A Glimpse of Hurricane Earl

As Hurricane Earl passed through, we decided to keep a journal of sorts, so that we would remember what the storm was like - and would be able to share it with you. Here is what we wrote at the time:

We finished getting the boat ready for the storm last night. Now it's the day of the storm, and Earl is coming ashore as a category 1 hurricane, somewhere around Lunenberg. Our apartment is sheltered - the building is an ell, and much of the time the wind and rain don't affect us. We're waiting for the storm.




8:30 am: Weather: the wind is gusting, it’s foggy out. The air is still warm and humid, after a hot week. It rained last night, and the advertising that always comes off the board over the pizza store started coming off. Now it’s peeling down at the corner, and by tonight it will be gone... Web cams seem a good way to see what's happening, but most of the web cams don’t seem to be working. Our view of the storm will be confined to what we can see from our windows.

Here's what we see. In the Narrows the white caps are just starting, and there is spray where they break on the shore on the Dartmouth side. Small birds have been flying around, sudden rushes of small winged creatures and some things - leaves, paper - are starting to blow around.




9:15 am: The rain is heavy, and blowing sideways. The Narrows are hard to see now, the tree branches are dancing around, the rain is blowing past in gusts. Our windows are still gapped to let fresh air in, very slightly, but not likely to remain so much longer. Ironically, there is more traffic on the road now than there was earlier. Wonder where they’re going, and why?

CBC is checking around the province - power out in various places - mixed weather all over the place, but wind picking up. Power just flicked off and on - if it happens again, time to turn the computers off.




9:45 am: The power flicked off and on again, so I closed down the computer for the duration of the storm. Better not to risk the possible consequences of a power surge.

The rain has eased for now. The wind is blowing the leaves off the trees behind the apartment building, and they are swirling over the roof and down in front of our window. We can see the gulls gathered on the ground by the cove down the street from us, where they are well-sheltered from the wind and waves. The wind is strong enough to make the sign for our apartment building pump in and out...



10:23 am: The wind is gusting hard, and the rain is blowing sideways, in curtains, in the gusts. We are under a hurricane watch, not a tropical storm watch, thanks to the change in Earl’s course which is bringing the storm much closer to us than forecast earlier. The storm is coming ashore close to Mahone Bay, instead of further west. There are reports from Peggy’s Cove that the waves are very heavy, and in spite of the efforts of the police some foolish people have found their way out on to the rocks.




11:11 am: The wind is picking up. The electrical wires running along the road are moving. There are lights flashing by the Narrows, down by the railroad tracks, but we can’t see what is there. The trees are bending, and the advertising boards we can see from our window are moving, waving back and forth around their axes. The board that always loses it’s ad is doing what it usually does - most of the ad that was there has been washed and blown away. Reports on CBC say that the waves along the coast are building; that some sailboats have moved their moorings and drifted, and one that was moored on the LaHave River has been seen moving out to sea.

We can’t see the Narrows any more, never mind seeing across them; what we can see is the wind gusts driving the rain. Small branches are blowing along the road now, and a few bags of garbage. Every now and then CBC fades and comes back; the power flickers occasionally, but it keeps coming back on.




Noon: The rain is blowing in visible gusts. The trees by the bottom parking lot, which until now were sheltered a little bit by the building, are dancing, showing the underside of their leaves and bending and nodding in the wind. The wind looks as if it is picking up spray off the waters in the Narrows, and in the cove where the gulls are sheltering; the bridge across the Narrows which we can usually see, is invisible for now. There are reports of lots of trees down throughout Halifax.




12:12 pm: The rain is streaming so hard down the windows that it’s hard to see through them. The forecasters say it will be another hour or two until the worst part of the storm passes. The wind is gusting over 90 km/h, Earl has lost a little bit of it’s ferocity since coming ashore. Leaves and small branches are flying, swirling in the air and on the ground. People are driving past - going some place they don’t need to go?



12:50 pm: The wind is gusting in excess of 100 km/h, but the sky is growing lighter and we can see the Narrows again. We can also see that the gulls are still firmly planted on the ground.




1:24 pm: The skies are continuing to grow lighter. The wind has come around and is out of the SW, and is blowing hard against our windows. There are reports of lots of boats dragging in the Bedford Basin, at the top of the harbour above the Narrows, in the mooring field around the Bedford Basin Yacht Club. The wet flags on the roof below our windows are blowing hard now, flapping and making lots of noise.



