Today we left Prince Edward Island and sailed across the Northumberland Strait to Caribou Island, Nova Scotia.
We had a beautiful sail with steady winds and calm seas. We sailed under the Confederation Bridge, an 8 mile (13 kilometer) bridge that spans the strait and connects Prince Edward Island to the mainland. This bridge opened in 1997. It is Canada’s longest bridge and the world’s longest over ice (not this time of year, fortunately).
We tucked into an anchorage behind Caribou Island, NS, one of two stops on the way to the Strait of Canso, which separates Cape Breton, the Northeast Island of Nova Scotia, from the rest.
Anchoring was interesting because the wind direction was 180º opposed to the tidal current. In order to anchor, we needed to point the bow against the stronger of the two forces in order to push the boat backwards, to ensure that the anchor chain laid nice and flat on the ocean floor for optimal holding. It wasn’t always clear which was the stronger force, but we got it right on the second try.
The highlight of the day was taking dinghy, Lil’ North, over to a nearby beach. It was low tide and wherever we looked, there were vertical squirts of water coming up through the sand. Under each of those squirts, buried in the sand, was a bar clam! The sea-life here was so abundant, with crabs, clams, snails, and oysters. Jon even spotted a baby lobster. We wandered the beach and observed the sea life.
The evening was capped by a barbecue dinner accompanied by another beautiful sunset, and some Mozart in the background.
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