Bryn at New Gusty's launch party (which turned out to be just Sandor and me), July 21st? 2009 (the days are running together already)
Gusty looking dissipated the morning after her launch party.
Lunch the first day out, July 22nd, 2009. We are starting a trip that may take us away from Toronto for a long, long time.
Cobourg harbour lighthouses.
Sandor at sunrise, July 27th. Neither of us got much sleep -- in my case only about half an hour the whole night -- although we had the best of intentions and set up a watch schedule that we adhered to strictly. Unfortunately we just didn't "stand down" when on watch. I was reading a thriller and the boat was really thumping around a lot in the wind.
Sandor and Little Bluff, which we visited for a day sail today, July 28th.
Little Bryn, Big Bluff.
At anchor at Little Bluff. Everyone else is on shore, but we forgot the main food bag, so I'm back at the boat.
Sunrise the morning after our overnight passage from Cobourg to South Bay, July 26th-27th. The passage was wild. During the day, when we really wanted wind, it was around 2 knots, and during the night, when I for one wanted to slow down, it went up to 20 knots.
Great cloud. Yes, I know this is starting to look exactly like last year's cruise album.
Thistle, Queen Anne's Lace and Vipers Bugloss at Port Milford (just above where Spartina is anchored).
Living out the true definition of cruising: "Doing routine boat maintenance in exotic locations."
One of the many fabulous meals at my brother's place in South Bay. Feast for the eyes, too.
Sandor with the house in Port Milford.
Sandor and I, his Tikit, my New World Tourist. About to ride to the County Cider Company. July 30th, 2009.
Michael and Marisa "on the lookout" in Waupoos.
Near to far: Smith's Bay, Morrison's Point, Waupoos Island, Timber Island, and -- just to the left of Timber and in the far distance -- Main Duck, where we stopped last year and I took those *fabulous* photos.
Grapes at the County Cider Company.
The dazzling light and vista from the patio at the County Cider Company.
The old maple tree in Benson Park, Picton.
No, I can't play Tiptoe Through the Tulips yet. (It's a bit too intricate for my 5 chords.) But by the time I get to Hawaii, I hope to be a ukelele queen!
Amherst Island. Kerr Bay, where we stayed last year, is the large bay in the middle of the north side. Stella Bay is two bays to the right.
Moon and a neighbouring sailboat in our fine anchorage at Stella Bay, off Amherst Island. August 2nd.
Gusty in the morning, August 3rd.
I realize this photo probably wouldn't win any prizes, but I like it. Sun on the water in Stella Bay, just before leaving. (Our anchor was snagged, apparently on a mooring chain.)
I usually delete my pics of other sailboats, but then I look at pictures of random boats (heeling rakishly) and think "wow, who takes all these cool photographs?" :-) Between Collins Bay and Kingston, August 3rd.
We had to take the backstay down before getting hauled out.
Kingston Marina's giant crane, seen from inside the forehatch.
Spartina strapped up and about to rise.
Rising.
The prop (looking quite nice compared to the algae-covered hull and rudder) comes out of the water.
Am I the only one who's nervous?
Spartina up on stilts, with the straps still in place. I went up to take some pics.
The famous church in Barriefield (St. Mary's, I think) seen across the Cataraqui River on the early morning of August 5th. Oh, and Spartina. :1
Same morning. I'm not sure I've pointed this out, but Spartina is now graced with a glorious Canadian flag, a wonderful gift from my brother Michael. ¡Gracias, hermano!
Here's the rudder again, this time with its first coat of anti-fouling paint. We worked fast; 48 hours after haulout, she had four coats.
A greeting from John and Kathryn, Spartina's former owners, dropping by on their way to P.E.I. by car. We were on a large circuit of town on our bikes, taking in, inter alia, West Marine (for a new hull anode) and a crappy Chinese buffet place for lunch. Or so we thought until we noticed they had ice cream from Reid's Dairy! That kept us busy for an extra hour or so. In any case, we missed J & K by hours, sadly.
