Day 37, July 24 -- Baddeck Back to Maskells Harbor Again -- 5 NM

This day did not go as planned and, as you shall read, I'm not complaining. With four large bags of groceries, a stranger gave us a ride back to the marina. Baddeck people are friendly.

I had planned to visit the Highlands Cultural Center at Iona, about a half hour's walk from an anchorage behind a seawall at the western end of the bridge across Barra Passage, which connects the two big lakes. But neither Bennett nor Lene had visited the Bell Museum in Baddeck so we figured that even if we got to Iona much too late in the afternoon to visit the Cultural Center that day, we could go the next morning.  Next: lobster sandwiches (similar to what we call lobster rolls, except they make them on good white bread instead of those little hot dog buns).

We were off in the early afternoon for a pleasant sail with reefed main and small jib and I checked the weather forecast. The Iona anchorage, according to the cruising guide, is "good except for winds with a northerly component." With winds forecast starting WNW and ending ENE,we changed our plans enroute and Iona will have to be a destination for our next Nova Scotia cruise.  We chose to put in at Maskells Harbor again. We had only been there once, Bennett had never been there and Maskells is a beautiful place.

What a surprisingly pleasant day we had, and very different from our last visit. We took the mooring at the far end of the unnamed NE cove

and saw how big and well maintained it is. We were less than a hundred feet from shore on three sides but in 25 feet of water.



The cove is formed by a sand bar.

The folks from Romana and Deliverance during our prior visit here had told us of a hike and we saw a small raft serving as a dock near a boathouse. Bennett and I dinked ashore. The path was actually a rocky steep unpaved road rising from water's edge to quite an elevation and ended when it met another road. Rather by accident we turned right and continued for some distance, northerly, enjoying the views and the wildflowers. We came to a house with a big black dog outside, Katie, barking her head off while vigorously wagging her tail. A lady came out and quieted the dog and we talked. Her father acquired the home and land more than 60 years  ago. She summers here and lives in Oyster Bay in the other seasons. The views across the "Great Bras D'Or", which is what they call the southern arm of the northern lake, were breathtakingly beautiful.

In this picture we can see, at the left, the south shore of the south lake above the shoreline hills.













Here is a view of the entrance to Maskells Harbor from elevation.

Diana said she and Sergei had to take Katie down to the lake for a swim. We invited them to come aboard for some wine but a recent medical problem involving her legs currently prevents the dock to dinghy to boat transfers.

Bennett and I continued north for a while to a crest  and then turned back. After passing her house we met Diana and Sergei, who were driving back up to the house with Katie running along. She invited us, and Ilene, for wine at her house. I called Lene and told her to pack wine and cheese. Our new friends drove us back to the landing, I dinked out to get Lene and we drove back to the house and nibbled and imbibed.

The house was built in 1880 with several additions since then. It has many rooms is quaint and rustic in addition to being historic and lovely and computer equipped. It is powered mostly by solar and propane but has wood burning stoves and fireplaces. Diana's walls had photos of herself on racing boats and she mentioned that she had raced the Halifax Race. Lene is currently reading a biography of Queen Victoria and noticed a photo of people who looked like British royalty. Diana replied that her greatgrandmother and grandmother had been ladies in waiting to Queens Victoria and Mary, respectively. Sergei is Diana's cousin and retired as the Librarian of the Serbian Collection at the New York Public Library, where I volunteer. I just finished reading a biography of Catherine the Great and asked if he was Russian. Yes, White Russian -- his family had fled following the death of the last Tsar. I mentioned "Pale Fire" by Nabakov, a fellow White Russian, whose course in Modern European literature i took at Cornell:  "Yes, he was my cousin."

 They asked if we could stay for dinner, and we ended up cooking it, of Diana's provisions, following her instructions. A very unusual, different and enjoyable evening. Diana maintains a guest book in which visitors can write their thoughts about their visits and we each made entries.

After walking back to ILENE, we reread the cruising guide which states that Diana's Father, "one of the early summer residents of this area ... was responsible for getting the name 'Boulaceet' changed to Maskells Harbor." The guide thanked Diana by name and other residents in the area, for their generosity to visiting cruisers.

A wonderful and different day. Here is a view of the house from ILENE after exiting the Harbor.