10-3-10 Mahone Bay to Lunenburg

Sunday- Bright, cold sun

Ann writes:

     A 3rd night in a row of not sleeping well- this time I was too cold. I had asked Jon to put the summer side of the travesac on the bed and of course, the weather changed, AGAIN.

The sun looks like blinding glitter on the water. We saw a seal and 2 harbor porpoises that were so close you could hear them almost snort as the exhaled upon surfacing. Around 11:30, an unnamed Nonsuch sailed by.

     We arrived in Lunenburg around 1 pm. There is surprisingly little accommodation for recreational yachts in this town famous for it's shipbuilding history. We motored the length of the waterfront, and none of the floating docks that were advertised in the Waterfront Development brochure were there. We finally settled on the small Yacht Shop floating dock only to be told that it was scheduled to be removed at 8 am the next day (it was not). The Bluenose II reconstruction foundation now owns the property and wants everyone out due to liability concerns.

     We walked up into town trying to find more info, but the Yacht Shop was closed on Sundays and the Excursion ticket office didn't know, but thought there might be a harbor masters office in the Atlantic Fisheries museum. The clerk at the museum was at least able to give us the harbor masters phone number, but even better, she paged one of the captains on staff at the museum. He came out presently and assured us that the moorings were the best way to go, so that's what we ended up doing.

He also recommended the Ice House or Dockside for food, so we tried the Ice house which is in the museum building. My scallops (pronounced scaw-lups in NS) and Jon's fish N chips were very good. They also had bottomless, unsweetened ice tea which is almost unheard of in Canada. Unfortunately, no expresso, so Jon had to wander about to find that elsewhere. I got really overheated with all my boat layers, and had to go back to the boat and change.

     By the time we got the boat moved to a mooring, it was after 5 and although there were several streets to explore, only a few places were open. One place that is closed for the season is Laurie Swim's absolutely mind-blowing quilts. There were several shops carrying prints of her work showing Nova Scotia scenes. Unbelievable how she captures landscapes, sea and skies with fabric. Jenny's Jib is a shop also worth a visit with items not normally seen in the familiar tourist trade, like custom painted lamp shades. 

Lunenburg Street Art - The Lunenburg Fish Project by Huck Fisher metalworks

     We spent the rest of evening wandering around and viewing the old homes and their distinctive "Lunenburg bumps". Lunenberg is a designated UNESCO World Heritage Site due to it being a classic example of a historic British colony in North America and the care with which it has been preserved.

We tried to eat dinner at Dockside, but it appeared to have been taken over by a very large and noisy family, so we tried Banker's Grill instead which was very expensive for chowder and salad.


Jon writes:


We motored from Mahone Bay to Lunenburg in light wind, watching the tour excursion sailboats drift out of the bay.

Approaching Lunenburg

Here is the Bluenose II, undergoing restoration (remove old hull, install new hull...) though they will not let you near it.

The 'Bluenose II' undergoing deconstruction

We picked up a mooring after exploring the waterfront. The brochure handed to us in Halifax by the Waterfront Redevelopment manager showed a choice of floating docks, none of which are there anymore. 

Panorama of the Lunenburg waterfront (click to expand)

'Anomaly' moored among the schooners, Lunenburg harbor

'Anomaly' is currently on the hard in Somes Sound, Mt. Desert Island, Maine