This post is compiled from the 54 posts to this Blog describing our 2023 summer cruise to, from and in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. We were out from Eastchester Bay starting July 8 for 67 days and 66 nights., returning September 12.
Our quartet of felines and humans visited 55 different harbors, 27 of them, mostly in Canada, new ones for us. We visited two harbors twice - they were natural stopping places both coming and going - Scituate MA and the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club in the St John River, in New Brunswick. The 67 days consisted of 58 passage days and 9 lay days. At the end of one passage day, to Vineyard Haven on Martha’s Vineyard, we took guests out on a brief, low-wind day-sail, so we got underway 59 times.
Because we did not go to the Atlantic Coast of Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, as our friends, Jim and Wijnanda and also Jamie and Laurie did, our aggregate mileage was only 1493 NM, which averages 25 3/4 NM per passage. The shortest passage was only 5 NM from Little Cranberry Island to Northeast Harbor, both within the Great Harbor of Mount Desert Island. The longest was outbound from Stonington CT to Mattapoisett MA, 61 NM. The distribution:
NM #of passages
1-10 4
11-20 20
21-30 18
31-40 9
41-50 5
51-61 2
Somewhat ironically, though we love Rhode Island and spent most of our cruise in that tiny state in 2019, we completely (unintentionally) bypassed RI this year, both outbound and returning. New Hampshire, while much larger than RI, has a very short coastline which we also blew past, unless one considers Isles of Shoals (one night outbound) part of New Hampshire. Well, part of it is.
How were our ports sorted by state or Canadian Province? We stayed six nights in NY Stat, three each way, at the beginning and end, though the fourth of the six, on the way home, was in Fishers Island, which, while nestled close to the east end of Connecticut, is part of NY State. So while it sounds illogical, we cruised west from New York State to Connecticut. Think about it. Our first and last nights out were in different coves both within Huntington LI. In Price’s Bend outbound and in Lloyd Harbor at the end. Next after New York came two nights in Connecticut, each way. Thirteen nights were in Massachusetts, four outbound and (with a great detour into Vineyard and Nantucket Sounds to visit two sets of friends) nine on the way home.
Adding these up we find that before and after Maine and Canada (our destination areas) we used up 23 of our 67 days. Maine took 24 days, coming and going, (11 outbound and 13 on the return. Half of them new harbors for us — and there are still a lot of Maine harbors we have never visited!
And that leaves only 19 nights in Canada, NOT equally divided between New Brunswick, 17 nights and Nova Scotia, 2. New Brunswick had been our goal and we got through the mighty, terrifying ferocious “Reversing Falls” at the mouth of the St. John River, both ways! Downstream the falls are easy to explain- a river running over rapids. But upstream? Yes, the huge tide, building momentum in the wide Bay of Fundy and getting funneled into a narrow river flowing between rocky cliffs. There is plenty of depth, even at low tide, but the forces of nature turn it into swirling white water — except at slack. It was actually quite easy after all the anxiety - just a matter of careful timing, which the cruising guide patiently explains with diagrams of where to circle, waiting, for the precious ten minutes of rather slack water, twice each day and twice each night.
All of our Canadian ports and anchorages, twelve in New Brunswick and one in Nova Scotia, were new to us. Digby, on the west side of Nova Scotia, was the only one in Nova Scotia, on its west, Fundy coast. Greg and Wanda, the friends we made in Halifax on our cruise there in 2017, drove the width of the province to meet us and drive us around the huge and historic Annapolis Basin area. We actually spent one night ashore there with them in a two bedroom suite at a Digby Country Club. We hadn’t planned to visit Nova Scotia this cruise, but they made it so easy and our passages across the Bay of Fundy, with a stop in Grand Manan Island on the way back, were among the best. We got to Digby during the 48th annual Digby Scallop Days, the and tarter sauce on your toasted hot dog bun! Fifteen bucks! Digby has a huge tide. One side of the long, heavily strengthened aluminum brow between town and dinghy dock is ramp — the other side is 45 steps!
We spent most of our nights on moorings this year (including two floating docks - which are actually big moorings that take less acreage - in Northeast Harbor ME and Rockport MA): 41 of the 66 nights. One third of our 66 nights we trusted our Rocna anchor: 22 nights. And three nights we were tied at docks — where such was the only alternative available: at Oromocto, NB and Fallmouth MA, and rafted to a docked fishing boat in Chance Harbor NB.
