We’ve been lucky so far. Other than a few challenges, it’s been pretty smooth sailing (ha ha…. get it?). Well that may change for a while. We were dreaming of sailing into the Bras d’Or Lakes on Cape Breton as the next phase of our journey. Some say this is the most beautiful cruising area in North America. Today the wind is blasting out of the south, scuttling our plan to transit the Canso Canal, the Lennox Passage and the St. Peter’s Canal into the Bras d’Or today. There are a few days of reasonable conditions coming up, making it possible to do that on Sunday. However, if we do, we would be stranded in the Bras d’Or for a week or more. The wind will return to blasting out of the Southwest, the exact direction in which we need to travel, for as far out as weather forecasts show. While there are worse places to wait out a weather window, that could stress our schedule. So, we made the hard decision to miss the Bras d’Or and use the favorable weather window to sail on down to Halifax, where we’ll wait it out.
So how, we hear you ask, do you spend a day at anchor, waiting out bad weather? Well, you do maintenance on the boat, you read, play guitar, make phone calls, ride the dinghy to a nearby fishing port to dump the garbage that’s been accumulating, plan the next legs of your cruise, clean, etc. We had a skippers’ meeting on African Queen IV to work on routing for the next days followed by board games.
Jon and Cheri’s freezer pooped out a few days ago so they’re desperately trying to consume food before it goes bad. We’re always glad to help out friends in need. So after Friday’s delicious grilled pork chops and risotto, last night we enjoyed pasta bolognese and shepherds pie. It’s hard, but one makes sacrifices for one’s dear friends. Once we’ve consumed all their thawed food, we’ll be able to reciprocate, although it’s a hard act to follow!
Tomorrow, we attack the first leg of 110 nautical mile passage to Halifax. So sad to miss the Bras d’Or. But you can’t take on Mother Nature… she always wins.
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