8/29- MacDougall Pond to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland

Ann writes:

We left just before 8 am. It was clear and calm, another sunny day with only high cirrus clouds, but hurricane Earl is due to land in New England next Saturday.  A bald eagle was perched in an evergreen bidding us farewell as we passed through the narrow exit in the breakwater.

Beyond point North and Money Point, we had about 6kts TWS.  We saw 3 pilot whales then another off this coastline.  This time I saw their flukes as they dove upon our approach into 405ft. of water.  They resurfaced in our wake, but too far away for a photo.  By 10:45 we were abeam of St. Paul Island.

Shortly afterward, I saw a Northern Gannet dive and it seemed to set off an explosion in the water.  We later realized that this splashing and thrashing was caused by tuna when we saw a few go flying into the air.  We saw this happen several more times throughout the trip.  

During one of these sightings, I asked Jon to stop the motor entirely hoping to get closer.  The tuna didn't resurface, but Anomaly was moving along fairly easily in only 7 knots of wind.  Jon was reluctant to put all the work into raising the spinnaker because the last time he'd tried, he'd gotten it all rigged, but the wind changed.  This time, the wind stayed steady, and we had a wonderful sail all the way to Port aux Basques.  The only concern was some small tree limbs that whacked us; there were some really big deadheads and something that looked like a sheet of plywood going by that kept us on our toes, although I couldn't help dozing off as usual.

Channel Head Lighthouse

After some confusion as to whether recreational craft are supposed to call the Port aux Basques traffic authority (she said it was voluntary), we entered the harbor around 6:30.  It seemed later because it had darkened due to some low clouds.  We chose the lower, floating public dock and tied up on the end.  Some locals were watching curiously, and Jon checked with them to make sure we wouldn't be bothering anyone.  It was a lot easier dealing with this dock that the huge regular pier, where you have to climb up vertical ladders when the tide is out, an expected range of 6 feet or more. 

I guess we looked confused on land because one of the fellows insisted on driving us to the Harbour View restaurant.  I made the mistake of ordering (frozen) clam strips.  Jon had a nice pan-fried Cod and his partridgeberry pie was redder and tangier than my blueberry pie.  I didn't try to ask the ditzy waitress what Cod tongues are. 

There is a iittle building labeled Harbor authority that had washrooms with showers and also a laundry room.  There were coin-op. boxes in both washrooms, but it turned out Jon had to put in 2 quarters for his shower, but mine was free.  I think they just don't have it all hooked up in the Ladies yet. 

Jon writes:

We waited until 8 AM to leave MacDougall pond, when the tide was predicted to have risen to the same stage as when we entered. However it had not, and over the shoal that had been 7.9 feet the evening before we read 6.3 - should be touching the bottom! However we were assured it was soft mud and if we touched we could not tell. Exiting the channel, we motored towards St. Paul Island and Newfoundland beyond, with 5 knots of wind on the starboard quarter. Before lunch I mentioned to Ann that this should be ideal spinnaker conditions and she said "why don't you put it up then?" so I did. 
'Anomaly' on a spinnaker reach

Under the right conditions 'Anomaly' will sail faster than the wind. These were the right conditions! With main, mizzen, and spinnaker set (2200 square feet of sail area) we sailed northeast at 6.5 - 7.5 knots in just 5.5 - 6.5 knots of south wing. The true wind direction was 120 degrees off the starboard bow, but combined with the wind we are making by our forward motion, the wind felt on the boat was only at 64 degrees off the bow, and I set the autopilot to steer to that angle. For 5 hours we sailed that way, flat water, good boat speed, light wind, sun shining, autopilot steering; striking the spinnaker only to prepare for entering Port aux Basque harbor. A very nice afternoon of sailing.
Sailing faster than the wind

We have the ideal handicapped crew position about 'Anomaly'. Normally a spinnaker is trimmed by constantly watching the windward edge of the sail up towards the top. When you see it begin to curl, you trim in on the sheet (or the helmsman steers further downwind). On 'Anomaly', the 1000 sq ft spinnaker - a showcase of the sailmaker's art - is nearly entirely hidden by the 1000 sq ft mainsail and the spectacle can only be enjoyed by those off the boat. The part normally observed in order to trim is completely hidden from anyone in the cockpit. So the position of spinnaker trimmer on 'Anomaly' could as easily be done by a sightless person as anyone else. It must be trimmed by feel and sound. You can feel it shuddering and hear the report of it refilling, telling you it wants trimming.
View of the spinnaker from the helm - 'nada'!

