July 31, 2025 Getting psyched for a few long days

Thursday July 31, 2025 Caraquet Wharf to Miramichi Dock 91 miles and 9 hours

The forecast for Caraquet was for those pesky NW winds to start building overnight and continue through the day. So we planned an early departure to try minimizing the effect on our crossing of the last of Chaleur Bay making for Shippagan and the cut through to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Winds were up and seas were building but our 6:30 departure helped. Plus, the winds were at our stern instead of on the bow.

Big red ball of fire to start the day.
Now how does that expression go - "Red sky at morning...."

We had passed the Shippagan lift bridge (who's operator spoke excellent English and gave us a very quick opening) and exited the Shippagan Gulley by 9AM. The worst was now behind us. From there down to Miramichi Bay we simply hugged the coastline which offered ideal protection from any developing seas. The shoreline here is relatively flat so not overly scenic.

Lift bridge at Shippagan going up. Bridgetender to us:
"Hurry up and get here. Don't want to be holding up the traffic"

Shippagan Gulley is a narrow channel heading out to the Gulf.
Current is pushing us 3 knots as we head between the red bouys and the concrete wharf wall

The entrance to Miramichi Bay has several out islands you need to thread through carefully and then it's just a matter of following the atons as the main channel snakes its way upriver. A newly built solid wharf with a nice floating dock is capable of handling 2-3 transient boaters on the waterfront while the town marina behind the wharf has just a few slips for recreational boaters. We were the only transients here tonight despite the $40 flat fee being a bargain. Sort of expected as the town is a bit out the way for normal Down East Loopers. We arrived in time to hit the grocery store which is literally in the building behind the marina. Enjoyable dinner out at O'Donaghue's Irish Pub.

The 1893 Post office and Customs building
attests to a once more active port town

The town was initially established back in the 1600's by Scotish fur traders. The French and Acadians had a go in the early 1700's before the English took over in mid 1700's, burned the place down and exiled all the Acadians. By the early 1800's a large contingent of Irish laborers arrived and became a well-established ethnic group. We kept trying to figure out what all the green, white and orange flags were around town until we learned we had just missed the annual Irish Festival. Back at the boat for the evening and we got to see some diving challenges by the local youths off the dock. Big posted signs "No diving/swimming" but it was after hours and no one seemed interested in stopping them. Finished the day with a blaze of glorious colors at sunset.

Boys being boys - "I double dog dare you!"

Let's see - How does that expression go "Red sky at night...."

Journey for July 31, 2025

Friday August 1, 2025 Miramichi to Bouctouche 89 miles and 8.75 hours

Went to bed with calm winds but was awakened around 3AM by the gentle slapping of waves against the hull. Guess we'll be in for another long rolling day on the water. Not too bad as we got another early departure heading eastward at 6:30 out of Miramichi Bay directly into the rising sun. It is brutal on this clear sky morning.

Early morning starts heading directly east into the rising sun. Pretty brutal.

Chop is already developing on the bay so we expect worse as we wind back through the out islands and head south down the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Northeast winds so waves are now at our stern. At least we won't have pounding breaking waves on the bow. With following seas we settle in for a day of the boat wallowing around as we rise and fall with each passing wave. The stabilizers are fully engaged and the autopilot is working overtime trying to keep us headed in the right direction. Not completely uncomfortable but we know after a long day of this we'll have sea legs when we finally hit the shore. We follow the long sandy beach that separates the gulf from the Baie Du Bouctouche and then make the turn and finally are into more settled waters.

The lone lighthouse marking the sandy beach and entrance to Bouctouche Bay

This bay becomes very shallow as we meander from one channel marker to the next into Sawmill Point Marina in Bouctouche. At times the depth finder refuses to show any depth below our keel but we've been assured there is sufficient depth for us to get through. We push on and eventually get depth readings that prove we're once again floating and not just plowing through sand or mud. Delightful marina, super friendly and accommodating dockmaster.

Secured at the marina. Once again, the "big boy" at the docks.

St Joseph Church is the big church downtown. With the typically heavy Catholic
population we were surprised to discover it was actually a Baptist church

There is a big arboretum across the street courtesy of the Irving family. KC Irving grew up here in the early 1900's. Became a very successful businessman. The company is currently pretty diversified with interests in agriculture, oil, manufacturing, forestry, shipbuilding, etc. His wife planted over 5000 native New Brunswick tree species on the property. After their death it became a park.

Statue of K.C. Irving along the waterfront park

While most of the property is wooded or open meadow,
there is also a nice flower garden area

Plenty of flowers in bloom up here

The variegated leaves on this maple tree caught our attention.

This is Acadian country and our dockmaster has that oddly "Cajun" sounding accent. There's an Acadian attraction in town but just too far away for us to walk there. We also finally determined the flags flying here are no longer the Quebecois Fleur de Lie but are the Arcadian flag (French flag but with a star in the corner}and the New Brunswick flag (very colorful with an awesome Viking boat). We hang around in the morning a bit to hit their farmers market before heading to Prince Edward Island. Fairly large market for the area. Picked up some wild blueberries, a few veggies and some delicious baked goods.