Pictures of Late Summer 2008

On a wet August day, one of many, this was the view looking out from our cabin. Water, water everywhere...











Taking a pogo stick to new heights at the Halifax Busker's Festival down on the waterfront.










Sometimes it takes a little help from the audience to keep things stable. These are the Aerial Angels, based in the U.S., performing at the Buskers Festival.











A testimony to the foolish ways of birds? Hopefully they're not thinking of nesting in the tyres on this tug...










Our new nesting dinghy takes its first trip on the water. It floats!













The ducks have been feeding and feasting on the rich growth on the poles and floats - and sometimes boats - in the marina.










A view from the porthole as the sun goes down behind the MacDonald Bridge.













Getting ready to move on again, with our new main hatch and doors in place, and our nesting dinghy strapped down in front.

August 2008, And The Rain Came

August was a wet month. Even the weather experts agreed it was the wettest August in many years. So wet that farmers lost crops and outside workers lost time and we had many delays in the work we had planned to do on the boat. Between rain and fog the damp seemed to get in and linger everywhere, and we dried the boat out every opportunity that offered. But there were good days sprinkled through the wet ones.

There was Natal Day. Festivities began on Thursday July 31 and were supposed to continue through a four day weekend. On August 1st we enjoyed the Joel Plaskett Emergency from the boat, and looked forward to the activities scheduled for the rest of the weekend. But then rain shortened the talent show and dampened the festivities that was scheduled for Alderney Landing. That evening the fog descended before the fireworks could rise, and the weather remained damp and foggy for the next few days. Which meant that we missed the fireworks from the bridge for the second year in a row. Maybe next year? In the intervals between rainy weather people enjoyed activities on the Macdonald Bridge, runners of all ages completed the Natal Day road race, and we glimpsed the Natal Day Parade as it too crossed the bridge. The weekend was like the month - wet - and people did as they usually do - enjoyed what they could, in spite of the weather.

The weather was a little better for the Halifax Buskers Festival, and we went across on the ferry to check things out there one relatively sunny day. Areas were set up along the waterfront with “stages” and in some places areas for people to sit and watch, and there were musicians and booths and lots of people wandering along the harbour front, gazing at visiting ships and boats as well as at the performers . We paused by a didgeridoo player and stopped to watch a young man performing high leaping feats on something that bore a vague resemblance to a pogo stick and further along three women who twisted and turned and swooped down cascades of silk as part of their act, and kept up a lively exchange with the crowd as they worked. We wandered past a loud and lively children’s area and heard commentary on high flying trampoline performers from another area sponsored by a radio station before we moved on to do other, more mundane things, like buy groceries.

We often crossed the harbour and walked to stores in downtown Halifax, and sometimes we would come upon concerts and buskers performing along the harbourfront as we walked. Coming upon an unexpected performance is one of the best ways to discover a performer you like - we came across Jordan Croucher, singing a capella when his backup tape failed and obviously not needing the music in the background to help his voice to soar. He was performing on the deck of the Sackville, Canada’s last Corvette, now maintained as a floating museum and Canadian Naval Memorial. The performance was on behalf of Democracy 250, which is promoting recognition of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of parliamentary democracy in Nova Scotia and reaching out to young people to encourage them to understand the political process, be involved and vote. And that in itself tells you a lot about Nova Scotia.

And then there was the boat work we planned and set out to accomplish - with a lot of help from some of our friends. We built a new nesting dinghy, and installed mounting blocks so that we can carry it safely on top of our cabin. Our dinghy splashed into the water in the second week of August, complete except for the details. We can report that it rows very well, and we’ll soon know how it sails. And we designed and Richard (and our friend Steve) built a new entrance to our cabin, with a hinged hatch and doors instead of the old sliding hatch and boards. Installed it has lines similar to the old hatch but is much more waterproof and more easily opened and closed.

As always, there is maintenance - wood to be sanded and oiled, deck and cabin to be painted, and the dodger to be restitched. This time we handed the dodger over to Greg at Atlantic Canvas, who did a masterful job of stitching everything back together. The rest we tackled ourselves. The outside of our cabin is now a pleasing white, and so is our cockpit - there are still some small deck areas to be done, but we’ll do them where the weather is more pleasant.

