New Marina for the rest of season

July 30

All hands on deck to give her a good swabbing. She is badly in need of a good washing. 2.5 hours later the crew earned a big breakfast- pancakes, bacon and eggs. 

We spent the remainder of the day just relaxing and enjoying the view of St. Margaret's bay. 

Tomorrow we start the long drive back to Ottawa including a detour back to Souris PEI to get our car. It's going to take us 20 hours in total.

Can't wait to get back to the boat at the end of August for 9 days of pure recreational boating along the South Shore- Lunenberg here we come!

Halifax to Tantallon

July 29

We woke up to so much fog that I could barely see the bbq on the back of the boat. And I am not exaggerating. 

We started the day with a nice walk along the harbour front to the Market. We got some fresh fruits and veggies and headed back to the boat. 

Today we are making our way to Shining Waters Marina in Tantallon. This will be our marina for the rest of the season and where we will winter Knotica 3. 

We heard them fire the noon day gun just as we slipped the lines and pulled away from Cable Wharf.

We made our way out of the busy Halifax harbour to the Royal Yatch Squadron in the North West Arm for fuel. Fuelling took a lot longer than expected - line up and slow pumps. At 130 we slipped the lines again to head towards Peggy 's Cove. Just as we got out to open water, we were greeted by our friend the fog. - Are you kidding me - the amount of fog here makes boating a challenge for sure. 

The fog was very thick and there was a lot of boat traffic on the radar so it was slow going. We cruised at about 6.5 knots and pretty much went buoy to buoy. Back to the 2 gps and radar system. It was a long haul. 

Thankfully Noah slept almost the entire way. 

We were able to pick up a bit of speed towards the end and we arrived at Shining Waters around 530 pm. 

The marina is very nice and the facilities are great. 

When the sun starts to go down it sparkles on the water, hence Shining Waters. 

Exploring Halifax

July 28

We had a great day exploring Halifax. We went to the Maritime Museum (aka boat museum). Noah had a blast exploring all the different kinds of boats. We walked on the decks of the Acadia and Theodore Too. 

After a great lunch at Salty's, Noah and I walked up to the Citadel where we learned about the life of a soldier and saw them fire a real cannon. Exciting stuff!  

Sterling was in heaven shopping at the Binnacle marine store. 

There are some amazing yatchs docked along the Halifax wharf. We think we may have found Knotica 4 (lol). 

Another fun night on the boat. Alannah, Paul, Patrick, Annabelle and Luke joined us for the evening. Bouncy castles, hot dogs and playing on the boat- good times!

On our way to Halifax

July 27

Today we are heading for Halifax. This coast has been long and rather unscenic due to the fog. We set off about 8am. There was no fog along the river. But when we hit the open coastal waters we were greeted again by our friend fog. Sadly we are getting pretty good at travelling in fog. 

The conditions were pretty good. Light winds and a bit of ocean swell. We enough visibility to cruise at 15 knots. We continued our 2 gps and radar system. It was a long haul to Halifax, 70 nm. To pass the time Noah and I did math flash cards and sight words. He also watched a movie on the other iPad (we have a lot of electronics on this boat 3 phones, 2 iPads, a tablet and 2 laptops- not to mention the chart plotter and radar). 

It was foggy the entire way. As we neared Halifax we were picking up a lot more traffic on the radar so we slowed to 7 knots. At one point we came close to a fishing boat hauling their nets. 

The Halifax harbour is a busy spot. There are cargo ships, navy vessels, sail boat and power boats. 

We docked at Cable wharf in Halifax around 3pm. We were very excited to finally be in Halifax. Woohoo. 

Went to Heather and Jame's house for an awesome dinner. Noah had so much fun playing with his cousins Ben and Quintin - super heroes, spies, Lego and bike riding - what a night!

Canso to Liscomb Lodge

July 26

Up at 7 am to another day of fog. Woohoo!  We are in no rush to get going. I decide we need a good breakfast to get us off on the right foot. It's pancake day!  Yummy. Noah ate 4!  Around 830 am with full bellies we set off for another day of fog. 

Starting today we are operating an additional gps on the IPad. So we have the chart plotter, the radar and the iPad. We can barely see a boat length ahead of us. So we are using our technology to ensure we are on track. 

Noah our chief navigator did a great job guiding us through Andrew's Passage. He would identify the buoy on the iPad and then find it in the water. It was slow going at 6 knots as we only had about an eighth of mile visibility. 

Once through the passage we were in open water and travelling along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia. We have absolutely no idea what it looks like. It was foggy the entire way to LIscomb. 

We got increased visibility after a few hours and we were able to increase our speed to about 14 knots (thank goodness because 7 knots is very slow). The water conditions were good. It was light winds and 2 to 3 foot waves.   Noah had a few moments of feeling a bit sea sick but he was a trooper and he pushed past it. We offered him gravol but he didn't want it. He is building up his sea legs. 