In Port aux Basque we tied to the public dock, and I talked to two fisherman who watched us come it. I say "talked to", but we did not have a common language: they spoke Newfoundland dialect, the older of the two was almost incomprehensible to me. I found myself nodding and smiling when he said something, just as I would if he had spoken Greek. This would become a common occurrence in Newfoundland. The dialect is more obscure than any I have heard in Britain or Ireland. 

'Anomaly' is currently lying Harbor Breton, Newfoundland, Canada

8/28- Bay of St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia (Whales and Waterfalls)

Saturday


Ann writes:

Another warm day with partly cloudy skies.  The water was flat calm.    Someone who identified themselves as working for the harbor authority came came down and asked for $23. Seemed a bit high given that Souris was $30 with full amenities. Departed at 8:08 am.  Today was a great day for whale watching.  We saw 6 pilot whales by 8:30, and at least 6 more by 9:30.  The last pod was probably bigger, but it was too hard to count them all. We also saw 2 seals, and at least 1 other pilot whale in the Bay of St. Lawrence.  Pilot whales are identified by their prominent fin and their habit of traveling in groups.  

The dramatic West Shore of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

We had to motor the entire way.  The landscape was dramatic forested mountains with many waterfalls falling off reddish cliffs into the sea.  At one point, there was a vein of quartz so big it looked like a glacier.  By 12:30 we were in the Bay of St. Lawrence and lowered the sails, continuing to motor.  We crept into the shallow MacDougall pond at high tide and made our way to the public wharf where Fred and Margrit Gahlinger were nice enough to greet us.

Creeping in the shallow channel to MacDougall Pond

There were a lot of fishing boats tied up, so we stuck out out past the end of the dock.  Allowance also had to be made for the 3-4 foot tidal range.  After lunch, we walked all around the town of St. Margaret Village.  The Jumping Mouse Campground that Margrit manages had beautiful little campsites and views of the Bay. 

http://ecocamping.ca/index.html

 The Stumpy trail leads back to the harbor through dense evergreens, hardwoods and open blueberry patches.  Across from the harbor, we found The Hut, which served take-out food and the brand of ice cream that Jon prefers, Scotsburn.  Then we got a bit overheated walking all the way to the Co-Op.  Fortunately, Margrit was also shopping and offered us a ride back. 

Jumping Mouse Campground overlooks the Bay St. Lawrence

I finally did some watercolor painting and Jon BBQ'd our steaks, which turned out to be more lean and tough than we like. 

Jon writes:

Bay St. Lawrence lies at the northern tip of Cape Breton, between two points: Cape St. Lawrence and North Point. It is an open unsheltered bay, but in the southeastern corner is a small harbor, on the chart called MacDougall Pond. Though the cruising guides suggested that there might be 8 feet of depth in the entrance, all of these ports are subject to rapid silting so there might be considerably less if it had not been recently dredged. If we could not enter, then the only choice would be to continue on overnight to Newfoundland. 
Pilot whales off of Cape Breton
Approaching North Point, Cape Breton
I had enquired of everyone along the way if anyone had local knowledge. One couple on a southbound sloop in Shediac had been in there (but their Bristol only draws 4.5 feet). They suggested calling the Jumping Mouse Campground located on the shores of the bay, owned by a cruising sailors. I tried but got no answer. Then in Souris, Sam (who wrote his own harbors guide to Prince Edward Island) managed to call Fred and Margrit of the Jumping Mouse and determined that our 6.5 foot draft should not be a problem. Armed with this 3rd hand knowledge, we motored towards Bay St. Lawrence in light wind, wondering what we would find. 
The entrance channel was less than a boat length wide - so narrow that if you did ground there would be no turning around - with steel cribbing to starboard and rock riprap to port. In we went, and found that there was actually about 12 feet in the narrow channel, but then shoaled to less than 8 as you approached the wharf (and this on a 2.5 ft tide). However we were in, and tied to the public wharf. In fact Fred and Margrit were there on the dock to catch the lines.
The barn at the Jumping Mouse Eco Campground
'Anomaly' in MacDougall Pond (click to expand)
 
'Anomaly' is currently lying Harbor Breton, Newfoundland, Canada

8/27- Souris to Cheticamp, Nova Scotia

Friday

Early morning departure- Anomaly and the Lighthouse

Anomaly makes the Morris 42 look small

Ann writes:

Departed 7:37 am.  Sailing, no motor by 8:30.  Off Little harbor / Pt. by 9:30.  By 10 am we were watching seabirds fish off East Point, but no marine mammal sightings today.

