A To Z Challenge 2017–I is for Iles-de-la-Madeleine

 

Magdalen Islands is one of two municipalities forming the urban agglomeration of Magdalen Islands in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine region and the population is 12,291 as of the Canada 2011 Census.

As part of a municipal reorganization across Quebec, the seven communities of the Magdalen Islands amalgamated to form the municipality of Magdalen Islands on January 1, 2002. 

Grindstone (Cap-aux-Meules)

Located on Grindstone Island (Île du Cap aux Meules in French), Grindstone was settled as early as the 19th century. Before the 2002 amalgamation, it was the Magdalen Islands' smallest community in land area, but because of its location at the centre of the archipelago, it has become the most important business centre of the islands and, as such, was named "Capital of the Islands." The ferry servicing Cap-aux-Meules to Souris, Prince Edward Island constitutes the archipelago's only port of entry by sea.

The name of the community is associated to the grindstone quarry located on the island. Its population as of 2006, was 1,685.

Fatima

Also located on Grindstone Island, Fatima was settled between 1820 and 1845. It is named after Fátima in Portugal, a pilgrimage site highly visited after three young shepherds claimed the Holy Virgin appeared to them. Its population, as of 2006, was 2,809.

Grande-Entrée

Separated from the rest of Magdalen Islands by the municipality of Grosse-Île, Grande-Entrée is located on Grand Entry Island, named after the two headlands facing each other and creating a bay safe for boats and ships to harbour. Scots settled on the island at the end of the 18th century.

House Harbour

Havre-aux-Maisons

The first settlers came to Havre-aux-Maisons, located on House Harbour Island (Île du Havre aux Maisons in French), in 1765 from Acadia. The island was first known as Allright Island, then Alwright, and then Saunders, after sir Charles Saunders, a British admiral who accompanied General James Wolfe to Quebec City in 1759. The harbour between Grindstone and House Harbour islands was already known in 1756 as Harbour Maison. Since nobody lived on the island before 1765, the singular form for Maison could be attributed to the ruins of a habitation built by early Basque visitors and found by French explorers in 1663. Its population, as of 2006, was 2,078.

Îles-de-la-Madeleine Airport, Magdalen Islands' only port of entry by air, is located at Havre-aux-Maisons.

The hamlet of Dune-du-Sud, northeast of Havre-aux-Maisons, is a Hydro-Québec experimentation site to assess power lines' resistance to high winds. In 1993, it built a vertical-axis windmill, but the project did not go further past the experimental level. The windmill is now purely decorative.

L'Étang-du-Nord

L'Étang-du-Nord is composed of several hamlets running along the eastern coast of Grindstone Island, a few kilometres away from Cap-aux-Meules. Main fishing centre of the archipelago, the coast was settled around 1830. The community hosts a campus of Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles, the Magdalen Islands' only post-secondary institution. Population as of 2006, 3,126.

Amherst

Havre-Aubert.

Amherst is composed of three distinct hamlets, Havre-Aubert and Bassin (both on Amherst Island, Île du Havre Aubert in French) and L'Île-d'Entrée, on Entry Island (Île d'Entrée in French). Population as of 2006, 2,238.

Amherst Island's first settlers arrived in 1762 from Acadia, Prince Edward Island and the Chaleur Bay. A municipality, Havre-Aubert, was constituted in 1875 and changed its name to Bassin in 1959. Another municipality, Havre-Aubert-Est, was constituted in 1951 and changed its name to Havre-Aubert in 1964. Both amalgamated in 1971 and took the name of L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert. The island is a member of the Most Beautiful Villages of Quebec.

Historians do not agree on where the name "Havre-Aubert" is originating. Some suggested the name of an obscure friend of Jacques Cartier, while others brought up Thomas Aubert, a sailor from Dieppe and one of the Americas' first explorers, or François Aubert de La Chesnaye, who would have supported the colonization efforts of New France, as likely explications. Some have mentioned a family of sailors named "Auber" and other hypotheses include French explorer Jean-François Roberval, who would have stayed on the island in 1542, to name it "Havre au Ber," "ber" meaning in this case "berceau" (cradle in English, while "havre" is French for harbour). Roberval's child was still a baby at the time. However "ber" is also a marine term designating the wood structure on which a boat lies during construction or reparation. Meanwhile, an anonymous British map of the area in 1756 named it Harbour Ober and the post office, opened in 1899, bore the name "Amherst Island" until 1907.

