Passage from Halifax to Cape Cod

     Today we had a great sail from New Bedford, MA to Block Island which is about 20 miles offshore from Newport RI, the original home of the America's Cup. We are now anchored in Great Salt Pond which is a large harbour in the center of Block Island.

Jon
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Passage: Halifax to Cape Cod

     After a great stay in Halifax we saw a weather window suitable to sail to Cape Cod. The route is about 370 NM SW which is usually upwind across the Gulf of Maine.  This turned out to be a fantastic passage with East winds greeting us about 3 hours into the trip and allowing us to sail all the way to the Cape Cod Canal which we arrived at after about 56 hours of sailing. Winds started out light with a flat sea and built to 25 knots with 5-10 ft seas for the ride into Cape Cod. What a great sail. We are now moored in New Bedford MA after clearing US Customs and Immigration. Here is a video of life aboard.

Nova Scotia to Cape Cod

     We left Halifax for Lockeport on a night passage intending to get diesel in Lockeport. However, after managing to sail all night decided to head on for Cape Cod. All in all the trip took two nights and we arrived at Pope Island Marina in New Bedford Massachucetts early this morning.

     On the passage we encountered lots of waves. Up and down, up and down, the pitching and rolling became pretty tiring after a while and the waves were fairly sizeable by yesterday accounting for our first real experience with large ocean swell. Most of the time we managed to not feel sick by staying above deck or lying down while below. I tried out my first audiobook, "Hunger Games," and enjoyed it so I will be buying many more for the longer ocean passage to come in November.

     The weather was sunny most of the days and as Dad planned we took advantage of a weather window that allowed us to sail the majority of the time. Sarah did some awesome steering yesterday as we all took turns at the wheel. Both of us feel that we've learned a lot more about sailing over the past three weeks and are much more comfortable with a lot of tasks. Plus after so much docking we have a system pretty well down and are pros!

     Last night we had some sticky planning to do while communicating with customs about checking in to the US. Sticky situations always seem to happen in the middle of the night. We passed through the Cape Cod canal in the dark in a crazy 4 knot current and decided to make for New Bedford to anchor and then rest up. All I can say I saw of Cape Cod was a few lights and a lot of darkness. Exhausted and really in need of a shower we were all grateful to get safely to Pope Island Marina. I'm not gonna lie, it was so nice to get off the boat onto solid land after feeling cooped up for the last few days. The customs people were great today, very accomodating, and we bought a prepaid cell phone to use while in the US. Tonight we are safely tied to a dock and looking forward to a still and undisturbed sleep. I plan to settle in with a nice Keiths and watch "How I Met Your Mother" for a few solid hours (awesome show if you haven't seen it).

     The next few days we'll be making our way towards New York City. This involves contending with the open ocean and a strong current in the Long Island Sound. Despite all the tiredness and difficulties of these passages it will be pretty amazing to pull into a marina in downtown New York. So here's to the city that never sleeps.

Nicole.

Passage from Halifax to Cape Cod

     We left Halifax at 4:30 local time on Monday Sept 26 after a great visit. At about 8pm the wind picked up to 20 knots apparent off the starboard bow and we rode the wind for over 12 hours. A totally awesome sail down the Nova Scotia coast. We are now clear of the tip of Nova Scotia on our way to Cape Cod Mass.

     If the weather forecast holds we should complete the 370 NM passage from Halifax to the Cape Cod Canal on Thursday morning. We are presently under sail in a 10 Knot west wind that we are expecting to shift to east later today.The SPOT batteries died last night but have been replaced. I hope it didn't cause any concern to any of the followers.

     I am working on a video of life on-board that I will post when we have an internet connection.
Jon
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Halifax Photos

     Here are some pictures from our short visit in Halifax. The only negative thing to say about our visit was the busker near the wharf who only played one song over and over and over!

This boat makes ours look tiny!

Tall ships

Sackville Wharf

My favourite beer

Halifax Citadel National Historic Site

That's all for now. The next time we post we'll likely be in Cape Cod or Boston after a passage from Nova Scotia. So until next time,
Nicole. xo.

Charming NS

     That night in Port Howe the fog rolled in "thick as pea soup," as the saying goes. Suddenly all around us was white and we couldn’t even see Raftan anchored a few hundred feet away. With no lights showing through the fog it truly felt like we were lost in the wild somewhere. It was the first time any of us can remember when there wasn’t any light visible at night on this or any other sailing trip. 