I wasn't traveling all that well today.  The storm yesterday seems to have disturbed the seas, and although we had a nice downwind sail, a swell was coming from our port quarter causing Anomaly to roll quite a bit. It made moving down below almost impossible until he adjusted our course slightly

The wind started slowing about 14 miles out, so Jon started up the motor and we made it to the Cheticamp breakwater pier by 5:45 pm.  We walked up and down the town to see what was there and check out the restaurants, finally choosing Le Gabriel.  It was a good choice, and better yet, the dining room over the bar which had advertised "Acadian Music" like American favorite such as Houndog, This Land is Your Land, etc.  The only thing acadian about it appeared to be the singer.  Anyway, the food was very good- rich, creamy seafood chowder, a nice Chicken Cordon Blue for me, a huge portion of Black Forest Ham for Jon.

The light again was exceptional as we returned to the boat which almost made you wish for a real film camera again.  The compensation of a digital camera just can't capture that light.

Beautiful light over the town of Cheticamp

On a silly note, we noticed bioluminescence in the head- I was really surprised because I thought it would just be a kind of neon glow, but it's actually bright sparks of light, kind of like an old fashioned sparkler.

Jon writes:

The forecast 10-15 knot southwest wind actually appeared early and we were able to set the sails as we left the harbor and shut the down the engine. With 10-14 knots from the west south west we ran east north east, almost dead downwind. But the strong east wind from the day before had left a peculiar crossing swell that seemed to come from the north west, and the motion was uncomfortably rolly. I tried each gybe and finally settled on the starboard gybe with the wind over the quarter, even though this put us south of the course to Cheticamp. Towards the end though, the seaway abated so I could gybe back up the coast, as the wind died we motored the last few miles into the harbor and tied to the floating breakwater. 

Panorama of the Cheticamp waterfront (click to expand)

The town is spread out along the bay, and shows signs of converting to a tourist economy. There were several bed and breakfasts and small inns catering to those visiting the Cape Breton Highlands Park, which spans the peninsula north of Cheticamp. The "marina" described in the cruising guide was deserted and looked disused. The following morning a gentleman showed up asking for $20 for the use of the dock, normally paid to the harbormaster but the harbormaster had a 7:00 AM tee time (we were told) and therefore could not collect it himself. Sure enough, as we were entertained with stories about the harsh weather, the harbormaster himself showed up (at least he said he was) dressed in his golf shirt and collected the now $23 (tax don't you know) from the first gentleman. Having paid our dues, we got underway for the 35 mile run to Bay of St. Lawrence. 

8/26- Soggy Souris Today

Thursday

Windy and wet today. We slept in since Jon was up several times during the night adjusting the halyard and hatches in the wind and the rain. The waves looked pretty choppy beyond the breakwater; we could have continued on, but it would have been an uncomfortable day, so we decided to wait it out.

We emerged for lunch at the natural foods place again around 1pm. This time we each had a salad and cinnamon roll after sharing a chicken quesadilla. They make everything to your specifications; good, fresh, food.

We popped into the Seaside Chic gift shop which carried some interesting items. Then we stopped by the Co-op to pick up some forgotten supplies and spied some nice baked goods from Harbour Bakery. We got directions to the place just up Church Ave., but found that they send all their goods to the Co-op at 1.

I sent Jon back to the boat with the frozen lasagnas so I could take my time in the Fire & Water gift shop. It was raining pretty steadily, and I got pretty wet on my way back to the harbor. Our little umbrellas don't work all that well in the wind. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up with correspondence.

I cooked farfalle arabiata for dinner, but the Candaian canned diced tomatoes had too much sugar in them an ruined the sauce, IMHO. It turned into a beautiful warm evening and we went out to photo the lighthouse at night and get chocolate dipped ice cream at Shirley's Place which is open until 9.

