Having arrived early on Wednesday afternoon to prepare our luggage, we were able to place the full kayaks in the wharf warehouse. The local Nordik agent, Mr Jean-Marie Deraps and his wife Émilienne were generous enough to allow us to use a small area of the wharf, as well as the use of a pallet truck and a corner of the warehouse.

Thursday morning : we're up at 4:30 to be ready to see the Nordik arrive at 5:30. As soon as we get to the wharf, we learn that the Nordik is running 3 and a half hours late because of a problem with its hoist. The wharf is already teeming with passengers, fishermen and bystanders... I find myself a quiet area to the side and start preparing our maps: folding and cutting them so they fit in our chart pouches.

Loading the ship is a show in itself, with cars and trucks hanging in the air while their nervous drivers are taking pictures... The ship's horn sounds abruptly around 11:30 and we are off. In a few minutes the ship is on its way along the seemingly endless Mistanekau beach. Stretching over 25 miles, it separates Natashquan from Kegaska, the next village. On board, passengers settle into different classes: scrabble and card players choose their tables on the cafeteria deck; the tired, amorphous or simply blasé crash in front of the TV screens; the outdoor enthusiasts are outside on the forward deck or catching the rays on the sunny side... Binoculars in hands, ready to signal the faintest blow of a surfacing whale, their eyes scan the horizon to be the first to spot our next port... It's just under three hour to Kegaska.

While Marie explores the ship and settles on the outside deck, I cover a table with maps and notebook and immerse myself in our coming trip. Different maps have different scales which I calculate and mark for future reference. I evaluate distances, become familiar with the geography and start making route choices. After our discussions with Sylvain Roy in Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, we decided to shorten our trip and to stop in St.Augustine rather than going all the way to Blanc-Sablon. The coast line beyond St.Augustine is very exposed and the chance of weather delays would be significant. As we are scheduled to catch the Nordik on its return trip in two weeks, we would not be able to afford any windbound delays beyond St.Augustine. Although the distance could easily be covered in 4 or 5 days, one would need to plan on at least 7 or 8 days to be safe.

Like they do at all daytime stopovers, as soon as the ship is tied ashore in Kegaska, passengers quickly empty on the small wharf and invade the tiny village (population 155) like a throng of tourists pouring out of a cruise ships into the streets of a Caribbean port. No duty free shops here, though! One small general store ("quick grab a bag of chips and a pack of cigarettes"), the small Anglican Church, a dusty road and a long sandy beach. Life here is almost Caribbean in its pace, but not in water temperature (around 40^oF). A few cars (without license plates) and many 4-wheelers appear to greet the few passengers who stop here and carry the supplies being unloaded. Tied to the other side of the wharf, tiny among the crab fishing boats, we're surprised to see a small French sailboat. It looks like its aluminum hull has seen many an open sea crossing...

Back on the Nordik, it's late afternoon when we dock at La Romaine, two and a half hours after leaving Kegaska. The village is about 3/4 of a mile away from the wharf and looks much bigger than its population of 185 would indicate. This is because it is also the home of the native community of Kamatshenan (population 615). We admire its impressive community center at the village entrance. This is where we say goodbye to three new friends with whom we shared the forward deck for a few hours. She is a geologist and spends her Summer here. Everyday, weather permitting, she takes a group of Summer students on geological surveys along the coast. Her husband and their daughter are joining her for a few days in her temporary home.

Some passengers had the foresight of bringing their bicycles on board. Like they do at each stop, they take them out and go for a quick exploratory spin before coming back and parking their steed on the racks made especially for them on the Nordik's rear deck.

It's almost completely dark when we leave. Next stop : Harrington Harbour, the starting point of our "real" adventure, in about 6 hours. After a simple but filling supper, we find a quiet spot to sleep on the upper deck. It's our good luck that their are few passengers on this trip. We are able to lie across the comfortably padded seats of the observation deck. We are thankful to catch a few hours of sleep before feeling the slowing rythm of the ship's engine announce our arrival in Harrington. It's now 2:00 am, Friday. What a day this has been!