Sailing Trance

Friday, February 27, 2026 the cruise ship departed the port of Sydney at 7pm while we were enjoying our first dinner aboard with the 8 of us in our group, seated at the same table.

Saturday, February 28, 2026 Day at Sea. Walked 3 miles around the ship walking deck, coffee, art class, lunch, informative lectures, 5 Crowns, dinner.

Sunday, March 1, 2026 – Brisbane, founded in 1825, is located in the state of Queensland, and is the third largest city in Australia. We started our excursion with a scenic bus drive past Brisbane’s historic Parliament House, City Hall and other stately buildings.

Later, stopping at the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. It is the world’s first and largest Koala sanctuary. Set in a natural environment it is home to more than 100 koalas and a collection of other exotic native wildlife including but not limited to kangaroos, wallabies, emus and crocodiles.

Phil Cass & Philippa, guest comedy/magician show in the evening. So Funny!

Monday, March 2, 2026 Day at Sea. Walked around the deck, art class, coffee, lunch, 5 crowns, planetarium show, dinner, Joel Bowerman, guest musical entertainer.

Tuesday, March 3, 2026 The Whitsunday Islands. The Whitsundays are a tropical archipelago of 74 islands located in Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. They are renowned for their white silica sand beaches, turquoise waters, and outstanding sailing. Our tour was aboard a motor catamaran, it was a very windy and rainy day.

Lunch, planetarium show, dinner.

Wednesday, March 4, 2026 Townsville, a coastal city in northeastern Queensland. The Strand is a 1.7 mile palm tree lined walkway, including a pier, long tropical beach, safe swimming area and garden strip. This area was custom built for enjoyment.

Jezzine Barracks, was home to Australian military units for over 120 years. This area features the restored 1885 Kissing Point Fort complex. There are several public artworks which commemorate the military and Aboriginal heritage of the Kissing Point headland.

After lunch we walked 3 miles around the ships walking deck, dinner, musical show.

Thursday, March 5, 2026 not Cairns, unexpected day at sea. Tropical Cyclone 24 was expected to make a direct hit on Cairns, making for a very rainy, high winds, rough sea day. The captain cruised at 20 knots overnight to get ahead of the storm. Art class, lunch, cards, Tammy and I took a cooking class.

In cooking class we prepared 2 dishes, Fish Culichi Style, using Atlantic Wolf Fish and Shrimp. Second dish was Red Curry Mussels. For dessert we were served Avocado Lime Cheesecake. The chef added in a brief look at the galley working too.

Welcome, from the Land Down Under! When we were planning our sail around the world, Australia was on our list of stops. We were so looking forward to sailing into Sydney Harbour, passing the Opera House, and the Harbour Bridge. Unfortunately for us, at the time, Australia was “Covid Closed.” So, this current journey is not aboard TRANCE, it’s on the Viking ocean ship Orion, which will be circumnavigating the continent with 2 stops in Indonesia.

The captain and crew arrived in Australia 6:30am on Tuesday, February 24. We spent about 21 hours in planes “sailing” through the air, Philadelphia to Dallas to Sydney. Our original flight, which was cancelled, was to depart on Monday the 23, but due to an arriving blizzard that dropped almost a foot of snow at our house, we were able to switch our flights to leave a day early.

The day was spent walking around the CBD (Central Business District) area of Sydney. From our hotel we walked to the Customs House to see a 3D model of Sydney under a glass floor.

Our next destination was the Sydney Tower Eye. The tallest building in the city, with an enclosed observation deck that has a 360° view.

Lunch was on the agenda next. We stopped at Anason, a Turkish tapas restaurant within the Barangaroo wharf area.

Next stop, to walk to the crest of the Harbour Bridge.

Total miles walked 6.9.

Day 2. The remaining of our group arrived today, Ken, Sheila, Shirley and Wendy. We spent the day aboard a double decker hop on hop off city tour bus, that also included a ferry boat ride with a stop at Watson’s Bay. We disembarked the ferry there and had lunch at Doyle’s on the Beach.

After returning to Circular Quay, wharf area where the ferries are, as well as a stop for the rail system, we walked to The Opera House.

Construction on the Opera House began on March 1, 1959 and was completed October 20, 1973. The Sydney Opera House has a total of 1,056,006 roof tiles on it. Inside, the foyers were surprisingly minimalistic with concrete walls and ceilings. Yet, we hear inside the five concert halls, it’s majestic.

In the evening we took the night time bus tour around Sydney and across the Harbour Bridge.

The city architecture is quite diverse, with the historic sandstone buildings surrounded by the contemporary styled ones. Many Sydney streets are lined with tall trees, also it is hillier than we expected, and there are steps in many areas.

Total miles walked 1.9

Day 3. Dan and I along with Ken and Sheila participated in the morning walking tour to The Rocks section of Sydney. This area is the historic birthplace of modern European settlement.