Charlottetown to Souris (8/24)

I was determined to leave early for Souris to forestall the late arrival we experienced in Charlottetown. But two things conspired against us. Starbucks does not open until 7 AM in the Capital of the province of Prince Edward Island (in the backwaters of Napa - capital of nothing - Starbucks opens at 4:30) and then there was the issue of the GPS. 

We use the GPS to navigate, however in this instance with good visibility in constant sight of well marked channels, that isn't necessary. But the availability of GPS has infected everything electronic like a virus, so that the chart display, radar display, satellite weather display etc. will not work correctly without a position fix from the GPS. And it wasn't cooperating.

It powered up this morning without the foggiest notion where it was. It also set the datum (the earth reference model from which it calculates position) to Peking 1954. I'm not sure who uses the Peking 1954 datum, perhaps the Red Army, but certainly no one in Atlantic Maritime Canada. I reset it, restarted it, reset all the settings and finally after some time it found its bearings and began to work.

And so we motored to Souris, in the light east wind which does not happen this time of year so everyone said.  The description in the cruising guide - "not the most attractive harbor" - while perhaps strictly true (I can think of several in the Virgin Islands more attractive) that is a short sale of the harbor. It is a working fishing harbor and also the ferry terminal for the Madeleine Islands ferry, but the marina facilities are as good as anywhere with nice floating docks, nice washrooms and showers lined with aromatic pine, friendly staff, and a poplar take-out restaurant serving several kinds of ice cream only a block away. The town is a short walk and had craft shops, grocery stores, and a cafe recently opened with haute cuisine.

We stayed the next day to catch up on provisioning and laundry, then stayed the following day as the forecast called for 20-25 knots again from the east with rain, and we wanted to go east - preferably in the sun. Finally we left early on the third  day for Cheticamp and the Cape Breton Peninsula.

'Anomaly' is currently lying Harbor Breton, Newfoundland, Canada

Shediac to Charlottetown: "You DO drink, don't you?" (8/20)

Backing up a bit because Ann is much more diligent than me at keeping up.....

Shediac to Charlottetown

There is nothing to tell about the 60 mile run across the Northumberland Strait to Charlottetown, other than we had an east wind ("we never had east winds in the summer") that was also too light to make for good sailing. But I did try, and gave up two or three hours in the process. Had there been anything like the 10-15 knots forecast, that might have helped, or a favorable current rather than adverse. Then there were the ubiquitous lobster pots to dodge, and a nasty little chop under the Confederation Bridge far out of proportion considering the light wind driving it. The bridge is large, but nowhere on any document could I find the clearance listed, other than 49 meters at the center two spans (which are obviously higher than the others). As it turned out, the spans on either side are probably more than 100 ft, and we could have gone under most of them.

Approaching Confederation Bridge - will we clear?

In any case we arrived at the mouth of Hillsborough Bay at dusk, and it is nearly a 9 mile run up into the harbor. It is well buoyed and well lit, so the main hazard were the lobster buoys dropped in some cases directly in the buoyed channel. On approach to the harbor a call to the Charlottetown Yacht Club was promptly answered with the news that it was full up for the night, and a suggestion to call Quartermasters Marina next door. Which I did, on the same channel as I could find no annotations otherwise in the cruising guide and channel 68 is almost universally used for marina operations. There was no answer from Quartermasters so we determined to go in and have a look. 

The problem is that the entrance is very narrow, perhaps only 30 or 40 feet, leading to three narrow fairways between docks. With no idea where to go we proceeded slowly up the first fairway towards the fuel dock, decided we really needed to have all the lines and fenders on the other side but there was no room to idle and move them and certainly no room to turn around, so I backed out again, turned around, and backed down the same fairway. By now we were drawing a small crowd, even though is was 10 PM. The more sober among them promised to hunt up some marina personnel, and by the time we tied to the fuel dock they were there. We could stay, but would need to move to the third fairway right to the end against the wall. It was a tight spot requiring backing in through the narrow entrance, making two sharp 90 degree corners, backing down to the end of the fairway, then making another sharp 90 into the assigned berth. So, out into the main harbor again, swap all the fenders and lines to the other side, then back down the obstacle course and finally tied up for the night. My GPS track of the evening looks like a yo-yo. 

