Day 1 (Monday)
At the crack of dawn on June 15th (Monday), I was quietly gathering the last gear and provisions for my 3rd Sea Pearl (SP) camping trip to the Baskatong Reservoir. By 5:30 am, I was on the road for the 230km drive to Chez Rainville outfitters – my usual launch point into the reservoir. But first, I made the usual pit-stop in Maniwaki for breakfast at McDonald’s (8 am). From there, it’s a short one hour drive to Chez Rainville (9:30 am).
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| Maniwaki, QC for breakfast |
On this trip, the plan was to explore the north-east area of the Baskatong where the Gatineau River enters the reservoir.
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| Rainville to Baie Est is 32 km (one way) |
It was probably around 11 am before I was ready to shove off from Rainville. It was a nice day with a medium westerly breeze, and perfect for me since I was heading NNE. Because I was sailing (i.e. SP only needs 2ft of water under sail) and on a broad reach, I had no problem taking a shortcut and passing Ile du Cimetiere to port. From Cimetiere, it was a great downwind sail to Ile aux Scouts (6km), where I made a beach landing for lunch. The first day's plan was to get as far as possible up the Gatineau River channel before making camp, so I did not waste too much time over lunch – especially with the favourable winds! By 4 pm, I was crashing the beach in a sandy bay across from Pointe Garde Feu (30km from Rainville) in stronger westerly winds. I made camp, had dinner (steak and corn-on-the-cob), and went for a short paddle in the Wood Duck (WD) kayak. It had been a great day and sail, but the excitement wasn't over just yet! I decided to sleep on-board under the SP's pop tent, but after I was all snug in my sleeping bag, I realized that I had hundreds of stow-away mosquitoes on-board! Option A was to go ashore and set-up the tent. But, I decided on Option B – to put on my bug shirt and go to sleep. It worked OK, only because I was so tired from a long day. That was the end of sleeping on-board the SP for this trip.
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| The best way to cook corn-on-the-cob! |
Day 2 (Tuesday)
The next morning (Tuesday), the weather forecast wasn’t looking so good. I had time for a dry breakfast but was soon under my rain tarp, waiting for things to clear. During a break in the rain, I went out in the WD for a paddle and some fishing (no luck). The rain wasn’t heavy, and there were no threatening thunderstorms, but the wind was picking up from the NE. By 3 pm, the sun was out, so I rigged the SP and, with the WD in tow, we were off to explore the northern entrance of the Gatineau River. Due to fairly high gusty winds, I switched to Honda-power as I approached the narrow section and proceeded as far as Pointe Baie Est on the east bank. Baie Est is a great little protected bay (1km x 0.25km) with many narrow, steep sandy beaches and a few high cliffs of sand! It would make a good protected bay for anchoring overnight, but unfortunately, there are no great campsites. I landed the SP and switched to the WD to explore and fish (no luck!). For this trip, that’s as far north as I got. I sailed back to my campsite across from Pointe Garde Feu, made dinner (chicken frico & corn-on-the-cob), went for a paddle (trolling), and then retired to my tent. Great sleep!
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Day 3 (Wednesday)
I started the 3rd day with a little pre-breakfast fishing outing (you guessed it -- no luck). I’m not sure it’s worth buying a fishing license for this place anymore!
I broke camp after breakfast and started heading south (i.e. downriver) in a mild westerly breeze (2 turns on main; 0 on mizzen). I had all day to find a new campsite, so I was taking my time and enjoying the sailing. I went ashore at Crique a L’Ours for a break and took the WD out for some exploring up a sandy creek. It was then back to sailing downriver and entering the Baie du Fer a Cheval for a lunch break on a sandy beach. Camping on the shores of Baie du Fer a Cheval would have been OK, but I decided to go and explore another bay across the river (Baie des Trois Ruisseaux). I’m glad that I did; Baie des Trois Ruisseaux has two great campsites as you go behind Pointe Gauthier. I took the second site, which is deeper in the bay and better protected. After making camp, I went out with the WD to explore and try my luck at fishing again. Then it was dinner, campfire, and lights out!
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| More corn-on-the-cob for dinner! |
Day 4 (Thursday)
Since I was only 20km from Rainville in Baie des Trois Ruisseaux, I decided to make this another two-night stay. So, I had all day to explore, fish (ha), or whatever. After a delicious pancake breakfast, I headed over to the three streams at the bottom of the bay in my small 12ft Wood Duck kayak. Finally, at the entrance to the streams, I was getting some hits (walleye); but could not land a big one. I spend all morning in those three streams (nice spot), and meanwhile, I could hear the winds picking up. By the time I started back to the campsite, the winds were getting up there, and the bay was quite agitated. After a campsite lunch, I spent some time getting things for a possible severe storm coming through. The rain with high winds arrived by 3 pm and did not let up much until 6:30 pm. I sheltered in my tent with my book, and all was fine. I did go fishing after dinner (9 pm) and finally did land a legal size walleye (12”+), which I release for practical reasons.
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Day 5 (Friday)
I had the campers’ delight for my last day – a beautiful sunny morning for breakfast and breaking camp. By mid-morning, I sailed out of Baie des Trois Ruisseaux heading for Ile Capri. Ile Capri in the middle of the Gatineau channel is a bunch of rocks and a few trees, so I kept going downriver towards Pointe Gruyere with a nice tailwind -- the wind gods were still on my side. I did stop at Pointe Bruyere to check out some ZEC signage and development (but it was mostly a camping/trailer park). After a long walk on the 2-3 km beach, I headed downriver again (mostly wing-on-wing) and soon passed Pointe a Potvin, a vast sandy and marsh area. John Verbaas and I made a stop here on our SP trip back in Aug 2011, and we couldn’t believe the quantity/quality of the sand that has accumulated here!
Today, I made my last shore landing on the south side of Ile Crique Rouille on a small protected beach. After securing the SP, I loaded the WD with my camera, snacks, and lots of water and headed out to explore and photograph the area between Crique Rouille and Scullion. After a quick lunch, I made the final sail back to Chez Rainville in a relatively strong easterly breeze (3 pm).
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Trip summary:
- Great weather on Mon, Wed, and Fri
- Rain on Tuesday morning; a storm on Thursday afternoon
- I had mostly favourable winds (Honda-san did not get much use)
- The water was cold but not icy
- The mosquitoes were sometimes a challenge in the morning and evening
- Baie des Trois Ruisseaux has the best campsites (2) in the Gatineau channel
- The wildlife is pretty limited in this area (or very shy)
- The fishing was very poor (as usual)
