All in all, night sailing was sublime. The light winds allowed us to hear the breath of the whales, sporadic and unpredictable marine geysers that broke our solitude as sailors. A little further up in the inky night, the (almost) full moon cast a pale light over the pristine sea. Catherine even managed to convince Béa, Camille and Justen believe that they needed to apply moon cream because it was so bright... What’s more, the team of romantics were able to see the moon setting to port and the sun rising to starboard at the same time. I guess that’s how they got their name...
The more astute among you will have noticed that we were heading north… In fact, the weather forecast was for relatively light south-westerly winds in the evening and then for them to pick up in the early hours of the morning, which meant we could safely spend the night under sail, but more importantly, which meant we could slowly make our way towards… the Magdalen Islands! What a gem this archipelago is! Seen from the water, its ochre coastline and lush green hills are so inviting! Not to mention the emerald, turquoise, azure, and other shades of blue and green reflected in the surrounding sea and its many sandy shoals. And the sky is an endless blue, completely cloudless…
We arrived at Havre Aubert Island in the early afternoon. We then strolled along the legendary La Grave, a strip that runs the length of Havre Aubert Island, something like the Broadway of the islands… The weather is absolutely perfect: 26C, not a cloud in sight, a 15 km/h saltwater breeze; you couldn’t ask for better! We took the opportunity to admire the spectacular scenery and the colourful houses that are part of it, or to visit the Musée de la mer (Sea Museum) or the Aquarium des Îles (Island Aquarium).
In the late afternoon, we head for the magnificent Bout-du-banc beach, also known as Sandy Hook. This beach has such fine sand that even the Cubans would be jealous. It stretches for around ten kilometres and, to our great surprise, there’s hardly anyone there – it’s almost our own private beach! We take advantage of it to swim, play football or freesbee, bury Tomas in the sand or simply relax and let time take its course, as the locals know so well how to do.
At the end of the afternoon, we headed to the magnificent Bout-du-banc beach, also known as Sandy Hook. It’s a beach with sand so fine that even the Cubans would be jealous. It stretches for about ten kilometres and, to our great surprise, there’s hardly anyone there – it’s almost like our own private beach! We swim, play football or frisbee, bury Tomas in the sand, or just relax and let time take pass, as the locals do so well.
In the meantime, our Madelinot captain Roger is using his contacts: he’s back with 50 pounds of mussels, 25 lobsters freshly caught this morning, potatoes, platters of raw vegetables, breadsticks, as well as a large pot and a propane burner. As we feast on these treasures of the sea around a bonfire set up on the beach, a full pink moon rises over the open sea, piercing the purple of Venus’s belt. As I stood back to capture the scene with my camera, I had a moment of clarity when I realized how lucky we are. A moment of pure joy that will be etched in our hearts for a long time to come; a moment that will stay with us forever.
Translated by Lorraine Gagnon