Afterwards our group gathered to get on the hop on, hop off bus big bus again to the Sydney Fish Market for lunch. It was fabulous!

For dinner we made reservations at Tapavino, a Spanish tapas restaurant, located on a cobblestone alley. The food and wine were excellent!

Total miles walked 5.0.

Many obstacles might have stopped or delayed our sailboat trip around the world. Recently, we put together details on how we avoided or resolved them. Available on Amazon.

Sunday, August 10, 2025 Happy Birthday Rachael! Departed Yarmouth at 9:30am. Cruised to the mouth of the Bay of Fundy to whale watch. We were not close enough for good photos. Not sure the type, possibly a Humpback Whale because of the white fluke spots.

A few playful seagulls were seen also.

For dinner we made Balsamic Chicken with peppers over rice.

Our current heading is for Provincetown, Massachusetts, back to the USA, and so our “watches” begin. Steve and I are up first, 5:30pm to midnight. Followed by Dan and Tammy till morning. This will be a two night continuous passage to Massachusetts, today is Day 1.

Monday, August 11, 2025 Day 2. All of our time pieces have switched, we are back on East Coast Time. For dinner we made Baked Chicken and vegetables with Orzo.

Tuesday, August 12, 2025 Happy Birthday Madison! 8:14am we have officially checked into the USA, via CBP Roam app. By noon we traversed the Cape Cod Canal. By 7 pm we were cruising through Long Island Sound.

Wednesday, August 13, 2025 Long Island Sound to Larchmont. Picked up a mooring at Horseshoe Harbor Yacht Club. Our friend Dave Morris is a member here. Total three day trip miles traveled 144.55. Back in August of 2022, we helped Dave and Carol sail their new to them J105 from Rock Hall, Maryland to Larchmont, NY. Dave also races Thistles. We spent an enjoyable evening with Dave and Carol at their house.

Thursday, August 14, 2025 in the morning we walked 1 mile to Stanz Café in Larchmont for breakfast, the temperature was muggy, hot and very humid 80F. Departed the Yacht Club at 10:30am. Heading to NewYork City, sightseeing on the East and Hudson Rivers.

Anchored at Sandy Hook, NJ 6:45pm for the night. Total miles traveled today 42. We stopped for the night as tomorrow brings a northerly wind.

Friday, August 15, 2025 anchor up at 6:40am. Sailing the sandy beach coastline of New Jersey, all day. For several hours we were cruising over 8knots!

Saturday, August 16, 2025 At 1:15am, we turned to starboard up the Delaware Bay. Entered the C & D Canal at 11:15am. After 4.5 hours of negative current, entered the Chesapeake at 3:55pm. 7:10pm, Trance is home. Total miles traveled past two days, 215.44.

Wednesday, August 6, 2025 anchor up 7:41am. Arrived at the LaHave Bakery for brunch at 10:30am, departed at 12:28pm heading up river to the Bridgewater Marina.

Arrived at Bridgewater 2:30pm, total miles travelled today 24.

We met Dave whose boat is docked next to ours. Dave lives in Bridgewater. He volunteered to give us a ride to Sobeys grocery store. Called him to pick us up when we were finished shopping. For dinner we took the dingy up the river to a public park dock, walked to the River Pub.

We spent the evening after dinner taking showers, doing laundry in between playing cards in the all purpose room. The marina building has ok showers and the washer and dryer were free to use!

Thursday, August 7, 2025 departed Bridgewater at 7:05am. Destination, Shelburne.

Total miles traveled today 77.2 miles. Arrived in Shelburne at 7pm. Made a crustless Taco Pie for dinner, later walked a bit around town.

Friday, August 8, 2025 went to a few “nicknack” shops on Water Street. Had lunch at Boxing Rock Brewing Company, a local brewery. For dinner we participated, in the tasting of a chili competition, at the Shelburne Yacht Club. The event was a fundraiser for the club. There were 15 different chilies to taste. We chose the one voted in second place, similar to the winning one with less heat.

Saturday, August 9, 2025 departed Shelburne Yacht Club at 6:45am.

A plethora of lighthouses were seen along the rocky southern coast on our way to Yarmouth. Many old structures are automated or solar powered and some not in use have modern light and fog sounding devices standing next to them.

For dinner we made a sourdough crust pizza.

Arrived in Yarmouth around 7:43pm. Total miles travelled today 68.7. Walked down Main Street and the waterfront.

Saturday, August 2, 2025 Tammy and Steve arrive today! They are sailing back to the Chesapeake with us. Departed Bedford basin at 2:25pm. Arrived at Halifax harbour around 4pm on the dock for the night, distance traveled today 6.5 miles. We had a fabulous dinner at Bicycle Thief followed by a stop at Cows for ice cream.

