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Tadoussac (Saguenay)
Current Location: Marina de Tadoussac
Date: June 10
Mile: 524
Locate: Ramble On
Locate: Finnish Line 2.0 |
Tadoussac marked our last stop in the Saguenay fjord. Tadoussac is situated at the mouth of the Saguenay on the eastern side. We had decided to skip it on on our way in to take advantage of daylight and current, but we wanted to be sure to visit on the way out.
The entrance to the marina was a little tricky. While it "looks" like it has wide approaches and lots of room to get to the docks, we quickly noticed a small warning buoy indicating to keep toward the docks. Later, when the tide was out everything beyond the buoy was dry and part of the nearby beach.
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| Marine crew securing boats |
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| !!!!!!!!! |
While the harbour was generally well protected, we did get a rolling swell coming in for a while, and things were quite uncomfortable. Bob and I had a discussion about snubbers on our dock lines. This was one of those days where they really paid off. Our second day was marked by winds that peaked at 45 knots (47 according to Bob's instruments). We spent time lashing things down and keeping everything secure. The boat next to Finnish Line was in danger of breaking lose from it's lines and was already grinding its stern into the dock.
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| Parking & cradle storage in summer |
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| Dry-dock gates |
The town has it's own dry dock. While is has a lock/gate at the entrance, the remainder is not a man made structure, but rather a small lagoon that fills during high tides. When the sailing season ends, they fill the parking lot with their cradles (that have extra keel guides and other supports), wait for the next high tide, and float all the boats in and onto their cradles. When the tide goes out, the boats are high and dry (up to 15' tides here), and they close up the gates, and seal them off, and the boats are good for the winter.
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| Interesting weather vanes |
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| Unique window |
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| Trading Post |
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| Chocolate Shop - YUM! |
Tadoussac is a pretty little town and the waterfront/marina area caters to tourists and whale watchers. If the weather is good, they run constant whale watching excursions from 5-10 different boats. The waterfront is highlighted by quaint old churches, the large Hotel Tadoussac, a re-creation of the original trading post, a marine research/interpretive centre and a very pleasant boardwalk around the peninsula that protects the harbour. There are some very fine restaurants here too, and Cafe Boheme is currently our top rated one so far on this trip!
Quaint old houses and unique architecture is hiding everywhere. Well worth a visit!
As we noted in an earlier blog entry, the entrance to the Saguenay is tricky due to tides and currents. The marina office had this handy cheat sheet for when it's safe to enter and exit. Green is good to go, red is not advisable but doable, and black is a definite "no-go". This was a more elaborate guide to what we had been reading in our guide books, but still contained the same information.
Tadoussac marked our last stop in the Saguenay fjord. Tadoussac is situated at the mouth of the Saguenay on the eastern side. We had decided to skip it on on our way in to take advantage of daylight and current, but we wanted to be sure to visit on the way out.
The entrance to the marina was a little tricky. While it "looks" like it has wide approaches and lots of room to get to the docks, we quickly noticed a small warning buoy indicating to keep toward the docks. Later, when the tide was out everything beyond the buoy was dry and part of the nearby beach.
As we noted in an earlier blog entry, the entrance to the Saguenay is tricky due to tides and currents. The marina office had this handy cheat sheet for when it's safe to enter and exit. Green is good to go, red is not advisable but doable, and black is a definite "no-go". This was a more elaborate guide to what we had been reading in our guide books, but still contained the same information.
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