City Hall Clock Tower, morning of August 8th. Out on my bike to get a Saturday Globe. I took a lot of pics in this series including several with a larger moon and a smaller tower, but I love this one for the immediacy of the tower.
Sandor at Kingston Farmer's Market, Saturday, August 8th.
MORE sunflowers. This is becoming a theme.
The funny guys at Morrison's, an old Kingston standby for weekend all-day breakfasts. We were joined by Michael, Marisa, Melina, Rosa, and my Mom.
Lovely upstairs porch (I'm sure there's a better technical term) in a house on King Street, new since our last visit.
Wink, wink, noodge, noodge, sy no more. Picture taken by Michael. Fine job.
Back garden off King Street. By the way, if you like this sort of thing, there are lots of nice yards and doors in Kingston and Portsmouth in last year's cruise album, about halfway down: http://picasaweb.google.ca/brynharr/SpartinaCruise
Hunk-a-zinc! The replacement for our hull anode. (Prior to caulking with 3M 5200 Marine Sealant, which makes a pretty gucky picture. [At least we didn't paint it.])
The new fireboat (made in Kingston for export to Florida, apparently) testing its considerable reach.
Sunset over Kingston Inner Harbour, August 12th.
Sunset over our anchorage near Harvey Island, just west of Brockville. August 15th.
Morristown Bridge (although I think it has a better name), August 16th.
Cavorting near a temporary dock while we waited to lock through at Iroquois Lock, our first.
Sunrise on the morning of August 17th, anchored just north of Iroquois Lock.
Docked after going through Snell Lock. August 17th.
Flaking the sail.
Watching the John B. Aird (an Algoma Marine Laker) from an excellent vantage point.
Steering under Seaway International Bridge on August 18th.
Cormorants.
Probably "Maritime Trader." We were quite nervous about passing lakers in small channels, but we got used to them. All the ones we met behaved excellently (steering well clear of us).
1430 hours on August 18th, about to go under the Pont de Valleyfield. About 3 miles earlier, we'd crossed the 'border'; we now had Quebec on both sides of the river.
Under the Pont de Valleyfield.
Awaiting lockage at Beauharnois. The enormous sailboat aft of us is "Volare." We talked to her young folks a couple of times, over a period of a couple of days. Volare should have travelled much faster than Spartina, being much longer, but they had some problems. Their mast is huge (over 100 feet tall).
Planning, probably after dropping the anchor at Beauharnois (since the instreuments are off). We had a severe storm warning that night but actually didn't get any weather to speak of.
Passing a laker in Canal de la Rive Sud, August 19th.
Montreal skyline seen at dusk.
Canal de La Rive Sud seen from Pont Jacques-Cartier the morning after we'd sailed under it.
Jacques-Cartier, who gave his name to about a third of the boulevards, places, buildings, and structures in Montreal!
The river and some of the commercial piers seen from Pont Jacques-Cartier.
Self-portrait in a downtown Montreal window.
A street in the Vieux-Port.
A courtyard in old town Montreal.
Sandor in Place Jacques-Cartier.
Black and white caleches, permanent fixtures at the north end of Place Jacques-Cartier.
One of our favourite brands.
There's that brand again.
Place Jacques-Cartier.
Another nice street. We're on our way back to the bridge.
We saw Rue Ste-Catherine (shopping mecca) from above as we went up the bridge again.
A nice picture of Sandor in Longueuil, in the sunny days gone by. As I write this in Quebec City, it is very sunny, yes -- but brrr! Cold.
I was actually trying to imitate the groundhog, but it came out as two separate portraits. Which is okay.
Me at Port de Plaisance de Longueuil.
The charming old village of Longueuil.
Sandor's latest addition to the 5:00 drink repertoire.
Large laker shows her formidable bow wave.
The graceful lines of Pont Laviolette.
Pont Laviolette from below.
More Pont Laviolette.
More cormorants.
