 We had an early wake up call the next
morning and were underway for Matane at 0500. Matane was only 40nm away but we wanted to
get in on a high tide since the water depth in the marina was reported to be somewhat
shallow. By 0800 we were out of our foulies and enjoying a clear sky and light winds while
we motor-sailed across a glassy sea. We tried flying the spinnaker but we gave up after
awhile and had a beer or two. Geoff serenaded us with bits of song, bawdy limericks and
pieces of poetry from Shakespeare to Keats. How he keeps all that stuff in his head
I’ll never know. We arrived in Matane in the
early afternoon and found that there was plenty of depth in the marina for Inishfree.
Again the entrance was very narrow and the river current was a factor. I was a little
surprised when Geoff did not take the wheel from me as we began going in. The channel
between the jetties ran straight at a bridge that was too low to go under but had a hidden
left turn just before the bridge. The marina opened up and we saw several boats were
already in and we had people on the docks to direct us to a slip. Geoff got a little
nervous as we approached the docks and took over the wheel to take the boat into the slip.
Both Andy and I agreed though that he was showing some real signs of beginning to have
confidence in our abilities.
I went up to the harbormaster’s office and overheard a radio conversation with one
of the bigger boats that was going to use the commercial basin to anchor in. They had
called in requesting information on transportation from the basin over to the marina. The
harbormaster told them to call back after they were anchored and let her know how many
people wanted transportation and she would arrange for a local to come pick them up and
take them anywhere they wanted to go. Later I was down on the docks talking to Andy and
one of the locals who had come down to look at the boats and I related the story to them,
adding that I thought it was fantastic to be experiencing that kind of hospitality. The
local guy just looked at me like I was from some other planet and said, "But that is
the least we can do for you."
 The party on the docks got into full swing as more
boats came in. Geoff brought the boom box on deck and started playing ‘Newfie’
music. He and another skipper began singing along while one guy was doing a jig on the
dock. The people on the boat next to us had bought some crab from a truck in the parking
lot. They were sitting in their cockpit chowing down and were making total pigs of
themselves to our complete enjoyment. We of course had bought lobster and shrimp for
ourselves but showed much more restraint. We waited until dark before getting into the pig
mode.
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