Back to Halifax, via Shelburne, Nova Scotia

The seal that had watched us leave Martha’s Vineyard set the tone for our travels to and along Nova Scotia. Winds remained generally light, which gave us lots of time to see some of the creatures that shared the waters with us - and on this part of our journey we saw more in a couple of days than we had seen during all the days of our earlier travels. Between Martha’s Vineyard and Shelburne a large right whale came to the surface off our stern, lay at the surface, blew a couple of times, cast a beady eye our way, and opened his mouth before disappearing under the water. We next saw its spout off in the distance. The next day a pod of what looked like orcas appeared off our port side. Later, we saw the back and fin of what was probably a minke whale.

Dolphins came past the boat several times, mostly just cruising by but occasionally pausing to hunt around the boat. We saw many birds traveling, feeding or resting - black-headed laughing gulls, ring-billed gulls, storm petrels paddling their feet on the water as they fed, terns and others we have not yet identified. Every creature seemed to be on the move...

Between Shelburne and Halifax we saw more whales. At one point we found ourselves sailing where, temporarily, food was plentiful: birds circled overhead, dolphins hunted and a minke whale surfaced and disappeared ahead of and beside us. When creatures are feeding, they are so concentrated on getting food that where they are is not the best place to be, however interesting; we were glad to move away from them. In the still, windless hours of one very dark night we heard the breathing of and the sound of water lapping around what must have been a sleeping whale off our starboard side.

We always leave our depth sounder on, on the theory that its ping lets dolphins and whales know that we are there. Sources suggest running your engine at low rpm as well, but of course we had no engine to run. Still, it was very unlikely that any of them would deliberately pose a threat to us, and since we were proceeding slowly we were not exactly a threat to the creatures around us. Though, some of them being rather large, there was no doubt that we would prefer to avoid getting too close to them.

Since light wind dominated most days, our actual sailing consisted mostly of making every effort to keep the boat moving. Hour by hour we crept along, enjoying gusts and short periods of good winds when they came and hand-steering much of the time in between. Or, when steering was not really possible, at least trying to keep the boat pointing in the right direction. After the engine had swallowed sea water as we left Pollock Rip Channel we could not resort to using it even when the seas were almost flat. Nor did we want to risk fixing it at sea, since Richard needed to take the carburettor apart to dry it out, and any part that fell out there would likely be lost forever. We would be sailing in to our next harbour, but if our next harbour was Halifax that would not be a problem.

As we approached Nova Scotia another blow was threatening, with possible gale force winds. We were a day and a half of good sailing from Halifax, and the sailing was slow - so it could take much longer. Under the circumstances we decided to go in to Shelburne, somewhat nervous because we had no detailed charts of the harbour itself. Not that we planned to go in totally blind; we knew there was a yacht club in the harbour, and we had its phone number. We hoped to get at least some of the information we needed from them. As we approached we tried to radio, then phone the Shelburne Yacht Club. What we did not know was that it was not fully operational yet and not open every day. When we did manage to contact the club later in the morning we tried to find out about coming in; the young lady there did her best to be helpful, but she was clearly not a sailor.

However the fates were kind to us. As we came closer we saw a motor vessel off the shore, going in, so we radioed them and told them about our dilemma. The boat was Ohana; this was their first time here as well, but they were well equipped with a chart of the harbour on their chart plotter. They kindly agreed to keep an eye out and let us know what we needed to know to come in safely. We were lucky that there were two sailors on board, including the man on the radio, and they understood what we needed to know. They gave us good information, letting us know what buoys lay ahead and where we could expect to see them, and stayed in touch with us until we picked up a mooring ball off the yacht club. When we were in and had taken care of our immediate needs we went to find and thank them.

First order of business, and first phone call: checking in with Canada Border Services. Since we could not come to a dock, they came to us, courtesy of a boat from the Sea Dog Saloon. Then it was time to let family and friends know where we were, tidy up the boat, try to make ourselves look respectable, and go ashore. The Sea Dog Saloon offers dock and dine; we took the dinghy in to their dock and enjoyed a good and hearty meal while taking advantage of their free wi-fi (passworded). Then to the yacht club to check what facilities were available and pay for our mooring. the cost was very reasonable, at $15 a night with a weekly fee if we needed it, and there were showers for $2. Cruising sailors will be happy to know that they make their facilities available to anchored boats, for a daily or weekly fee, and there is laundry (extra cost) as well as showers. Since we paused for two nights, we also found out that Friday night was a busy, social night, with food and drink and lots of conversation.

We did not spend much time in Shelburne, but it was enough to be aware of the many historic buildings along the waterfront, and to be invited in to see a longboat, being built and well along the way to completion. We will probably see it sailing, since it will be visiting Halifax for the 250th anniversary of the Royal Navy Dockyard in mid-July. On our walk to the grocery store we found people in the town friendly, helpful and welcoming and quick to give directions and point out things we might find interesting. When we come back we’ll be able to visit some of the museums we walked past, and the waterfront art gallery and theatre, maybe even enjoy one of the living history re-enactments Shelburne is known for.

Apart from discovering a good harbour and pleasant place to visit, stopping gave us time to take apart and dry out the motor on the deck instead of over the water. Then we used it to leave again, motoring out of the shelter of Shelburne Harbour early on our second morning in light winds, past fish farms and fishing boats and fish and boat related businesses scattered along the coast. We had two long days of light winds as we moved toward Halifax. On our last day out, we had south west winds and fog, so we ended up approaching and entering Halifax Harbour in the fog and the dark, using radar and frequent chart positions to take us safely in. As we approached we checked in with Halifax Harbour Traffic, and kept a listening watch as they directed so that we could hear the movements of ships and a coast guard vessel as they went through the harbour and stay out of their way.

Once past McNab’s and George’s Islands we found ourselves tacking past oil rigs moored in the harbour. It was after midnight, and by now we were out of the fog, and grateful for the ambient light that made it easier to find Alderney Marina and pick up a mooring ball there. We were finally back in Halifax. As soon as we were secure we has something to eat (food had not been high on the agenda as we worked our way through the fog) before we fit in a few hours sleep. It seemed very little time had passed before we were waking up to start making phone calls and begin the process of picking up the threads of work and life on shore.

Now we are back, and it is time to decide on where, when and how to haul out and refit Into The Blue. Hopefully we’ll fit a little more sailing in before she joins us on dry land. We'll let you know.