Photos - Quebec City to St. John's NFLD.

A photo journey of some of the photos taken along the way. June 30 to July 16, 2007.
Enjoy. Photos by Rainer Leipscher

Metting Elmer, Jan Pieter and Pim at the marina in Quebec City, where my part of the journey to St. John's Newfoundland begins.

After work on the boat, a tour of the old part of the city was in order. Unique monument.

Artists display their craft.

Courtyard.

The charm of old Quebec City is everywhere.

Happy tourists.

A colourful sight at every turn.

Elmer, Jan Pieter, Rainer and Pim enjoy the charm (and a drink) of old Quebec City. What a lively, artistic and beautiful part of the city.

Entertaining the tourists.

July 1 - Elmer, Jan Pieter's brother, leaves Mokum for his trip back home to Holland. He has been with the boat since 50-Point Marina on Lake Ontario.

Leaving the last lock at the Quebec City yacht club behind. No more locks from here on. Plan is to reach Tadoussac before nightfall, but it's a long way off.

A very strong tide rushes past channel marker. Made over 11 knots over the ground with the tide and under 4 against it, even though the boat speed was 6.6 knots.

Find that marker yet?

Rain gear was off and on for most of the day.

Tea time.

Always on the lookout for tanker traffic.

Life is good.

Mokum running with a very strong tide.

Lighthouse at entrance to Tadoussac on the St. Lawrence River, at low tide.

Whale activity on the St. Lawrence River at Tadoussac, Quebec.





Fin whale (hard to tell).

Beluga whale.

The clubhouse-restaurant at Tadoussac harbour, sits high above the low tide waterline. Tadoussac is located at the entrance of the Sagueny River and the St. Lawrence River. A very picturesque town with an active tourist trade. Whale watching is a main draw to this community. Beluga whales are very abundent here.

Low tide in harbour.

One of oldest churches in Quebec.

Journal update time.

Inspecting a humpback whale skeleton. Better get back soon to close the hatches. Sky is a little too dark.

Took a very scenic hike on a boardwalk along the shore, before leaving Tadoussac.

How would you like your meat done?

Pim kept us well fed.

July 2 - Underway. Full gear was needed for cold and damp night. It seemed time moved slowest between midnight and 3 a.m. Still were chilled when shift was finished. A hot chocolate or coffee helped.

July 4 - 6 a.m. arrival at Riviere-au-Renard, on the Gaspe Peninsula. A long 36 hr. run from Tadoussac. Took a hike around the harbour, bought some fresh fish and had a much needed $4 shower at the club house.

The town has a very active fishing community.

Darkness and a cold night, are soon to come.

A wet deck.

Invigorating sail at sunset.

One of dozens of lobster trap floats we had to navigate around. What a mine field.

Shoreline of Iles-de-la-Madeline. Arrived at 1300, after a 25 hr. run from Riviere-au-Renard. Fantastic sailing throughout the night.

The harbour at Cap-aux-Meules on Iles-de-la-Madeline is a busy fishing and pleasure boat centre. It is said that 80% of the population are descendants of shipwrecked sailiors.

Stacked lobster traps, with Mokum in background.

Fishermen unload lobster traps on the second last day of the lobster season.

July 6 - A hill with a view over the harbour.

A barren landscape and a red clay shoreline.

Lobster fishermen take in their catch.

Tanker crosses our bow. We had to reduce speed so he could pass safely in front of us in the fog. Radar is a must.

Smooth landing.

Plenty of bird activity to help pass the time while underway.

Spotting first sight of land in Newfoundland at Port aux Basques. Radar, the fog horn and help from Port aux Basques Traffic Services guided us through heavy fog to the narrow entrance of the harbour.

Fishermen tending their nets near the entrance to Port aux Basques harbour.

Jan Pieter and Pim - Welcome to Newfoundland.

Jan Pieter and Rainer are happy to be ashore after a 22 hr. trip from Iles-de-la-Madeline, in heavy fog.

Ferry from Sidney arrives in fog after a 6 hr. trip.

Not many sailboats in this part of the world. A great spot to rest and wait for Erik.

Walking part of the Trans Canada Highway.

An abundance of flowers growing in the wet bog.

A beautiful stretch of winding road, with not a tree in sight.
When stepping off the road, your foot would sink in the thick wet bog.

Pim leads the way.

Hiking along stone ridge.

Wild orchids.

A toast at the spot we first sighted land through the fog.

Ferry entering Port auz Basques harbour.