     The fog receded by morning and we set out along the coast of Nova Scotia. By afternoon we had to refuel so we travelled up the Liscombe River, a very narrow, windy hurricane hole with water the colour of black tea. The area was beautiful and serene and struck us as cottage country because it seemed so remote. It was rainy as we entered so foul weather gear was a necessity as we secured the boat to a tiny dock below a rustic resort. Meanwhile the marina attendant (Chester) pulled up in a pontoon boat shouting, “I’ll be over in a few minutes to get your fuel.” The two people with him were super excited about seeing a sailboat and wanted to check the boat out at the same time that we were trying to get Raftan safely into the dock. Very friendly people, although their timing was a bit off! The dock was tiny and broke as we pulled Raftan’s stern line in, bending outwards. Mom, with her unflappable motherly instincts, tried to shove me out of harm’s way thinking it was going to break right off. We had to let the lines go so the dock didn’t break completely and the decision was made to raft the boat alongside Child’s Play. While refuelling Mom and Dad chatted with Chester about huge mosquitoes, the ups and downs of the marina business, and the lack of snow in Nova Scotia this time of the year (which mom pointed out jokingly). To this Chester replied, “Yur in Nova Scotia gurl! It doesn’t snow here til December!”

     Fuelled up, we continued along the coast for a night passage to Halifax. It was an eerie night to say the least as we passed through patches of fog and kept an eye on the radar and AIS for ships. Thank goodness for radar! A trip like this would be impossible and very risky without it. All the times we’ve used radar in the past became good practise, for this was the first time it was essential. As the morning approached I was at the helm following closely behind Raftan as we dodged between fishing boats in the fog. To warn you off they all shine a big floodlight on you, which can be kind of disconcerting because it’s hard to tell exactly how far away they are!

This tiny bird was so relaxed on deck that it fell asleep!

     This morning saw us safe but exhausted in Halifax where we pulled into a wharf along the pristine downtown waterfront. We passed two huge cruise ships, including the massive and recently-launched Queen Elizabeth. Seeing this boat reminded Dad that his parents (John and Freda) first came to Canada by way of Halifax Harbour from England in 1963. It’s pretty cool when you think about how many people have immigrated to Canada through this harbour; even more intriguing to think that my grandparents’ first glimpse of this country occurred in the very same place we are now.

The Queen Elizabeth

     Today was so warm and sunny it was such a treat after the rainy, cool, foggy weather we’ve encountered lately. Just to be able to go for a long walk in the city was wonderful! Being cooped up on a boat for days on end can make a person pretty cramped and sore. Don’t get me wrong, it’s amazing to be able to travel to all these places on a floating home that goes with you everywhere, but it can be pretty uncomfortable at times. It’s funny how living on a boat can really make you appreciate certain comforts that are taken for granted on land. For instance, taking a shower becomes a massive chore and you always have to be aware of how much water is used. Everything takes a little longer on a boat, that’s for sure! Conservation and minimalism is the key.  But from where I’m standing I’d say that it’s worth the sacrifice of a few on-land comforts for the chance to visit so many new places. Plus it makes you really REALLY appreciate a good hot shower after a long tiresome journey.

Halifax

     Our time in Halifax is brief as we’ll be leaving tomorrow afternoon for Lockeport, but we have all agreed that it’s a beautiful city well worth another visit. I mean, how can you go wrong with a city that has a pub on pretty much every corner? Thanks again for reading, I'll be adding pictures to previous posts so check them out again for some visuals :)

Nicole.

The Sunrise Coast

Dates have become obsolete, except when listening to the weather forecast. This is fitting when it feels like you're in the middle of nowhere. Anchored in a bay tucked off the southern coast of Nova Scotia, the boat is surrounded by spiky evergreens crammed on a rocky shoreline. The only sign of civilization is a small blue shack on the opposite side of the bay.

Passing through the Strait of Canso we navigated a tiny channel alongside Andrew Island to the "sunrise coast" of Nova Scotia. The channel took us past a picturesque town that I can't do justice to by simply describing, so check out the pictures. Passing through that channel involved quick navigational decisions when the buoy positions didn't match our GPS. But we got through with our sanity intact and safely reached Port Howe for the night.

It strikes us as odd that a place called "Port Howe" lacks an actual port, but this just adds its untouched beauty. As we settle in for the night fog rolls in around us, creating a perfect atmosphere to spend the night on such a rough and rugged coastline. Now that I actually know what day of the week it is, here's hoping that everyone enjoys the weekend!
Nicole.
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In the Atlantic

We are anchored in Port Howe a small anchorage on the east side of the Canso Strait in Nova Scotia. We passed through the last lock at 9am and are now truly in the Atlantic.

