Captain Murph

After the latest updates to CaptMurph.com were posted, the cell phone announced the return of my Torqeedo electric outboard motor for the dinghy.  You'll recall it was shipped from St. Peters to Montreal for warranty repair.  The folks at Torqeedo said it was a software glitch in the tiller control, so they reloaded and all is fine.

With everything ready to sail, all Kelly and I needed was some good weather.  Thursday the 11th was forecasted to be 15 – 20 knots from the southwest, or directly against us and with 2 meter waves to boot.  Instead, I rented a car and drove to Lunenburg to play tourist.  The Friday to Sunday forecast was for 3 days of great weather (for a boat headed southwest) and I didn't want to miss a good day to make some miles, yet I didn't want to miss visiting Lunenburg.  So, I rented a car and drove to Lunenburg to play tourist on Thursday.

The famous schooner “Bluenose II” was in the midst of her complete refit.  It was great to visit the Fisheries Museum Store and walk about town, just absorbing the flavor of this town with buildings and atmosphere reminiscent of the sailing era of 100 to 300 years ago.

Early Friday morning, I slipped Kelly's lines and motored through the Halifax Harbour as the fog settled in thick and wet.  There were times you couldn't see even 1/16 of a mile.  For hours there was no visibility beyond a quarter mile.  The radar, chartplotter and GPS justified their expense, once again.

When the fog lifted about 10am I could see the shoreline, but many areas were still hidden behind large patches of gray mist.  As we turned into Lunenburg Bay, Cross Island was nearly invisible as Kelly IV passed only a half mile away.

Once well into the bay and approaching the harbor, the sun came out and brightened everything to the rich colors you see in the photos.  I took a walk through town searching for free internet (none) and enjoyed guitar music at a hotel restaurant while I lost myself in my current book.  I've been reading regularly throughout the trip as books don't require any electricity or fuel, or even wind!  :-)

The mileage to Liverpool, our next destination, was short so we didn't depart until after a hot breakfast of oatmeal.  With no fog it was a brilliant morning to be enjoying the waters of Nova Scotia.  Two dolphins agreed and burst past Kelly IV as we motored by.

Liverpool came so quickly that I checked the chart and decided to press a few miles further and drop anchor off the white sand beach at Port Mouton (say: “muh-TOON).  It was a terrific anchorage for all but northeasterlies and we expected only southwesterlies, then no wind at all.  The sunset and moonrise were nothing short of spectacular.  Check the Nova Scotia Photos for full size images of God's handiwork.

We were off before dawn and had a brief bit of excitement when the chartplotter froze, but a quick reboot and all was well.  It was another quiet, beautiful day as the sun rose over Kelly and I.  As I turned southwest, I noticed what first seemed to be a freighter on the horizon.  Upon closer inspection, I was shocked to see a small fishing boat perched serenely on top of a very tiny rocky island, about 5 miles off shore.  I spoke with folks when I arrived at Shelburne and no one seems to know how the boat got there, but it has been through 15 years without being swept off its perch by storms, ice, or hurricanes.  (Some weeks later, Peter Loveridge, Cruising Guide to Nova Scotia author, sent me the details about the boat on Little Hope Island.)

Shelburne is a nice little town with a very friendly, accommodating yacht club.  Kelly and I stayed on a mooring and met several great folks as we waited for better weather to round Cape Sable, the southwestern corner of Nova Scotia.  Cape Sable is known for its extremely tough tide rips due to the large tides rushing past as they fill and empty the Bay of Fundy.

While at Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club, I met a couple in their 70s who are still cruising on their beautiful 48 foot motor yacht.  They invited me aboard for a wonderful dinner and conversation.  It was great to have their company for an evening.

Since it is only 200 miles across the Gulf of Maine from Shelburne, this is a popular port of call for cruisers making the jump from Nova Scotia to Maine.  Although the harbor is small, a large percentage of the sailors are long distance cruisers.  My little adventure traveling from the Great Lakes really pales to the tales of travel to and from Maine, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Florida and the Caribbean.  I am learning a lot from my cruising colleagues and have used much of their input in my route planning for the weeks ahead.

Kelly IV and I have now traveled over 1909 nautical miles from Erie, PA.