It was with mixed emotions that we untie the lines at 5 am and head out of the safe harbor of Souris and head out too the open waters of the Gulf of St Lawrence. We are heading for the Magdalen Islands, where the Atlantic Ocean and the Northumberland Strait meet at the NE tip of PEI. Winds against tide create a wave action (like a washing machine), Sounds worse than it is and we have left with favourable winds. Only 70 nautical miles from port to port it should take us around 14 hours to do the crossing. This is a huge body of water with no place to hide if the weather turns bad of if something goes wrong.
We have a favorable weather forecast 15 - 20 knot winds from the south east and not expected to change until late afternoon when it will increase to 25 knots and gusting, we should be in by then.

We are here safe! Our crossing goes without any difficulty. The winds are directly behind us so it is a bit of work to keep the sails from jibing and we roll a little in the 1 meter following seas but make good time arriving on this remote sand bar and dropped the anchor in the sheltered bay at Havre-Auber at 7 pm. The weather is just starting to turn with rain and building winds and before long we are tucked in bed listening to the wind howling blowing 25 and gusting to 40 knots all night long. We have put out two anchors and check every couple of hours to make sure we have not dragged and find that we have been held securely all night.
After a good breakfast on board it is time to dingy ashore and take a look around. We ask at the marina and are told there is no way we will be able to bring the boat into dock, there is simply not enough water for us at low tide. So we will be hanging out at anchor and using the dingy to get around for the duration of our stay. The reality is that while it is considerably less social we actually prefer spending the night on the hook. No banging or squeaking against the dock all night or having to listen to wayward sailors returning to their boats.
We walk out onto the narrow street that runs the length of the sand bar and find ourselves in what looks and feel like a Disney theme park. It's the perfect tiny fishing village with all of the old fishing structures turned into artist studio/ galleries, gift shops and trendy restaurants. It's wonderful; loads of people roaming in and out of great little stores, the art and local crafts are fascinating and beautiful and we roam with the rest of the tourists for the balance of the day. We have dinner at Café de la Garve and try a sampler plate of seal sausage, lobster and smoked mackerel pâté, clam chowder, scallop cerviche and fish pie. It's a great introduction to local cuisine in a wonderful atmosphere. We are entertained by some of the best musicians we have heard in ages. Charles Frechette, Damien Levasseur and Frederic Pause are joined on the small stage by an excellent guest accordion player and a talented fiddle player and the whole room including Jacqueline and Suzanne who have joined us at our table are delighted with the accomplished playing of these talented young jazz musicians.
Its back to the boat for an early night, a nightcap on the deck as the sunset ends a magical day on this exotic remote bit of paradise.