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Wave Chasers / Chasseurs de vagues

  • August 5, 2021
  • Mountain Life Media
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The Magdalen Archipelago is one of the few places in the world where visitors can enjoy floating through natural sea caves and get up close and personal with the power of nature. Words :: Maxime Bilodeau. For French-language text, click here or scroll down.

Grande-Entrée is more than just the lobster capital of Quebec. This small French-speaking hamlet of the Magdalen Islands can also boast of being home to a unique water sport: wave chasing.

Almost every day during the summer, visitors flock to this small fish hook-shaped northeast chain of islands. Droves of thrill-seekers eagerly gather on the rarely visited Bluff Beach for one reason: to ride the waves along a 600-metre section of cliffs to explore the nearby sea caves which they literally float into. These unique ocean excursions are offered by La Salicorne Inn.

Wave-Chasers-Chasseurs-de-vagues-Magdalen-islands-Grande-Entree-Island-ALEXANDRE-GREGOIRE
Gauche Activité de flottaison le long des côtes de l’île de Grande Entrée. / left Floating along the coast of Grande Entrée Island. Photo: ALEXANDRE GRÉGOIRE.

“Mario Cyr, a local diver and underwater photographer, was one of the first people to come up with this idea in the late 1980s. It’s continued to grow in popularity ever since,” says Simon St-Onge. Every year, St-Onge trains and accompanies the guides who take visitors on adventures through “the caves.” There are usually two or three guides on each excursion. 

“The locals have been doing this for a long time. It used to be very informal. They wouldn’t wear any of the equipment we use today such as wetsuits, life jackets and helmets,” says Antoine St-Onge, Simon’s younger brother, who has also braved several hundred float trips to the caves. This stretch of coastline is the ideal spot for this type of activity. Since the shoreline is dotted with headlands, smooth cliff faces and small beaches, it isn’t subject to dangerous rip currents that can drag you away from the shore.

Borgot lighthouse, Magdalen Islands. Photo: MICHEL BONATO
Phare du Borgot, Îles-de-la-Madeleine / Borgot lighthouse, Magdalen Islands. Photo: MICHEL BONATO

Modus Operandi

The weather, particularly wind speed, has a major impact on wave chasing. “The wind creates the waves,” says Michael Molaison, La Salicorne’s operations manager. “For example, if there’s been a strong wind over the past 24 or 48 hours, there may be a lot of residual swell.” Every morning, staff gets together to determine if the conditions are safe. “It’s the first thing we do when we wake up. We don’t want to unnecessarily put ourselves at risk,” insists the man who has ten years of experience floating through the sea caves.

When the ocean is calm, visiting the caves is a spelunking excursion where contemplation is at the forefront. At low tide, you can even stand up straight since your feet can easily reach the bottom. “When we guide visitors through the caves, we take the opportunity to teach them about erosion, which is constantly reshaping the islands,” says Simon St-Onge. The Washing Machine cave, Ninja’s Passage, Bibeau’s Cap—each natural formation along the way has its own name, history and distinct personality.

Magdalen-Islands-sea-cave-waves-Quebec
Photo: ELLIOT LAPIERRE

Some excursions are more demanding. The huge untamed waves casually toss around anyone who dares to brave them. While you need to be fearless and comfortable in the water, you don’t actually have to be a strong swimmer. “The equipment makes you float, kind of like a cork bobbing along the surface of the water. You simply lay on your back or stomach, and paddle with your arms,” says Antoine St-Onge. The challenge is learning how to read the waves, much like a surfer would. “The trick is to keep your body as relaxed as possible, and let the elements carry you along,” he adds.  

Extreme Wave Sport

Sometimes Mother Nature doesn’t cooperate. “A wind of more than 40 km/h blowing from the east or southeast is synonymous with long and strong waves coming from the Atlantic. On those days, we usually postpone any scheduled excursions,” says Simon St-Onge. However, it doesn’t stop some from going out and chasing the waves.

This subject is somewhat taboo and the management at La Salicorne doesn’t want to be associated with it. However, people still do it. You’ll get the odd adrenaline junkie who can’t help but throw themselves headfirst into the raging waves during a storm. Among them is Antoine St-Onge, who admits he’s had a few scares when he’s decided to go out in less-than-ideal conditions. “Some of the fun comes from losing control. You have to accept that the ocean makes the rules. It can carry you 35 or 40 metres in the blink of an eye, and you can’t do anything about it,” notes the 27-year-old. 

Wave on the coast of the Magdalen Islands. Photo: JC LEMAY
Vague sur la côte des Iles-de-la-Madeleine. / Wave on the coast of the Magdalen Islands. Photo: JC LEMAY

That’s one of the aspects that makes this sport so unique. When you’re surrounded by the unrelenting power of nature, you realize just how small you are in the grand scheme of things. This is an experience which, inevitably, provides a lesson in humility for humans—a species convinced it has tamed nature. “The caves are a doorway to something bigger than yourself,” says Michael Molaison. “Even to this day, when I step off the shore and into the ocean with a group of people, I can’t help but feel like I’m nearing the edge of the world.”

