This past week has been comprised of some long and somewhat boring days. Being anxious to reach Maine, and watching the miles click by so slowly has been rather frustrating. Now we're also watching the progress of the season's first hurricane.
Last Sunday we completed the Northumberland Straight with a nice sunny ride from Wood Island, PEI to the Canso Straight. There's a lock in the straight which allows boat traffic to overcome very strong currents. We were not looking forward to waiting at another lock so we crossed our fingers all afternoon that the passage would be quick. The area between St George Point and the straight was beautiful. We spotted dozens of pilot whales, a few small dolphins and a seal or two. Their graceful movement through the water is definitely something to watch. The Canso Lock – 10 minutes and we were done! What a great ending to a beautiful day. We arrived in Hawkesbury, NS at 5p and enjoyed a quiet night tied to their docks.
We're sailing more now, giving the motor a much deserved rest. The winds are now WSW as we move along the Atlantic shores of Nova Scotia. So far the seas have been low rolling waters with a few gusts over 15 knots each afternoon. We met a couple in Canso that crossed the Atlantic a few years ago. We enjoyed an evening of intense conversation with them and learn a few things about ocean crossings, too. We've been moving cautiously along the coast as we adjust to ocean waters and the need for constant weather reports. We anchoring along the way in Whitehead-Marshall Cove and then Beaver Harbour. We're using information from a cruising guide along with the data in the chartplotter to scope out each day's travel. So far the information has been great and not steered us wrong.
We reach Halifax on Thursday night. The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron took us in for the night (for a hefty fee of course) and we stayed long enough to do a little laundry in the morning. This club was established in 1837. As we were wandering the grounds and admiring the main facilities we found a trophy case. There were several large sterling silver racing trophies from the early 1900's. Very cool. We were also asked several times if we were lost or needed something. Maybe our casual attire drew the attention? Oh well. We took another ride along the shores of downtown Halifax before departing the area. We were able to tie up at a public dock and walk up and down the boardwalks there. They offer charters of all kinds, car ferry service, and tour boats as well as an abundance of souvenir shops and salt-water taffy vendors. We managed to get out with only $10 having been spent. :)
Next stop was just outside the Halifax area in Ketch Harbour. Saturday morning presented dense fog so there we sat doing small projects until 10a. The fog lifted and we were off. We had an uneventful motor sail to LaHave River. We're holding up in here until the effects of the hurricane have past. We spent all day Sunday preparing the boat for the heavy winds. We took down the dodger and bimini, the jib sail, and added line around the mainsail to keep it secure. After moving the boat out into the river basin with the others, we were brought back to shore where we stayed for the night. The club house was warm and the couches were comfortable.
Today we can start reassembling our sails and canvas. The worst of the storm threats have passed. We heard strong winds and some rain here, but there appears to be no damage anywhere. The forecast today includes strong winds until this evening. We'll be staying here another day and then head back out on Tuesday.
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