From Miami to HalifaxThe voyage from Miami to Halifax was unusual for us. Instead of being miles away from the coast and far from most marine traffic we saw other vessels every day. There were fishing boats of all sizes and types, large and small container ships, cruise ships, trawlers, other sailboats - we were rarely alone for long. That kept us alert, and meant watches were busy - and even busier on days when the fog descended and keeping an eye on the radar and an ear to the wind was added to the mix. Though not too busy to enjoy seeing dolphins and birds - and, for the first time, whales.
As we got closer to Halifax the water and the weather grew colder. A week before we arrived we began to run our fireplace at night, to help us stay warm. We slept snuggled under layers of coverings, and on the coldest nights went to bed with a toque on to keep us warmer. Being able to pull it down over our eyes when a watch ran into daylight hours helped too! Sunshiny days warmed our bones; foggy ones were cool even though it was the warmer winds out of the south west that brought them. Sometimes the fog was so thick we could not see even nearby fishing boats, only hear them on the radio as they worked and watch for them on the radar. Occasionally we would catch a glimpse through the fog of one passing off our stern. Sometimes the fog was deceptive, closing our horizon down even though the area around us looked clear.
The trip took about eighteen days. We sailed in and out of the edge of the Gulf Stream depending which direction the wind blew from, with Herb of Southbound II to help guide us. Along the way we encountered mostly light winds, some moderate breezes, the occasional day or night of heavier wind and only one thunderstorm off the Carolinas. Though we did see lightning crackling on the horizon behind us after we passed the northern end of the Gulf Stream before it turned to run east. Most of the time we sailed comfortably with the wind behind us or on a beam reach - the day or two the wind was against us it was light. We enjoyed our best sailing of the trip coming into Halifax Harbour, flying along with the wind on our beam at 15 to 18 knots, watching for large ships moving in or out as we crossed the shipping lane and moving quickly toward a quiet place to anchor and check in. We were back in Canada after almost two years of traveling.
HalifaxBy the time we arrived in Halifax we had already decided, after consulting our charts and Reed’s East Coast Nautical Almanac, to anchor up the North West Arm away from the traffic of the main harbour. It lies south of the harbour so we are not sure why it is called the North West Arm, except that it runs generally North West. It is a longish, narrow body of water which offers good shelter in most conditions so long as you can find a suitable place to anchor. This would be easier if much of the bottom were not a mixture of rock and mud with a healthy growth of weeds. Much of the area outside the channel is taken up by moorings, some belonging to individuals and some belonging to different marinas and clubs, but we did manage to find a good spot outside the Armdale Yacht Club to drop our hook. Members and staff were friendly and helpful, and we found ourselves close to public docks and access to stores and downtown - and in very convenient spot to enjoy watching their racing and regattas. We settled in for what was left of summer.
Halifax turned out to be a busy place. We arrived at about the same time as the Tall Ships. Shortly afterward the boats sailing in the race between Marblehead and Halifax began turning up. Many arrived in fog and had to be guided through the busy harbour to their berths by Halifax Harbour Radio and the Coast Guard. So we spent our first weekend in Halifax exploring Halifax Harbour and looking at the Tall Ships gathered at the docks and wharves there. They came in many different sizes, kinds and conditions and visitors flocked around and onto them curious about their origins, their journeys and how they worked. We saw the Roseway, last seen in St. Croix, and the Picton Castle, last seen in Bermuda in Spring 2006 and now black instead of white after her work on the TV show Pirate Master. There was a training schooner from Toronto, the Playfair, a little more rough than the others; and of course the beautiful Bluenose II. Along with other tall ships from the United States, Europe and the Caribbean. And sitting at a dock in the middle of all the crowds, the beautiful classic racing yacht Ticonderoga.
After that the Jazz Festival started the following weekend, and ran for ten days. There were local, national and international performers and all kinds of performances at different prices - including free afternoon shows which we thoroughly enjoyed. We particularly enjoyed Asia and Nu Groove, and unfortunately missed listening to Doug Riley and Tonic. Then there was the Buskers Festival, then Natal Day, the annual celebration of the birthday of the communities of Halifax and Dartmouth. More free concerts and performances to enjoy. By the end of August we were just about festivaled out, but happily there were lots of other things to do.