Finally there are the things that broke unexpectedly. Our galley foot pump decided it had done enough work, and quit, to be replaced by one with a slightly higher flow. Our starter, newly installed in May, refused to work in September and had to be removed and replaced as well. Our main halyard developed chafed areas after rubbing against one of the spreaders in high winds and we changed it rather than risk it failing at an inopportune time.

One of the best things about the cruising life is seeing old friends and meeting new ones. We’ve seen a few old friends here and met many new ones, and once again our boat sails away carrying much that reminds us of people we have met and those who have helped us in many different ways. There have been many who offered us friendship and practical help and encouragement, and some who stand out because they have been so generous with their time and help. Thank you, everyone - we will remember you as we travel and plan to see you next summer when we are back in Halifax again.

So now, after all the help and work, the boat is back in cruising trim and all we need is the right weather to start moving south again. September has been eaten up by our preparations to move on, and the stormy season is upon us. It’s time to go...

Pictures from Summer 2008

Halifax was one of the stops in the 07-08 Round the World Clipper Race. Here the race boats, Clipper 68s, parade in Halifax Harbour shortly after their arrival. Ten boats, representing ten ports, leave Liverpool for a race around the world. Over the next ten months they round the world, stopping at different ports - by now they have returned to Liverpool, after calling at Sydney, Nova Scotia, then crossing to Cork, Ireland before returning to their starting point.




Trees, flowers, water, birds - Halifax Public Gardens is a beautiful example of nature tamed and coaxed and molded into a public park.










The Gothic facade of St. Mary's Basilica seen from Spring Garden Road, reputed to be the oldest Catholic church in North America. The building soars into the sky, and the facades is full of detail, with beautiful stained glass windows. The only thing lacking is enough space to step back and take the whole structure in.








We went all the way to Halifax to listen to the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force Steel Band, marching in the Tattoo Parade on Canada Day.










A re-enactment of military drills from the time of muskets and kilts at the Citadel, the fortress that has stood guard over the city of Halifax, in one form or another, since 1761.











Of course, Canada Day meant fireworks. These were from a barge out on the harbour, part of a very nice display.









Hundreds of feet below the Cape Blomidon Lookout the farmland stretches to the shores of the Minas Basin, where the Fundy tides rise and fall, exposing great banks of red mud when they are low.










A wild rose bud hides among the leaves and stalks in a planter by the marina. The thorny wild rose bushes provide shelter for small birds and rose hips in the fall and winter for those birds that overwinter.

A Busy Dartmouth/Halifax Summer

It has been a busy and interesting summer. We have spent the season at Alderney Marina, enjoying the conveniences of sitting at a dock - easy access to water and a little extra power for keeping us warm when the weather turned cool. Sitting on one of the outer docks left us a little more exposed to weather that we would have been in a slip further in, so there were interesting times when wind and waves picked up and made the boat jump against her moorings. But turning our bow out into the the harbour helped, and so did being lucky enough to be able to move to a more sheltered spot vacated by another boat when the remnants of the storm called Hanna passed through toward the end of summer.

We’ve also enjoyed being a short walk away from the Dartmouth Farmer’s Market, where we buy local vegetables and fruit, eggs and cheese, and the occasional baked treat. In spite of the vagaries of weather the quality of everything we’ve bought has been good - and one of the best things has been being able to bite into fruits and vegetables that are fresh and full of taste. Even though it has meant getting up early to get there in time to choose from the best of the selection.

Then we had all kinds of activities to choose from. Halifax is a busy place in the summer time. There are boats and ships visiting, festivals and holidays to be enjoyed, and a wide choice of museums and galleries, large and small, and activities and performances and places to visit. We found our way to some and happened across others this year - but next year there will be more new-to-us places to visit and things to see.

Our summer in the harbour began with a visit from the ten sailboats taking part in the around The World Clipper Race. They stopped in Halifax after racing from New York, and when we saw them they were gathered in the harbour for a sailpast, each boat showing the flag of the country it represented proudly on its mainsail. The race is based in England and gives people of many different backgrounds and ages a chance to take part in a round-the-world sail on boats sponsored by and representing different ports along their route. Each boat is skippered by a professional captain, but anyone hardy and adventurous enough - and with sufficient funds - can join the crew. Crew members are trained and sign on for one or more legs (each leg is four weeks). Some do the complete ten month circumnavigation. The boats lay berthed in the harbour for a few days while the crews were feted and welcomed and took advantage of the opportunity to rest and replenish. We went across on the ferry to see them at their berths and admire, along with many others. Preparations for the next race are well underway now - if you are curious, you can learn more at www.clipperroundtheworld.com.

