We had a fantastic day of sailing when we left Shelburne.  The seas were calm and we had a steady wind that allowed us to sail a beam reach all the way to Lockeport, N.S.    We didn’t turn the engine on until we took the mainsail down just outside the breakwater of Lockeport’s harbor.

There are no moorings and no anchoring in Lockeport’s harbor so we spent the next two nights docked at the White Gull Marina and Restaurant. The White Gull Restaurant is a nice little place to grab a bite to eat.   Apparently they fabulous fish and chips but we didn’t know that when we grabbed a bite to eat there.  Next time!

Lockeport is a quiet little community surrounded by beaches.   Summer had arrived in full force (but just for two days) and it was hot!  We took a short walk to the town’s longest beach that is about a mile long with sand that is so fine it is difficult to get it off your feet! There were some people swimming and I wished I had worn my swim suit but it was refreshing to walk down the beach and wade in the cool water.  As always we found a stick to throw into the water for Shamus!  Being part lab retrieving sticks out of the water is one of his favorite games.  This game of fetch was particularly fun since there were some small waves breaking on the beach.   Shamus would bound over the waves to get to his stick and on his return swim to the beach he would end up body surfing back in.  Tim and I couldn’t help but laugh watching a small wave roll into shore with our pups snoot and ears sticking out the front of it.  Too bad we didn’t have the camera with us!

Lockeport is a working harbor with a good sized fishing fleet and a fish processing plant right next to the slips.  We didn’t mind the fish processing plant as our view from the cockpit also had a nice view of the oldest houses in Lockeport and a nice little sand beach.   If you need to re-provision this is a great place to do so. Lockeport has a great little food market located very close to the marina.  It is definitely the best market we have been to in Nova Scotia so far.

On June 11 we motor sailed from Lockeport and anchored off Carter’s Beach near Port Mouton.   Carter’s Beach is another beautiful long sandy beach.   The water is clear but very cold.  A few minutes of wading and our ankles started to ache!  Shamus had a blast! We played fetch with him until we tired of throwing the stick but he still had a ton of energy and spent the rest of the time on shore pouncing on his stick, dragging it through the sand and burying and digging it up again! He dug so many holes I actually worried someone walking along the beach would fall into one. 

Tim and I expected the coast line of Nova Scotia to be rocky like the Maine Coast.  We definitely weren’t expecting mile long beaches with soft white sand!  I have mentioned in prior posts that Tim and I aren’t beach people.  Our favorite beach is on Roque Island off the Maine Coast.  Like Roque’s beach we find the beaches in Nova Scotia prettier than those we have visited in the Caribbean.  The contrast of sandy white beaches, and grassy dunes surrounded by evergreen trees and rocks, and the clear sparkling water is just more aesthetically appealing to us.  The water being too cold to swim in isn’t much of an issue.  The sea breeze blowing onto the beaches is often cool and refreshing so don’t get overly hot while strolling down the beach.   In certain places the water does warm up enough to take a swim and in the places it doesn’t a quick wade into the water will cool you down quickly!  Aaaah!

Strong winds and rain were forecasted to roll in over the next couple of days.  It would be blowing from the southeast so we also were looking for a harbor that would provide protection from the weather and the resulting ocean swells.   We headed for Brooklyn but found there were only a few moorings in the harbor that were located in an area too shallow for our comfort and that didn’t look strong enough to hold our boat.   We also weren’t comfortable with the depth readings we were getting nearer to the yacht club’s docks so we decided to continue east and head up the LaHave River.   

We docked at one of the slips owned by the LaHave Bakery around 8 PM.  It is a great bakery and a convenient place to stop if you want any baked goods such as muffins, cookies, or fresh bread.  We stayed on the bakery’s dock for one night and then moved a little further up the river and picked up a mooring at the LaHave River Yacht Club. That night was “sponsor night” at the club.   Sponsor’s night is a weekly event where a local business sponsors dinner at the club.  I know I sound like a broken record when talking about how friendly the people are here in Nova Scotia but once again we received a warm welcome by the club’s members especially Scott Young, and Fred and Heather Jeffers.  We ended sponsor night with the three of them aboard Fred and Heather’s boat having a Goslings Rum night cap!   Tim and I recovered just in time for them to join us the next evening on our boat!   We look forward to having a rendezvous with them when we pass through the area on our way back to Maine.

