Bonny in the St Peter's Canal
After sunny Monday, foggy Tuesday (9/11) arrived in Sherbrooke. I got the anchor up around 0815 and motored down the river in a flat foggy calm. There were still two hours of the flood to run and so I'd be punching the tide but I wanted to get past the shallow areas on a rising tide just in case.
As it turned out I found it surprisingly difficult to maintain my concentration and keep the boat in deep water and on one occasion we wandered off track enough to run aground again. This time though it seemed pretty clear where the deep water was and so I was able to reverse off the mud and back into the channel immediately.
The passage down the river and on to Tor Bay was very foggy. Sometimes there was enough wind to sail at others we had to motor. I chose a less than the most direct route in order to keep all islands and rocks to port which meant I only had to worry about stationary hard stuff on one side of the boat. Any echoes on the radar to starboard therefore had to be either boats or large navigation buoys. In the event nothing got very close.
We nosed slowly into Webber Bay in fog that lifted slightly and dropped the hook about 100 metres off the beach at around 7.15 pm. I briefly contemplated taking the dinghy ashore but the fog thickened again and so there didn't seem much point. Instead I lit the heater and cooked dinner - pork madallions. It wasn't ever so cold - with the heater on it's lowest setting I was soon down to a T-Shirt - it was more about providing some psychological comfort amidst the grey dampness outside. After dinner I read for a while (I'm working my way through Ian Rankin's, 'Rebus' novels) and then, with an early start beckoning, had an early night in preparation.
The fog was still there in the morning and we left without much appreciation of where we had spent the night.
Another full day's passage lay ahead before arriving at St Peter's and so I got the anchor up at 0740 and made sail. Despite the fog we had a decent breeze and were able to sail all the way.
The fog persisted until lunch time and then as we brought Canso Head abeam a long way off to port, the fog thinned and before long we had sun and blue sky and warmth and perfect summer sailing all the way to St Peter's canal. We arrived just after 6pm when the lock ceased operating and so spent the night moored up in the canal. The friendly lock keeper - a young woman - stopped on her way home and took my lines.
I took a walk into the rather nondescript 'village' of St Peters thinking I might treat myself to a meal ashore.
The restaurant at the St Peter's Inn was full however and so I made do with a 'small' pizza at a fast food place.
I only managed half of it and took the rest back to the boat for another meal.
Late that evening just as it was getting dark, a Northern Ireland boat arrived at the Canel. A big Halberg Rassey with plans to visit Greenland before returning to Ireland.
The next morning we transitted the lock together. They then headed up the lake to the main yachting centre at Badeck while Bonny turned left to visit St Peter's Marina. This was where I would be hauling Bonny out in August prior to flying home.
True to form the staff were very friendly helpful and competent. Two OCC boats I has met before were there, Ti'Ama and Kelper. The former left that afternoon to gi further up the lake, but it was great to have a quick catch-up with Michi and Steff before hand.
Andrez and Ali on Kelper were staying the night and that evening we all headed up to the folk music jam session that took place in the Marina lounge. Wonderful music it was too with half a dozen musicians sporting guitars, ukalaylies, a fiddle and a whistle...
Afterwards we chatted to some of the band one of whom was a local sailor as well.
The following day I did some shopping and went to visit another OCC boat, Idril. Jerry and Katy were Americans who sold up and had their dream aluminium explorer boat - a Garcia Exploration 45 - built in France in 2020 and had sailed much of Europe - the west coast of Scotland being their favourite cruising ground, as well as this side of the pond. They were on their second trip up to Newfoundland when Jerry slipped on the marina dock in the rain a week or so ago and badly tore the ligaments in a knee. He's currently recuperating and they're both hoping he recovers quickly enough to get to Newfoundland again this year.
They gave me useful tips about where to visit on Newfoundland and Jerry sent me a copy of his journal documenting their trip there last year. I left them feeling enthusiastic about the possibility of getting there myself this year and once back on board immediately started to examine the options and logistics given the need to be back in St Peter's by 12th August at the latest in order to lay the boat up prior to flying home on the 18th.
At the time of writing this - July 13, I reckon it's doable if I get a move on. I therefore left St Peter's on the afternoon of 12/7 and headed up the lake for an overnight stop at the pretty Cape George 'harbour' (an inlet surrounded trees).
The first and most pleasant anchorage was behind a spit with trees behind and a view over the lake in front but there were two local boats there and so I headed further in and dropped the hook....
I explored in the dinghy including over to the first anchorage. By the time I got there it was empty and so I decided to relocate Bonny....
After a short walk ashore on the spit and into the woods I cooked and ate dinner - time round off with fresh Cape Breton strawberries. Then more reading/research re the possible trip to Newfoundland.
By bedtime I had decided I would attempt it and so reduced my planned future stops in the lake to with the objective of exiting the northern access channel at the mouth of Great Bras D'Or by the 19th.
The following morning breakfast preparations were disturbed by one hell of a din from outside - I looked outside and spotted the culprit, a gull circling above the tree tops sqwarking horribly and repeatedly. Then I saw the cause of its excitement, a bald headed eagle perched in the tree tops below the circling gull.
The eagle seemed completely oblivious to the gull but I imagined 'him' saying to himself - "for goodness sake gull, get over it, you're spoiling it for the rest of us, you're no better rhan those wretched jet skis".
Today's (13/7) destination is therefore Campbells Cove on the Washabuck River - reputedly "a wild and unspoiled place"!
Before then I need to get through the Barra Straight road Bridge which lifts to let yachts through.
I got through with no problem.
The
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