An all-nighter to Yarmouth

Whew! It has been a challenging time here in Shelburne Harbor. We arrived yesterday afternoon under gale force (30-40 mph) winds and driving rain. We motored around the harbor for about an hour as we considered all our options, unable to get a radio response from the marina. Docking was not an option due to the conditions, and although we attempted to moor, it was far too windy, so we finally anchored. We would have preferred a slip so we could connect to shore power and charge our batteries, do laundry, take a real shower, get a few groceries, etc. It is cold and windy, but we will dinghy to the dock and maybe accomplish some of the above; the rest will have to wait until we get to Yarmouth in the morning.

The plan is to leave here tonight at 11:00. Why? you might ask. We need to time our passage to Yarmouth precisely to avoid having strong Bay of Fundy tide currents working against us. If all goes as planned, tomorrow night will be our last night in Nova Scotia, and yes, Canada. We've been in Canada since arriving in Port Colburne on August 8 (we also had a brief stay in Sault Sainte Marie) and will remember it fondly: The cities of Montreal, Quebec, Charlottetown, and Halifax...the Saguenay fjord...the whales, dolphins and seals...the small fishing villages of Matane, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, GrandeRiviere, Escuminac, and Ballantyne's Cove...countless beautiful small towns, harbors, and anchorages...and the wonderful people we met along the way, as well as the people we traveled with (Claus and Rachael, Michael). My only regret is having had to rush through it all.

Two anniversaries

Sept. 15 - Today is our wedding anniversary - 29 years of marriage. It also marks one year since my Grandma died at age 101. It's not a sad thing, the fact that she died on our anniversary; it guarantees that we will never celebrate it again without thinking of her and remembering what a special person she was.

This and that

Another beautiful day in paradise: clear and calm with temps in the 70s.

We left Halifax this morning and are on our way to, according to our cruise guide, one of the most scenic anchorages in Nova Scotia - Port Mouton. I don't know if we can take any more "scenic;" Nova Scotia has been a succession of idyllic picture postcards.

I've been told we have a few new people checking the blog lately - if you are one of them, I would like to welcome you and thank you for joining us. I have a few hints to help you enjoy the experience more:

First of all, if you click on the 2007 section on the right hand column under "archives," you'll be able to scroll through the whole blog without clicking on a different page each time you get to the end of one.

At the bottom of the page is a Google interactive map that shows all the places we have anchored, moored, or docked. You can zoom in really close - sometimes so close you can actually see details (the marinas and buildings, etc. - of course, you won't see our boat there). This is a fun feature since it provides a visual of where we are. I recommend that you click on "view larger map" in blue on the bottom.

Also, I often post messages several days to a week before I get around to posting photos and providing hyperlinks, so it pays to check back to previous posts. Sometimes I even add text to the posts or edit them later if my writing is incoherent (late at night or when I'm rushed, which is usually the case). If you left-click on the photos, you can view them larger in a new window.

Finally, if you'd like to leave us a message, you can do so by clicking the "comment" area at the bottom of any post. If you want to read my response, you need to check back to the same comment area that you made your comment from. We welcome and respond to all comments (at least I hope I haven't missed any), although sometimes I email a response to people whose email addresses I have.

A souvenir from Nova Scotia

As I mentioned in this morning's post, today we drove down the "lighthouse trail" to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg, a beautiful, scenic drive along the southwest coast. Peggy's Cove looks like a movie set, with all the appropriate scenery and props of a fishing village set just so. I’m not convinced anyone actually lives there, but there certainly is no shortage of tourists.

At one point, Wayne pulled the car over so I could take a photo; while returning to the car, I stepped into a deep hole camouflaged with weeds, and fell. I don't know if I hit the camera or a rock, but there was lots of blood and a cut just below my lip. I stopped at a restaurant/gift shop to clean up and the proprietor gave me some ice to put on it. I looked in the mirror and realized I needed stitches, but spent the next few hours in denial with napkins pressed to my lip. Wayne noticed on the map that there was a hospital in Lunenburg, Fisherman's Memorial Hospital, and suggested we have them take a look at it. By this time I realized that I couldn't talk, smile, eat, or drink without my lip breaking open and bleeding again, so I reluctantly agreed to go. Three stitches, two hours, and one hospital bill later, we were on our way. The stitches really were necessary, so it's a good thing we took care of it.

I did get some good photos today, though; I'll upload them next time we have internet access, so do check back.

We were glad we stayed the extra day; a few more days wouldn't have been too many as far as I was concerned, but it is time to move on.

Good Morning!

