Once again I am writing about my sailing adventures. The reason I do this is totally selfish, I want to capture my memories and I enjoy making the content. If some of you enjoy this content along the way, all the better.

This post quite long and doesn’t have the adventuresome feel to it that my previous “Doing the Atlantic” series of blogs provided. This trip was a completely different type of sailing adventure, sail during the day, with one exception, no more than fifty miles. Most nights were spent in a picturesque port, a couple of those nights were on a dock with easy access on and off the boat, while the rest were at anchor with a short dingy ride to port. We were not sailing through the night with the nearest port hundreds, if not more than a thousand miles away, as I have done on some previous trips. This is the type of sailing that I hope Colleen will one day enjoy with me. Being able to cook and eat while the boat is not bouncing around, dining out, hiking and shore excursions are the some things that would appeal to her.

Blue Water Sailing Club Atlantic – Canada Cruise 2024 -2025

I was once again lucky to be asked to join in on another Blue Water Sailing Club adventure, I am not a member of the club because I currently don’t own a properly sized sailboat. As soon as I convince my wife that it’s time to buy that sailboat, I plan to join. However, I have been able to take advantage of the club’s organized cruises as a crew member on John Slingerland’s Avocet on a couple of occasions. Including the 2024 – 2025 Atlantic – Canada Cruise.

On August 1st, my Brother Dennis and I arrived in St. Pierre, a French territory in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence, just south of Newfoundland, Canada. Getting to St. Pierre was no easy task. I found out yesterday afternoon, at 4pm, that our 8:45pm scheduled flight had been canceled. Unbeknownst to me the JetBlue flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia was canceled in April. Apparently no one told Expedia either. Expedia sent me an email reminding me that it was time to check into my flight. Following their advice I tried to check in, but I was unsuccessful. After way too much time and frustration, I enlisted my 17 year old daughter Cate’s help. She was also unable to check-in. She followed up with a chatbot which confirmed there was no JetBlue flight to Halifax, Nova Scotia, scheduled for that evening.

I was in complete panic mode at that point. We were expected in St. Pierre within 24 hours, we were the next crew on Avocet, a 41ft Oyster sailboat that we have sailed extensively on, including crossing the Atlantic, from Lanzarote to Guadeloupe in 2022. John, the captain and owner of Avocet, was counting on us being there as much as we were looking forward to another adventure on Avocet.

It was time to figure out our options. We had a hotel reservation in Halifax and a connecting flight to St. Pierre scheduled at 12:30 the next afternoon. How to get to Halifax before then? My first thought was to find another flight. So, I hit the internet. The only one that I could find left Boston 2 hours earlier than our previously booked (canceled) flight did, which would be pushing it, but if Dennis drove straight to the airport we could make it. That effort became futile because the flight was sold out. The next thought was to do a one way car rental, at 4pm trying to find a one way car rental crossing country borders also proved to be useless. We were left with one option, drive one of our cars. That was our only real viable option. As soon as Dennis arrived at my house we piled ourselves and our gear into my car and set off on the nearly 10 hour trek. My daughter, a highschooler who recently got her driver’s license, was very helpful in figuring out what we should do. She was looking forward to the unrestricted use of my car for the next 2 weeks, however she was now out of luck.

Dennis who had just driven 2 hours south from Maine would be driving right on by his exit going back north in another 2 hours time. Had I found out that the flight was canceled earlier I would have had other options, even if I found out just 2 hours earlier I could have picked Dennis up on the way, at his home in Saco, Maine.

We made it to our hotel in Halifax at 5am local time and placed the car in the hotel’s free long-term parking lot. We set our alarms for 9am, giving us enough time to have coffee and head to the airport, 1 mile away, for our 12:30pm departure to St. Pierre. The flight was uneventful and we arrived on the dock in St. Pierre at our planned 4pm time.

We hadn’t even stowed our gear before John said that he was thinking about leaving St. Pierre that night, within a few hours. There was to be a Captain’s Meeting, we were sailing with 4 other boats, Ed Storey’s Grayling a Sabre 38, Len Bertaux’s Walkabout another Sabre 38, Chris Callahan’s Truant a Southern Cross 31 and Jerome and Helene Rossert’s Going Merry a Halberg Rassy 42. The captains were to discuss a weather window happening that night through the next day, which looked like a good opportunity to sail the 200 miles to Sydney in Cape Bretton, Canada, or if they would wait for their original planned departure 2 days later.