A charming anchorage at the mouth of the Riviere Saint-Maurice, hard by Trois-Rivières. August 25th.
I excitedly spread the entire chart of Quebec on the chart table. The charts are massive, and usually need to be managed in quarters.
The double bridge at Sainte-Foy: Pont Pierre-Laporte and Pont Quebec. These are our very last bridges on the St. Lawrence! (As far as we know.) August 26th.
Chateau Frontenac, a stirring sight. We have sailed from Toronto to Quebec City -- wow! Incroyable!
Sandor strolling on the Rue Saint-Paul the evening of August 26th. It was hard to believe that we'd been 58 nautical miles away in Trois-Rivieres the same morning.
Cote de la Montagne. We rode up this hill on our bikes the next day (today, August 27th), much to the admiration of onlookers.
Famous mural in the Place Royale.
Sandor in the Place Royale.
My New World Tourist with Spartina in the background at Marina Port de Quebec.
Spartina. August 27th, 2009. (They're projecting an amazing slide show on the walls of that building in the background as I write this in the evening!)
Staircase by the mountain.
Cote de la Montagne. When I stopped my bike to take the picture, some people expressed interest that I was biking up it. I said that I did have the impression that my front wheel was going to fly into the air . . .(I know it doesn't look that steep, but as many of you know, it is!)
Cote de la Montagne, looking up.
In a park on the ramparts, looking at Place Royale and the river.
Chateau Frontenac from up close.
Fleuve St.-Laurent seen from outside the Chateau Frontenac.
Andy, who has been a bellhop at the Chateau for 40 years. He's Irish, from Shannon. Quebec. :-)
A caleche outside one of the main gates, on Rue St.-Louis.
Posing by the Marie-Clarisse, one of our neighbours at Marina Port de Quebec. About to go out for the first of what may be several "birthday dinners."
At the top of the Musee de Civilisation. Backlighting nicely arranged by the other talented photographer in the family. :-)
In the Jardin Sauvage at the top of the Musée de Civilisation, August 27th, 2009.
Did I mention we love Unibroue? So does everyone in Quebec, it seems.
There is *always* something happening in this city! We saw this hot air balloon from our table on the Place Royale.
Night falls over the city, August 27th.
A cute little train that appeared next to the marina one morning for no reason.
Rue St. Louis at night. Remember Andy? He told us if we didn't want to eat at the Chateau, try the Continental. I was more or less in front of it when I took this. Later, at Cap a l'Aigle, our friends gasped. "We only go to the Continental if someone *invites* us."
Sandor's Peppercorn Steak. We were laying bets on whether it would be better than the first time I made it (although I've tried unsuccesfully since to recapture that first success).
An experimental shot I took on the Plains of Abraham while trying to get a good setting on my camera for fireworks -- which never materialized. The story is somewhat embarrassing, and shows up my woefully poor comprehension in French. Still, I make up for that in verbal fluency. And yes, Greg B., I do know the French word for seal!
"Adieu Quebec! Adieu Frontenac!" as I shouted from the cabin top, on August 31st.
A new view of the Chute Montmorency.
The Ile d'Orleans, which would be on our port hand for many miles out of Quebec.
My new desktop background. I love the mountains in the Bas St.-Laurent, and the air was so clear on them. I took pictures obsessively. Sept. 1st.
Around 0630 on Sept. 1.
The ferry to Ile aux Coudres. I have many more mountain shots (already) . . . and so little time to upload them!
"The locals" at Cap a l'Aigle (Malbaie).
Spartina (two behind the large red sailboat) in a very sheltered Port de Refuge, Malbaie. Sept. 1.
One of our first minke whales. This place is a pretty reliable bet for whales. We hadn't even anchored at Tadoussac, and there they were to greet us.
Sunset from our anchorage off the sandy beach at Tadoussac, Sept. 2nd, 2009.
Boats in Tadoussac harbour, with the very nice hills to northwest in the background.