We took a slip in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia Monday night and that’s where we’ll be until tomorrow. Halifax is an attractive harbor city with culture, history, and character. It offers all the amenities of a big city without being too big, and is easy to get around in on foot.

I'm just sitting here drinking my coffee, waiting for the boat to heat up so I can take a shower. It was 54 degrees in the boat this morning, which isn't so bad (a couple of times it's been in the 40s), but it is still too cold for me to shower. It's rather bizarre to sit in the cockpit in my robe eating breakfast and watching the people, some dressed in business suits, walk by on their way to work or whatever. They pass by only about thirty feet from the boat, but we're in completely different worlds.

Today Wayne and I are taking a scenic drive down the coast to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg. Looks like a perfect day for it - sunny skies and temp in the 70s.

The three of us arrived in Halifax Monday evening. On Tuesday we rented a car for the first time since leaving home. Michael wanted to see the tidal bore in Truro, so we drove up there in the rain. The Bay of Fundy, which is northwest of Nova Scotia, has the highest tides in the world - some as great as 54 feet! These huge tides cause tidal bores, which form when an incoming tide rushes up a river, developing a steep forward slope due to resistance to the tide's advance by the river, which is flowing in the opposite direction. Thus we have the phenomenon of the river changing its flow before your very eyes, flowing in over the outgoing river water.

The height of the tidal bore increases with the range of the tide and may vary in height from just a ripple to several feet. It wasn't a dramatic event that day, but was impressive nonetheless, considering the unusual phenomenon we witnessed.

Before returning to Halifax, we took a scenic loop around, then continued down to Peggy's Cove, a beautiful postcard town with a lighthouse you have probably seen photos of. It was raining, though, and I couldn't get many photos, which is why we're returning today.

Tuesday night we went out for lobster dinner; Michael had never eaten whole lobster before, so that was a must-do. He was not disappointed.

Wednesday we walked up to the Citadel and spent a couple of hours there; it was very interesting to learn about some of Halifax's military history.

After the Citadel, we browsed through some shops so Michael could buy a gift for Amy, then returned to the boat. Michael showered and packed, then we were off to the airport with no time to spare. We enjoyed our time with him tremendously, but it was too short, of course, and there was so much we didn't have time to do. All we can hope is that he had a good time and is glad he came.

After we dropped Michael off, Wayne and I decided to stay an extra day, so we will be here until Friday.

Halfway there!

Sept. 10 - We've reached a huge milestone: our approximate halfway point. We've traveled over 2200 miles and have about 2200 more ahead.

As we listened to the weather forecast this morning, it became obvious to us that the smart move would be to cancel our plan to go part way and anchor tonight, and instead head straight to Halifax, about 90 nm. Tropical storm Gabrielle is a couple hundred miles away and not a serious storm, but she's just enough of a nuisance to cause rain and possibly more winds than we care to sail in (30-40 knots). They are also predicting heavy fog for tomorrow, so all in all, it does not look like the best day to be on the water. Besides, if we get to Halifax tonight, we'll have a day and a half to sightsee before Michael leaves on Wed. afternoon.

Having Michael with us has given me the added bonus of a mini vacation from crewing; I am more than happy to let Michael help with the dock lines, fenders, sails and keeping watch when Wayne is busy with something else. Michael is more of a sailor than I am and enjoys that stuff more than I do, and frankly, I don't mind that Wayne has someone else to boss around for a while. Today it allows me to spend time in the cabin working on photos. And updating the blog, obviously.

A delightful treat of a day

Sept. 9 - We left around 6:00 and sailed until we reached Liscombe Harbor. From there, we motored seven scenic miles through the harbor and up the river to Liscombe Mills. It reminds us of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Northern Minnesota. We docked early, at 2:30, which left us plenty of time to explore a bit and take advantage of some of the facilities offered at the resort here, which were included in our dock fee.We started with a hike and walked past a waterfall, through the woods, and alongside the river; it was a welcome change for the senses to be surrounded by trees with the damp, musty smells of moss and pine. I lingered a while to take more photos while Wayne and Michael headed back - Wayne needed to fill the water tank and hose the salt off the boat. We grilled steaks for dinner, then headed up to the indoor heated pool and spa. Mmmmm. It felt heavenly. Today was a delightful treat.

He's finally here!

Sept. 6 - Today is the day! I feel like a contestant on the reality show "Survivor" who is getting a visit from a loved one back home.

With Michael arriving tonight and our guest cabin piled high with stuff, we were highly motivated to get things organized. After one day short of six weeks cruising, believe me, it had to be done. So we stashed away things we aren't using and found better places to put other things. This boat has a tremendous amount of storage.