Jon
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East Coast Sights

On Tuesday we left Gaspe with fresh cod, salmon and shrimp on board as well as a giant pile of provisions for the upcoming weeks. Dodging crab pots, we motored the length of the bay to turn south for Grand-Riviere. Looking off at the land on one side of the bay a bird suddenly plummeted, dropping with the blink of an eye straight into the water in a graceful dive. For the rest of the day we kept an eye out for these dive-bombing entertainers, which turned out to be gannets- white-feathered, golden-headed seabirds with black wing tips. Later in the day we rounded Perce Rock (according to our cruising guide one of Canada's most photographed natural features) and Ile Bonaventure where the gannets nest in huge numbers. Mom thought Perce Rock looked like a horse with its head in the water drinking from a fountain. Check it out from a certain angle, because it certainly does!

Perce Rock

Perce Rock

After dark Tuesday we pulled into Grand-Riviere. Sarah's log entry in this port tells all: "Docked at Grand-Riviere. Fishing marina-fish smell and fishing boats." It seems fitting that we had our first fish of the trip for dinner that night. Mom cooked delicious pan-fried cod with shrimp sautéed in butter, beans, potatoes and a Caesar salad. It was flavourful and my favourite meal so far! On a side note, despite traveling for two weeks we have been moving at such a quick pace that our only meal out occurred in Quebec City. Until Gaspe we didn't even get fresh fish, but we hope to enjoy a lot more in the coming days and weeks, especially since seafood is so readily available on the east coast.

The plan from Grande-Riviere was a night passage past Prince Edward Island to Nova Scotia at the entrance to the Strait of Canso. Leaving Grand-Riviere at 5 am Wednesday the waves instantly became like a washing machine, pitching and rolling the boat, making Sarah, Mom and I queasy for most of the morning. None of us could stand being below so we sat above in the fresh air chewing ginger gum to fend off the sickness. The worst thought for me was the idea that I couldn't just lie down and rest when I wanted to. It's tough when your home is capable of tilting at a twenty degree angle, pitching up and down, side to side. But that's just one of the hazards of living on a boat, where you are so susceptible to the elements. Luckily the waves gradually settled into steadier swell letting us rest and enjoy the warmer weather.

All the difficulties of the morning became even more distant when a pod of playful dolphins popped up behind the boat! Each of us jumped up and ran to the stern, mesmerized by their sleek, silent movements. Watching them surface and dart from side to side off the stern was like watching fireworks; each sighting was a special moment and left us feeling happy and lucky to be out there. The pod was large and disappeared underwater only to pop up in the distance jumping and leaping in the playful way that only dolphins can.

The night passage was uneventful and smooth with a clear starry sky and a moon shaped like an ice-cream scoop. Today we had more lovely weather and spotted more dolphins. This time they rushed straight at the bow to check out the boat. I don't think any of us will ever get tired of watching them play in the water-it's just too much fun! Today we arrived at an anchorage in Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia to spend the night before traveling the Strait of Canso tomorrow.

On another note, on Wednesday we passed the two-week mark for the trip. In some ways it feels like much longer, especially when you consider all the places we've seen already. But then the days start to blur in our minds and casting off from Collin's Bay doesn't seem so long ago. Traveling this way to get south has definitely given us the chance to practise our sailing skills and get used to longer passages. With each day we relax further into a routine on board. Thinking back to week one, there was a lot more nervous tension between us, especially when it came to all the quick navigational decisions and frequent docking in new places. But the mood onboard has calmed down and we're beginning to enjoy the sights brought with each new day!

Until next time,
Nicole.

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Position Update

We are safely anchored in Havre Boucher a small port / anchorage on the east side of the Canso Strait in Nova Scotia. We had a great passage from Gaspe. The highlight was the pods of dolphins swimming along with the boat. The passage started out with 25 knot winds on the starboard beam with choppy steep seas that we kept putting the bow through. Once we were offshore the chop turned into swell and it was much smoother. We made good time until late Wednesday night at which point we motored until morning when the wind picked up.

All in all a great passage. Now we are in Nova Scotia.
jon
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Position Update

We are having a great sail from the Gaspe region of QC to Nova Scotia. Right now we are 75 NM into the leg with 139 NM to go. The wind is expected to lighten so we should get in some time Thursday afternoon. We can see the western end of PEI.

Winds are 15-20 Knots off the starboard beam and we are flying along at 7-9 knots. It started off a little hairy this morning. We had a 5am departure and there was significant chop for the first 20 miles and we had winds gusting to 35 knots apparent.

