July 16, 2025 We See the Allusive White Whale Again

Wednesday July 16, 2025 Cap-a-L'Aigle to Tadoussac 45 miles and 4.2 hours

Got to sleep in a bit late today as the guides for best travel times have us leaving Cap-A-L'Aigle at 10:30 and arriving at Tadoussac right at low tide there at 2:30. Worked out almost perfect for us except we caught up to five sailboats and had to wait our turn to enter the marina. Still hazy today and the water temperature actually got colder - down to 45 degrees. Amazing to see the condensation on the water strainers and aftercoolers during my engine room checks due to cold water intake. Two major lighthouses today. The first one at Cap Saumon is on land and was also where we spotted another beluga whale. Again, way too far in the distance. We had another one pass virtually right alongside the boat but unfortunately no camera was ready. Passed the iconic Prince Shoal lighthouse marking the entrance to the Saguenay River and the town of Tadoussac.

Our first spotting of a beluga whale off Cap Saumon lighthouse

Not the prettiest, but very iconic, Prince Shoal Lighthouse at entrance to Saguenay River.

Waiting in line to enter Tadoussac Harbor - another hazy day

Much of the bay is shallow and goes dry due to the 15' tide.
Pick the wrong spot to anchor and bad things can happen.
He floated away at the next high tide!

Docking not the smoothest today and the dockhand earned his tip. Had to abandon our first attempt. Just weird current that kept pushing us over away from our dock and toward the boat in next slip. Finally got in and secured. Time for a quick walkabout. Walked over to the viewing cliffs beside the Whaling Center and spotted some whales breaching. Great view up the start of the fjord. Then over to the SAQ (liquor store) for a bottle of Coureur Des Bois Maple Whiskey. Just a wee bit over a little ice makes a fine warm-you-up.

Photo op at statues in front of Whaling Center

View up the Saguenay

Whales right off the shoreline

Rainy forecast for Thursday, so paid for a 2-day stay. Still debating taking the boat up the fjord or just taking a tour boat. Due to weather and other concerns, we decided to make it a 3-night stay and take one of the many whale-watching boats. Got reservations squared up for a Friday trip which allowed us to visit the Whale Interpretive center on Thursday. Smallish museum, but loaded with cool whale skeletons. All the skeletons are from whales that were found deceased locally. Otherwise, a pretty nasty day with rain and winds that kept us locked on board. Harbor is not as protected as the guide books suggest as we have been rocking all day - at least it eases up at night.

Inside the belly of the beast - this is a Right Whale looking forward toward its head

I believe this one was the skeleton of a Sperm Whale

Thursday evening we got our first dose of fog as it started rolling in around twilight. Made us a little nervous as we had already prepaid for a whale watching excursion on Friday. But the sun was out, the wind was up and the fog was gone by morning. Whale watching trip was a bit of a bust. Saw one just as we were leaving the docks. Then no more until about halfway through our 3-hour cruise - and it was too far away to see much of anything other than the discharge from its blowhole. Still, plenty of their cruising grounds we'll be traveling through on our boat so hoping for a few more sightings.