The lights of Tadoussac.
We watched the mist rise from the hills on the morning of Sept. 3rd.
Many more whales as we proceeded up the Saguenay river. I guess it's obvious that whales like deep water? We saw depths up to around 550 feet, then our depth sounder just gave up!
I kept hoping to take a nice landscape shot (my favourite kind) and have a whale magically appear in it. That's not exactly what happened here, but at least there's plenty to look at. There were a lot of these gnarled-looking rocks on the Saguenay.
Sandor took this vivid picture of the sheer cliffs on the SW side of the river.
Looking backward toward the St. Lawrence.
I was mesmerized by the mountains of the lower St. Lawrence (as well as the Saguenay), and the crystalline light.
That looks like Ile St.-Louis up ahead. We ended up anchoring at the southern (near) end.
Moonrise from our anchorage, Sept. 3rd.
Sept. 4th, 5:29 a.m. It's my birthday!
The Little Island. Annexed to Ile St.-Louis is a peninsula (island at high tide) that reminded me strongly of a book I loved as a child, The Little Island by Margaret Wise Brown. It added greatly to the appeal of our anchorage.
Random Cloud/Hill/Saguenay shot.
My birthday strawberry.
We took Gusty to the big island (and the Little Island) and I took a truly enchanting series of Spartina pictures.
She sure is pretty.
Foreground is the Little Island, background is the west bank of the Saguenay.
Way to spend a birthday!
Sandor, Gusty, and Spartina, all of whom know that at the moment the star of the show is really the Saguenay, a most photogenic river.
This is a seal we saw quite close by -- one of the few we've seen, although we saw a bunch at a distance in our "fair weather anchorage" at Metis a bit later on.
Birthday victuals.
I asked Sandor to take some hair pictures for my birthday and because I need to cut it. It's constantly in my eyes when I'm sailing.
Nice to have a full moon on one's birthday! (Okay, so you can't tell. But full it certainly was.)
Something Tolkienesque about these rocks, I think . . . Sept. 5th, on the way back down river.
Sandor with Spartina and other boats at anchor in Tadoussac.
Tadoussac was very colourful.
And high.
More lights of Tadoussac.
We're sailing away from Tadoussac on Sept. 6th and we see strong currents. Here's a buoy with its own "bow wave"!
Belugas!
More belugas!
Belugas going right under the boat! (The depth sounder went from "600" -- probably correct -- to "24". That's feet.)
Another beluga going under Spartina.
This is Sept. 6th, approaching a great anchorage at Le Bic.
The promontories at Le Bic.
A boat comes in to anchor.
Charming anchorage at Le Bic.
Sept. 7th. The seas are getting a bit rough as we head for a "fair weather anchorage" (hah!) at Metis-sur-Mer. (The French guide says that "par bel temps" it's a nice place to watch seals. No doubt.) There's a gale warning in effect, but we don't hear it till we're at anchor.
Way around to the port side of the line of nasty-looking rocks, there's an anchorage which we somehow have to get into . . .
Same lighthouse from the point of view of the anchorage. It's the next morning (Sept. 8th) and the seas have flattened right down. We spent the day sailing gently to Matane in 2-10 knot winds and no waves.
The entrance to the harbour at Matane, beset not just with gulls but with tidal rips. Sandor was steering, quite well, actually, and I was photographing. Other than at this moment, the day was calm and wonderful for sailing. The Matane YC turned out to be great too -- run by a genial Belgian guy.
The Viking Ship replica at Matane, Spartina in the background. (She gets into every photo, I swear!)
Twilight over the beautiful Fleuve St.-Laurent on September 8th. I may get around to rotating my non-level photos, some day . . . !
The beautiful ketch with the black masts is Chez Nous, from Toronto. We knew her! It was a bit disturbing to find her far from Puerto Rico, where she'd been headed last time we talked to her (July 2008) but we pieced together enough of the story to know that Bob and Brenda are okay and probably did get to PR somehow.