The fleet in St. Pierre

During the meeting the pros and cons of each scenario were debated, with no clear answer. Leaving right away it looked as though the wind would be light overnight followed by a nice beam reach sail straight on through to Sydney. The waiting option had the possibility of some heavier wind and seas coming right at you for a good part of the trip before turning to a more favorable direction. In the end, Avocet, Truant and Walkabout would leave posthaste while Going Merry and Grayling would wait and leave in 2 days time. 

I was looking forward to checking out St. Pierre, I had never had the opportunity to visit before and the likelihood of visiting again is slim. We were able to spend just a couple of hours on the Island, taking a few photos, getting some provisions and having dinner with Avocet’s previous crew, John’s wife Marcia, his son Eric and Eric’s wife Joanne. We had a really nice meal at a fine restaurant. I had met and sailed with Marcia in the past, including 2 weeks working our way up the southeast coast of Nova Scotia from Shelburne to Halifax last August. John, the proud pappa, had often talked about his 3 children, including Eric and Joanne, but I had never met them. Dennis had sailed with Eric in Boothbay last year during the Boothbay Regatta. It was nice to meet them and enjoy a meal together before we ran, well sailed, off to Sydney.

Departing from St. Pierre

This trip was a Blue Water Sailing Club (BWSC) excursion with Avocet and Truant hailing from Maine; while Grayling, Going Merry and Walkabout hail from Massachusetts. John, currently the club’s Vice Commodore, dreamed up this trip to inspire members of the club to live up to its name, blue water sailing. With John’s encouragement 4 boats set off from their homeports on what was planned to be an adventure that over several weeks worked their way up the Nova Scotia coast, meandering their way into the Bra d’Or Lake, having the boats hauled and wintered in Baddeck. Then in June they would all return to Baddeck, commission their boats and continue their trip. Heading out from the lake across the Cabot Strait exploring the southern coast of Newfoundland, before I got to join back in the fun in St. Pierre.

4 boats started in August of 2024. In June 2025, Len Bertraux, captain of Walkabout, another member of the BWSC, upon seeing all the fun the others were having, wanting to be a part of the adventure, raced up to join the fleet in Baddeck on Walkabout.

I was not part of the Newfoundland trip, though I can tell you that everyone whom I talked with about their experiences raved. Exploring fjords, anchoring and docking in seldom traveled harbors seeing beautiful vistas and extraordinary wildlife.

I joined last year’s portion of the Atlantic-Canada Cruise in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. The 4 boats met up in Matinicaus Island, Maine for a lobster dinner before setting off across the Gulf of Maine in what turned out to be a very calm, motoring the whole way trip. Getting to Matinicaus was a different matter, 2 boats, Avocet and Grayling both got their props wrapped up with lobster buoy lines. On Avocet Jen’s, another longtime Avocet crew, had the pleasure of diving under the boat to free the line from the prop. A distinction that on another BWSC cruise in Maine, in 2022, I also got to do. Fortunately, for me anyway, I’m not sure if Jens had the same experience, Avocet is equipped with a folding prop, so all I had to do was slide the line over the folded prop, I did not have to cut the line free. For grayling it was a different story, the Sabre 38 comes with an offset shaft and prop, so you can see the prop when you lean over the port gunwale. They were able to free the prop without venturing into the frigid Maine water. All boats reported seeing some amazing wildlife during their respective crossings. Whales, seals and dolphins were all mentioned.

When I met up with the fleet in Shelburne everyone was relaxed and ready to slowly work their way up the Nova Scotia’s Atlantic Coast. Per usual for me, getting to the departure point was not an easy task. My trip to Shelburne was not without any hitches. I had to delay my arrival in Shelburne for a couple days. When I originally booked my trip it included a $20 shuttle bus that took me from the airport in Halifax to Shelburne, dropping me off a couple of blocks from the Yacht Club where the fleet was moored. Unfortunately that shuttle is not scheduled everyday. So, I found myself shelling out $400 (Canadian) for a ride in the back of a very nice, big, black Mercedes Uber. 