On Sunday – Father’s Day – we sailed to Lunenburg and stayed until Thursday, June 19. We had a great time there! Lunenburg is still a working waterfront but the fishing industry has slowed considerably and tourism has become a large part of the town’s economy.    There are plenty of restaurants and art galleries and little shops. The Fisheries Museum is a fabulous way to spend an afternoon.  

We loved just walking around Lunenburg. There are signs posted throughout the town that tell you a lot about its history.  Many of the homes and churches date back to the colonization of Lunenburg by the English and German settlers in the 1700’s.  The buildings have been beautifully maintained by their current residents and many of them also have beautiful gardens.

If you need to exercise just walking around Lunenburg is a good way to get some.  It is built on a steep hillside and by the time you get to the top you will be feeling your legs!   If you have bikes you can ride the old railroad bed for quite a distance.   The rail bed splits just outside town and you can ride up the coast or walk or ride a shorter trail that loops around Lunenberg. We rode to up the coast and explored the town of Mahone Bay and then back to Lunenburg. A total of 19 miles round trip.  Being a railroad bed it is flat but you still get a good ride.

When we left Lunenburg Thursday we picked up a mooring around the point in Prince Inlet. By land Prince Inlet is a short distance from the mooring in Lunenburg’s Harbor but it took us a few hours by boat to round the point.  We had a nice wind and sailed the entire way.   Prince Inlet is a great little hurricane hole.  The inlet is surrounded by houses so it is not the place to visit if you are looking for a remote spot and we have been told it gets crowded in the height of boating season.  You can anchor in the inlet or alternatively pick up a mooring from the Lunenburg Yacht Club located near the entrance to the inlet.

Friday morning we motored from Prince Inlet over to the town of Mahone Bay.   We spent an enjoyable evening on board Bruce and Diane Jardine’s Beneteau 445 named “Daybreak.”   Bruce and Diane had reached out to us via our blog earlier in our trip and told us to look them up if we traveled to Mahone Bay.  Well we didn’t have far to look as coincidentally we picked up the mooring right next to them!    

Saturday we explored the mountain bike trails in the town of Mahone Bay.   The trails twist through a beautiful forest. They are not technically difficult but they are fun!  We need to thank Al and his wife who own the “Sweet Ride” bike shop in Mahone Bay for the information they shared about the trails.  It is part bicycle shop part candy shop.  An interesting concept for sure.

Bruce and Diane were headed out to Round Island and invited us to join them.   Round Island is about 5 nautical miles from Mahone Bay.  We were able to sail there with just the genny and didn’t have to tack once.   Bruce, Diane and a handful of good friends were having a deep fried turkey dinner that we were invited to attend. 

We now know that Shamus is part lab and part “Bumpus Hound.”  For those of you who have seen the classic movie “A Christmas Story” -   the one where the little boy wants a BB gun for Christmas and everyone keeps saying “you’ll shoot your eye out kid!” then you will recall that Christmas is almost ruined when the Bumpus’ Hounds steal the Christmas turkey right off the table.

When we came ashore for the turkey fry we warned everyone that Shamus would steal food right off the table or a plate for that matter.  Tim and I thought we were keeping a close eye on him but in the midst of a conversation he snuck away.  All of sudden we heard a ruckus and turned just in time to see the deep fried turkey falling from the table pulled off by  guess who….. that’s right – Shamus!  Needless to say Tim and I were horrified!   Thank goodness that was the first turkey and had been mostly picked over and there was a second turkey in the deep fryer.  Thank you again to everyone who was there for being so forgiving of the incident.  In fact when I was taking Shamus back to the boat they insisted he stay and continued to give our little “Bumpus Hound” lots of attention and a little more turkey!

We had a great time at Round Island and headed back to Mahone Bay on  Sunday night where Bruce and Diane Jardine invited us to raft up to their Beneteau rather than have us pay another mooring fee!  They will be heading in the same direction as us when they leave for their summer cruise in a couple weeks.   Hopefully, we will meet up with them again.

We headed out of Yarmouth with the intent of getting closer to an anchorage or harbor that would allow us to time the rounding of Cape Sable Island with the wind, current, and swell in our favor.  We headed for the Tusket Islands but had plenty of daylight left when we arrived  so  we continued on to West Head which is a harbor on the west side of Cape Sable Island.