The beach at Matane, very Gaspe-ish, with the water an intense blue. Sept. 9th.
Club Nautique de Matane.
Lights of Matane from the YC.
Whale (minke?) quite near Tadoussac. I blew the whale-watching boat right out of the picture!
The breakwater at Matane again, with cormorants.
Fin Whales near Cap Chat. If you want to see more, check out my YouTube video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWlMT3Ykn2Y.
Sea urchin on the fishing dock at Cap Chat.
Spartina among the fishing boats at her first fishing dock, at Cap Chat. She's gotten to know fishing docks quite well; most either welcomed us or, at worst, ignored us.
A very Gaspé scene, to me; grasses in the foreground and a blue, blue horizon beyond. Cap Chat, Sept. 11th.
A front garden in Cap Chat.
A.k.a. The booming metropolis. I remembered pieces of Cap Chat from my long-ago bicycle trip around the Gaspé, but not the overall look and feel of the town.
Sandor and the Gaspesian sea.
The two big institutions around here!
An old wind generator I remembered from the 90s, and a few of the many many new ones that line the coast of the Gaspé.
Pretty rugged country for cyclists! ;-)
Mont-Louis.
Mont-Louis -- the beach and about half of the town. ;-)
Rivière-Madeleine.
Sandor's "catch" -- two mackerel, a gift from the fishing boat beyond him.
Rivière Madeleine, seen from a washed-out road far above.
Rivière Madeleine just below the salmon ladder.
Rivière Madeleine.
Rivière Madeleine just *above* the salmon ladder. Apparently they can negotiate this part of the river!
The harbour with Spartina in it, far below, taken from Route 132.
An "aerial" shot taken from a car high up on Route 132!
Spartina at Rivière-Madeleine fishing dock.
The Gaspé, looking east from Rivière-Madeleine.
Gone are the summer temperatures of Quebec City; it's chilly!
I have a picture with no shoes in it, which is interesting too (perspective is lost), but I like this one better.
The beach at Rivière-Madeleine. Sandor picked up a piece of spruce driftwood much like this one to use as a whisker pole!
Sailing away with salvaged whisker pole (holds the jib out in a following breeze) and boards to protect us from fishing docks. We needed these at Rivière-au-Renard.
Spartina at the fishing dock (with a little addition for "plaisanciers", pleasure craft) at Cloridorme.
The Gaspé's north side, looking something like Cape Breton, I think. This is one spot where we couldn't see a road hugging the bottom of the cliff . . .
Spartina at Rivière-au-Renard, the first fishing dock where our welcome wasn't completely warm. One of the fishing boats arrived after dark and started moving us down the dock to make space -- without even warning us!
Another view of Spartina at the dock at Rivière-au-Renard.
One of the fiendish puzzles Sandor's been creating for me, based on the too-easy kenkens in the Globe. By the way, since Quebec City we've had a lot of trouble finding the Saturday Globe. At best, it arrives in the outposts a day late!
The amazing "frills" of Forillon National Park come into camera range.
Winds against us for the first time in a long, long time! We are beating upwind. For now, the wind isn't too strong, or the waves too big, but it gets a bit rough before we get around the point.
Cap-des-Rosiers Light. This unassuming structure is the tallest lighthouse in the country!
Rivière-au-Renard.
Sept. 17th, 2009.
L'Anse-à-Valleau light.
The gulls agree with us: there's plenty of delicious fish in Rivière-au-Renard. We picked up a pâté de fruits de mer that was sensational.
A closer view of the tip of Forillon -- I should really say we've bveen following the edge of the national park for the whole morning; it's just that these cliffs and this point are the quintessential Forillon.
Love that shot! If you want to see more, check out my video, Cap Gaspé Lighthouse at Forillon National Park Rushing Past at 7 Knots. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79XXbe-99Yk
Subdued weather. In Gaspé, standing on the bridge over the Bassin Jacques-Cartier, looking out over the Baie Gaspé and Forillon National park (from the "back side" now).