I arrived on Avocet just in time to stow my gear and dingy over to Going Merry where Helene and Jarome were hosting that afternoon’s cocktail hour. We had some great snacks and I had a generous Gin and Tonic. Then we headed back to Avocet for final preparations for the scheduled departure early the next morning.

I was on Avocet for 2 weeks with John and Marcia, my plan was to depart from Halifax where Jens would be coming in to relieve me as crew for most of the remaining trip to Baddeck. During those 2 weeks we stopped just about every night in a different port. The weather was perfect, upper 70s low 80s most days were sunny with very little of the fog that summers in southeastern Nova Scotia are known for. The winds were kind and we sailed at least 70% of the time with a couple of memorable passages. 

Some of the highlights were Carter’s Beach, where we all anchored, and went ashore for a nice walk along the beach. The Lahave Bakery, in Lahave, where we all, 12 of us, piled onto Truant, the smallest boat in the fleet, to be ferried from our moorings, across the bay, over to the bakery’s dock. The bakery was delightful with their homemade breads and pastries and some darn good coffee to boot.

         

Another highlight was Lunenburg, where we spent 2 nights. Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage Location with a fine maritime museum, a replica of Bluenose, a famous racing and fishing schooner, the original was built in 1921 and the replica that we were able to board was built in 1963. 

Bluenose II

Also on the docks in Lunenburg, the sail training barque Picton Castle, hit the link to read about the history and adventures of this impressive ship.

We happened to be in Lunenburg when the International Dory Racing Championship between the U.S. and Canada was taking place. The Canadian rowers kicked ass, it was a blowout! 

After Lunenburg we set off to Mahone Bay were met and had breakfast with Captain Cheryl Barr, the author of the definitive Cruising Guide to Canadian Maritimes, with whom John had befriended while planning the cruise. This guide was an integral part of the trip’s planning, it offers so much in-depth information for just about every port or gunkhole, the pages were well worn by all of Avocet’s crew throughout the trip.

I’d be remiss not to mention the dinner on Going Merry hosted by Jarome and Helene. Helene, once again showing off her serious culinary chops, made an excellent Cassoulet. I was delighted, I love Cassoulet.

Gathering on Going Merry for the French classic Cassoulet.

After breakfast in Mahone Bay, on our way to the next port of call, Chester, we raced with and lost to Grayling. I give credit to Ed and his brother Mike for their win. However, I’ll take the hit for Avocet’s loss. We were deploying the spinnaker for a last minute blast that would have propelled us into the lead and the finish line ahead of Grayling. I pulled up the “sock” on the spinnaker even though there was a twist in it, resulting in a batched attempt. The spinnaker opened half way before becoming stuck and forcing us to take it down, untwist and try to deploy the sail again, all the while Grayling, keeping their cool, sailed to the finish line, beating us by several minutes. We did eventually get the spinny flying beautifully, but it was too little too late. 

Chester was a nice stop, we were able to stock up on ice and food, have a couple of beers at a very small local brewery and dinner with all four boat crews at a pleasant waterfront restaurant.

Before arriving in Halifax we had one more stop, Rouges Roost, a gorgeous anchorage in the midst of a Nova Scotia Nature Trust. There were no houses and few other boats to be seen. We went for a hike through an almost nonexistent trail to the top of a hill and we were rewarded with a spectacular view of the surrounding area. 

Rogues Roost         

The sail from Rouges Roost to downtown Halifax was great. We were in no hurry, beating into the wind tacking back and forth, we were like a well oiled machine. The other boats in the fleet all decided to motor into the wind, I guess they wanted to get to the dock and its amenities quicker, we were just enjoying a great sail. 

We spent a night on a dock in downtown Halifax before moving about 5 miles to the much quieter Royal Canadian Yacht Squadron from where I would be heading home, Jens was my crew replacement. I would be jumping back on Avocet in St. Pierre in a year’s time.

A year later, August 1, 2025.

In St. Pierre after our lovely crew dinner we set off across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, departing at 9pm with no wind and flat seas. John was at the helm, giving Dennis and I time to catch up on our sleep. I was over-tired and couldn’t sleep. I ended up lying back in the cockpit staring up at one the best skies that I have ever seen. There was no light pollution, the stars were jumping out at us, the Milky Way was visible, I even saw a meteor or something burning out as it dashes across the sky before I finally dosed off. The next day we were rewarded with an as predicted beam reach sail to the headlands of Cape Breton which we reached at nightfall.