Now it is just a great sail on a sunny day.
Jon
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Safely Moored in Grand-Riviere

We are tied up at a fishing harbour (Grand-Riviere) after a great sail. We sailed past Perce rock, pictures to come. We are probably going to start the 2 day leg to Nova Scotia tomorrow if I can confirm good weather.

Time for a dinner of cod and shrimp......
Jon
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"Land's End"

Rounding the Forillon Peninsula into Gaspe Bay (aka "Land's End") today we sighted a lot of dolphins, a whale and seals basking in the sun. To help highlight the beautiful scenery of this region and because I don't have much to say today I will simply let the pictures do the talking this time!

Thanks to everyone who has commented on the blog so far, it is nice to know that people are reading it. If there's anything specific you want to hear about our travels just send us a message :)

Nicole. xo. 

Forillon National Park

Epic whale sighting!

Seal watching

Lighthouse on the Cap Gaspe peninsula

Moments Like These: Tadoussac to Riviere-au-Renard

Tadoussac

Our anchorage at Tadoussac turned into an ordeal where we swung too close to the shore as the tide went out. We floated around for a while with no ideas about where to go, then reset the anchor just behind our previous spot. Mom and I sat up until low tide at 1 am doing word searches and glancing at the GPS to ensure we stayed in a depth of 30 feet. The wind went up and down, howling then quieting throughout the night. Trying to sleep after the danger had passed I realized how attuned to the sounds and motions I had become. The clanks and creaks, water lapping on the hull, the pitch and cadence of the wind, all these things become so noticeable when you are on watch during the night.

Saturday was a great day in comparison and our favourite sailing day yet! The sun warmed the air nicely and the sky was a clear blue as we sailed on a long downwind tack along the southern shore of the gulf of the St. Lawrence. Despite watching for sea creatures we only spotted one whale early in the morning. The sails were set in the perfect downwind “wing in wing” configuration with the main on one side and a preventer to stop it from jibing, the genoa attached to a spinnaker pole on the other side with ropes (a foreguy, afterguy and topping lift) to hold the pole in place.

We consulted with s/v Raftan and the favourable weather and south-west winds convinced us to go through the night. We took three-hour shifts throughout the night (Mom and I; Dad and Sarah) and had a beautiful sail into the early hours of the morning. Stars illuminated the clear sky like thousands of fireflies and the moon made a strikingly orange appearance and great visibility. It was nice to just sail a course and not worry about aiming between buoys.

Like the night before, I found my senses awakening to the sounds and sights around the boat. It was so relaxing to listen to the salt water foam up as the bow cut through waves, letting off a rush and fizzle sound. We noticed that this fizzling foam doesn’t happen in fresh water. Being on watch involved a lot of sitting wrapped in layers of clothing and sleeping bags, adjusting sails, checking the depth, speed, wind direction and wind speed, watching Raftan’s progress beside us, staring up at stars, and watching lights on land slowly pass by. All in all it was a beautiful night to be sailing and I have to say that it’s moments like these that make all the stress of the trip so far worth it.

Today we sailed and motored through a sunny day and are now anchored at Riviere-au-Renard, a peaceful, large and empty anchorage inside the harbour of this small fishing town. Mom says this is her favourite place yet, as it has lots of “east coast” character with the fishing boats and simple white houses in a rugged landscape. This is a place like nothing seen yet and we’ve finally turned the corner into the east coast!

Riviere-au-Renard

To carry on with this trend of “favourites” here are the most memorable places for each of us so far: Dad enjoyed Tadoussac with the whale in the harbour and the currents as the Saguenay flows in and out of the St. Lawrence with the tides. Sarah liked Cap-a-L’Aigle because it was our first time seeing this hilly region up close, was very pretty and exciting because it felt like we had just appeared there out of the mist. And my favourite place was Quebec City with its windy streets and refreshing beauty.

Our plans for tomorrow aren’t firm yet but likely we’ll aim to re-provision in the Gaspe region before beginning a passage to Nova Scotia. 

Sorry it’s a long one, but hope you all enjoyed!

Nicole. 

Sarah on deck in Riviere-au-Renard

Whale Watch!

Today on our sail from Cap a L'Aigle to Tadoussac the air was cold, crisp and clear of mist. Shortly out of the marina I was completely overwhelmed with excitement when I spotted a whale! And not just any kind, but an endangered beluga. White and sleek it skimmed the surface of the water as it passed behind us. So awesome! My first reaction was a loud "Oh my gosh!" and of course Mom and Dad freaked out thinking something bad had happened. Throughout the morning we settled in at a nice sailing pace and kept spotting more belugas just along the edge of the waterway (sometimes mistaking whitecaps for them as the wind picked up).