The flamboyant, eclectic, and uber-trendy Café des Artistes.
The main drag of Gaspé has a lot of kitschy shops.
The back side of Brise-Bise and other high-end trendy places. This little strip reminds me of a part of Quebec City just below Petit Champlain.
Sept. 19th, one or two doors from a poissonnerie where we got the usual -- a fish pie, this time Pâté au Saumon. Oh, and the trout! We just had it for dinner and it was oh so tender.
Spartina at the Club Nautique Jacques-Cartier in Gaspé, with the mountains of Parc National Forillon in the background.
Club Nautique Jacques-Cartier at dusk, Sept. 19th.
The lights of Gaspé climb the hill in a very engaging way. This is a shot I took about half an hour ago (2000 hours, Sept. 19th), at normal shutter speed.
More lights of Gaspé, same time, two-second exposure. I didn't use a tripod. :-)
This may be my next desktop wallpaper! Heading toward Forillon with seas still calm.
Sun setting over Bassin Jacques-Cartier, Sept. 18th.
Leaving Gaspé on Sept. 20th, 2009.
Cormorants covering the sandbar off which we'd anchored when we first arrived in Gaspé.
The south side of Malbay in the foreground; the excessively lumpy hills just inland of Percé behind.
Early view of Percé Rock from Malbay.
Nice clouds as the sun sets over Malbay.
Sunset from the quiet fishing dock in Malbay, Sept. 20th, 2009.
Spartina at the floating dock in Malbay. We were told that a crane would arrive at 7 the next morning to haul out this dock! (We left before 7.)
I'm not doing a very good job of editing this collection. :-)
Percé seen from Malbay on the morning of Sept. 21st.
Île Bonaventure, ditto.
We had one neighbour, a friendly Montrealer who helped us dock. I've forgotten both his name and the name of his fine wooden-masted steel junk-rigged sailboat, but we enjoyed talking to him, briefly.
Spartina and Bryn approaching Percé Rock.
Want to see more? Watch "Five Million Tonnes of Limestone," http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gkgcwel86VI
Crossing the Baie des Chaleurs, Sept. 22nd.
I'd been so transfixed by the western sky that I didn't think of turning around; when I did, I saw a glorious rainbow.
Hard to believe that this was the start of a night of torment for me: waves, wind, and darkness.
Sun finally setting, Sept. 22nd.
One of a series of "odd moon shots" I took. I'm not sure you want to see the others.
Spartina at the dock (blessed dock!) in Escuminac, New Brunswick. The actual arrival on Sept. 23rd after sunset was fraught -- the harbour lights were out and we missed the first entrance. The second entrance was "near land."
Half of our dinner (either Fred or Joe). This is the one I wish I had a movie of. The hardest shell I've *ever* seen on a lobster; I whacked it with a hammer (post-mortem, of course) and it didn't budge.
Toasting our New Brunswick landfall.
I know everyone hates Cormorants, but I've had a thing for them ever since my first visit to the Gaspe. I think they have nice lines. This is the album's new cover.
Vanessa Mc, the second boat (first in New Brunswick :-) ) to toss us two free mackerel.
Sunset over Escuminac, September 24th, 2009.
Sandor wrote my name in the wet cement on the pier in Escuminac.
Still in Escuminac; the winds are whipping up some fearsome-looking seas, and we're staying put. Sept. 25th.
The gulls are hunkering down, just like us, except they really look "hunkered." Oh, and one stray cormorant.
Our first view of the West Point lighthouse in P.E.I.; we would see it close up later. September 26th, 2009.
Self-portrait on Prince Edward Island sandstone. My first-ever steps on P.E.I.
Spartina at the fishing dock in West Point, P.E.I.
Leaning Lighthouse at West Point. (Not seriously, at least I think not.) Up close, now.
Hm, taken by someone whose photos are normally level, it still looks canted. :-)
It's a tossup. This photo for my new facebook portrait, or the one of me with Perce Rock?
