SAILING THE ST-LAWRENCE
SAILING THE ST-LAWRENCE
Summer 2018, I took two weeks off work to join my brother on his sailboat stationed in Quebec City. Destination: Rivière-aux-Renard on the Gaspé Peninsula. You can look it up. What an opportunity! A real vacation; no photo gear and no client gigs. Just my brother and I. Of course, I knew that two weeks on a small boat would bring its load of challenges; close quarters, rationed food, windless days. Hey, I’m on vacation so bring it on! But the St-Lawrence is more challenging than I had thought. First morning away from Quebec City, we get up at 3:30 to catch the outgoing tidal current. The boat is facing high winds, tossing me up and down and I have to pull up the anchor. This is rough! Then, one day it's sweating hot and the other, it's so crazy cold that I have to wear just about every piece of clothing I have. And how about those waves near Grande Vallée? This is physical!
I did bring video gear though. So I find myself filming razorbill penguins near Brandypot Island, a school of belugas crossing towards Tadoussac and fin whales on the way to Havre du Bic. I’m filming sunrises and sunsets and fishing boats and birds and I’m having the absolute time of my life. I could do this forever.
Somehow, filming just doesn’t feel like work. Is it because I've been doing it less than photography? Is it the sailboat, or my brother, or the St-Lawrence? Maybe it's just a wire disconnection in my head. Whatever the reason, I’m just glad I brought the camera.
https://christianfleury.com/DOCUMENTAIRES/Feel-the-Wind/1
https://vimeo.com/324818099