West Head is a fisherman’s harbor and home to the busiest Canadian Coast Guard Station in all of eastern Canada.   It is another harbor protected by a breakwater with only a few floating docks that all had fishing boats tied to them at least 2 abreast.  It was our first experience tying our lines off to the top of a breakwater which was interesting.   Tim very expertly docked the boat in the available slip so all I simply had to do was step off the deck and climb a ladder to the top of the break water.  Tim tossed me the bow and stern line and then set the lines so we wouldn’t have to adjust them as the tide dropped.

There is not much to see in West Head and there are no stores nearby to re-provision but it was calm. 

The weather for the next several days was not forecasted to have the wind in our favor to round Cape Sable Island but we timed the tide as best we could. It was quite a bumpy ride but compared to what the conditions can be around Cape Sable Island -  we had it relatively easy.    Rounding the southern point of Cape Sable Island can be very tricky.  This area of water is called the “Cape Horn of Nova Scotia” or the “Grave Yard of Nova Scotia.”   It is shallow, there are tidal currents, ocean swells and wind which with the wrong combination of these factors can make it a hellish and dangerous passage.

We spent the next two nights in a very well sheltered anchorage off of Big Island in Negro Bay with a good mud bottom in about 11’ of water.   When we pulled anchor Tim commented he had never seen our anchor pull up such a huge mud ball. 

Big Island is actually a fairly little island but it is perfect place for a lobster bake.    It has a nice beach on both sides. Located in the narrowest section of the island is a cute little shack with a front porch that the owners make available to island visitors.  Tim and I enjoyed a nice little cocktail hour just in front of the shack.  The only company we had were a couple of nesting ospreys and some noisy seals that rested on the rocks just of the shore.   Shamus was absolutely fascinated with the seals (a.k.a sea dogs)! He really wanted to meet them!

While in the fog at Big Island Tim decided to do some engine maintenance.  It was due for a transmission fluid change.  He usually needs to remove a raw water petcock from the engine to access the transmission drain plug.  When replacing the petcock it broke off.  Luckily Tim was able to remove the remaining section with an “easy out”.  The bronze petcock was completely pink inside which indicates dezinctification and a severe breakdown of the metal.  He was able to piece together a solution from some plumbing parts and a british pipe thread adapter.  It is always good to have various spares on-board and we were reminded to never do maintenance in a  remote anchorage!

On June 5, we pulled into Shelburne Harbor.   We transited to Shelburne in thick fog but it was otherwise uneventful.  Shelburne is a very historical little town.   It was a “loyalist” community and all of the houses and buildings we gaze upon from our mooring are from the 17 and 1800’s.   

We can’t say enough about the Shelburne Harbor Yacht Club.  It is a wonderful facility and the staff and members are very welcoming.   They had their first Thursday night sailboat race scheduled to start a few hours after we arrived.   We helped the crews prepare for their race with a few beers and some burgers upstairs at the yacht club’s bar!   Several more members showed up during and after the race and we had a super time meeting them all.  So when they invited us to the clubs dinner the following night we gladly accepted.  We had even more fun the next evening.  They are really super people.  We received  offers to let us stay in their houses, or borrow their cars, and even one person thought we would be a great addition to the Shelburne community and told us we needed to buy some real estate locally and join the club!

We had the pleasure of meeting Bradd and Maeve Wilson.  During our initial conversation they mentioned they had lived aboard for several years and run their business from the boat.  It turns out their business is Cruising Solutions, www.cruisingsolutions.com.    I have referred to their website a few times and it was their article on cruising to Newfoundland that has made me want to visit there so much.  They offered, and we accepted the use of their car to re-provision as needed.   It was a kind gesture and we really appreciated their help.  Thank you Bradd and Maeve. 

We will be leaving Shelburne tomorrow morning but have not yet decided where we will end up!  We are living true to our “plan to have no plan!”

We departed Cutler, Maine on Wednesday, May 28 for Grand Manan Island.  We had planned to leave early in the morning but when Tim took Shamus to shore for his morning walk he noticed breakers outside the harbor.  Tim spoke with some fisherman who had just come in who confirmed that it was quite rough.   The boat had rolled a lot through the night so we weren’t surprised.   We decided to wait until just before slack tide to leave – around 10:30 a.m. - with the hope that the seas would calm somewhat.

