fireworks! True enough the fire department arrived about 8 PM and started setting up on the wharf about 100' from Tide Hiker. I was a bit concerned that we would be right in the firing range, but they were not. Promptly at 10 PM we experienced our own personal 30 minute show - it was fun to be so close.
The people that live in this area are called Acadians. The Acadians are the descendants of French settlers who came to North America from 1604 onward. Most of them originated from the western part of central France. They settled in the territory formerly known as “Acadie” that was ceded to Great Britain in the Treaty of Utrech in 1707. Lots of Arcadians were then expelled by the British or emigrated, some ending up in Louisiana (the Kajuns). The British then encouraged Irish and Scottish migration to the area to blend down the Arcadians. What a mess!
We had a pleasant chat with a few of them over dinner. They are not "purists" like the Quebecians try to be, and their local language is a mix of French and English words.
We also met a couple of very pleasant girls on the dock. They were on vacation from college in Montreal, sleeping in their car. We invited them over the boat for a drink and to watch the fireworks. We had a nice chat with them about the separatist movement and Quebec politics.
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| It was actually warm enough to sit outside |
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