Month: June 2025

Tuesday, June 24, 2025 anchor up at 12:15, destination Young Island. Total miles traveled 4.5. We visited with Peter and Terry, Ocean Cruising Club members. Peter is a “Port Officer.” Officers are a resource to visiting yachts regarding local information. Dan and I walked a bit of the island till the mosquitos were getting to me. Later we had dinner with them at their house.

Wednesday, June 25, 2025, 9:30am departed Young Island for Chandlers Cove in Chester Harbour, arriving 10:45am, traveling 4.5 miles today. We are anchored just off the Chester Golf Club along with Peter and Wendy on s/v Henry.

The four of us went to dinner in Chester, a picturesque sleepy town, at Fo’c’sle, Nova Scotia’s Oldest Pub dating back to the 1760’s. We had such a great time, great food, and conversation. At 9pm were asked to leave as the restaurant, they had actually closed at 8pm. Night caps aboard Henry.

Thursday, June 26, 2025 after several attempts and a few choice words, Dan finally was able to get the water maker running again! It is now producing the best and most water ever.

Cocktails on our boat tonight, then hamburgers at the Chester Yacht Club.

Friday, June 27, 2025 Peter stopped over at 8am. He and Dan investigated a fresh water leak we have. Several quick-disconnect fittings on our hot water heater were leaking. They were all removed and hoses were attached directly to the heater. So far so good!

Departed the anchorage at 10am. Headed towards Deep Cove, in Mahone Bay, to do a “drive by.”

Then over to St. Margarets Bay again.

Monday, June 23, 2025 departed St Margarets Bay at 8:30am, going back to explore Mahone Bay a bit more. Total miles travelled today 26. Arrived in Mahone Bay Village at 1pm. We dropped anchor at the end of the mooring field, the Mahone Bay Civic Marina office is only open on weekends until July. We could not reserve a mooring for today.

The dinghy dock was short ride from TRANCE. We took our handy wagon in town to pick up a few items the grocery store. While in town, dinner reservations were made at the Mug and Anchor Pub for 6 people. Us, people on the boat in front of us Peter and Wendy from the UK, we invited to join us, plus 2 people who live here, Fred and Mina, Dan had arranged to get together with them. We are all members of the Ocean Cruising Club. Flying your Ocean Cruising Club burgee makes it easy to identify other members.

Up the river beyond the grocery store you will find scenic view of The Three Churches.

When Peter and Wendy arrived at the restaurant they realized along with Fred and Mina they had all previously met each other in the Caribbean, fun reunion!

Saturday, June 21, 2025 total miles traveled today, 24 miles. Arrived at St. Margarets Sailing Club at 2:30pm.

We met club members Sara and Jörg, on outside deck, had a lovely conversation with them. They invited us to join them for dinner, driving a short distance to the nearby Shining Waters Marina restaurant. We all had Chicken Tikka Masala, so good!

Sunday June 22, 2025 a little of my family history, my mother was born 1931, in Truro, Nova Scotia. She had much older siblings and an identical twin sister. The events would have made for a great Oprah story. Fast forward to 1976ish, when my mom was about 45, the twins met for the first time. They remained in contact with each other till the end of their lives. This day I reconnected in person with my cousin Kris, met her husband Ron. They picked us up at the marina and we visited Peggy’s Cove together. We are planning to get together again the end of July.

Peggy’s Cove is a working fishing village, home to residents year round. The original structure was built in 1868, rebuilt in 1915. Peggy’s Point Lighthouse is still active today. Its picturesque profile, makes it the most photographed lighthouse in Canada.

Wednesday, June 18, 2025 departed the LaHave Yacht Club around 11:30am.

Dropped anchor in Heckmans Anchorage around 3:30pm, for the night. First time with our shiny new anchor chain! Total distance travelled today 23 miles. Boat projects today. Attempted to get the water maker running, it wouldn’t prime, ugh! Changed a sketchy cotter pin on a main sheet block, calibrated our compass, cleaned diesel fuel filter bowl, added more mechanical advantage to the dingy’s motor block and tackle system. We have a heavier 15hp outboard motor now. There is a newly serviced 9.9hp motor in our garage at home for sale.