2:15 pm: The skies are growing lighter still, and now there are a few birds in the air. The electric wires and the trees are still dancing in the wind. One small tree is leaning over into the parking lot of the aesthetics school across the road. Some of the shingles on the side of the apartment building, on what looks like alcoves, are lifting in the wind. The ads on the board above the pizza shop beside us are completely gone, and something is flapping around on the front of the store. People are starting to come out and look around, to see what has happened.



2:22 pm: A glimpse of the sun! Low clouds are moving past very quickly, but the weather is definitely lifting now.



2:44 pm: There is more and more blue sky and the clouds are higher. The wind is still blowing hard out of the SW, but the sun is shining. The storm is passing; tomorrow, except for the clean up, it will be as if it had not been here.



We stayed home for the rest of the day, though we were itching to go and see how Into The Blue had fared. We knew that there were many trees down, and some roads were blocked, and nothing was going to change between that afternoon and the next morning as far as the boat was concerned. The roads, however, should be clearer.

When we did go to the marina the next morning we found some of the traffic lights out along the way, piles of tree branches and bits by the road, and crews out working to restore power and clean up where they could. We got to the marina before the electricity did, and found Into The Blue, thankfully, just as we had left her - and, so far as we could tell, all the other boats there were fine as well. While we were there some boats started returning from where they had hidden from the storm, up the North West Arm, and some that had been hauled were being put back in the water.

Halifax Again, February 2010

February in Halifax was a little warmer than normal, so they said. Warm or not, it was still a time when the fronts come through one after the other. February is a month when you’re glad you have a warm place to live in, and that your boat is as secure as you can make it.

And the boat show. One of the highlights of February in Halifax, for us, is the Halifax International Boat Show. It’s a chance to look at gear, attend any talks we’re interested in, possibly run into a few people who are doing the same thing. This year we were pleased to find a Canadian East Coast distributor for the electric motor we are going to buy - and to see the actual engine, up close and personal. We had a chance to learn a bit more about the heating system we’re planning to put in (Webasto) and see the heater itself as well; checked out a radio that would keep our iPod dry and safe while at sea; learned about the superwind wind generator; checked out a small butane stove, just because it looked like a good idea (but still not as safe as our Origo). We heard from Derek Hatfield about the work he is doing to represent Canadians in his next solo ocean race, the VELUX 5 Oceans Race. We were entertained by and learned from Captain Art Gaetan, who talked about sharks, shark fishing, and how he turned his passionate support for sharks into a multi-focused business. We found the Windbag Company of Nova Scotia, which makes bags out of old sails and old seat belts and other reclaimed material, and, an extra touch, includes in each bag the story of the boat whose sail went into the making of it.

Then to remind us that we should not get complacent, on the last Friday in February a strong easterly blew through, bringing rain, a high surge on a high tide, and gusts up to 135 km/h on the bridges across the harbour. In Purcells Cove, where the boat is, the wind and the surge brought waves up over the shore and into the area where the boats were stored. The water softened the ground, and the combination of wind and soft ground caused three boats to blow over. Into The Blue stayed safe on her cradle, but one of the sailboats in front of us blew over when a stand dug in, and came to rest with its mast resting on the powerboat beside it. The big docks that normally mark the outer edge of the marina, the only docks that stay in during the winter, were almost all blown off their moorings, and some of them badly damaged. The overall conditions might have been less severe but, thanks to the wind direction and the surge, the damage at the marina was worse than the damage there in Hurricane Juan. Nature is a very powerful force.

Now it’s the beginning of March, and the ice is melting out of the small lakes. The water birds are enjoying the change, feeding happily in the water, and in the mornings we can hear other birds singing, see them in the trees, on the wires, on the roofs. The days are growing longer. The Spring brush fire season has started. Time for us to start working on the boat...

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...

Winter Pictures from Dartmouth

Back in winter clothes again - something we had planned not to do! A winter walk on a sunny day to Albro Lake, not far from the apartment we are spending winter in.



This is Albro Lake, one of the many lakes in this city of lakes and just down the road from our apartment. This day it was frozen enough for the ice fishermen to venture out on.




The view from one of our windows after the snow has fallen and the plough has cleared the parking lot next door. Snow and more snow...