Monday is a holiday here in Nova Scotia, August 4, Natal Day, celebrating the founding of Nova Scotia. A holiday celebrated here since in 1895. Fireworks were displayed tonight on the Halifax, waterfront.

Sunday, August 3, 2025 Happy Birthday Max! Had a day pass to stay on the dock downtown Halifax, just as we were walking away, we were told we had to move, as well as the other two boats there, room was needed for an incoming 140ft yacht. We searched twice, there was no available dock space, so we left the Halifax Waterfront.

We travelled up the Northwest Arm to Armdale, distance travelled 5 miles, and anchored. Took the dinghy to the dock at Horseshoe Island Park, Uber’d over the hill back to downtown Halifax. Our second trip to the Citadel. We saw several different exhibits from our first visit. Also experienced the cannon blast at noon!

Had lunch at the Wooden Monkey. Afterwards walked to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Very interesting exhibits from the Titanic era steamships to wooded fishing boats and a large section on the 1917 Halifax Harbour explosion.

Anchored for the night in Ketch Harbour. Distance travelled, 12 miles. For dinner I made Burrito bowls.

Monday, August 4, 2025 anchor up at 9:40am. Did another webcam sail by at Peggy’s Cove, going the other direction, with sails up.

Dropped anchor in Lunenburg at 6pm. Total miles traveled today 41.2. There is a webcam here too, focused on the Bluenose II. The four of us are on the right, Dan in a black fleece has his back to the camera

Dinner at The Salt Shaker Inn with the crew from s/v Celestial whom we met back in Shelburne mid June.

Tuesday, August 5, 2025 the morning was spent participating in a guided walking tour of Lunenburg. Unidentified houses are classic village architecture. The town was dedicated to preserving it’s history years before the UNESCO designation.

In 2001, on Halloween, St John’s Evangelical Church burned almost completely to the ground. 91% of the congregation voted in favor of restoration of the building to its original condition. Being part of the UNESCO heritage, Parks Canada had documents and photos of the church. Significant donations from residents contributed to items like the stained glass and organ being replaced. Completed in 2005, the reconstructed church has retained its UNESCO World heritage status. It also had been known there was a crypt underneath, because of the fire, three additional graves were discovered. These names were added to the plaque on the floor near the alter.

In the evening we took a guided Haunted Lunenburg walking tour. Strolling past ornate houses by lantern light, listening to ghost stories of past and present.

Sunday, July 27, 2025 Kris and Ron picked us up this morning we did a “Costco run”, picked up a few food items for TRANCE. Afterwards we went to Fisherman’s Cove, purchased lobsters for lunch. Went back to their house, cooked them up. Had a great afternoon!

Monday, July 28, 2025 grocery store trip this morning, 2.5 mile walk round trip. Purchases perishable items. Took an Uber to a The Binnacle, a marine store, to purchase a new water heater for TRANCE, it was leaking. Dan had to notch out the fiberglass to get the new unit to fit. He spent 8 hours working on the installation.

Tuesday, July 29, 2025 took an Uber to a Stellar Industrial, a mechanical parts shop, to purchase 15’ of wet exhaust hose that will connect the new water heater to the Yanmar engine. The old hose leaked, wasn’t long enough to cut the ends off to reuse it.

Another 4 hours of work today. All connected and working… No more leaks! Clean up time! Ron dropped-off some engine oil late afternoon and then we went to Rudy & Olive’s Fish and Chips for dinner.

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 laundry day.

There was sailboat racing tonight, and a food truck at the club. Dan was able to crew on a boat, I had pulled pork tacos.

Thursday, July 31, 2025 Ron picked us up in the afternoon for another Costco run, this time to get our propane tank refilled. Later, Dan changed the engine oil. For dinner I made Fajita Chicken with peppers. Continued bingeing Ginny & Georgia.

Friday, August 1, 2025 visit to Wolfville, in the valley, with my cousins. We visited three wineries. Benjamin Bridge, Planters Ridge and Domain de Grand Pré.

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Sunday, July 20, 2025 – Liscomb River Arrived at Liscombe Lodge at 1:30pm, total miles traveled 111.29.

Walked around the property then dinner at the restaurant here.

Monday, July 21, 2025 – Spanish Ship Bay Departed Liscombe Lodge at 11:36am. Traveled 5 miles anchored for the night in Spanish Ship Bay next to Charles Island. Strong winds are forecasted for tonight.

Balsamic Chicken with Peppers over rice for dinner.

Tuesday, July 22, 2025 – Shelter Cove Anchor up 9:30am from Spanish Ship Bay, dropped anchor at 3:30pm for the night in Shelter Cove. Total miles traveled today 35.4.

Sausage, peppers and onions with orzo for dinner.