We saw a few boats on the radar but it was generally a quiet day on the water. One of the boats we passed was Spontaneous who were also on the way to Liscomb. 

Snacky lunch at sea and a little nap for Noah. We had a bit of rain on route. It is interesting to see a weather pattern developing on the radar screen. 

We arrived at the Lisccomb Lodge around 2pm. It is located about 7 nm up the Liscomb River. 

It is a very cute lodge and resort that was built 56 years ago. They have dock space for 2 boats. And we were greeted on the dock by Chester who has worked at the lodge for 46 years. " 10 years less than the lodge is old and 1 year older than you mommy " according to Noah. 

We enjoyed a nice swim in the warm indoor pool. It was a rainy afternoon so we returned to the boat to relax and build a new Lego boat. 

We had supper at the lodge restaurant. The salmon on a plank was amazing. The best salmon ever. They cook it on an outdoor wood stove and finish it in the oven with a yummy maple glaze. After dinner we used the resorts paddle boat and went around in the river. 

St. Peter's to Canso - Foggy Monday

July 25

Early rise today at 530 am. We we off the wall at 6 am. We left in a light fog and headed towards Canso. About 30 minutes into the trip the fog was so thick we could barely see the bow so we decided to turn back to St. Peter's and wait for the fog to lift. We've never experienced fog like this. 

We tied up back on the wall and walked to the Bras D'or Inn for breakfast. We had a yummy breakfast and headed back to the boat. 

The fog had lifted a bit but it looks like it is here for a while. 10 am we decided to head out again. It's going to be a long day. We headed out again towards Canso across Chebucto Bay. 

We did the entire journey at sailboat speed. We were only able to cruise at about 7 knots due to foggy conditions. I was perched up on the front bench (in the crow's nest 😄) keeping a lookout and helping Sterling search for bouys. Noah was a great helper. He was reading the chart and searching for bouys. There were a few times when he found them before we did. He is getting to be a good navigator. 

Thank goodness that Sterling and Wallace installed a new radar this spring. It's working overtime today. You wouldn't do this trip with out radar that is for sure. 

The fog final broke about 2 nm before Canso. It was great to finally see something. 

We entered into the approach to Canso around 1pm. It was a narrow passage way to navigate through. It was a buoyed channel as there were big shoals on either side of the passage. 

We were heading towards Andrew's Passage.  Not far from the entrance to the passage the fog got very thick. OMG. We thought we were done with fog for the day. Not so lucky. We could barely see the bow. We were pretty tired and decided we were not up for more fog right now. Liscomb is still 50 nm away. Back to Canso to find a spot to tie up and take a break. 

Good lord. The fog has rolled in so thick that we could no longer see anything in Canso. We couldn't see the church or the break water entrance to the marina. It was crazy thick fog. We waited in the channel outside the break water until we could see a bit better and then entered the marina. 

It's a quiet spot. Quite small. Room for about 10 boats. It's mostly fishing boats. We find a good dock a tie up around 2 pm. Time for a lunch break. 2 more boats come in to take refuge from the fog. One is a 35 foot power boat from Whitby ON doing the same trip as us. (They are doing the Eastern Circle in 4 months this summer Spontaneouscruiser.com)

The fog doesn't dissipate and we decide to stay the night here in Canso. There is a nice trail along the waterfront so we go for a long walk. Noah enjoyed throwing rocks off the shore. 

Canso is a former robust fishing community that is now very quiet with a fairly limited fishery. It looks very similar to Change Islands. 

Sterling was speaking with a man on the sailboat next to us. He is from Halifax and heading to St. Peter's. He has been sailing in Nova Scotia for 30 years and he along the eastern shore of Nova Scotia "you should anticipate having fog and it's a lucky day if you don't have it". 

Bye bye Baddeck

July 24

Bye bye Baddeck.  We probably stayed there one day too long.

Foggy first thing this morning.  It lifted by 9 am and we left the wharf to head back across the lake.  The plan is to find a nice anchorage in West Bay for lunch.

Found a nice anchorage just off Marble Mountain. Noah and I swam off the back of the boat. The water was quite warm. We fired up the bbq and had a good lunch. We relaxed there about 3 hours and then headed for St. Peter's. The lake was pretty calm today and the winds were light. We had a nice cruise back at about 18 knots. 

After getting fuel at the marina, we went through the lock and tied up on the wall.  We are going to stay on the wall tonight so we can head out early in the morning. 

It was nice and quiet at the lock. Lots of people trying to catch mackarel. We got out Noah's rod and he tried some fishing off the wall but was unsuccessful. 

There are tiny little bugs here and they pretty much devoured my neck. I'm covered in welts.  Noah and Sterling remain unscathed.