Boatnerd Discussion Forum

Mac, the [i]MP Emilie[/i] you mention was beached near Baie St. Paul some 30 years ago, but was "adopted" by an artist who left her in place, but renamed her [i]L'Accalmie[/i] and used her as a studio for a time. Later he too abandoned her, and she deteriorated rapidly, but became a favorite subject for photographers and painters. In 2014 she was accidentally set on fire and destroyed.

Mac, Mr L, I just spent some time on the Isle-aux-Coudres. Most worthwhile. The mast from the goelette [i]Isle-aux-Coudres[/i] (all that remains of her) stands near the ferry terminal and Groupe Ocean shipyard at St. Bernard. She served there as a ferry, connecting the island with St. Joseph-de-la-Rive along with another, steel goelette, [i]La Marjolaine[/i]. [i]Mont St. Louis[/i] is at the museum on the island, and has deteriorated somewhat. Obviously this facility is not as well-funded as its counterpart in St. Joseph.

Thank you for the information about Jean-Richard Carre. Very sad. Knowing his fate makes you catch your breath while watching the final minutes of "The [i]Jean Richard[/i]!

Anyone who loves goelettes who hasn't seen this video should do so, post-haste. It is superb in its combination of cinematography, narration, music, and editing, to say nothing of how clearly it shows the construction of the vessel, using largely hand tools, patience, and great skill. I'd call it a classic film.

Mr L
Thanks for the correct detail on several items including the death of Jean-Richard Carre.
I do have a DVD of the Jean-Richard film, and it was acquired through the NFB.
The video interview with Capt. Eloi Perron shows construction of his goelette M.P.Emilie and another goelette, Notre Dame des Mers at Ile-aux-Coudres. There are also scenes taken aboard Mont St-Louis T, the last goelette in original condition, which has been preserved at Ile-aux-Coudres.
Two other goelettes, St-Andre and Jean-Yvan rest at nearby St-Joseph-de-la-Rive, but have been much modified over the years.
The remains of the goelette Jean-Richard remain sunken on the Ottawa River where it ended its days as the fishing lodge Ville de Vanier.

The body of Jean-Richard Carré, twenty years old, was found in the Chicago River off the Chicago Tribune dock on the north side of the river just west of the Michigan Avenue bridge on 27 May 1968. A seaman on the Quebec & Ontario Transportation vessel [i]Black River[/i] that had arrived 18 May 1968 at the dock with newsprint from Baie Comeau, he was deemed missing soon after the vessel arrived. His watch had stopped on 20 May 1968. Chicago police determined he had drowned.

[quote]Pierre Perreault made the film "Le Jean Richard" with The National Film Board and it was first aired in 1960. Both French language and English language versions exist.[/quote]
Actually, the French-born René Bonnière directed [i]Le Jean-Richard[/i]. Pierre Perreault wrote the scenario. Perreault would revisit the world surrounding the goélette with his own wonderful film, itself a sly reworking of Robert Flaherty's [i]Man of Aran[/i], [i]Pour la suite du monde[/i] in 1963, the same year Bonnière's film was released (it had been made several years earlier). Alas, [i]Le Jean-Richard[/i] doesn't exist for viewing on the NFB website, probably since it was produced by Ottawa's Crawley Films Ltd. but only distributed by the NFB.

The goélette has intrigued me since I was a kid. Indeed, two feet from me as I type this is a copy of Capitaine Éloi Perron's book, [i]Les Goélettes de L'Ile-aux-Coudres[/i]. Here is an interview with him (in French, indeed, Québécois French), but I believe portions of the Bonnière film (which I've never seen) appear in this piece, specifically the color sequences of the building of a goélette:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YiGvUiuiLpg

However, Perreault made another film involving goélettes, [i]Les Voitures d'eaux[/i], in 1968 and can be viewed at the NFB website, although in French, and is basically a history of the craft. It is available on DVD, but there is no indication if there are English subtitles. It is part of his [i]L'Ile-aux-Coudres[/i] trilogy released a few years back by the NFB, which also includes [i]Pour la suite du monde[/i]. Even if you don't understand French, it's very nice to watch if you love wooden boats, although it's about, in essence, the demise of that type of vessel:

https://www.nfb.ca/film/voitures_deau

Here is more about the [i]Jean-Richard[/i] itself:

http://ottawastart.blogspot.com/2014/01/mystery-revealed-historic-jean-richard.html

Pierre Perreault made the film "Le Jean Richard" with The National Film Board and it was first aired in 1960. Both French language and English language versions exist. (Given enough patience with the NFB's web site https://www.nfb.ca/ you might find it there or be able to order a DVD.)

Jean-Richard Carré, after whom the goelette Jean-Richard was named, died in Chicago in 1968. His body was recovered from Lake Michigan and foul play was suspected since no water was found in his lungs. The crime was never solved.

Jean-Richard Carré was gaining seatime and studying for his masters papers so that he could become a marine pilot. I believe he was about 21 years old at the time of his death.

In 1963 "The [i]Jean Richard[/i]", a now-classic documentary appeared on CBC dealing with the building of the last wooden goelette (schooner) in French Canada.

The vessel was named after the son of the owner/master, Capt. Paul-Emile Carre, who was involved in her construction during the winter of 1958-59.

I have heard that young Jean-Richard Carre went as cadet on an Upper Lakes vessel a few years later, at the height of tensions between ULS and the SIU, and disappeared after going onshore one evening. Is there anyone who knows more about this?