Getting into Sydney took forever. Being in sight of land and not getting into port for another several hours was fatiguing. The port of Sydney is located about 12 miles in from the headlands, it seemed never-ending. We were all tired and anticipating a good night’s sleep. Sydney was not our choice of entry into Canada, it was chosen for us by the Canadian Customs officials. At 2am when we tied up in Sydney at The Dobson Yacht Club, John made the obligatory call to Canadian customs, John was told that couldn’t clear customs from that location. We had to enter Canada at Sydney’s Port Authority pier located 200 yards across the bay from the Dobson Yacht Club pier which we currently occupied. Off we went to dock at the designated pier so that we could  make the regulatory phone call once again. After we were legally visitors to Canada we had a night cap of some truly horrible beer that we bought in St. Pierre, it was very Belgian styled, some sour-ass shit that some people like, both Dennis and I did not.

If you’re thinking about visiting Sydney, don’t. There is not much there, it’s a port city and probably has some history of interest. One of the main tourist attractions is “The World’s Biggest Fiddle”, which in itself should tell you enough about Sydney to keep you away. We spent a day there, well actually most of the day. We ended up in, after a 30 minute cab ride, in Louisbourg, where there is an old fort, more like an encampment, whose occupation was traded back and forth over the centuries between France and England. I found it ironic that the white truce flag was being flown from a pole within the encampment, I guess that the English never removed it after the French’s customary waving. 

The Fortress of Louisbourg, Cape Breton.

We had dinner at a local pub and crashed early. We were told that we had to abandon the dock by 9am because there was a cruise ship coming into port and that we, with our masts, would be effectively cut off from being able to depart once the ship tied to the adjacent pier. I’m not sure what several thousand people will do in Sydney for a day except look at a giant fiddle and then be bussed to the fort in Louisbourg, but that’s not for me to worry about. Before our cutoff time of 9am we made our way back over to the docks at the Dobson Yacht Club for fuel and water before taking off for our next stop, 40 miles travel, Big Harbour, in Bras d’Or lake.

One of the things I quickly noticed is how unpopulated the area was. If you are like me and have visited some of New England’s beautiful lakes, you are used to seeing almost every bit of the shoreline occupied. Bras d’Or Lake is not like that at all, there are stretches of miles where there are no structures. The area is very beautiful and serene. If you ever wanted to see a place that humans have not built up, you can see it here. The 3 boats in this portion of the flotilla, Avocet, Walkabout and Truant all anchored in Big Harbour for the night. Soon after anchoring we had a very nice social hour aboard Walkabout, once again we retired early. The next day we were heading to Baddeck.

Baddeck

Baddeck is a quintessential lakeside small town, very picturesque. The 4 boats that participated in the 2024 portion of the cruise all were hauled and wintered here at Baddeck Marine. This time around Avocet and Walkabout were here to get provisions and top off the tanks. Chris was leaving Truant in Baddeck once again, his plan is to return at a later date to bring Truant back home to the U.S.. We spent the afternoon and night at anchor. I went for a run, followed by Dennis and I taking a dip in the relatively warm Cape Breton water, where for the third time this year I dove into the water with my sunglasses still on my head. I make it a habit of only buying cheap sunglasses. That night we had a group dinner at Baddeck Lobster Suppers, a short walk from the marina. A charming family owned restaurant specializing in simply prepared local seafood, the fish chowder was a standout. 

The next morning Avocet and Walkabout departed Baddeck early with hopes of getting through the lock at St. Peter’s, heading back into the North Atlantic and on to Glasgow, a small harbor just past Canso, about 50 miles away. The Anchorage at Glasgow was shallow, so we ended up anchoring a bit further out in the open than anticipated, fortunately that was not an issue, it was a calm night.

From Glasgow we headed solo to Weber Cove which is located in Tor Bay, a 25 mile run. Walkabout was all about making tracks back home to Beverly, MA. We on the other hand had some time before our planned crew change in Halifax 6 days henceforth. 

Since we were not in a hurry and the conditions were benign we motored through Little Dover Run, a cool narrow cut between Little Dover Island and The Madeline where we spotted an eagle soaring overhead and some deer strolling along the shore. 

