August 15, 2013 Day 85   Cape George Bay

Ballantyne’s Cove Harbor Marina
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

This is day four at Ballantyne’s Cove.  The winds are strong, gusting to 30 knots, and we are feeling it at the dock.  Another day to get some work done by cleaning the interior of the boat.  Boaters are staying put today. Even the fishermen did not venture out in this wind.

Lisa and Joyce found a small beach and walked along it for a while. This is a rocky beach and we found some interesting rocks that were “keepers”.

A view of our harbour from the road to the lighthouse -
thanks Lisa!

We had dinner on board and prepared for our departure tomorrow. We plan to go to an anchorage at Portage Cove, Nova Scotia. First we have to go through a lock at Canso. This will be our final lock on the down east loop!! The blog will be updated the next time we have wifi.

August 14, 2013 Day 84   Cape George Bay

Ballantyne’s Cove Harbor Marina
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

Just a short post tonight. This is day three here at Ballantyne’s Cove.  Efforts to get a rental car were unsuccessful, so we are content to stay here.  We got more chores done, did some reading, visiting, and contemplated the weather. 

We helped Ron and Lisa move their boat to a more protected dock because of the wind.  Then we got together with them again for dinner. Thanks to Ron for grilling the salmon and chicken! We had a great meal.  While we were eating, a few more boats arrived and this harbor is getting full. Boaters are here to avoid the winds that are forecast tomorrow. 

We will continue to wait for good weather – hopefully Friday, so we can continue our journey on the Down East Loop!

August 13, 2013 Day 83   Cape George Bay

Ballantyne’s Cove Harbor Marina
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

We decided to stay in port today and may be here until Friday. It was nice today but the rain and wind started this evening.  

We took our laptops to the office today to have internet access since we can’t get it on the dock. Joyce also did some laundry at the marina. We can’t do any laundry on the boat while we are here because there are no water hook-ups, and we would run out of our own supply quickly!  This little marina is more for local fishing boats than transients.  They have 30 amp power but very few connections. We moved to a different slip so we could get connected after we arrived.  We are in a local boat owner’s slip and he is away for a few days.  The little town of Antigonish is a 30 minute drive so we cannot shop either! But, it is a beautiful location, even without all the amenities, and we are happy to be here!

We invited Ron and Lisa over for a pork tenderloin dinner and had a fun evening. (Thanks to Lisa for bringing the fabulous baked brie appetizer.) The four of us may rent a car tomorrow and drive to Cape Breton along the Cabot Trail, and leave our boat here at Ballantyne’s Cove Marina for a few days.  This will give us a chance to see more of Nova Scotia even though by car.  We will finalize plans in the morning.

August 12, 2013 Day 82   Cape George Bay

Ballantyne’s Cove Harbor Marina
Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Canada

What a day this has been!  We left Summerside, PEI at 6:30 this morning and traveled over 90 miles for 12 hours.  The first two hours were very rough with quartering seas at 4-5 feet.  We got tossed around, were driving into the sun, and were dodging lobster pots. Not a fun morning. As soon as we went under the Confederation Bridge and changed directions, things got better and continued to improve throughout the afternoon. We eventually had a smooth ride and enjoyed the view.  By 3:30 we had passed the end of Prince Edward Island on our port side. We also saw a few seals and a minke whale today while we were underway.

Cape George Lighthouse - our marina is just around
the point tucked in a beautiful cove

Carried Away and Outbound at Ballantyne's Cove Harbor Marina

We arrived at our destination, Ballantyne’s Cove Harbor at 6:40pm. It is a small marina in a beautiful setting with cliffs and trees. It is about 2 miles from the Cape George Lighthouse that we passed before we rounded the point and turned into the cove.  As soon as we got tied up, we went over to a little canteen and had a great fish dinner (haddock) with Ron and Lisa. We sat at one of their outdoor picnic tables.  Super casual but very good food and after 12 hours, no one wanted to cook!

        
We are finally in Nova Scotia, the last of the Canadian provinces that we will visit.  It is absolutely beautiful here!

