Maine!

After a 7 am start we were faced with calm winds which meant using the iron genny (engine) for the next 16 hours! It was a beautiful day with the sun shining allowing us to catch some warm rays. The ocean was beautiful, just like glass but we were both surprised by how much garbage that there was floating out there... pop bottles, styrofoam, balloons, rope, plastic etc. It made us realize the need to be good stewards of our environment.
  The winds picked up for a couple hours allowing us to put the sails up and use the self steering wind vane and enjoy a nice haddock supper. About 9pm they died down again so the engine went on again. The night was very quiet with little to no wind but it sure did get cold out there. Around 1am the boat seamed to be slowing down and not getting enough forward momentum. Reverse seemed to work fine and we didn't seem to be dragging anything so Richard did a check of the transmission and found that it was slipping whenever we gave it any power.... Thankfully the winds were just starting to pick up in a favourable position so we were able to hoist the sails and maintain 4-5 kts.. what a blessing that was!
     Around 6 am, just as the sun was rising we started seeing the dreaded lobster pots, we were surprised as we were still in about 300 feet of water. Now we are not talking about some lobster pots... we are talking thousands of them...everywhere...with no channels to go through... we were both exhausted hanging over the sides trying to dodge these things!!! This went on for the next four hours until the Boat US towing service came in and towed us to the dock. The Boat US membership definitely paid for itself! Our US cell phone kicked in at this point so we were able to check in with customs so they were waiting for us on the dock when we arrived. All went very well with that as it only cost us 2 limes!
       We were able to get in touch with some transmission guys and after much research and many phone calls on Richards part we decided to get a new one as a rebuilt one may fail and a new one is warrantied and a whole bunch of other reasons that Richard told me that I have no idea what he means...  So hopefully it arrive on Tuesday then Richard will put it in and we will leave on Wednesday.
      We again were very blessed by this happening where and when it did, as Rockland is a beautiful town with lots to do and see everybody has been super friendly and helpful. The Harbourmaster at the Public wharf that we are staying at is super and has waived the dockage fees for us which is huge for us.

Pubnico

After  a peaceful night we left Negro Harbour for Pubnico. The weather was good but we ran into a little bit of fog, just enough to give us a chance to try out our fog alarm system. It was neat to round the southern tip of Nova Scotia, lots of interesting currents in that area.

   Coming into Pubnico we were greeted by numerous huge windmills, very awe inspiring seeing them from the water. Pubnico is one of the busiest fishing harbours in Nova Scotia and we were greeted by tons of fishing boats on several docks. We were also amazed by the 14 foot tides at the docks, which meant a sleepless night with checking the lines. 

      In the early evening a huge fishing vessel pulled in behind us and were nice enough to give us a large bag of fresh fillets of Haddock, mmm... that will make a nice meal!

     

Carter's beach to Negro harbour

We left at 0730 this morning and had a perfect sail (10-15 knots) for the first
5 hrs. Sailed through a pod of dolphins, which was very cool but could not get a good picture of them.
Lots of fishing vessels off of Lockport which we sometimes had to tack for.
Later in the afternoon the wind picked up to 25 knots which made for an exciting last three hours, attached is a video.
Anchored in a cove on Cape Negro island.


http://youtu.be/5rodkb4cPRI

Carter's beach

Not much wind yesterday, so mostly motored to Carter's beach. A beautiful spot with white sand but water that is anything but tropical! It was a rolly night in the anchorage as the wind was from the southwest but the waves were coming from the north. Put out a "flopper stopper" in the water which is a device which allows water to easily go through it in one direction only. They are easy to make and mine was made out of an old milk crate. It slows down the motion of the boat which makes it more comfortable.
To keep the boat more into the wind and a steadier pull for the anchor I put up the riding sail I made a few years ago. I will put this up any time the wind is of higher strength.
The winds today are up to 20 knots and in the direction we wish to go so we have decided to stay put, tomorrow hope to make Negro harbour.
Attached is a picture of carter's beach and the riding sail.

Finally away

Finally pushed away from the dock about 8:45 after we had visits from Heather's mother, Jack (significant other), our daughter and grandson. Debbie and Greg also had their share of company before leaving. We had planned to overnight at Carter's beach but the winds and the swells were beating us up a bit so we decided to duck into Brooklyn marina in Liverpool. It was also about 4 PM and we were at least 2 hrs away at the speed we were able to go. Will shoot for Carter's tomorrow.
In the afternoon the AIS showed a boat named Morgans Cloud  http://www.morganscloud.com/
a name I recognized through an online website,  I hailed them and sure enough it was the same people, they were sailing a 55' custom aluminum McCurdy and Rhodes - nice.
Here is picture of us leaving Lahave and also a link to us leaving (thanks George).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8aZbcpdbjE&feature=youtu.be

Ready to Go!

rug hooking supplies...check

beading materials...check

learn to crochet stuff...check

books...check

sudoko...check

recce of boat to make sure Richard hasn't brought his guitar...check

OK, I'm ready to go!!

Man Overboard

Well we are almost ready to go, only a week left. Here is a picture of myself, Heather, Debbie and Greg.

We will be travelling south together - they will be on their boat, a CAL 39.

Earlier this week we got together on Salvation for the afternoon to practice man overboard drills. We tried to use the “quick stop” method, which usually worked but sometimes we had to modify it with a “figure eight” to be able to come to the windward side of the victim. What looks good on paper won’t always work and max flexibility is the key. Speaking of the victim, we used a plastic jug which we called “Wilson” (yes a rip off of the movie….) as you can see by the photos he was happy til he went for a swim. 

We also got to try out the new inner forestay and hank on the storm jib, it worked great and is a good addition to have.
We are using the inreach satellite system and if you if you wish to follow our trip, here is the link for the map, but note that there will be no movement until Aug 16th. Also if you point on the triangle on our location in the map page you will have the option to Email us.


https://share.delorme.com/RichardFoy