Did things break? Sure. A persnickety brass pin holding the rudder angle indicator of the Raymarine auto pilot, fell out of the vinyl plastic it was imbedded in — several times — early in the cruise. Glue did not help. Raymarine fedexed a replacement part, free, but it did not hold either. Finally I devised a “cage” of half a paint stirrer held in place with bolts, washers and wire ties, to keep the pin pushed into the hole where it belongs but able move back and forth. Rube Goldberg anyone? Testing it in the Cape Cod Canal I asked my helmswoman to turn the boat in a 360 degree turn while I was down in the lazarette looking at the contraption. VHF shrieked a call from the Canal Authority: “ILENE, do you need assistance?” Fortunately, not any more! Another problem was the Spectra Ventura Watermaker. We never really did get it to work, but unlike the Caribbean for which it was installed, we got free water and did not need the machine. A shackle broke but we carry spares.
A potential problem on Grand Manan Island with the dinghy’s Yamaha outboard. Without it we are stuck on the boat unless we go to docks or marinas with launch service, and launch service is a rarity. To keep folks from trying to start the machine while it is in gear, there is a spring loaded bead on a wire in the head of the engine out of which pulling the rip cord starts the engine. The bead must adjusted to be in the right spot for the engine to start. I’d gone for water and when the outboard would not start on the way back I canoe paddled and drifted over to a big beautiful blue French aluminum cruising boat that was tied to a fishing boat on the big pier. The owner lent me tools (Angel # 1) but in trying to adjust the spring loaded bead it’s spring flew off, dived into the water and swam 20 feet straight down to the bottom. A retired gentleman standing above us on the pier (Angel # 2) said “I know a great outboard mechanic, but not his name or phone number — but I’ll drive you there”. Angel # 1 called Lene to explain why I was late in returning, because I’d left my cell phone aboard when I went off for the water. But Angel # 2’s truck was at the end of the pier and two huge tractor trailers loaded with 500 or more pound canvas bags of fish food for the aquaculture operation nearby were blocking him from getting off the pier. They were waiting for the work boat onto which the load was to be delivered. “Could you move off to let us out?” “Sure!” said Angel #3. At the shop from which the mechanic worked, the lady at the desk gave me his name and number with instructions to call back at 8 am. Now the only problem was getting back to ILENE in the dink. Along came Angel # 4, a aquaculture worker in a small work boat; he towed me in the dink back to ILENE. Angel # 1 said we could come in and raft up to his boat to facilitate Angel #5 (the mechanic) getting off the pier to the dinghy. He made me promise to be careful to not start the outboard unless it was in neutral and disabled the idiot proofing bead mechanism. (The outboard is now in the shop in New Rochelle for winter servicing and reinstalation of the spring and bead. It took five angels to get me out of that mess, but only the mechanic accepted payment. $20 for (including travel time) more than an hour’s time. And that’s $20 Canadian which is worth only $15 US dollars. Don’t worry, we gave him a lot more.
That’s the thing about Canadians — they are universally helpful and friendly. We were just sorry that the rainy weather kept us from meeting more of them. We were told that Douglas Harbor in Grand Lake was a lively spot with a beach, barbecue pits, games, etc. But it was raining when we arrived and took our mooring, and it was still raining when we headed out the next day. Yes, there were a lot of nice boats around, but their crews were hunkered down aboard and we did not meet any of them. So we were in the harbor but we did not experience its joys.
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| Tied to commercial fishing boat in Chance Harbor |
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| On the long Oromocto dock |
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| Using Fenderboard to protect the boat from pilings in Falmouth MA |
All told there were 23 of our 66 nights where we remained aboard, did not go ashore, and had a good time with the kitties. Some were places where we were the only boat and others less alone. Several of the coves in which we anchored were not listed in the comprehensive cruising guides as potential places to anchor. An example: Scotch Bay, off the Bay of Fundy, in Canada, en route to St. John. My mate worried: can we anchor there? But the chart gave it a name and showed plenty of deep enough water and the chart plotter permitted us to skirt the reefs and fish farms. Ah solitude! We also used lay days to visit cities, by ground transportation: Boston, MA (by train from Manchester by the Sea), Portland, ME by hitchhiking there and a cab back to South Freeport, and St. John and Frederickston, both in New Brunswick, by bus, cab and hitchhike from our mooring.
Less rain and fog
Thanks for the post.
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