Wednesday, July 23, 2025 – Jeddore Anchor up at 9:20am from Shelter Cove. Arrived at 1:55pm, total miles traveled today, 25. On a mooring ball for three nights at Jeddore. OCC port officer John came to TRANCE for a delightful visit, we are on one of his moorings. Very Strong South winds are forecasted the next three days, we are in a good place.

Thursday, July 24, 2025 what do you do when the winds are 20+ knots with frequent gusts over 30 on a mooring ball?

1. Clean the teak rails! First they were washed and scrubbed to remove the gray build up, hours of salt and grime.

2. Inventory food, made a shopping list

3. Continued to binge downloaded Netflix series Ginny & Georgia

Pesto pasta chicken for dinner.

Friday, July 25, 2025 more high winds forecasted for today, ugh!

More teak maintenance, applied sealer.

Not my favorite days, stuck with too much wind. It is what it is. Two days of cleaning teak. Continued with our Netflix binge.

Saturday, July 26, 2025 departed the mooring ball at 9:00am. Arrived at Bedford Basin Yacht Club at 3:20pm. Total miles traveled today 39.3 miles. On a mooring ball for the week. s/v Henry is here, Peter and Wendy’s son Will was in the boat. The three of us walked to il Mercato Italian restaurant for dinner.

Saturday, July 19, 2025

Anchor dropped at 7:35am on the North shore. Total miles traveled 110. It was a half mile dingy ride to shore from TRANCE. By 8:30am we were on Sable Island. When we arrived, we were greeted by 2 parks employees. All the parks staff were super friendly.

Sable Island is a windswept crescent shaped sandbar, 26 miles long and 0.75 miles at the widest point. It is 160 nautical miles from mainland Nova Scotia in the North Atlantic Ocean. Graveyard of the Atlantic was a nickname for Sable Island. Since 1583 there have been more than 350 shipwrecks on the island.

When walking around the island we walked only on the paths through the marram grass created by the horses as to not disturb the vegetation. Marram grass covers 3/4 of the island.

There are numerous fresh water ponds formed by rain and snow. The precipitation seeps into the sandy soil, forming a freshwater reservoir. Saltwater is more dense than freshwater, allowing the freshwater to float above it.

Home to the Ipswich Sparrow, a subspecies of the Savannah Sparrow, nest nowhere else in the world.

The island is home to the largest breeding colony of Grey Seals. Tens of thousands arrive in the winter. Birds are also in abundance.

Wild horses roam freely, feeding primarily on the marram grass. Brought to the island in the 1700’s, they have developed into a distinct breed. They receive no veterinary services and live off the land.

Anchor up at 5:42pm quite an exhausting yet wonderful day!

Tuesday, July 15, 2025 John and Joy departed TRANCE this morning, Mark gave them a ride to Halifax to catch their flight this afternoon. We are waiting till high tide to leave as the inlet is shallow.

Departed Fox Harb’r at 1:20pm. 5:56pm arrived in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island at the Charlottetown Yacht Club. Total miles travelled today 26.7.

Walked around the waterfront then stopped at Peake’s Quay for dinner.

Wednesday, July 16, 2025 PEI in one day! Walked to Sobeys grocery store with our wagon to provision for 5 days. It was a 3.3 mile round trip walk. Lunch on TRANCE.

Throughout the waterfront and downtown area, there are three self guided walking tours you can follow. Painted stripes on the edge of the sidewalk are yellow for shops and services, red is the Historic walk and green the Waterfront walk.

We followed the red line. First stop was Cow’s for ice cream. Best ice cream I’ve ever had!

Continuing along our red line, stopped at Juice Co., I had water, Dan had a berry smoothie. We signed the antique ice cream cart as the sign above said “Where are you from?”

There were several houses and buildings along our route that are designated National Historic Sites of Canada.

The Charlottetown Conference in September of 1864, was a pivotal meeting of provincial delegates that laid the groundwork for the Confederation of Canada. This meeting ultimately lead to the birth of the Dominion of Canada.

Total miles walked following the red line, 2.1. Had dinner at Brakish Dockside Bar and Eatery.

Thursday, July 17, 2025 departed Charlottetown Yacht Club at 5:50am.

Transited the Canso Canal at 7:15pm, mean low tide on both sides of the lock, we barely moved. The lock master had us hover in the center instead of being tied to the wall.

The Canso Canal lock is adjacent to the Canso Causeway. The causeway completed in 1955, connects Cape Breton Island to mainland Nova Scotia. The lock accounts for the tidal and current issues, and allowing vessels to transit the Strait of Canso.

10 million tons of granite and other rocks were harvested from the mountain face adjacent to the canal to build the causeway. The causeway is 80ft wide and is the deepest causeway in the world. The deepest point being 217 feet.

Dropped anchor in McDonalds Cove at Janvrin Island 9:00pm in light fog. Total distance travelled today 99.35 miles.

Friday, July 18, 2025 Anchor up at 2:10 pm, destination Sable Island.