The seas were still confused when we eventually left Cutler later in the morning.  Initially the waves were about 4’ to 6’ feet with some breakers.   I used this time to practice my helmsmanship.  Tim gave me some great pointers and other than a few punches into the troughs I did pretty well.  The seas calmed with the incoming tide and the closer we came to Grand Manan Island.   

We “reported” into customs in Seal Cove on Grand Manan Island.  Reporting in means Tim called customs and they asked him several questions and then gave us a report number. They never actually visited the boat.   Seal Cove is typically a Nexus only site but we had overlooked this.  The customs officials were kind enough, and I assume, not too busy, so they reported us in to Canada rather than sending us to a different harbor.  It was a very easy process.  

Seal Cove is a quiet little harbor.  The Canadian Government is in the process of completing a new breakwater that has new floating docks.  It is an impressive project that is scheduled to be completed this July.

We were approached by a lobsterman named Richard Green when we returned to the boat from walking Shamus.   He thought Carina was a pretty boat but it was her name that stood out to him most.   He had a good friend who recently passed away who also had a sailboat named “Carina”.  We had heard that the people on Grand Manan and throughout Nova Scotia are extremely friendly. Richard and his wife Sharon joined us on Carina for the evening and we really enjoyed getting to know them.  Both of them grew up and have lived on Grand Manan for most of their lives.   They each left for a few years shortly after high school but then returned to Grand Manan, got reaquainted with each other, married and raised their daughter and son there.   Richard has been a commercial diver for 35 years and is now “semi-retired” and spends his days lobstering on his boat, the “Divers Den”, which he built himself.  We hope to see Richard and Sharon again on our way back to Maine.  When we do we hope to get to meet Richard’s dad, who is nicknamed “Smiles.”   Smiles recently celebrated his 100th birthday with 600+ people.   He still lives alone, prepares his own meals, wields his chainsaw as needed, and drives himself where he needs to go.  He sounds like a terrific person.

The leg from Grand Manan to Yarmouth was fairly uneventful.  We made the trip on Thursday, May 29th.  It was a full day of motoring – about 9.5 hours.   The winds were soft most of the day and were from the Northeast but gradually they turned Southwest as the day progressed.  There was a 1 to 1.5 knot current was against us to start but the current changed quite significantly throughout the day.  Towards the middle of the trip we passed through a deep but narrow channel with a tidal rip right on our nose.   The current was running about 4 knots through the rip.   Our speed through the water was 6 to 7 knots but over-ground we were only making about 2.5 knots.  As we expected the tide and current turned in our favor later in the afternoon and pushed us towards Yarmouth at up to 8.22 knots over-ground.

We picked up a mooring in Yarmouth.  Their marina is not open yet as they don’t expect many transients this time of year.  Tim had brought the truck to Yarmouth via the new ferry and we used it to explore all around the area.   There are some beautiful salt water farms with amazing views of the Bay of Fundy.   We saw “the world’s smallest operating wooden drawbridge”.   I would say it is only operational in the sense that they can raise and lower it but it. From the looks of it is a good thing it is no longer regularly used.  It looked quite rickety!  I might consider walking across it but not at the same time as anyone else!  We also toured the cliffs of Cape St. Mary and visited a historical Acadian Village in West Publico.  We are, and hope to continue, learning a lot about Nova Scotia’s history.

On Sunday, June 1, 2014, we spent the day transporting the truck to Halifax.   We left it at the Armdale Yacht Club.   Their hospitality was incredible! Norman Raine, the Vice Commodore of the club, not only welcomed us warmly and squared us away with the car but also gave us tips about several places that were good cruising spots between Yarmouth and Halifax.  It was our pleasure to meet a few other folks who were at the club getting their boats ready to launch.   They all shared some of their favorite cruising locations and started telling us about several of the club events we would be welcome to attend.

One thing we are still trying to get used to is the sun setting after 9 p.m.  While enroute to Grand Manan we entered the Atlantic Time Zone .  On various vacations, Tim and I have visited several places in different time zones from Maine (EST) and have had few issues adjusting.   Typically we are early to bed people – 9:30ish – but it just seems odd to start brushing our teeth and putting our pajamas on when the sun is still up!