Little Dover Run.

Not much sailing happening on this trip so far, we experienced lots of either no wind or southwesterlies directly on the bow. Each day if the conditions afforded we’d pull out the sails, if we were making only moderate progress we would leave them out as long as feasible, unfortunately that was usually brief.

In Webber Cove we anchored a couple of hundred yards off the beach in 25 feet of water. We took the dingy ashore where Dennis grilled some chicken, potatoes and broccoli, we all had a couple of beers, and walked the beach where I scavenged different shells (lobster, crab, clam, oyster and mussel) and put together Lobo-enstien, a lobster looking creation out the shells. 

A couple of  locals came by the beach in their speed boat to welcome us and let us know if we needed anything, food, ice, beer or use of a car, assuring us that they would be there to help us out. Canadian hospitality is real.

Our next stop would be Country Harbour, an 8 mile long estuary about 25 miles from Webber Cove. Our hope was that with the prevailing southwesterlies we would at least be able to sail the 8 miles up into the estuary to our planned anchorage. It didn’t quite work out that way, we motored into the wind most of the way to the harbor’s entrance, about 5 miles out we were able to beat into a moderate breeze, as we got closer to land the breeze died down. When we entered the harbor the wind funneled through the estuary following us. We were able to sail wing on wing quite slowly for several miles until it became too monotonous then we motored the rest of the way, dropping the anchor as far up into the estuary as our draught would comfortably allow, Which happened to be adjacent to the first house on the western shore that we came across for the entire 8 miles trip into the estuary.

The next day we were off to Liscombe Lodge, a resort about 40 miles away. After an early start and a lot of motoring we were able to sail a bit. Liscombe Lodge is a couple of miles up a narrow river. Last year’s fleet stopped here on their way north, so it was familiar ground for John. For me, I was looking forward to being on a dock, where I could take a real shower and have dinner at the resort’s restaurant.

We docked, got fuel and ice. Chester, the dockmaster, lent us his truck so we could go to the nearest market, which was 20 miles away, for some provisions. It was a happening weekend at the resort, there was a wedding being hosted, some sort of a British Car Rally and a bus load of elderly tourists. Dennis and I wanted to hike the nearby trails, however, all Nova Scotia wooded areas were closed to everyone because of drought and the potential of wildfires. There was a fire happening near the lodge which temporarily shut down power to the lodge. We dined in the lodge’s restaurant, where we brought the median age down by at least a decade, and we aren’t spring chickens.

The next morning John had Dennis and I scurrying up on deck at 6am as he was pulling Avocet off the dock for our next destination Shelter Cove, in Popes Harbour, 45 miles away. The early start was so that we could take advantage of some favorable wind predictions, which we did; we sailed for several hours. Our GPS took us through a maze of rock outcroppings that if it weren’t for the GPS I would have gone further out and around for ease of mind. There was always plenty of water underneath us, it can just be a bit nerve racking seeing dangerous rocks, especially in unfamiliar water, baiting you on. We were never too close or in any danger, more than anything it was kind of cool to see. 

Shelter Cove proved to live up to its name, the wind was blowing at a pretty good clip as Avocet and 2 other sailboats anchored in the cove’s protective waters. We grilled up some dinner and had a cocktail on the cove’s beach before tucking back into Avocet for what seems to be a long stretch of early to bed nights

Shelter Cove Beach, Avocet secure at anchor.

The following morning we set out on a 30 mile trek to Jaddore, our last stop before we hit Halifax. As we dropped the anchor the windlass all of a sudden stopped laying out the chain. Not sure what the deal was, we still needed to put out another 50 ft or so of chain, we bypassed the windlass by pulling the chain from the chain locker manually. Not a big deal, though I was dreading pulling the anchor and chain in by hand if we were unable to figure out what was wrong with the windlass. 

We checked the obvious spots, the breaker at the nav station and the electrical connections at the windlass itself, everything seemed fine. Figuring that we would deal with it later, that is, John would have someone fix it, we went on with the rest of our day. Anyway the current plan was docking in Halifax and then, after a crew change, straight to John’s mooring in Boothbay, ME. So not much anchoring was planned for the rest of the trip.

