We had hoped our first stop after leaving Baddeck would be Iona, a small town at the junction of the two Bras d’Or Lakes. However, the wind had a different idea. The anchorage there was exposed to the northwest, and we had winds from that direction much of the day. The large fetch (the distance over water that the wind travels) created big waves. As soon as we got there, we knew it wouldn’t work.
We backtracked just a few miles (not a hardship, we were sailing in all that wind!) to a beautiful, well protected spot, Maskell’s Harbour — Jim had learned about it from a couple of sailors at the Royal NS Yacht Squadron, our previous marina in Halifax. After we anchored, three powerboats arrived and rafted together nearby. When their music started up, we crossed our fingers that they’d be headed home before dark, and we were delighted when they did! Once they left, we shared the harbor with only one other boat. It was a lovely, quiet spot, and Anne was able to paddle board to shore to do some exploring. After the dog experience in the Bahamas, she always carries a radio to shore.
After a quiet night at Maskell’s Harbour, the wind had shifted, and we headed back to Iona. We had planned a short day of sailing so that we could explore the Iona Highland Village, a museum comprised of many buildings over more than 40 acres, representing life in the 18 and 19th century in Gaelic villages. Imagine our dismay when we got there (it was an hour walk uphill) to find they’d had a power outage and weren’t open! We were at least able to walk the property, reading the plaques and peering in windows of many of the buildings. When we returned to the boat, we opted to travel on before anchoring for the night. We knew that would set us up well to go through St. Peter’s lock back into the Atlantic early the next morning.
We made our way to our last anchorage in the Bras d’Or Lakes at Doctor Island. Amusingly, there are multiple places called Doctor Island throughout Nova Scotia and even in the Bras d’Or lakes. Our trip through the Bras d’Or lakes was a great experience. We rarely had to share an anchorage and never felt crowded. The beautiful scenery often reminded us of the north shore of Lake Superior.