August 11, 2013 Day 81   Northumberland Strait

Silver Fox Yacht and Curling Club
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

We had hoped to depart today, but at 6:30 this morning when we saw the flags flying straight out, we knew we were not going anywhere. The winds did not die down until late afternoon. We caught up on a few boat chores and visited with lots of other boaters (also stuck here).

Lisa and Joyce went to the mall (thanks to Richard and Shannon for dropping us off) and got haircuts!! This is always an issue when traveling, so after being long overdue for a haircut, Joyce is finally happy. It is just not always possible to find a place, or have transportation, or time.  We had a leisurely walk back to the marina.  We discovered a beautiful home for sale and when we researched it later, discovered it was built in 1890 and is now a bed and breakfast.  We are constantly finding homes with beautiful, well-tended flower gardens.

We had dinner on board and talked with Ron and Lisa on Outbound about plans for tomorrow.  The decision is to leave early and go as far as we can.  So we will see where we land!  We may not have wifi for sure.  We have had the best wifi here and have been spoiled.  We have enjoyed our five day stay in Summerside but now  it is time to move on.

August 10, 2013 Day 80   Northumberland Strait

Silver Fox Yacht and Curling Club
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Saturday usually means farmers’ market day, and this was no exception.   It was a short walk from the marina and we enjoyed browsing the variety of booths of meat, baked goods, pottery, knitting, vegetables, etc.  We came back with PEI potatoes, local wine, and a gift!

We got a few chores done and then after lunch drove with Ron and Lisa to Charlottetown, the capital andbirthplace of the Confederation.  We walked around the harbor area and the downtown area. First stop was Cows Ice Cream which is made in Charlottetown and is excellent.  We went in a few shops and took pictures of some of the historical buildings and churches.  We drove over to the Civic Center and wandered around their Old Home Week events, (similar to a county fair) with fiddlers, harness racing, carnival, animal judging. We did not get back until 10pm. 

Cow's Ice Cream!

Outdoor cafes are popular in Charlottetown

St. Paul's Anglican Church



St. Dunstan's Basilica

Warming up for the harness race

We feel that we have seen quite a bit of the island now and will prepare to leave tomorrow if the winds die down.  We are not sure if we will go to an anchorage or a marina. 

August 9, 2013 Day 79   Northumberland Strait

Silver Fox Yacht and Curling Club
Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada

Anne of Green Gables Museum (Silver Bush)

This is our third day here in Summerside on Prince Edward Island.  This morning we toured the Green Gables Shore region of the island with Shannon, Richard, and Joe.  This area has lush rolling hills of farmland with potatoes being a primary crop. The red soil is perfect for the potatoes.  The coastline has beaches and is dotted with inlets where lobster boats and other fishing boats are plentiful.  Of course, this area was home to the Anne of Green Gables author, Lucy M. Montgomery and was the setting for her novels. We toured her aunt and uncle’s home that she lived in at times, and which is now a museum.  It is located in New Glasgow.  We stopped at the Preserve Company with the intention of having lunch there – but a tour bus pulled up in front of us and we could not wait that long to be seated.  We did shop in their store and between the five of us, we bought plenty of tea,  preserves, and peach salsa.   From there we went to the town of North Rustico and had lunch at a seafood restaurant on the water.  After lunch we toured a fisheries museum which featured the lobster industry in this area.

Prince Edward Island is the smallest of the Canadian Provinces and is a popular tourist destination.  English is the first language here, but the island is designated as bilingual with many signs and publications in French.  The island has an Irish, Scottish, and Acadian heritage. We are happy Richard was able to rent a car because there is not another one to be found on the island the rest of the month!

Lovely view of the coastline and the rolling fields

The Fisheries Museum in North Rustico

When we returned, Joyce went to the grocery store with Ron and Lisa, then came back and fixed a quick dinner on board.  We did see that our New Zealand Friends on Astral Sky arrived today while we were out sightseeing.

Tomorrow we will go to the farmers’ market here, and then go with "the crew" by car to Charlottetown, the capital of PEI.  It is the birthplace of Canada which became a confederation in 1867. We hope to see many things!