It started raining at 6pm, then the fog rolled in.

Thursday, June 19, 2025 Happy Birthday Beth!!🎈Departed anchorage after 12:30ish, 1:40pm arrived at Lunenburg Yacht Club. Total distance traveled today 5 miles. We plan to be here 2 nights. We had takeout from the club, fresh made seafood chowder they were serving for dinner at the Club, this will be our lunch tomorrow. At the LaHave Bakery we purchased frozen Haddock Au Gratin that was thawed, we needed to bake that for our dinner, so good!

Friday, June 20, 2025 sunny and warmer today, high will be around 73F.

Dan installed USB/USB C port unit by the navigating station. Attempted, but failed to determine why our GPS coordinates are not being displayed on our VHF radio. Dinner at the yacht club.

Saturday, June 21, 2025 departed Lunenburg Yacht Club at 10:10am, destination St. Margarets Bay Sailing Club.

Monday, June 15, 2025 total nautical miles traveled today, 50. 6:00pm we pickup a mooring ball, and s/v Celestial is rafted next to us, s/v Whim and s/v Rocky Rhode are rafted together on a mooring ball behind us. We had dinner with Barb and Tom from s/v Celestial on our boat. Barb made delicious dish of white bean, orzo, sausage, shallots and spinach. I made guacamole for appetizer, we also contributed the sausage for the main dish. Barb also made a peach tart for dessert! A bottle of red, a bottle of white, great company! We may meet up with them again at Shelburne in August, and buddy boat back to the US together.

Tuesday, June 16, 2025 departed the mooring ball a little past 9am.

Destination today is LaHave River. First stop is the LaHave Bakery, for lunch. The food is all made from scratch with locally sourced ingredients from Nova Scotia. It’s a bookstore, craft co-op, bakery, general store and restaurant. After lunch we went farther up river to the LaHave Yacht Club for a night on the dock. The members there were super friendly and welcoming! Distance traveled today, 30 miles.

Arrival time at the yacht club was around 3:30pm. met several club members at picnic tables on the dockside of the clubhouse. Shared a drink and of course there is racing tonight, Dan found a boat to crew on.

Saturday, June 14, 2025 the morning started out with rain ending near 5pm. A few boat projects were completed as well as planning our next stops. We arranged to go to dinner with new friends Steven and Sarah from s/v Snow Bear who are also here in Shelburne. He is from the UK, she is from Denmark. It was a great dinner at Charlotte Lane Cafe, great company, sharing stories of our journeys.

Sunday, June 15, 2025 Happy Father’s Day! This morning we further investigate our journey for the next few weeks, looking at anchorages and marinas heading east. With a borrowed truck we went to Sobeys grocery store to provision for a few days, as we were not allowed to bring produce, meats and cheeses into Canada. We stopped at Mr. Fish for fish fry take out on the way back to the marina. After dinner there was a gathering of sailors in the bar area, till 10:30ish pm. (I also was doing our laundry at the clubhouse at the same time). Followed by Dark and Stormy’s on s/v Snow Bear. Tomorrow there will be a mass exodus from Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club as the 6 transient boats here are all departing, including us.

Monday, June 16, 2025 departed Shelburne 8:50 am along with 3 additional boats, we are traveling together to Brooklyn in Herring Cove.

Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, approximately the same latitude as Portland, Maine.

Shelburne was incorporated as a town on April 4, 1907, has a rich Loyalist history. Several descendants of the first-generation Loyalists (those loyal to the British) still live in the area today. During the American Revolution hundreds of colonists loyal to crown, left New York seeking refuge in Nova Scotia. 

Fishing is the primary industry, 9.5 million pounds of fish pass through the port annually. Other economic activities include tourism, fish farming and processing, manufacture of barrels, granite monuments, and marine supplies.

Thursday, June 12, 2025 we cleaned up the boat a bit, took showers walked into town had lunch at The Ship’s Galley Pub and Eatery. Back at the marina we met several members. There was mention of races starting around 5:45, and of course Dan was able to find a boat to crew on. Meanwhile I hung out on the upper deck at the club, met several wonderful people. Grilled hamburgers and hotdogs were on the menu for dinner.