I wanted to explore Charlottetown, so Wayne sent me on my way while he stayed behind to do laundry and get some boat things done. Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is a lovely small city with many historical buildings, and the marina is conveniently located near all the amenities of the downtown area. I walked around town and browsed through the shops for a while, then Wayne and I both got badly needed haircuts, went to the grocery store, and had ice cream.

Back at the marina, we finished up the laundry and caught up with email. A shift in the wind made our dockage less than ideal, so the dock master suggested that we move our boat to a more well-protected slip. This would give us the added bonus of being farther away from the party-ers that kept us awake last night. Although there are a bunch of fishing boats at Charlottetown Yacht Club, none of them are used for fishing any more; people buy retired fishing boats, fix them up (or not), and use them as recreational/party boats.

Michael's flight got in at 9:00 and he took a cab to the marina. We had told him where to find us before we knew we would move, so when he found a 150' yacht tied up where we were supposed to be, he thought we had upgraded!

Michael hadn't eaten dinner, so we went out to a local pub and had steamed mussels, nachos, beer, and Michael ordered tuna. It is so good to have him with us. Thanks for letting him come, Amy - you get the daughter-in-law of the year award in our book. We wish you could be here too, of course.

Sept. 7 - We left at 9:00 and had to motor because there was no wind. On the plus side, calm water made it easier to spot whales, so Michael got to see a few on his first day out, as well as quite a few dolphins. We docked for the night in a lovely little place called Ballantyne's Cove, Nova Scotia, just south of Cape George Point.

Sept. 8 - Yesterday and today we've enjoyed warm, sunny weather with calm water and little wind. What a change from the 7-8 foot waves and 30 knot winds we experienced earlier in the week! I guess the variety of conditions keeps us from getting bored.

Later...We maneuvered our way through the buoys of St. Andrews Passage, which would have been scenic had it not been foggy. We saw a lone seal swim by the boat. The open water of the Atlantic Ocean welcomed us with more fog and waves. We anchored in a secluded cove with lots of little islands - Yankee Cove, in Whitehead Harbor. As we sat in the cockpit chatting, we were startled to hear voices; we looked out and saw another sailboat emerge from the fog and come in to anchor. I think they were as surprised to see us as we were to see them. The fog lifted as we ate dinner; it’s very pretty here.

Favorable winds

Sept. 5 - Ahhhh...this was sailing at its best. Ok, maybe a bit too much of a good thing with winds at 25-30 knots and lots of 7-8 foot waves, but the winds were in our favor this time and we flew. We sailed 80 nm in 12 hours (I know - pretty darn slow to you landlubbers and power boaters) and never turned on our engine until it was time to take down the sails. We experienced several long, heart-stopping minutes when Wayne feared that the propeller had fallen off; he was running the engine in forward but the boat didn't go. The propeller screws on and is held secure with six cotter pins, so it's highly unlikely to fall off. Wayne got it going after a few minutes, but we have no explanation as to what happened.

We decided to skip a planned stop in Summerside so that we would have a full day tomorrow in Charlottetown. Docked at Charlottetown Yacht Club.

A much needed layover

Sept. 4 - It's a good thing we had scheduled today as a layover day, because I don't think I could have sailed. We were battered, beaten, and stressed to the max yesterday, both physically and mentally; we were exhausted and just plain bone-weary. Our bodies felt like we had done a week’s worth of sailing in one day. Most people think sailing is a passive activity, but we move around a lot, especially on days like yesterday, and use our core muscles constantly as the body compensates to maintain balance and equilibrium.

Today I used my core muscles to pretty much sit on my butt.

We slept until almost 8:00 and I sat in the cockpit the rest of the morning, editing photos and taking advantage of the strong wi-fi signal. I kept falling asleep, though. Sleep deprivation and downright exhaustion had caught up with me and I didn't accomplish much.

Claus and Rachael have electric bikes, so Wayne and Claus stuffed their backpacks full of dirty laundry, got on the bikes, and headed into town to the laundromat. It was our turn to cook dinner, so we made marinated grilled shrimp.

Claus and Rachael informed us today that the inevitable time had come: they had decided to stay in Bouctouche for an extra day or two, which meant we would have to part ways because we need to leave tomorrow to meet Michael in Charlottetown on Thursday. Claus and Rachael have become such dear friends in the short time we've known them, and we will cherish the experiences, the conversations, the laughter, the hugs, the dinners, the whales, the photos, and countless special moments we've shared on this crazy journey of ours. But we will meet up and travel together again, possibly even within the next few weeks; meanwhile, we’ll have Michael with us for five and a half days to help fill the void.