True to the pattern of this winter - after the snow, the thaw, and a day that is warmer, wet and rather windy.








There were ducks at the lake. We watched as they came in for three-point landings, sliding across the ice and occasionally into each other or a nearby seagull. The signs told us not to feed the birds, but they came over to check us out as a source for possible goodies anyway.

Dartmouth Winter

Winter continues, even as Spring tries to make her presence felt. Into The Blue has spent many days pulling at her ropes at Dartmouth Yacht Club; we visit to check on her and them, and to dry out her insides and contemplate the coming work we will tackle in Spring. On his last visit, Richard found her demanding attention now, water inside the boat above the floor boards. Marine growth has blocked her cockpit drains again, and water will go wherever it can find a way. We are grateful for promises of warmth, though the weather systems full of wind and snow and rain continue to blow through. It is difficult still for us to do much, but time to do what must be done and what we can. When we visit we often hear others working on land, under tarps and covers - the sound of sanders and grinders and other various electrically driven tools. We are planning and deciding on our priorities, and hoping that not too many things leap up to demand they be moved to the head of the line. Top of our list is pulling the boat and doing all the bottom paint and checking the rudder - not because the rudder is giving any indication of problems, but because it is awfully hard to sail without a rudder...

Meantime the Halifax Boat Show has been a welcome sign that winter will end and we will join the many others out on the water in their boats. This boat show is a little smaller than the Toronto Boat Show, and a little later - but a great place to seek out resources, talk to people and learn what’s new and what’s hot - like electric outboards and all kinds of self-powered craft. We were able to talk to manufacturer’s representatives and distributors, and see, touch and ask questions about a few things we were particularly interested in, like the Cobb Cooker and the Klepper Folding Kayak. And a place to spend an enjoyable and interesting day.

A good variety of seminars were presented. We would have liked to have visited more, but on the day we were there we chose the ones which interested us most, and not surprisingly those had to do with sailing the oceans. Derek Hatfield, Canada’s entry in the single-handed, round the world Vendee Globe race, gave an interesting talk illustrated with slides and clips showing the building and testing of Spirit of Canada, his present Open 60 ocean racer, and from the Around Alone he competed in in 2002. His slide/video show had wonderful pictures of life at sea in all kinds of conditions. His story is one of persistence and courage, and of reaching out to Canadians of all kinds to offer and seek support. He is carrying the names of thousands of supporters around the world on the hull of his boat as he races, and will send them news of his race as he goes. And the burgees of clubs that support him will travel with him around the world aboard the Spirit of Canada before they make their way back to the clubs they came from, autographed and bringing a touch of history with them.

If Derek Hatfield’s story is one of sailing as fast as possible, Hubert Marcoux’s is about taking the slow route, and enjoying the stops along the way. His book “Around the World in 18 Years” tells the whole story, but we got a taste of it - some highlights of the special places he stopped at, the interesting people he met, his loss of his first boat and the building of his second, his arrival in Halifax, and the subsequent arrival of Hurricane Juan. The images of his boat driven up into the garden of a house by the Bedford Basin were haunting. He is rebuilding his boat here, and hopes to be back in the water this summer; we plan to keep an eye out for him and hope to see him from time to time on our travels.

In our wanderings around the show we came across some interesting booths. One was for the Mahone Bay Islands Conservation Association. In so many places we have visited islands are being sold, taken from the public domain, overtaken by development and in too many cases destroyed by it. Some of the destruction is obvious - erosion and vanishing shorelines and plants, made worse by attempts to control nature without understanding how she works. Some is much harder to see, but it’s effects will continue to be felt for years to come - the impact of such things as the invisible pollution of common chemicals and human waste. The same is true along the coast of Nova Scotia, where beauty beckons the developers in - and then, ironically, they destroy the very thing that attracted them in the first place. This association brings people and government bodies together to try to slow the process in Mahone Bay, where islands dot comparatively sheltered waters and offer interesting anchorages and places to explore. Rather than stand by and see destruction happen, the Conservation Association is working with some success to preserve the nature of the islands as much as possible, for ourselves and future generations to enjoy. We plan to sail to and explore Mahone Bay this summer.

Now we are thinking ahead to when we get back on the boat. Our sails have been assessed and repaired and are ready to fly again, we have found local sources for various things we need, we are feeling the itch to sail again. Now if winter would just turn into spring and spring to summer...