Soon after we arrived back to TRANCE, at 10:30pm, another sailboat was arriving, Dan went out to help them. It was a a boat from France, s/v Picaso, with 4 men aboard. They invited us over for wine.

Second gentleman from the left, Jerome Picard is a Dentist, you can find him on Instagram toothcolibri. They are traveling the world by boat to heal, in remote places.

Friday, June 13, 2025 we woke up late this morning, combination of an event filled day and the one hour time difference.

Walked into town for lunch at the Emerald Light. I had a salmon bowl, very delicious!

After lunch we walked around town.

The Barrel Factory located on Dock Street, currently owned by George and Beerta Van der Meer. Many of the original tools are from the early 1900’s are still in use today. Most barrels are made from all local spruce trees. Some of his products include planters, line barrels for fishing boats, buckets even coffee cups.

After dinner at the yacht club we attended a concert at the Osprey Arts Center featuring Joe H Henry, a Canadian country musician.

Saturday, June 7, 2025 Departed Tolchester Marina at 2:39pm heading north to the C&D canal, to the Delaware Bay, then North Atlantic Ocean. Destination, the Provence of Nova Scotia, Canada. Very light winds, temp is 77F, on the Chesapeake Bay. We are currently motoring. 5:30pm, a heavy downpour of rain with gusty winds fell upon us. Thankful for our full cockpit enclosure, we are staying very dry.

We started out “night watches” a bit late. While Dan sleeps, I have 7pm -1am shift. Listened to podcasts, She WHAT? and Smartless.

Sunday, June 8, 2025 Day 1, total nautical miles traveled 144. Max speed 8.92 kn, ave speed 6.05 kn..

Gray sky’s air temp is 62F, fog, drizzling rain on the ocean, choppy seas this morning. Currently just south of Atlantic City, NJ.

6pm, approaching the ship traffic separation lanes around NYC. The wind has been steady around 23 kn, we’re motor sailing 28 degrees off the wind, waves around 6ft. It’s like bashing up the west coast of the US. The captain is feeling a bit queasy and is now sleeping. Dinner for one, Jambalaya, (we made enough for 3-4 days) eating meals out of bowls or Yeti mugs is very efficient.

Monday, June 9, 2025 Day 2, total nautical miles traveled 275, 131 miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Another gray, cold (at what temperature do you start to see your breath), choppy seas day! Winds 18-22 kn, still cruising 30 degrees off the wind. Visibility due to fog is less than 1 mile. A 600 ft cargo ship crossed in front of us 1 mile away, sets off alarms, yet I can’t see it! Current location nearing the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound. Funny thing about weather forecasts, they are not always correct. The wind angle is coming more from the north. Our plans may change to go through the Cape Cod Canal instead of going around Nantucket.

During my watch, listened to Joe Rogans podcast interview with Kash Patel.

Tuesday, June 10, 2025 Day 3, total miles traveled 422, 147 miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

This morning starting at 6am we traversed the Cape Cod Canal. Going with the current, we reached 11.4 knots! Still gray, foggy and damp, temperature 58F, no wind right now on Cape Cod Bay. By 10:15am we should be on the North Atlantic Ocean, about a 200 mile trek to Nova Scotia. We saw whales today, looked like Humpbacks!

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Day 4, total miles traveled 555, 133 miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Good morning sunshine! First day we’ve seen the sun since Saturday.

Sometime during the night, the boom topping lift became disconnected. The topping lift is a line fixed to the top of the mast, that connects to the end of the boom. This keeps the heavy boom up when the mainsail is rolled into the mast. I hoisted Dan part way up the mast in a boyson chair to capture and secure the topping lift line that was dangling, and interfering with the other sails. A temporary fix was to connect the spare main halyard to the boom for support. The proper reconnection will be done when we are at anchor or docked.

Thursday, June 12 Day 5, total miles traveled 653, 98 miles traveled in the past 24 hours.

Arrived at the dock in Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club in Nova Scotia at 9:12am

Completed our check in with customs and immigration via phone, we’re good to go explore!