Unfortunately a relaxed attitude never lasts long on a sailboat. Peace is fleeting. All of a sudden the wind came ripping down the hillsides, buffeting us, causing some intense heeling. At that point we lowered the main and sailed through the gusts under genoa for the rest of the day. To add some excitement to that, Mom yelled "Oh! Oh! Sea Lion!" as she glimpsed a seal right beside the boat as we neared Tadoussac.

Coming in to Tadoussac at the mouth of the Saguenay River around two o'clock we encountered some strange waves. The tide coming in and wind blowing out created choppy eddies and ripples along the surface. We also saw the water change from a nice sea green to an intense black as we neared the Saguenay. The water gets as deep as 400 feet just at the entrance to the river! The experience of pulling into the anchorage behind Club Nautique de Tadoussac allowed Dad to come up with the line: "Where should we anchor today? Oh, how about over there behind that whale." Our heads were spinning as we searched for a good spot and a whale surfaced about 30 feet in front of us! We're not sure what kind it was but it had a dark dorsal fin, so wasn't a beluga.

It's pretty cool to encounter these kinds of creatures already when we are only just nearing the ocean itself. So far tonight the wind is still howling and we have had to reset the anchor, so we're all looking forward to a good dinner and wrapping ourselves in lots of blankets for the night (it's cold today!).

Hoping everyone back home is well,
Nicole. xo. (Since we can't find internet to connect to tonight this post is going to my first sent to the blog through our marine SSB radio to a station in Lunenburg, NS, so hope it turns out ok!)
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A Foggy Passage

This evening just before dinner we pulled into a serene marina in Cap a L’Aigle. The trip from Quebec City was foggy the entire way, so we didn’t get to see much beyond the water around us and the hilly edges of the Charlevoix region. Rain misted around us throughout the day and despite trying to sail a few times we ended up motoring most of the way. The marina in Cap a L’Aigle is small and peaceful, with steep tree-covered hills extending off into the mist and a waterfall rushing down into the basin. The air here is cool and crisp, bringing with it scents of the winter to come. It reminds me of ski trips in the mountains. It seems ironic that to escape into warmer climes for the winter we have ended up heading further north as the summer recedes into fall.

It’s also interesting that so far we have yet to meet anyone else following the same route to the Caribbean. Likely others left earlier in the season. Shortly after departing Quebec City the water in the river changed from fresh to salt, so today officially counts as our first experience sailing in salt waters! Over the coming days we will enter the Maritimes and have another “first” when we experience sailing in the ocean for the first time in our lives! Tomorrow we continue along the St. Lawrence to Tadoussac. We’re hoping for a nice clear day with favourable winds so that we can actually see the landscape around us…although the fog does add some mystery to the day.

Wish us luck,

Nicole.

Bonus! Just as I was about to post this, the sun peeked out for the first time today and presented us with a gift: a rainbow. Such a nice end to a day of travel!

J’aime Quebec!

“My favourite thing is to go where I have never gone.” Diane Arbus.

Port of Quebec Marina in Quebec City offers a view of a city filled to the brim with beauty and history. On one side is a grain elevator where a historic light show is projected nightly, on the other a view of old Quebec expanding uphill towards the Chateau Frontenac and the Plains of Abraham. We will be staying in Quebec City two more nights for which I am very thankful because it gives me time to play tourist in a city that I have wanted to visit for quite some time now. And I must say it is a city that impresses well on first acquaintance! Not only do we have the chance to get off the boat and stretch our legs, but walking around old Quebec and up the trendy Rue St. Jean is helping me remember all the reasons why I love travelling. Stepping onto the streets of Quebec City you truly feel like you are in a European city complete with cobblestone streets, art galleries and fancy shops, lush gardens, statues and fountains, historic stone buildings, and the allure of a language other than English.

We arrived in the afternoon on Monday after sailing under spinnaker and motoring our way from the marina at Trois Rivieres. Dad wants me to mention that our spinnaker run was memorable and awesome, especially as we passed the Richelieu Rapids. On the way we experienced the usual stresses of navigating an unfamiliar waterway, but Mom provided some comic relief by accidentally pulling the cord on her inflatable life jacket while we were raising the spinnaker. 