Quite striking, isn't it? West Point Lighthouse, a quarter of a mile from the harbour; you can take the beach or the road. We did both, naturally.
Seagulls above the beach at West Point.
Seagulls *on* the beach.
Some of the causes of what Sandor and I call "the smell of the land." Kelp and mud and fish -- we don't smell those things when we're not near the shore, so why is it always called "the smell of the sea?"
Sand and sand dollar, P.E.I.
The beach just east of the harbour at West Point. We went for a walk at low tide to collect shells and rocks.
We came back to the lighthouse for Sunday brunch (good timing) and went up to the top. This is the view from up there.
More seagulls on the beach. :-) Sept. 27th, 2009.
Resident West Point bald eagle! I've seen them before, but mainly on the west coast. This one likes this tree.
Sunset, Sept. 28th, 2009. West Point fishing dock.
The eagle is back in its tree, Sept. 30th.
Bald eagle in flight.
We came back to the lighthouse on Sept. 30th to use phones and so on, and were recognized as the people in the paper (re our grounding on the 29th): http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=290861&sc=118
Sandpiper? Killdeer? One of those shore birds. By the lighthouse in West Point.
Indian Head light. See a later caption for remarks. Arriving in Summerside, P.E.I., October 1st, 2009.
Intersection of Summer and Winter Streets. Yes, there's a Spring. I didn't see a Fall.
Trinity United Church; I took this photo before we knew we were going to a concert there. It was TorQ, a percussion quartet from Toronto! Very highly recommended, those of you in T.O.!
Summerside has a pretty cool waterfront, although most things are now closed for the season.
Sunset on October 7th splashes red paint on the yacht club.
None of these buildings are normally red!!
The last of the red sunset on October 7th. If red buildings at night are a sailor's delight, we picked a good day to leave!
Indian Head Light, leaving Summerside on October 8th. This lighthouse is on an extremely long breakwater which is one of the reasons Summersiders justifiably say they have the best-protected harbour anywhere around!
Seacow Head light.
Confederation Bridge, the longest "marine expanse over ice-covered waters" in the world according to one of my postcards. 12.9 km long and an astonishing sight.
This is one of the oddest looking bridges we've crossed under on this entire trip, in my opinion!
Looking back after crossing under Confederation Bridge. At some point on that day, we could see three provinces at once!
Sandor just took this lovely picture of Spartina in the Brickyard Marina in Pugwash, Nova Scotia. October 9th, 2009.
. . . , said to be a stunning sight in this small harbour, especially when turning around!
Downtown Pictou, Nova Scotia, Oct. 12th. (Hey, it's Thanksgiving! We also finally got around to celebrating the second anniversary of our acquisition of Spartina -- Oct. 7th I think, but we forgot at the time.)
Replica of the Hector, the ship who in 1773 brought the first Scottish settlers after the Highland Clearances. (Thanks to Christopher who relayed that bit of history by phone!)
Interesting atmospheric effects at sunset, Oct. 12th. Pictou harbour.
One of the grand houses in the town of Pictou.
A fine fall day in Pictou, N.S.
Uh . . . Pictou Town Hall. :-)
Pictou sunset with Sandor and Spartina, circa Oct. 12th.
The much-anticipated arrival of the salt barge in Pugwash . . .
Church right on the edge of the commercial district, although it has a bucolic look to it.
The masts of the Hector replica at sunset.
Cape George Light seen on the way to Ballantyne's Cove. We later hiked up to the lighthouse.
Spartina moored in Ballantyne's Cove. It's a ravishing spot, quite as advertised, and one of my big regrets is that we needed to push on to Havre Boucher the next day, so we could only stay one night.
Pausing only to put some chocolate and fruit into our packs, we immediately proceeded on the hike up to the lighthouse. It's not too long, but it's high! And we were starving; we didn't really allot time for lunch. It was late afternoon.
