Nova Scotia - Shelburne

We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Shelburne and highly recommend it as your first arrival port in Nova Scotia. Shelburne has a lot going for it as a great cruising destination.
The first order of business upon arriving in Shelburne is to check into Canadian Immigration/Customs. Yachts arriving from the US should dock or moor at the Shelburne Yacht Club (this is where Canadian Immigration wants you to be should they decide to inspect your vessel) then call Immigration using the public phone at the Club. A large sign gives you the phone number and procedures. Be sure to read the customs regulations (available on the internet) before arriving in Canada, as the amount of alcohol and tobacco that you can bring with you is very limited. Basically it is 1 bottle of alcohol OR 1.5liters of wine OR 24 12oz beer bottles. Above these limits you must pay an importation fee. Assuming you do not have to pay any importation fees, you will probably be allowed to complete the check-in over the phone. You will be given a check-in number that you post in a port window for the duration of your visit to Canada. Customs will ask you exactly where you are berthed for the first day/night in case they decide to send an inspector to check you out. Be prepared to be boarded by Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) boats that patrol the Nova Scotia coast inlets and bays. The RCMP try to intercept and check every foreign boat arriving and, given the small number of foreign cruisers in Nova Scotia, they are fairly successful . As we sailed up the bay towards Shelburne, flying our yellow Q flag, we were quickly surrounded by 3 RCMP boats and boarded. They were quite friendly and professional, but you would not want to have been trying to bring anything illegal into the country.
We also had our dog onboard. We had checked the requirements before departing and knew we had to have official documentation proving rabies vaccination for our specifically described dog, which we had. Customs asked us (over the phone) if we had the documentation and I said, yes. That was all that was required.
Customs/Immigration returning to the US was also relatively easy although you should try to arrive at an official port of entry to minimize any problems. Immigration is trying to inspect every vessel returning, unlike former times when only a phone call was normally required, so they want you to come into an entry port. We reentered the US at Provincetown which is not an entry port. We checked into Immigration via the 800 number and were directed to report ASAP to an entry port where we would be inspected. We eventually got around to doing that. The inspector was friendly and professional and, as we had nothing to declare, it was a quick check, just fill out and sign the paperwork. We had not previously acquired the customs decal and thus were directed to get on the internet and fill out the form and purchase the decal (the inspectors do not process the decals).
The Shelburne Yacht Club provides all the services a cruiser would need, which is good since they are basically the only transient yacht facility in town. They have gas and diesel plus water at the fueling dock. There is a small face dock where 3 to 4, 40 ft boats can tie up for $1/ft. They have approximately a dozen moorings for transients at $15 per night. If you anchor off the town you can still use the town dock or Yacht Club dock for landing your dinghy at $2.50 per night. (The Yacht Club collects the fee for use of the town dock). You can also purchase showers at the Club for $2. You do not have to be a member of a yacht Club to use the SYC facilities. They have limited laundry facilities but there is a good laundromat within easy walking distance from the Club. There is a bar and snackbar at the Club and a nice restaurant one block away. There is a very nice full-service grocery store with reasonable prices about a mile away, close enough to walk with a few bags of provisions.
There is a commercial port facility 1000 yards from the yacht club where you can dock for about 15 cents per foot and $6/day for 30 amp power but you will be berthed up on a fixed dock, with the fishing fleet. In cases of strong storms, the Yacht Club moves some of its boats over to the port facility in order to get berthed behind the breakwater. Given how friendly and interesting the local residents are, it might be neat to tie up to the commercial port for a few days.
There is also a boatyard with travel lift about a mile down the bay which can handle boat/engine repairs if required. The boatyard is not convenient to the town however without some means of transportation.
We chose to anchor right off the town pier and dinghy in/out to that pier. The town pier is actually a boat launching ramp with a floating dock for temporary mooring to support launch/recovery. There is room for two dinghies to tie up at the ends of the dock out of the way of boats being launched. Of course, during the 4 days we were anchored we never saw any boats launched or recovered.
One of aspects we really liked about Shelburne was the absence of crowds of tourists. Having arrived from Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket (and returning via Provincetown and Newport) we were accustomed (but didn’t like it) to having hundreds to a thousand boats at the town marinas, mooring and anchoring fields. The dinghy docks in most of these ports reminded us of the sea lions piled on top of the piers in San Francisco. The dinghies were normally 3 deep and you had to step from dinghy to dinghy to get to the pier. The towns were packed with tourists and restaurants and stores full. At Shelburne, there were never more than 4 boats anchored off the town. There were 3 boats at the Yacht Club pier and a couple in the mooring field. There were several (10-15) tourists in town, most touring Nova Scotia via car and/or staying at the national park across the bay from town. With the small number of visitors in town, it was quite common to start up a conversation with each person you met on the street, restaurant or museum. It was also common to bump into them repeatedly as you wandered around town.
The Shelburne waterfront museum complex is worth the $8 ticket to see the 4 museums that include: wooden ship building facility, dinghy building facility, town history, and a typical 18th century store/home.
When we visited the exchange rate was basically 1 to 1. Prices in stores/restaurants were slightly more than US (Virginia) prices, but lower than New England tourist towns. Gas/Diesel was about $6 per gallon, slightly more than the US (but the same as Nantucket).
We had excellent weather for the 5 days we were in Shelburne with day temperatures in the 70s and nights in the 60s. We had fog one morning until about 10 AM. We had rain two nights, but none during the day. We were surprised how warm it was ashore during the day given that we were freezing in 3 layers of thermals while sailing offshore the night before arriving, but there is a substantial temperature difference between the offshore waters and the land temperatures of Nova Scotia.
Unfortunately we quickly ran out of time to spend in Nova Scotia and could not proceed further north as we had a commitment to be back in Virginia by mid-September. It took us nearly two weeks to travel from Shelburne back to Norfolk as we dodged tropical storms and sat out frontal passages, jumping on the backside of each passing cold front to work our way south. Traveling south in September, 10-14 days is probably the best one can expect to reach the Chesapeake. Traveling north, it was 3 days from Norfolk to Martha’s Vineyard and 3 days from Nantucket to Shelburne.
In many ways, visiting Shelburne was like going back in time 25yrs to a simpler, safer, slower and less expensive time. We will definitely be making plans to return to Nova Scotia next summer.
More photos.