We timed our arrival so that currents were in our favour all the way from Trois Rivieres and so that we’d get to Quebec City shortly after low tide. Entering the Port of Quebec Marina presented a unique experience, requiring us to pass through a lock used to control the water level in an area largely impacted by tide. The marina here is quite large and filled with an assortment of power and sailboats. There is also an extensive indoor market between the marina and the city where we plan to restock our fridge with fresh veggies, fruit and bread before the next leg of the journey. They even had a crepe stand that I had to test out for a late lunch! Also, on our long meandering walk in the city we visited a chocolaterie with a museum (Choco-Musee Erico) and gave our taste buds a little treat.

Tomorrow night we plan to enjoy a nice dinner in the city. Despite what you might think about the many difficulties and inconveniences of living on a boat we have not been eating badly by any means. It’s strange but boat meals always taste more delicious than meals back home...maybe it’s because by the end of the day we are always exhausted! But anyways, it will be nice to eat something different and not have to cook it ourselves.

Hope you’ve been enjoying the posts so far!

Nicole.

Locks, Bridges and Night Passages

Friday we motored through the night to get through as many locks a possible. Our first was in the afternoon at Iroquois. We had some customs confusion at this point but luckily the lady at the marina in Iroquois was super friendly and helpful. During the night passage we passed through four more locks, including Eisenhower and Snell on the US side and two at Beauharnois. The moon was kind enough to provide us with a well-lit night as we passed under several lift bridges into Quebec and encountered our first ship, which came upon us pretty quickly. At 5:30 am we dropped anchor just off the channel beyond the Beauharnois locks for a few hours of recuperative sleep as the sun began to rise.

During the day on Saturday we approached Montreal and completed the last two locks on the St. Lawrence. It is nice to have them over with! Luckily we never had to wait very long before passing through, but it always involved tying up at a dock to pay and call the lockmaster, and once in the locks we had to either hold on to ropes or loop rope around these moving “bollards" (which we nicknamed “wailing bollards” because of the sounds they made as we went down) and keep the boat off the wall with extendable handles we have for mops. The walls were pretty slimy and during the night it made for an eerie effect. 

Last night we left the main channel to anchor outside the home of friends of s/v Raftan and enjoy a restful night. The current is quite strong here so swimming wasn’t really an option. Today we are heading for Trois Rivieres and the marina there to spend the night and get some fuel. At this point in the journey we need to begin planning ahead a lot (something which hasn’t been done much as of yet because of the early changes in our route) due to the emerging impact of tides. According to our cruising guides they start to become significant after Trois Rivieres. Also the water turns “brackish,” a sign that we are approaching the ocean soon! We should reach Quebec City the following night. 

This was a quick entry as we are about to leave so I will update you all at the next internet point!

Nicole.

Ogdensburg

Yesterday we had a choppy, windy motor passed Singer Castle and Brockville (where dad was born) to Ogdensburg, NY. Ogdensburg is a strange somewhat nice, somewhat run-down city where waterfront property clearly isn’t valued, but people are very friendly.

Singer Castle

Getting into the marina we noticed there are no sailboats here and did some sketchy docking on a tall wall with few cleats along it. When Mom asked the staff how deep it is they responded with a shrug and a “no idea.” FYI we are currently sitting on the bottom. But it’s no big deal, as when we all get off the boat it begins to float again. 

Ogdensburg is odd to say the least. Last night we witnessed a steady stream of people drive around the roundabout in the parking lot beside the wall we’re tied to, some circling leisurely, others ripping around with tires squealing. It was pretty funny to witness, actually, and we all couldn’t help but wonder if this is some sort of nightly ritual here. 

We are still in Ogdensburg today waiting for packages to arrive, but happily this is giving us time to get repairs done and wash some laundry in the sunlight. Plus it's nice to see the sun again after what feels like days and days of grey clouds threatening rain!

Until next time,

Nicole. 

The Journey Begins!

The Harry Potter-esque power house at Boldt Castle

Anchored in Alexandria Bay, New York, our view tonight consists of (get this!) a towering castle…what a life! This afternoon we motored in behind Boldt Castle after an eventful first day on the trip south. Casting off our lines early this morning, we left Collin’s Bay in Kingston and watched the dock recede into the distance as the air around us seemed to crackle with excitement. Finally, we were under way! After so much work, so much anticipation and combating with nerves and obstacles over the previous weeks and months, the journey had begun. Feeling the wind blowing in our faces, we gazed out into the gray clouded waters of Lake Ontario, passing gently into misty rain while managing to sail past Kingston. 

The highlights of the day included: getting a bonus sail from K-Town to Camelot Island; testing out the new camera snapping photos of our friends aboard s/v Raftan; passing beneath the Thousand Island Bridge; the ease of checking into US customs with our Nexus cards (just a phone call away!); waving to passing tour boats; and visiting Boldt Castle after a day of travel. 