In 2000, a new municipality named L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert was constituted following the amalgamation of L'Île-du-Havre-Aubert and the village of L'Île-d'Entrée. Entry Island is the only inhabited island part of the Magdalen Islands unconnected to the rest of the archipelago by land. It is located five kilometres east of Amherst Island and it is one of the three English-speaking centres of the archipelago. It saw its first inhabitants in the early 19th century: Scottish people from Grosse-Île and Nova Scotia settlers .

Entry Island owes its name to the fact that it is located at the southeast entrance of the archipelago. A ferry service exists between Entry Island and the village of Grindstone.

 

Rendez-Vous 2017 will be in this port July 7, 2017 – July 9, 2017

 

©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge 2017–H is for Havre-Saint-Pierre

 

Havre-Saint-Pierre is a town situated on Pointe-aux-Esquimaux, which is on the Quebec north shore (Côte-Nord) of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada. Located along Route 138 some 200 kilometres (120 mi) east of Sept-Îles, it is the largest town and seat of the Minganie RCM, and home to many government, municipal, and regional services.

Historically, the town's first inhabitants came from the Magdalen Islands in the nineteenth century. As a result, the people of the town speak a dialect much more closely related to Acadian French than to Quebec French.

Other important geological features near the town include the Romaine River to the north and west, les Chutes Manitou, on the Manitou River to the west, l'Ile du Havre, less than a kilometre offshore from the town, and Anticosti Island, which on clear days can be seen to the south of the town.

In 1857, a group of Acadian families from the Magdalen Islands, who had previously been deported from Savannah (Georgia, USA), settled on Eskimo Point (Pointe aux Esquimaux). The first mass was held on June 29, 1857, day of the feast of Saint Peter. In 1872, the Parish of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Pointe-aux-Esquimaux was officially established, the same year its post office opened under the name Esquimaux Point.

In 1873, the place was incorporated as a municipality. In 1924, the post office changed its name to Havre-Saint-Pierre, followed by the town in 1927, in order to focus on the harbor, which characterizes the area, while retaining the original parish name. It remained the largest town on the North Shore until 1936 when it was overtaken by Baie-Comeau.

Havre-Saint-Pierre will be the host city for Rendez-Vous 2017 from July 7, 2017 to July 9, 2017

 

©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge 2017–G is for Tall Ship Golden Leeuw

 

The Gulden Leeuw is a big, sturdy sailing ship reminiscent of the 30’s and with the deck layout of a classic yacht.

This ship was built in 1937 on behalf of the Danish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. The DANA was designed and built as an ocean-going ice class ship. During her period of service for the Danish government, she was frequently used for marine biological research, not only in Danish waters but also in international ones. The ship has a rich history. She sailed as a researcher, supplier and even as a training ship for a Danish nautical college.

 

In the past two years the ship has been converted into a three-masted topsail schooner, so the foremast is also yard-rigged. This very versatile rigging combines the advantages of a square-sailed ship and a fore-and-aft rigged ship.

The ‘Gulden Leeuw’ offers space for up to 200 passengers on day sails and for 56 trainees on longer voyages. We are passionate about sail training and are eager to ‘show you the ropes’. On board our ship we appreciate team spirit.

The ship has a luxurious flair and is therefore also very suitable for corporate hospitality, seminars and daytrips.

Class: A

Nationality: Netherlands

Length: 68 m

Height: 39.33 m

Rig: Gaff Schooner 3

Year built: 1937

Home port: Kampen, Netherlands

 

©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge 2017–F is for Tall Ship Fair Jeanne

Tall Ship Fair Jeanne is a Canadian sail training ship built and registered in Ottawa, Ontario. She is operated by the Ottawa-based youth charity, Bytown Brigantine Inc. Fair Jeanne is a 110 ft traditionally-rigged brigantine of composite construction, outfitted with a Detroit Diesel auxiliary propulsion system. Fair Jeanne sails mostly on the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Ontario, and is berthed in Kingston, Ontario during the summer months.


While Fair Jeanne's summer port is Kingston, she was built by the Fuller family in the backyard of their Ottawa home. Fair Jeanne began life as the family's private yacht, cruising the world’s oceans for more than 10 years. 

Today, however, Fair Jeanne sails for a different cause and is leased to the not-for-profit youth charity Bytown Brigantine, which uses her and her sister ship STV Black Jack for youth sail training. In addition to summer youth voyages, Fair Jeanne also does fall and spring group trips for organizations such as the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets, Girl Guides of Canada and corporate groups. The Fair Jeanne also offers trips for people who are working towards The Duke of Edinburgh's Awards.

