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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