Our cruising guide to the Thousand Islands describes Boldt Castle as a “colossal monument to love,” and basically it is a “mammoth cottage” intended as an expression of love from George Boldt to his wife Louise. Building began on Hart Island in the 1890s, but sadly Boldt’s wife passed away before construction was completed and in his grief he abandoned the summer house altogether. Since the 1970s restoration work has begun but, as we noticed, many of the upper levels remain unfinished. It is definitely worth a visit, and being anchored only a few hundred feet away, we simply couldn’t pass it up! 

On another note, a few problems we encountered on our first day were: breaking a dodger window (again while tacking), and finding a tear in the trailing edge of the genoa. But luckily these were minor setbacks. All in all we had a busy, misty day and are happy to be cozy at anchor with some delicious spaghetti and a celebratory beer! 

Until next time,

Nicole.

The Thousand Island Bridge with Raftan in the distance

Thoughts on Living Onboard

Labour Day weekend. Leaving Friday after dark we made a quick crossing to Kerr Bay. Out of CBYC we almost hit a buoy due to the poor night vision of our captain :P It was a bit unsettling after that and although our passage was quick and smooth I got to thinking about how intense our ocean passage will be. So exposed.

Saturday was sunny with an overlying haze from the humidity. We swam, washed the boat, napped, read and ate tasty meals of hotdogs, burgs and veggies. It was a relief to have this weekend of relaxation and good sailing after the emotional chaos of the past week. Nice to fall gently into a routine onboard.

Sunday and Monday mornings brief storms blew overhead. We had a great sail to Prinyer's Cove in Prince Edward County Sunday. Dad was finally able to take a break from using drills and screw drivers to test out things like "heaving-to" (a useful storm tactic) and creating a pulley attachment for the anchor (to allow for smooth anchoring if waves are coming from a different direction than the wind).

One notable thing about living on a sailboat...frequent encounters with spiders! Learning to co- exist appears to be the only option. Luckily none of us are really afraid of them...minus one encounter with a massive dock spider at Beaurivage Island a few weeks back. Mom and Dad were pretty freaked and I was the one who had to go below to see if it was caught in one of the window screens. It was! We managed to prod it overboard, after which it proceeded to skim across the surface of the water at an alarming pace. Yikes.

Since we left the dock and in spite of a small knot of tension in my stomach, I keep having the most wonderful thought: that right now in this time and place I am exactly where I want to be. Nothing will ever be perfect in this life. Or even in this lifestyle. But I can feel the intense truth of that one thought, and it is comforting.

Until next time when we leave on our greatest journey yet,
Nicole.

Almost ready to go

After a few hectic days of replanning the trip and working on final preparations we are all ready to get going. We have decided to go the long route down the St. Lawrence Seaway and around Nova Scotia before heading south along the Atlantic Coast of the US. If we had planned this route from the start we probably would have left a month or two earlier. We will do our best to get to Halifax as quickly as possible and the make our way south before it gets cold in Atlantic Canada.

Mor' Childs Play is anchored in Prinyers Cove in Prince Edward County.
Brooke, Nicole, Terri and Jon are aboard.

The list of must do jobs has been completed and it is time to go. We can't wait for Wednesday.

Our New and Hastily-Planned Route

Because of recent hurricane damage throughout the eastern United States we have been forced to completely alter our plans for getting down south. Our new route involves heading east from Lake Ontario along the St. Lawrence River system to Nova Scotia. This trip is longer than our original route and with hope we can pull it off in two weeks or so. From Nova Scotia we will probably sail down the coast to Maine, Cape Cod and Boston then onwards to New York City, which puts us back on track with the original route plans with a few adjustments where timing is concerned. More details on this later as we figure out the logistics.

Our departure date remains the same and we will be joined by our friends aboard Raftan too! I imagine we'll encounter many people thrust into a similar situation by the unexpected damages that Hurricane Irene has caused. Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the hurricane, especially those whose homes were devastated and property was destroyed.

When Things Go Wrong

Is there some sort of unwritten cosmic rule stating that everything has to start going down the tubes in the last week or two before a trip like this? The arrival of Hurricane Irene on the eastern coast over the weekend had us all on edge at home. All over Facebook I found pictures of the road to Cape Hatteras in pieces and news of people cut off from the island, unsure of when they'd be able to get back home. The nerves set in as we all thought about how soon we would be passing through this region on our sailboat. Hurricane season is a definite threat on a trip like this and something we need to pay close attention to.

