Aground in Lac St. Pierre in the St. Lawrence River

My grandmother used to have premonitions. Sometimes I think I have just a touch of her ability. I woke up this morning from a half dream where I was thinking about running aground. As we motored out of the Lac St. Pierre delta and back into the main channel, I mentioned to Jay how I was avoiding a shallow channel as I didn’t want to run aground. As he took the wheel as we crossed Lac St. Pierre, I commented to him that the lake was very shallow in places and that we should stay in the main shipping channel.  However, just an hour after we pulled anchor we were aground. The good news is we do not seem to have sustained any damage. The bottom was mud and although we travelling about 8 knots with the current we seemed to have come to a sliding stop rather than a hard stop. Within a few minutes we had successfully reversed out of the mud and returned to the main channel.

 I can easily understand how it happened. There was a caution marker painted red marking the edge of the area and it could easily be mistaken for a red buoy. Jay took a picture of one to prove how confusing it could be. The channel went from 30 feet to 1 foot in less than a boat length. It took just a moment of inattention and we were aground.

 Today is hot, sunny and very hazy with no wind, so once again no sailing. The only waves we felt as we motored to Trois Rivieres are those caused by the wake of passing motor boats. At 3pm we arrived in Trois Rivieres and anchored in the river just to the east of town.  We have only travelled 30NM today. It is a busy thoroughfare and we are rocked by passing motorboats continuously, but as we need to get up at 2am to catch the tide/current tomorrow on our way to Quebec City, it will be fine. On the way up, we had bypassed Quebec City and stopped here at the marina, but this time we want to spend a few days in Quebec City.  I can hardly wait!