The Fair Jeanne will sail in Rendez-Vous 2017 to celebrate the 150th Confederation of Canada.

Class: A
Nationality: Canada
Length: 33.53 m
Height: 24.39 m
Rig: Birgantine
Year built: 1982
 
©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge – E is for Tall Ship Europa

The Bark “EUROPA”, built in 1911, is a well known Tall Ship. Since 1994 she has taken part in Tall Ship Races all over the World: many times in Europe, but also in South Korea, Japan and the United States & Canada (East & West Coast, as well as the Great Lakes). EUROPA travels the oceans, visiting Antarctica from December till March and participating in The Tall Ships’ Races during the summer.






She is a ship that really sails, with her full set of Studding Sails (which you will not find on every Tall Ship), she has covered many miles, thus giving her the nickname “Ocean Wanderer”.

Although not the largest ship in the fleet, EUROPA is very much appreciated for the atmosphere on board as well as her looks. Everything about her gives the impression that our guests are on a true sailing ship from a forgotten era: the rope work on deck, the woodwork inside and outside, the pictures in the Deckhouse and of course the three traditionally rigged masts of which 2 are square rigged (being a Barque) and can hoist up to a maximum of 30 sails! The above photo was taken in the middle of the Pacific Ocean while on her way from San Diego to the Falkland Islands (rounding Cape Horn along the way!)
Apart from making wonderful voyages, the EUROPA is often used for Corporate Hospitality.

The options are wide: receptions, sponsoring of trainees and/or a combination of the two; advertisements, product introductions, wine tasting, daytrips – even weddings. She has once taken part in a movie and in 2006 the EUROPA took part for 14 days as a background for the opera “Der Fliegende Holländer” by Richard Wagner!

For a reception on board the EUROPA the deck, deckhouse and wonderful library can accommodate up to a maximum of 120 guests. The deck can be covered with an awning in case of rain or too much sunshine. In the deckhouse a bar can be used. Catering (food and beverages) is mostly arranged from the shoreside. Captain and/or mate and other crew can attend the event to explain about the ship, its history, and the adventures EUROPA undertakes every year.

Class: A
Nationality: Netherlands
Length: 44.50 m
Height: 28.16 m
Rig: Barque 3
Year built: 1911
Home port: The Hague, Netherlands
 
The Europa will participate in Rendez-Vous 2017
 
©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge 2017–D is for Tall Ship Denis Sullivan

The Sailing Vessel (S/V) Denis Sullivan is the world’s only re-creation of a 19th century three-masted Great Lakes schooner.

The S/V Denis Sullivan was completed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2000 by professional shipwrights and nearly 1,000 volunteers. The schooner is a modern educational sailing vessel with two diesel engines, a scientific laboratory, two computer workstations, and modern communication and navigation equipment. She maintains single bunks in co-ed areas, shared toilets (heads) and showers, and limited storage. The vessel can carry up to 50 passengers on day sails and 21 participants overnight. She is complemented by a professional crew of ten.




The S/V Denis Sullivan provides an array of genuine maritime experiences, from two-hour Lake Watches for families to multi-day educational sails for teens and adults. Water is the world’s most precious resource, and the S/V Denis Sullivan provides a unique platform from which to provide marine education, leadership training, and personal development to visitors of all ages. Explore this site or contact our Marine Department to find out how you can be part of this amazing experience.


Class: B
Nationality: USA
Length: 40.00 m
Rig: Topsail Schooner 3
Year built: 2000
 
©2017 The Past Whispers
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A To Z Challenge 2017 - C is for Class C Vessels

Class C

Modern rigged vessels with a length of less than 40 m and with a waterline length. The length of the point at which the vessel sits in the water, at least 9.14 m. They are not carrying spinnaker like sails.

Oriole was originally laid down as the Oriole IV, the successor in a line of vessels named Oriole that were in service as the flagships for the Royal Canadian Yacht Club of Toronto, Ontario. During World War II, she was chartered by the Royal Canadian Navy as a training vessel. In 1949 she was again chartered by the Navy as a new recruit training vessel, and subsequently moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1951. 

She was officially commissioned HMCS Oriole 19 June 1952, and two years later the navy moved her to CFB Esquimalt to become a training vessel to the Naval Officer Training Centre.

Class: D
Nationality: Canada
Length: 27.72 m
Height: 20.66m
Rig: BM Ketch
Home Port: Esquimalt

Year built: 1921

The Oriole will be sailing in Rendez-Vous 2017

(c)2017 The Past Whispers
All Rights Reserved