November, 1999

News from Oak Ridge,

We broke new ground in our cruising this year from mid May to mid September. E. Galois having wintered a few miles North of Lake Champlain, in Quebec, for the first time we cruised in cold waters. After about sixty miles and 10 locks on the Richelieu River with Frank, because it is a lot easier to go through locks when you are three on board. We spent a delightful evening at Frank and Jo in Chambly. We arrived in the St Lawrence River at Sorel, about sixty miles downstream from Montreal. Sailing down the St Lawrence, the tides and the river current determined when we could sail, if we did not want to go against the current, which at times was quite strong. As the gulf widened the river current and the tides became less important. We spent a few days at Tadoussac on the North shore and on the Saguenay, a fjord where whales congregate. Belougas swam very close to us when we were anchored for lunch in the Saguenay. The next day we crossed the St Lawrence and stopped in Rimouski where we spent three days with Philippe and Chantaly. We had not seen them since 1995 when we met them in Martinique following their crossing on Ortholoxothat had lost the top of her mast shortly before arriving in Martinique. We then followed the South shore of the St Lawrence until the tip of the Gaspe peninsula that we rounded. At l'Anse a Beaufils we met Line Beaudin who manages a store: "Au Loup Marin Gaspesien" that had beautiful seal fur clothes. A week later we were in New Brunswick where the atmosphere was suddenly warmer. In this region we had several interesting discussions with Acadian fishermen who were very busy since at that time the lobster fishing season was open. It is open for only 6 to 8 weeks, but the season varies along the coast. We must admit that twice they very kindly came to pull us off high grounds where we were stuck!

We made a short hop to Summerside on Prince Edward Island where we stayed a few days at the dock in the Yacht Club. In Summerside Dick and Mary Wedge welcomed us. Dick had still a lot of work to do on Whitecap before she would be ready to sail up the St Lawrence to Chicago and then down the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. You too can follow the cruise of Whitecap on the internet. Dick and Mary took us to visit some of the villages where he lived as a boy.

On June 30th we crossed over to Nova Scotia where we spent the whole month of July. Francis has a brother, Bernard, who lives near Halifax and Peggy's Cove, made famous recently by the Swiss Air plane crash. In Halifax we spent the night at the "Nova Scotia Royal Yacht Squadron" where we met Remy and Josée Richard. Then E. Galois spent about 10 days tied to a mooring in front of their house, we slept in a bed and appreciated the fine cuisine of our sister in law, Betty Lou, picked strawberries and tasted new potatoes from their garden. We borrowed one of their car to explore Cape Briton Island, in the Northern part of Nova Scotia, its little fishing villages and its National Park.

It is in Nova Scotia that we experienced for the first time sailing in thick fog! A very interesting experience; with a radar and a GPS there is no danger, but it is a strange sensation to hear clearly the sound of a bell or horn, to realize that it originates less than 200 yards away but you see absolutely nothing. You keep staring in the direction of the sound and then, a few boat lengths away, you start to see a shape which rapidly becomes clear. We were surprised at how fast a fog bank could engulf us and just as fast dissipate. A thick fog often meant little wind and we had to motor often. At anchor we could appreciate the complete silence and the feeling of isolation when a few minutes earlier we could see the beach, some islands and another boat anchored near by, and suddenly the fog surrounds us and we feel completely alone... and it is cold! With some regrets we leave behind Nova Scotia, its beautiful anchorages and so few boats.

What contrast with Maine, where we arrived at North East Harbor on Desert Island July 31st, after a 25 hour crossing in fog and little wind, so many sailboats.... that we could see because the fog had just lifted as we approached the coast. From Maine to New York the fog gradually diminished but the density of sailboats and the price to pick up a mooring steadily increased: up to $40 a day at Block Island, a well visited little island East of Long Island.

Good sailing along the coast of Maine but so many lobster pots, trying to avoid them takes off some of the fun! Further South we sail by Marblehead, a few miles North of Boston, one of the largest cruising center on the East Coast. It is a forest of masts: there are 1800 moorings in the harbor, little chance to get a free one and no place to drop anchor. Past Cape Cod we sail due West and enter Long Island Sound. We stopped in Noank to visit Sidney and Sandy VanZandt. We had not seen them since November 95 in Porto Santo when we had celebrated the completion of their circumnavigation. We spent two days on a mooring not far from Sequel, in which Sidney and Sandy had circumnavigated. Sidney took us to visit the Mystic Seaport Museum that we had never visited. Then we are again in New York City but this year it is the East side of Manhattan that we sail, more lively than the West side, along which we had sailed up the Hudson in July 98 on our way to Lake Champlain. People of all ages and races who are resting on public benches or jogging cheerfully wave at us, a sign that not that many sailboats must travel the East River. We did not meet any.

We have completed a circumnavigation of the North-East part of North-America! We are now in familiar territory down to Hampton, at the extreme South of Chesapeake Bay, where Daniel lives. On the way down the Bay we visited Hal and Margaret Roth in St Michael. Hal is working on a book and was researching the life of Alain Gerbault. We had helped him with some translation from the french. Linda and Rob, who still have Beau, came to see us when we were at Coan River Marina. We arrive At Hampton at noon on August 29.

For several days we had followed the track of hurricane Dennis, on the weather faxes transmitted from Boston, moving North along the coast of North Carolina. We arrived in the Hampton River, a safe harbor, just 12 hours before the winds of Dennis. After a hectic night, we dragged anchor in close quarters, we went to the city docks where we stayed for a week because Dennis could not make up its mind about what to do: to come ashore and die or go offshore. It was a nice week anyway since we had supper almost every night with Daniel and Lisa either at his home or on the boat. Daniel and Francis had the time to visit all the marinas of the area to decide where E. Galois would be put on the dry for the winter. Finally the waves in the Bay abated and we sailed, with Daniel and Lisa , the 30 miles to the York River Yacht Basin where E. Galois is until next spring.

By mid September we were back in Tennessee where we have enjoyed the a nice fall. We are now preparing a trip with Christine and Greg, and the three grand daughters: Veronique (14), Viviane (12) and Brigitte (9 ½), to Costa Rica for 10days at Thanksgiving, November 20th to the 30th.