Vie en montagne édition été-automne, disponible dès maintenant / Summer-Fall Issue Out Now

Grande-Entrée est bien plus que la capitale québécoise du homard. Ce petit hameau francophone des îles de la Madeleine peut aussi se targuer d’être le berceau d’une chasse unique en son genre : celle des vagues. Tous les jours ou presque durant la belle saison, le même rituel se répète dans le nord-est de ce chapelet d’îles en forme d’hameçon. Des adeptes de sensations fortes se rassemblent sur la peu fréquentée plage de la Bluff. Leur objectif : longer une section d’environ 600 m de falaises afin d’explorer les cavités forgées par la mer, qu’ils côtoient de très, très près. Et pour cause : ils baignent littéralement dedans !

Ces excursions nautiques sont offertes par l’auberge La Salicorne. « Le plongeur et photographe sous-marin québécois Mario Cyr serait parmi les premiers à avoir structuré cette activité à la fin des années 1980. Elle n’a cessé de gagner en popularité depuis », raconte Simon St-Onge. Chaque année, ce dernier forme et accompagne les guides qui encadrent les visiteurs inscrits « aux grottes » – ils sont deux ou trois guides par expédition. 

« Les gens du coin pratiquent ce sport depuis belle lurette. À l’époque, c’était néanmoins très informel ; les Madelinots ne revêtaient pas nécessairement une combinaison en néoprène, une veste de flottaison et un casque comme c’est le cas aujourd’hui », renchérit Antoine St-Onge, le jeune frère de Simon, qui cumule aussi plusieurs centaines de sorties de flottaison dans les grottes. Il faut dire que le secteur en question où se déroule l’activité est propice à cette expérience. Le littoral tacheté de caps, de parois lisses et de petites plages n’est pas soumis à des courants d’arrachement, ces dangereux mouvements d’eau qui entraînent vers le large.

Modus operandi

La météo a bien entendu une grande incidence sur le déroulement de cette chasse atypique. Ce sont plus spécifiquement les caprices d’Éole qui en dictent la nature. « C’est le vent qui crée la vague, affirme Michael Molaison, le responsable des activités à La Salicorne. S’il a beaucoup venté dans les dernières 24 à 48 heures, il peut par exemple y avoir beaucoup de houle résiduelle. » Tous les matins, il y a donc conciliabule : les conditions du jour sont-elles suffisamment sécuritaires ? « C’est la première chose qu’on fait en se levant. L’idée est de ne pas se mettre à risque inutilement », insiste celui qui cumule dix années d’expérience dans les grottes.

Lorsque l’océan est une mer d’huile, les excursions prennent l’allure de randonnées de spéléologie où prime la contemplation. À marée basse, il est même possible de se mettre debout puisque les pieds touchent sans problème le fond de l’eau. « On en profite pour visiter les grottes et sensibiliser les visiteurs à l’érosion, qui ne cesse de reconfigurer les berges des îles », souligne Simon St-Onge. Grotte de la lessiveuse, passage du Ninja, cap à Bibeau : chacun des différents obstacles naturels croisés en cours de route est doté de son histoire propre et de sa personnalité distincte.

Les sorties dites sportives et d’aventure sont pour leur part pas mal plus exigeantes. Les vagues, immenses, chahutent alors celui ou celle qui ose les braver. S’il faut certes du courage – et une aisance certaine dans l’eau – lors de ces journées, peu de compétences en natation sont véritablement requises. « L’équipement fait qu’on flotte à la surface, un peu comme un bouchon de liège sur l’eau. On se déplace sur le dos ou sur le ventre, essentiellement à l’aide de   ses bras », indique Antoine St-Onge. Le véritable défi est d’apprendre à « lire » l’environnement, un peu comme un surfeur le ferait. « Le truc est de demeurer le plus mou possible, et de se laisser bercer par les éléments », dit-il.

Sport extrême

Parfois, dame Nature ne coopère tout simplement pas. « Un vent de plus 40 km/h soufflant de l’est ou du sud-est est synonyme de vagues longues et fortes qui proviennent de l’Atlantique. Ces jours-là, il faut généralement annuler l’activité pour le grand public », illustre Simon St-Onge. Cela ne signifie toutefois pas la suspension définitive de la chasse aux vagues, bien au contraire.

Le sujet est quelque peu tabou – la direction de l’auberge La Salicorne ne souhaite pas s’y voir associée. Pourtant, la pratique demeure bel et bien réelle : des valeureux en quête d’adrénaline profitent des tempêtes pour se jeter tête première dans les flots déchaînés. Parmi eux, il y a Antoine St-Onge, qui avoue avoir « réussi à se faire peur » à quelques reprises lors de telles équipées. « Une certaine partie du plaisir provient de la perte de contrôle. Il faut savoir accepter que la mer nous domine, qu’elle puisse nous transporter sur une distance de 35 à 40 m sans qu’on ait rien à y redire », philosophe le jeune homme de 27 ans. 

L’air de rien, on touche ici à ce qui fait la singularité de ce sport. C’est en tutoyant la plaine liquide qu’on prend la pleine mesure de sa puissance et de notre propre petitesse face aux éléments. Une expérience qui, forcément, confine à la modestie l’être humain, cette espèce convaincue d’avoir dompté la nature. « Les grottes, c’est une porte d’accès vers plus grand que soi, confirme Michael Molaison. Encore aujourd’hui, lorsque je quitte le rivage pour m’aventurer vers le large avec un groupe, je ne peux m’empêcher d’éprouver un sentiment de bout du monde. » 

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Related Topics
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • body surf
  • La Salicorne Inn
  • Magdalen Islands
  • Quebec
  • Quebec Maritime
  • sea caves
  • surfing
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