Canada Day celebrations were the next high point, starting with a pancake breakfast at Alderney Landing, continuing with the Tattoo Parade through downtown Halifax and a visit to the Citadel, followed by concerts back at Alderney and winding down with fireworks over the harbour. And that was only a sampling of the things we could have done - museums and historic sites all over the city were open and could be visited free. There were performances, picnics and events scattered around Dartmouth and Halifax, including a large run/walk around the city for the athletic.

Halifax’s Canada Day Parade reflects the towns military and naval roots. The parade is made up of groups from all over Canada and the world who are in town taking part in the annual Nova Scotia International Tattoo - the largest annual Tattoo in Canada, according to Wikipedia. The parade was led off by two mounties, their horses gleaming and strutting, followed by dancers and singers and costumed groups and by military groups and bands from Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Britain, Australia - and our favourite, the steel drum band from Trinidad and Tobago. We stood on the sidewalk on Spring Garden Road, watching as the streets were closed down and the parade approached and enjoying the reactions of the crowd to the passing bands as well as the spectacle passing in front of us. Then after the parade had passed we followed many in the dispersing crowd to the Citadel.

The Citadel, the fortress sitting at the top of the hill which used to have a clear view of the harbour and beyond, is very much part of Halifax’s and Dartmouth’s naval and military heritage. Even now, with more modern (and less elegant) buildings confounding the once clear view of the harbour and obscuring many of the remaining historic buildings clustered around the old port, the view holds hints of what it must once have been. The Citadel itself was full of activity, with music and cake to celebrate Canada’s birthday, re-enactors playing the part of soldiers from the days of muskets and kilts, and people visiting the museum and gift shop and wandering the grounds and ramparts. The museum traces the development of the fort, from its beginnings as a wooden blockhouse to its final, larger and more durable form when it was finally finished in 1856. Many people worked on it during its various construction phases, including Maroons transported to Nova Scotia from Jamaica in 1796, many of whom later moved on to Sierra Leone. We explored the museum, watched the people, and enjoyed a slice of cake before we moved on.

After our visit to the Citadel we crossed the harbour on the ferry, heading back to the boat and then to the outdoor concerts at Alderney Landing, beside the marina. The concert was lively and fun and included something for almost every musical taste; we particularly enjoyed the R and B of Asia and Nu Gruv, a group we first heard last summer at the Jazz Festival, and the very entertaining Celtic-based music of the Barra McNeils, and listened from the boat to a lively performance by Big Fish. Then we finished off the evening watching the fireworks over the harbour. A full and fun day.

July continued with music. We spent some time at the Jazz Festival, and our find this year was Coco Love Alcorn, whose set we thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed some other very good performances too and were particularly impressed by some of the younger musicians - the Matt Giffin Trio (Matt Giffin, Keith Doiron, Will Fisher) played incredibly well, reaching out to the audience and each other through their instruments, the groups that developed their performances in the Creative Music Workshop jumped into some very interesting and risky work, and we thoroughly enjoyed the Big Valley Swing Orchestra. If we had had the time to go to the festival every day it was on we would probably have an even longer list of the things that we enjoyed!

We did take some time away from music to explore and enjoy the Halifax Gardens, a cool and pleasant place on a warm day. Friends introduced us to more of this beautiful province, driving us through farmland and small towns and up the slope to the Cape Blomidon Lookout. And, as usual, we saw new parts of Halifax and Dartmouth as we walked or rode the buses from place to place. Walking gives us a chance to notice small things, read notices that flash past when we are on the bus, see the faces of people we pass by, enjoy the parks and the lakes that dot the Dartmouth side; the buses take us along routes we probably would not see otherwise. Between work and exploration time flew past, and by the time we looked around it was August, time for more festivities and for more serious planning for the time we will be heading south.