Once again we had a visit from a local. He arrived by skiff, talked to us about recently sailing to Sable Island with his grandkids on his 37ft bluewater cruiser as well as doing the same trip on a 30ft Catalina. I used to own a 30 ft Catalina and would not have attempted the 170 mile crossing on such a lightweight coastal cruiser. He also offered us use of his mooring near his house, as well as the Canadian Hospitality of letting us know if we needed anything to let him know, it was a nice chat with another avid sailor.

Later that evening after a couple of cocktails and some charcoal grilled sausages, peppers and onions, I thought to look for another, a second, windlass breaker. Low and behold, within about 2 minutes I found one in a cabinet, up under the nav desk. It was flipped, I put it back in contact and we tested the windlass. Success!!!

Well, the success was limited. The next morning as we, the windlass doing most of the work, got about 60 ft of the chain in the locker, it died again. We checked the breakers, both were in their correct position, we flipped them anyway to no avail. The windlass was dead.

On to plan B, a plan which John described in detail last night during cocktails, before my “look for another breaker” revelation. With John’s play in action, we tied a line on to the chain at the bow, ran it back the primary jib winch, with a few other small lines to keep everything in place and not hack up the fiberglass or the teak deck, we were able to make quick work of getting the remaining 60ft of chain into the chain locker. 

The plan was for the remaining 3 BYSC boats (Avocet, Going Merry and Grayling) to rendezvous at The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron (RNSYS).

The RNSYS was a 30 mile sojourn, mostly under power. I have had the pleasure of docking at the RNSYS 6 times in the past, 5 of which were as part of the Marblehead-Halifax Ocean Race. The RNSYS is the Halifax end of the race’s sponsoring club, the other time was last year on Avocet on our way north.

The RNSYS is great, picturesque, outside of the hustle and bustle of downtown Halifax and it has great amenities; laundry, shower, a bar and a very nice restaurant. Added to that you get to watch their vibrant youth sailing program in action, they’re (the kids) buzzing in and out of other boats with no fear; it’s a great thing to witness. 

Dennis and I Ubered to the airport hotel to pick up my car that I left in long term parking 2 weeks prior. Unfortunately it was almost crew change time. That night we took advantage of all that the RCYS offered.

The next day after everyone had the opportunity to shower, provision and chill, the flotilla repositioned downtown, now it was time to be amongst the action.

Dennis and John moved Avocet from the RCYS to downtown while I moved my car. Dennis and I didn’t want to jump ship without hanging with the incoming crew, so we got an AirBnB a few blocks from the dock. Having sailed with 2 of the new crew in the past we wanted a proper celebration of the transfer of responsibilities through food and drink, we wanted a bit of a party

As mentioned before, I have been to Halifax many times before, the first being in 1985, for 3 weeks, where Dennis and I were part of the crew on an 85ft yacht, Dragon Lady, the name was eponymous. After visiting the city over many years, I can highly recommend that you visit. It’s walkable, not too big, it has a lengthy harbourside trail. If there are cruise ships in town and if you are like me (and my wife) there are some pretty amazing people watching opportunities. Even with a plethora of tourist trap restaurants and bars, there are some top quality ones as well. Durty Nelly’s is both, a touristy Irish Bar with a nice vibe, live music and good food, be careful though later in the night it fills up with 20 somethings out to party, if you’re into that that’s great, however I’m too old.

.We moved our gear from Avocet to the AirBnB then proceeded to follow up on our crew integration plans. We had a couple of rounds on Avocet, then on to dinner at the Water Polo, a waterfront restaurant, owned and operated by the same people who own the very popular nearby Bicycle Thief Restaurant. Water Polo at first glance seemed glitzy, pretentious, busy, touristy and expensive, not the vibe I was hoping for. It ended up being none of the above, well it was busy and glitzy. The people working there were welcoming and appreciative. The food was very good, (that’s pretty high praise from me) and the cost for quality ratio, especially because we were dealing with Canadian dollars, was reasonable. If (when) I visit Halifax again I would definitely go back. 

For some of us, including me, night caps followed at Durty Nelly’s; off to our AirBnB. 

That’s a wrap for another of my unbelievably fortuitous experiences sailing with John Slingerland and the Blue Water Sailing Club. What’s next…