Add to these concerns feelings of guilt and nervousness over leaving home and family, the rush of winterizing boats, cars and the house over the past week, packing everything we will need for ten months of travel, and the overall nervous anticipation of a looming departure date, and you end up with a pack of seriously stressed people. Yet regardless of all the worry there has been an underlying current of excitement because the trip is finally about to begin!

So with this combo of nerves and exhilaration brewing in my stomach on Wednesday Mom, Dad and I arrived at the boat to bring a final large car load of stuff and to spend the weekend sailing in the islands with Brooke. We loaded canned goods and other food stores, kiteboarding gear, scuba gear, clothes etc. and brought the refurbished spinnaker pole. Unfortunately the spin pole end fitting is not compatible with the mast fitting, so that adds more work for Dad.

Other than some other minor issues we had no problems until just before bed last night when our plans for leaving next Wednesday came to a screaming halt. We read online about the Erie Canal being closed...possibly for the season. Hurricane Irene caused flash flooding and damage in many places along the Erie canal and the Hudson River and it seemed as if every place we read about in the news was somewhere we were planning to be in just a few weeks.  After Dad watched a video of a bridge being washed away on the Catskill Creek in New York (the exact place we are planning to have our mast put up after the canals) it became apparent that our trip may not be possible anymore.

As you can probably guess we went through some serious emotional upheaval in just a few short minutes. Would this all be over before it even started? What other options do we have for getting down south? Is the world trying to tell us something by hurling these barriers in our way? Dad quickly looked in to taking the Champlain Canal to the Hudson River. Although it seemed to be a clear path, this plan disappeared into the night with the realization that our keel is slightly too deep for some of the locks.

After some rapid Internet searches and emotionally charged thought about our options we determined three viable choices:
1. Pay to truck the boat down to the New York coast (expensive).
2. Give up and delay the trip for a year (this one sucks to say the least).
3. Sail the St. Lawrence to the east coast and then head south (my favorite option, but the most fraught with complications. i.e. Lack of information, navigation charts, knowledge of the route and timing required).

Today we began to research the third option in hopes that we can pull it off. Dad purchased some charts  and cruising guides, has been chatting with people on sailing forums to get info about this route, and remains in close contact with our friends from Raftan about what their plans are. It is looking like it may be possible, although it is a longer route and will take more time. One of the first concerns to arise was whether it is too late in the season to go this way. But it is becoming clear that anyone hoping to get to the Caribbean from our region of the world right now will either be hitting up the Champlain Canal or the St. Lawrence to Nova Scotia route. We even had a fellow sailor on the sailing forum tell us that from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia to Bermuda to Tortola in the BVIs is just over 1550 nautical miles...only slightly longer than the Caribbean 1500 route from Norfolk, Virginia. So there is hope yet!

The past few days have been quite the emotional roller coaster, but I am determined to believe that dealing with these issues now will simply make the trip all the more worthwhile in the end. This morning Dad recognized an important possibility...that the world is trying to test us. It may just be asking, "How bad do you want it?" Well for me the answer is...pretty damn bad. Given that nothing good ever seems to come easily in this life, it is likely that this is just one more challenge sent to test our resolve. That being said, safety will always be our biggest concern and factors in to every decision now and in the future.

So despite this pretty major setback we are doing our best to strengthen our resolve, adapt our plans and continue planning a safe trip to the Caribbean. We will keep everyone posted on our plans and decisions over the next week. Wish us luck!

How do we get there?

As we have looked into the damage caused by Hurricane Irene it has become clear that getting south expediently is going to be very difficult if not impossible.
Upstate New York was hit very hard by Hurricane Irene and the Erie Canal has been heavily damaged with no clear time to reopen.

http://www.canals.ny.gov/news/notices/index.shtml

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Canals-reopening-uncertain-after-millions-in-2148008.php

The marina we were planning to use is on Catskill Creek in Catskill NY.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/videos-show-upstate-york-vermont-irene-flooding-153510538.html


The Champlain Canal from Sorel Quebec down to Lake Champlain has also been flooded but it appears to be less damaged and is expected to reopen, but again with no clear time.

http://www.waterwayguide.com/navupdate.php?area=10#1963

In addition the Chambly Canal section is only suitable for boats with a draught of 6', possibly 6'6". Our boat draws at least 7' fully loaded so it is not an option.

The only credible option appears to be to take the St. Lawrence River and go around Eastern Canada and the Northeast US. This route adds considerable distance and will be cold this time of year with considerable fog.

Right now we are weighing options but its starting to look like the trip will be postponed.

Jon