We explored downtown Halifax and found our way to the Khyber Centre for the Arts, and a show that moved beyond the level of simply presenting art. “Panzos, 25 years later” uses photography, paintings and the written word to tell the story of a small town in Guatemala and what happened there when the interests of its inhabitants ran contrary to those of the Canadian mining company, Inco. The artist, Marlón García Arriaga, a schoolboy at the time of the Panzos massacre, describes the development of his work this way: “In October of 1997 I participated as a forensic photographer in the exhumation of the victims of the Panzós massacre. They were found in a mass grave where their bodies had been cast indiscriminately. This was how I had the opportunity to participate in filling the vacuum present in the lives of Guatemalans despite 19 years of investigations into the events at Panzós. It was with my feet inside of this grave, alongside the women of FAMDEGUA (Association of Relatives of the Disappeared and Detained of Guatemala), that I made the decision to create an outline for an exposition that would include my photos, paintings inspired by such moments, the testimony of survivors, newspaper clippings from the time of the war, photos from historical archives, and testimonies of intellectuals and activists who had confronted the power of the Guatemalan state and its involvement with the Canadian mining company. The purpose of all this was to further illuminate and understand who I am and what had taken place in my country.” Beautifully painted and effectively presented, this was a show which made us think about another, uglier world.(
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And so we spent the summer exploring Halifax, enjoying places like the Public Gardens, the waterfront, some of the beautiful older buildings we came across on our walks. We passed the Commons, full of activity by day, with its playgrounds and skateboard park and ball diamonds. We learned a little about the area’s history, rich and storied. We learned, for instance, that the Armdale Yacht Club stands on an island with a historic past. The island has been a prisoner of war camp, a reception point for recruits to the British Foreign Legion, a hospital for immigrants suffering from Typhus Fever, a refuge for former black slaves fleeing the United States, and a navy prison and its clubhouse was once the home of the warden of a Military Prison. Close by is Deadman’s Island, not really an island but a point of land. The bodies of some who perished during their time on Melville Island are buried there and United States Marines help maintain it now in memory of those who were American prisoners of war from the war of 1812. Looking south east along the shore we could see the Dingle Tower in Sir Sandford Fleming Park, constructed to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of representative government in Nova Scotia - the first colony outside the U.K. to have this form of government. The tower was completed and dedicated in 1912.
In the present there were some practical things to be attended to. Richard started working shortly after we arrived, and early in the morning, sometimes at first light, we would take the dinghy across to drop him at one of the docks. Whenever the wind blew from the south west the fog would start to roll up the Arm and on a foggy morning I learned to steer using nearby boats and mooring buoys as waypoints until I could see the dock, and to find my way back the same way. We were forewarned when we would wake to the blare of ships’ horns as they made their way into the fogbound harbour. These kinds of conditions rarely lasted more than a morning, though we did get some very nice pictures of the Armdale boats racing off into the fog on a race evening.
Summer passed quickly , cooler than we are used to, and very green. We found wild flowers growing along the sides of many of the roads as we walked, and an abundance of bees and wasps and butterflies around them. We saw ducks, gulls, cormorants and the occasional loon and seal. Every now and again a cormorant would exit the water at speed, and a seal would pop up behind... The air smelled of trees and flowers over on the Arm, and not of automobiles and dust and factories. Not that the latter are not around - just that they are not, or not yet, overwhelming. We found many people who were kind, helpful and friendly, and a sense that the problems the community encounters should be faced together.
Looking from Deadman's Island toward the Armdale Yacht Club. At the base of the big, old tree is the memorial to the American soldiers killed in the War of 1812 - past and present blending.Looking from Deadman's Island toward the Armdale Yacht Club. At the base of the big, old tree is the memorial to the American soldiers killed in the War of 1812 - past and present blending.
Looking down the North West Arm toward the Halifax Harbour entrance, with the fog lifting and a clear day on the way.
The Tall Ships visiting in Halifax Harbour - This figurehead looks calmly over visitors and work in progress (everybody has to do maintenance!).
Time to do some sail repairs on one of the tall ships, perched out on the bowsprit, glue gun in hand.
Neither fog nor rain nor wind deters them from their appointed race - members of the Armdale Yacht Club race off into the fog.
A sunny summer day by the Arm - as you can see, not everybody bothers with docks, especially when the shore is easier to row to. The dinghy was securely tied to a rock so that it would not float away when the tide came back up.
A day after clouds of flying ants suddenly descended on the boats, the ducks were still feasting happily. We could hear them eating away.
