After waiting all day on Friday in Port Bickerton for Gabrielle to come through, she turned out to be a bit of a non event. The brunt of the storm was well to the west of us so we had a little bit of rain and some wind (only up to about 25 knots) from about 7 til 9:30 p.m. and then that was about it.
The next morning we got up to (big surprise) fog and crept out of the harbour for a bit of a long, hard day. There were pretty big swells and we were bouncing around a lot and it was foggy all day. The best visibility we had was for a couple of hours around noon when we could see three miles. We actually saw land a few times, but most of the day we were navigating using GPS, chart plotter and radar. Our destination was Shelter Cove, in Pope's Harbour and when we went in there the fog was so thick we could only see about 100 feet. We saw all of the buoys on the radar, but not with our eyes. When we finally got into the cove we could barely see the trees on the shore and after we anchored the fog got thicker! I didn't think that was possible. Luckily we had a quiet night and got a decent sleep ready for the next day.
We were very happy when we woke up on Sunday and there was no fog. That immediately makes things easier. I have a theory that of the following adverse conditions I can cope with two, but when there are three it starts to get pretty stressful. The conditions are: dark, fog, big waves, heavy winds and rain. So on a sunny day I can handle big waves and heavy winds, but if it is nighttime I am stressed out. In the fog I can handle heavy winds if the seas are flat (wind off the land). You get the idea. Keep this in mind when we do our night sailing where one of the adverse conditions is a given...
Anyway, we set off destined for Rogues Roost, which is just past Halifax, close to Prospect. Just as we got out 'to sea' we saw a big school of fish about 4-5 feet long jumping out of the water. We figured they were swordfish or tuna and a fisherman friend confirmed later that they were probably tuna. The seas were better and the sun came out but by the time we navigated into Rogues Roost and dropped the hook twelve hours after we left we were both pretty tired out.
The next day we went to Liverpool, where we stayed at Brooklyn Marina which is a great little protected spot in the lee of the now defunct pulp mill. One of the best things was that they had showers, so we took our first shower in a week, which felt fantastic! We also met a couple from Duluth, MN, Robin and Ian on a Beneteau 40 called Passage. They invited us over for dinner and we had a delicious fish chowder which was awesome after a ten hour day on the water.
Tuesday morning we set off for Lockeport. It was a great day as the sun was out and the wind was in a good direction so we were actually able to sail most of the way. It was the first time we had had the engine off underway since we left home. For anyone who is under any illusions about us manning the helm and tuning sails as we beat into the wind let me tell you that is not what we do when we are coastal sailing. Most of the time our autohelm (affectionately known as Ralph, after Dave's dad) steers the boat. He is a way better driver than either of us, especially in the fog, as we found out leaving Port Bickerton. We usually only hand steer in really close quarters going in or out of harbour.
A typical day goes like this. Get up between 6 and 7 a.m. and get dressed. At this time of year that includes toques, gloves, rain gear and boots. Boy do I LOVE my Bogs! My feet haven't been cold yet. Both of us work together to get out of the harbour, usually with me in the cockpit on the helm and Dave navigating. Once we are out of the tricky part we switch to a one hour watch rotation. When we go overnight we will change the duration of our watches to a longer rotation, so that the off watch person can get a reasonable amount of sleep during the night.
The person on watch is responsible for navigating, keeping us on course and looking out for hazards - buoys, other boats, debris, lines from lobster and crab traps etc. This person spends most of their time in the cockpit (often hunkered down behind the dodger to get out of the wind, rain, waves, fog etc.). The person who is not on watch can do whatever they want. In rough seas this does not include a lot as you tend to get bounced around a lot if you try to move around. On those days mostly we read and sleep and meals are very 'snacky' like easy sandwiches, granola bars, nuts, fruits etc. I don't sleep very well under way, so mostly I read. And although I like to read, after a couple of days of rough conditions I was pretty tired of it, so I was glad when we got calmer seas. On calmer days on off watch I do things like clean the boat, cook lunch, download photos from various cameras and phones, write my daily boat log, write emails and work on my blog. As we get close to our destination we both work together to navigate in and get ready to tie up, anchor or moor. Then it's time to make supper, eat, do the dishes, and if we have time maybe play a few games of crib before we go to bed.
We use electronics to navigate, with paper charts as backup in case something goes horribly wrong. We motor or motor sail a lot, especially along this coast, where the prevailing wind is southwest, which is pretty much the direction we are going. When the wind is on our nose we usually sail our staysail just to try to steady to the boat. It can be slow going into the wind. Our typical average motoring speed in good conditions is about 6 knots, but we've only been averaging about 5 over the past week because of the wind and currents along the shore.
Tuesday was a relatively short day on the water - only seven hours - so we got to Lockeport just after 2 p.m. giving us time to get some groceries and go for a bit of a walk. We had been there once before (on our way back in 2003) but I didn't remember it at all. It is a pretty little place with a great sandy beach on the ocean side and some interesting old homes originally belonging to the Locke family who the town is named after. Passage had also sailed to Lockeport so we had cocktail hour with them before heading off to bed early, ready for a long day the next day.
Wednesday we got up and left the dock at 7 a.m. headed for Yarmouth. It was sunny and cold (about 3 deg C when we left the dock) and very calm. The seas were the flattest we have seen since we left Canso. We put the main up and even flew the jib for a while, but there wasn't enough wind to shut off the engine because we wanted to get to Yarmouth before dark if possible. The currents around Cape Sable and up into the Bay of Fundy can be very strong because of the big tides and for the first half of the trip they were getting stronger against us, but once we rounded the cape they were with us and going through Schooner Passage by the Tusket Islands at one point we were doing 10.4 knots over the ground. We arrived in Yarmouth just before 8 p.m. about an hour behind Passage, who had called us on the radio after we arrived and offered to feed us dinner. We had already eaten underway, but we joined them for a drink and then we all went for a walk around town. No need to go to bed early because Thursday we are staying in port before we cross over to Maine.
With any luck we will have an uneventful crossing on Friday and my next blog will be from Maine.