At that point we were offered drinks by the Live Wire of the dock. I pleaded for restaurant advice instead, which was supplied along with another offer of drinks. I said I was hoping for dinner first and was asked in a severe tone, "You DO drink, don't you?" to which I replied of course, for fear 'Anomaly' might be cut adrift in the night had we been teetotalers. We were directed to Gahan's Irish Pub which not only served food well past 10 PM, but quite good food at that. And I did sample some of their in-house brewed beers, too. We had brought our umbrellas as a precaution, since there appeared to be some squall activity coming, but were unprepared for the deluge of near Biblical proportions that began just as we finished dessert. There were creeks forming in the streets as we made our way back to the dock and it continued for hours afterwards. 

Charlottetown is a very nice spot to spend a few days. Being the provincial capital, it has cultural attractions and amenities; being the capital of a province with a total population of about 150,000, it has a distinctly small town atmosphere. The old town near the harbor has been kept free of eyesore signage, the the buildings are for the most restored originals of the historical town. There are numerous restaurants and shops, though for a supermarket one has to go a mile or two inland. 

We met Paul and Christine who were embarking on an ambitious boatbuilding project and shared their knowledge of the Nova Scotia coast they had cruised numerous times. They were kind enough to lend us their car to do provisioning and see a part of the island. 

We met Chris and Monica, owners of the Nonsuch 30 berthed in the marina, who drove us around the east end of the island as our tour guides. They had lived on Prince Edward Island some 40 years and seemed to know every harbor and point. 

Ann and Monica

The Rest of the Story

'Anomaly' is currently lying Harbor Breton, Newfoundland, Canada

8/25- Exploring Souris and My Last Whole Lobster

Wednesday

A beautiful sunny day w/refreshing breezes. Cool and windy enough by evening for a jacket.

I had an agenda of at least 3 stops today, much to Jon's dismay. At least he liked the Souris Lighthouse where the niece of the last lightkeeper gave us the tour. (Apparently, guides are required to prevent jumpers- they had 7 in one day!) We had beautiful views of the harbor and town and also saw their collection of Sea Glass which included vials from Sacramento and elsewhere in California.

The restored historic Souris Lighthouse

Making our way into town, we noted the locations of the Blue Fin restaurant, the Post Office, and the Co-Op grocery store. The ladies at the Post Office wanted us to steal their computer so that they could get a new one that didn't crash all the time.

We had to walk all the way to the beach to visit Naturally Yours. Before we got there, I dragged Jon into Log Cabin Arts & Crafts which turned out to be mostly knitting, weaving and quilts. Naturally Yours on Beach road had antiques and gifts. I bought a green (7-up) and amber(beer) sea glass bracelet which also reminded me of the green and red colors of the PEI landscape. I just can't get over the fact that when I was small, we beachcombed in Washington for whole floats and bottles and ignored the pieces; I guess that's all a thing of the past now and pieces are the best you can do.

View of Souris Harbor from the Lighthouse

We continued on to Souris beach where the snack stand wasn't yet open. A good opportunity to lure Jon over to the beach to look for our own sea glass. I could have looked forever, but Jon was more interested in the ADL ice cream at the snack stand- it was our most reasonable meal on the island at $3.50 total for both of us.

Back in town, we had lunch at the natural food store- I think it was called Rite Bite. They served a rich soup of local haddock and potatoes. Jon also liked their cinnamon rolls which were fairly dense and buttery with a strong cinnamon flavor. Jon had to get me some ice because my wrist was swelling up terribly from some kind of insect bite. I also received suggestions of benedryl or sliced onion to deal with these bits.  Nothing has worked very well, but the ice did slow it down a bit.

After provisioning at MacPhee's grocery and having to take a taxi back, we walked back up to the Blue Fin for dinner. I once again ordered the Lobster dinner, and I swear I won't order another. It was just an awful experience all the way around. First, they seated us right next to the doomed lobsters which makes me feel awful. The waitress even wanted me to pick one out; I couldn't look. Then it arrives and is just a pain to deal with- a gruesome affair of tearing it to bits, and it didn't really taste all that good. Once again, my whole lobster was tough and chewy (this one was boiled), and to top it all off, I couldn't get the smell off my hands for hours. My best lobster of the week definitely was the lobster sandwich at Covehead and I'm not ordering any more whole lobsters.