Mokum crew thanked communications officer for helping us enter Port aux Basques harbour under heavy fog conditions, earlier in the day. All ship traffic must report with the Marine Communications and Traffic Services centre before entering their zone. Very friendly and professional.

Traffic controller keeps track of all ships around Newfounland, part of Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Has information on each ship, as to who they are and where they are going.

July 8 - Taking on more diesel fuel before leaving Port aux Basques.

Jan Pieter show his culinary skills.

Toast to another great hot meal.

July 9 - Erik is getting his sea legs, after joining Mokum in Port aux Basques, Newfoundland.

Any time is nap time.

July 10 - Refueling while underway in the Atlantic. Hold on tight Erik, we don't want to lose the skipper.

Passed across the bow of tanker that was waiting for clearance to enter the Placentia Traffic Zone. Lucky he was dead in the water. We hove-to (setting the boat up so it wouldn't make any progress in the water) shortly after this and spent 4 hrs. resting, so we could enter Trepassey harbour in daylight the next day.

Whale gets airborne.




July 11 - A very rugged and inhospitable shoreline for a sailboat. Making our way to Trepassey located at the end of a long bay. Most of this part of trip was in heavy fog.

Erik tends to the main.

A pod of humpback whales surface near the entrance to Trepassey harbour, at the south-east tip of Newfoundland. Jan Pieter slowed the boat to keep up to their movements through the water. Followed them for 20 minutes. They were totally at ease with us following them. What an experience.







Fishermen unload over 16,000 lbs. of swordfish and tuna, after spending two-and-a-half weeks on the Grand Banks. The fish will be shipped to Boston by transport truck, a two day journey.

Tricky descend to boat at low tide, but a secure and protected dock in Trepassey.

A sunny hot day in Trepassey, with fog over the harbour.

Low tide. Watch that first step. Fog would roll in at any time of the day.

Captain Charlie (right) and his crew from the fishing boat came by for a chat.

Dusk at Trepassey fishing dock, with fog rolling in over the bay.

Jan Pieter, Pim and Rainer, dressed for the cold and wet conditions.

Supper with full weather gear on.

July 12 - Getting ready for action.

Gusts up to 30 kts. and speed over 9.

Hold on tight.

High seas, 20+ knots of wind and a speed over 9 kts. This is sailing.

Always time for photos, no matter what the conditions.

Long, high waves, help move the boat along at over 9 knots.

A blustery sail under high waves.

Mokum arrives at St. John's Newfoundland.

Lighthouse at channel entrance to St. John's harbour.

Securley tied up to dock after a long day at sea. Left Trepassey at 3:30 a.m.

Our neighbours on the dock, Andre Johansen and Marita Hermansen. They sailed their 30-foot Pacific sailboat, Hogo Grotius from their home port of Oslo, Norway, leaving
July 2006.

July 13 - Ready for our first breakfast in St. John's.

No way am I going to finish this, even with Jan Pieter's help.

Erik tries to solve the curse of getting the satellite phone to work with the computer. Ready to pull his hair out after spending over three hours on the cell phone to Kitchener.

Racers from the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club raft off on Mokum and Hugo Grotius, the sailboat we share the dock with.

George Street comes alive after 10 p.m. There are 65 licensed establishments in a three block area. Lots of fun.

Lively George Street.

Magical dusk light.

Well kept homes.

July 14 - We were invited by the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club to join the race they held once a year in the harbour. Jumped at the chance. Skippers meeting was held before the race.

A great day for a race in St. John's harbour.

Almost too close for comfort.

Winds went from strong to none.

Congestion around the race marker.

The skipper likes to cut it close. We could have reached out and touched the tires.

It was a tight race to the finish marker. We took 4th place.

Erik celebrates after the race.

Old homes along the steep cliffs.

Sign says it all.

The rugged, narrow trail snakes it's way along the cliffs up to Signall Hill.

Another rest stop on the steep trail up Signal Hill.

Canons from the past, guard the entrance to St. John's harbour.

Colourful mailboxes decorate many homes.

Time for a good cleaning.

Maybe a few more cans of curry before we go?

Jan Pieter, Joanne and Warren on George Street.

The Navy frigate St. John's, leaving for patrolling duty on the Grand Banks.

Jan Pieter, Lesley and friends Joanne and Warren, who made the trip to St. John's to visit the crew of Mokum.

The crew involved in the adventure of Mokum's journey, (left to right) Jan Pieter, Erik, Pim, Martin (front), David and Rainer.

Jan Pieter, David, Erik and Martin eager to start the Atlantic crossing.