Apple trees of Cape George in the foreground; far side of Ballantyne's Cove in the midground, and I *think* Cape Breton in the far background.
Cape Breton is 20 miles away in the distance.
The name "Nova Scotia" was striking me as particularly apt. Not only is the weather rather fractious around here, but the autumn-coloured hills reminded me of the bracken- and heather-covered hills of Scotland.
More apples.
Cape George Lighthouse.
We didn't stay long. We wanted to get down while it was light and before we were completely starved.
More Cape Breton in the distance.
Ballantyne's Cove. Nice cliffs.
Spartina in Havre Boucher. I didn't take any pictures en route. This picture is taken from the stern, avoiding showing the badly-rolled jib or the broken plough anchor that sits at the bow.
Cape Breton is much closer now! I think Sandor took this and the next two pictures.
See what I mean about heather and bracken? (I'm pretty sure these are neither. Or gorse! They're a cranberry relative.)
A nice alcove in the coastal footpath.
We went for a long walk in what we thought was a provincial park (there were signs) but later turned out to be private property. (At least the owners invited us to walk there! We explained that we already had.)
Fern and red berries in the undergrowth. Reminded me of many hikes in the Appalachians.
Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island.
Spartina motoring away without me! This time it's just to switch docks. But soon it will be for the trip to Halifax, which I'm not going to be on.
Spartina at Port Hawkesbury Yacht Club. Oct. 20th, 2009. We are in Cape Breton at last!
Port Hawkesbury Yacht Club. The old train station has been reformatted, but the railyard is still (noisily) active.
Tugboats at the commercial dock in Port Hawkesbury.
Our neighbour for our first few nights, but she was trailered out yesterday. This morning as we walked up the hill to town, we saw her in someone's yard!
Larger neighbours.
House near the yacht club, in a particularly flamy sunset.
Port Hawkesbury.
Canso Causeway bridge open to let Spartina through.
Spartina still at Port Hawkesbury on one of the calmer days.
Port Hawkesbury harbour seen from the town. Actually the foreground water is "Ship Harbour," the background is Canso Strait. Mainland Nova Scotia beyond that.
We went on a nice walk to see the fall colours. It's all pretty close to town, but town is a long skinny stretch of streets surrounded by countryside.
Canso Strait, looking toward the causeway.
One of the nice ponds in Port Hawkesbury.
Our crew has arrived! Edward would be accompanying Sandor to Halifax, while I drove. This is on the morning of October 28th.
Edward getting ready to cast off.
Sandor and Edward setting sail for Halifax, around 9 a.m. on Oct. 28th. It would take them about 29 hours.
There goes Spartina without me again . . .
I looked at this picture and thought a parasailor had sneaked in, but I guess it's a seagull!
I waved Spartina out of sight, then drove toward the causeway and saw her several times on the way and while waiting for the bridge to open.
After driving to Halifax, I found myself five minutes from Armdale Yacht Club. Since it appeared destined to be our home for the winter, I stopped in. An enchanting spot!
. . . And then I drove to Peggy's Cove . . .
Looks like the coast of Maine to me, with all those Robert McCloskey rocks!
Peggy's Cove, proper.
More Peggy's Cove. Okay, I've pretty much exhausted the photo ops -- it's a pretty small place!
Spartina sails up the Northwest Arm, October 29th. That's her with her sails up on the left. You can't really tell it's her, but I took the picture (from the head of the Arm) guessing that not too many people are sailing these days, and she was expected about that time.
Spartina arrives at Armdale Yacht Club, Edward at the helm.
Edward (generally handy crew) now ready at the bow.
We went back to Louise's house in Brookside for another night of pampering.
Morning of Oct. 30th, the first frost.
Many starfish under Spartina's keel.
Bikes are hosed down and ready to ride! Friday, October 30th.
Our enchanting home, the Armdale Yacht Club. And it doesn't end there! My Halifax pics are in this new album: http://picasaweb.google.ca/brynharr/Halifax
