David’s Voyage Blog

Publish Date: Sunday, September 20, 2009
It’s Sunday morning, and we’re cruising out of Shelburne Harbour, headed for Maine. After two days of 30-knot winds whipping across the harbour, we awoke this morning to brilliant sunshine, light breezes, and cool temperatures (43 degrees). Our transit across the Gulf of Maine will take 24-26 hours, and our weather data foretells light winds and calm seas.

We loved Nova Scotia! The people are friendly and open; the scenery is spectacular; and we had crispy Fall weather. Nova Scotians embody an appealing combination of tradition and worldliness. The livelihood here has always been from the sea — fishing, lobstering, whaling, oystering, and later, international commerce — so the lifestyle along the shore maintains a deep respect for the sea and the seafaring. But alongside their traditions they seem to embrace the world at large, and the changes that are inevitable. In fact, it is this openness to new ideas that has allowed them to thrive in a fishing industry that has evolved a great deal over the years.

Our time in Nova Scotia was spent in Halifax, Lunenburg, and Shelburne. Halifax is the largest city in the Canadian Maritimes, but it doesn’t feel like a big city. We moored right downtown at the public wharf, and we were able to walk all over the city. Kathryn described the wonderful farmers market in her blog. I was impressed with the renaissance that has occurred along the waterfront, where loft-like residences share the same building with thriving businesses. Halifax is a very accessible city on foot — we felt like we could walk everywhere we wanted to go. On our last night in Halifax we dined at a cozy restaurant called “Chives”, whose chef embraces the “local food movement”, serving dishes prepared almost exclusively with ingredients from around Halifax and Nova Scotia. It was fresh and delicious!

We took two days to cruise from Halifax to Lunenberg, anchoring for one night in the Liscombe River along the way. Lunenberg is a well-preserved British colony that was founded by farmers who quickly learned to be fishermen when their land proved to be poor farmland. It is one of the only coastal fishing villages that has not suffered a catastrophic fire sometime during its history, so many of the buildings have survived from the original settlement. Lunenberg has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site because it so authentically preserves the layout and architecture of a typical British colony. The buildings are all painted bright and varied colors, so the town splashes quite a palette across its hills as you approach from the sea. We moored at the Atlantic Fisheries Museum, where we were greeted by friendly faces and helpful hands. We planned to stay one night, but ended up staying for three because there was so much to see and do, both at the museum and in the town.

From Lunenberg we cruised to Shelburne, which is a good staging harbour for an overnight jump to Maine or Cape Cod. We had rough seas cruising to Shelburne, so it was nice to get settled in this large and well-proteced harbour. Again, we were warmly welcomed at the Shelburne Marina and Yacht Club by both locals and other cruisers. We spent three nights in Shelburne, which was forced because of the weather, but we enjoyed the town so much that we didn’t want to leave. We participated in the annual Chili Cook-Off, which Ayla wrote about in her blog. We also attended the Whirlygig Festival, which showcases hand crafted wind-art like I’ve never seen before. And last night we attended a concert by the Yarmouth Shantymen, a group of eight men who sing sea shanties and tell tales of the sea — very entertaining. Kathryn wants to move to Shelburne.

My Dad and his friend Gary came to visit us here in Nova Scotia. They set up camp in Lockeport, which is between Lunenberg and Shelburne. We got to spend a day with them in Lunenberg and a couple days in Shelburne — it was really fun to seem them. From here they’re headed up to Cape Breton and then to Newfoundland, which should be a great trip. The only unfortunate thing is that my Dad’s presence seems to jinx the water pumps aboard Three@Sea: On our way from Lunenberg to Shelburne our primary bilge pump failed. You may recall that when my Dad came to visit us in Port Severn our fresh-water pump failed. Coincidence or cause-and-effect? I’m now keeping track.

With regard to the bilge pump, it appears to be a failed valve. I do not have a spare aboard (shame on me), so I’ve ordered one that will meet us in Maine where I’ll perform the repair. I also ordered some spares. In the mean time, we check the water level in the bilge often, and our ship has both a manual back up pump and an automatic high-water pump, so we should be able to stay afloat without the primary bilge pump. 🙂

Our time in Nova Scotia was a perfect ending to our summer in Canada. The people, food, weather, music, harbours, history, and landscape resonated with all three of us, and we look forward to returning someday. But for now, we must say farewell to Nova Scotia!