Our niece Lucy and her fiancé, Tyler, joined us for some sailing in Canada. They are also sailors, having spent a year as liveaboards on their sailing catamaran. It was great to have them aboard and spend time with them!
Lucy and Tyler were ready for a passage to Massachusetts if the weather was right, but Hurricane Erin had different plans for us. Even though Erin passed well south of us, the storm created waves of 10-12 feet coming every 10 seconds or less. While traveling in that might be safe, it would be terribly unpleasant and even a bit scary. We switched gears and planned for some coastal cruising, and even that we had to modify a bit due to weather.
It was great to have guests that understood the need to be flexible with sailing plans. They were the ones who taught us the importance of switching from “plans” to “ideas” when route planning further out than a week or two. After a couple of days exploring Halifax and its “twin” city, Dartmouth, we moved only short distances along the coast (with waves 7-10 feet) and mostly explored deep into waterways that wove inland from the ocean.
We anchored in some of our favorite spots and a few new ones. Our most favorite in Nova Scotia thus far, and certainly in our top ten overall is a place called Rogues Roost. It is so named because privateers used to hide there, a great hiding spot from which to pop out and attack unsuspecting vessels. We were tucked into a private anchorage with no other boats in sight except groups of kayakers, and we were within a short dinghy ride to a great little hike to an overlook on a nearby island. The nearby wildlife — deer, eagles, herons — was a great addition.
Our week together included a bit of swimming, a bit of sailing, dinghy excursions, hikes and berry picking, and lots of great food and conversation together on the boat. Lucy and Tyler even taught us euchre.
All in all, a great week together, and we are grateful they made the journey to visit us. Following their visit, we all headed to the North Shore of Lake Superior (by plane!) for a family reunion. Tilia waited for us on a mooring ball at the Dartmouth Yacht Club, far up Halifax Harbor, out of harm’s way from any ocean weather.