Exit stage left. The flotilla departs.

Sunday night I was too tired to finish up my blog so I left if for today so it would be somewhere near coherent.

Sunday morning dawned cool but beautiful and it warmed up in no time.  We were so fortunate to have such grand weather for our adventure to Quebec City.

We were up and out by 7:30 a.m., but it’s guaranteed that the crews of the 40 Tall Ships were up well before that. After four days in the port of Quebec City welcoming thousands aboard their ships, the flotilla got ready to sail down the mighty St. Lawrence for Cornerbrook, NL, and then on to Halifax, NS and Saint John, NB. Most of the ships had already pushed away from the docks and headed upriver under power by the time we got down to the boardwalk just in time to see the last of the largest ships heading up river. We joined the other spectators anticipating their arrival at a spot along the boardwalk railing at the base of the Chateau Frontenac.   Upriver and out of sight, the ships came about and set and hoisted their sails despite the only 5 mph winds.  We spent the next hour clinging to the railing and hoisting ourselves up onto the angled top of the wall.

Leading the flotilla was a Canadian Navy Ship, followed by the fire boat with its amazing water pumping capacity. The majestic beauty of the ships sailing by was a sight to behold. There were “ohs” and “aws” from the assembled masses as each new ship came into view.  The best response from the crowd was reserved for the one below that included music loud enough to hear high up on the famous Quebec City bluff that Wolfe’s troops had scaled 258 years before in their attack on Montcalm.  As you can see, many of the crew were aloft standing on sail yards, ready to set the square sails.  I wonder how they decide who has to go all the way to the top one.  Or maybe it’s a privilege.

We watched for over an hour as single, double, triple and even 4 masted ships passed us. It’s one thing to see them tied up in harbour, and even to tour onboard as we did for 6-8 of them. It’s something else to see them under sail and in flotilla. I forgot at times to take pictures, enraptured by the sight of it all. You can see how huge these ships are in relation to the sailboats and yachts following along.  At one point a freight ship came steaming around the corner, irritatingly getting in the view.

As you can see from the puffs of smoke in some of the pictures below, some of the war ships were also demonstrating their arsenal.  In this case, thankfully, it was a salut to the host city and the adoring crowds.

Sad that it was over, we headed back to our lovely B&B, Hotel Chateau de Pierre, for another fabulous breakfast.  We checked out and hit the road back to Ottawa.  However, today instead of taking Highway 20/30/417 we stayed on the north side of the St Lawrence and followed the river for much of the way on Highway 138.  We were not alone.  The road was quite busy with lots of motorcyclists enjoying the great weather and there were several fresh fruit and veggie stands as well as many yard sales along the way. We traversed through many small, picturesque towns, most with an amazing church. We just had to stop at one in particular because it was absolutely huge especially in the context of the small town of Sainte-Anne de La Pérade, in which is was located. The church was bustling with activity getting prepared for a reenactment of the visit to the church of Charles de Gaulle. Who knew.

With just a quick stop at one of the ubiquitous Casse-Croutes for a great grilled hotdog, we arrived home just as it was starting to get dark, tired but so happy with another successful adventure.

Next up, northern Ontario, and the Big Smoke!

Here’s one more picture for the road…………taken into the rising morning sun.