Nantucket Island

Sue and I sailed from Martha’s Vineyard to Nantucket today. We topped off with fuel and water at Vineyard Haven (quite reasonable fuel prices at Tisbury Wharf) and headed out east in zero wind conditions. That was not to last long. By the time we made the turn around East Chop, a SW breeze began to come up. We motor sailed for another hour as we had to charge batteries anyways. Once the batteries were at 80% we secured the engine and sailed at 5kts STW in 10-12kts of wind on the beam. Good news was the 2kt current carrying us due east towards our destination for SOG of 7kts. It was a fantastic sail. Sky was blue without even a puffy cumulus the entire day. Temp 75deg.
We watched a “parade” of classic boats heading back towards the mainland from Nantucket including several older America’s Cup racers, classic schooners and many others. Upon arrival, we learned this weekend was the “Classic Boat Race Challenge Weekend in Nantucket. There are still many beautiful classic boats here visiting in addition to the great ones that live here (not to mention all the sailing megayachts).
With the wind and tide in our favor, our trip over took 4 hours, covering about 22nm. The wind slowly increased along the way over and was about 15kts as we made the turn to the SE heading towards the harbor entrance. Seas were only 1-2ft the whole way. When we made the turn, the apparent wind came up to 17-19kts so we put 1 reef in the main and plunged ahead at 10deg heel and 6.5kts. It was fortunate we arrived in the early afternoon, about 1400, as the wind continued to build. Its been 20-25kts all afternoon. Great for our wind generator, we’ve been banking amps while charging the computer and phones. Too choppy for a dry dinghy ride to shore, so we are napping and emailing this afternoon. Will head ashore tomorrow am when, hopefully, the wind lets up some. We plan to sightsee a bit here, then head for Nova Scotia sometime later in the week. Weather looks good for several days.

Martha's Vineyard

We are currently anchored in Vineyard Haven, Martha's Vineyard. Today was laundry day, so we loaded the dinghy and rode into the town dock, boarded the bus for Oaks's Bluff, did the laundry, bus back to the dinghy and drop the laundry off in plastic bags in case it rains, then set off for sightseeing - all before noon. We toured several towns and the beaches along the eastern shore. Interestingly, each town has its own unique atmosphere/culture. Vineyard Haven is home to the "Black Dog" store, restaurant, bakery, and 3 tall sailing ships as shown in the photo. We had to take Gennie for a tour of the Black Dog establishment. She wasn't too impressed, but Sue found some great things to buy. The weather has been terrific, cool and clear, a welcome contrast to Virginia and the reason we headed up here in August. We watched thunderheads build over the island today and dump rain on the mainland. Too bad for them. Weather was great here. The sky colors are so "different" here than Virginia. Hard to explain in words, but definitely different. I see why the artists love to come to the Mass Cape/Islands areas. Tonight its full moon with a clear sky. Lovely. Monday we head for Nantucket, so our next update will be from there. Cheers from all the crew of Tides Inn.

Sailing Nirvana

We are experiencing sailing bliss. Since yesterday morning the sky has been blue, the winds steady at 10-15kts from NW or W, and seas 1-2ft. Yesterday morning we sailed with all 3 sails drawing on a beam reach across from NJ to offshore Long Island, then as the wind backed to the west we poled out the genoa and sailed downwind all afternoon AND all night long making about 4.5-5kts. We even had a 1kt current in our favor pushing us along. How great can it get.
Well, even better. Last night we both laid in the cockpit during the early morning hours 0100-0300 and watched the spectacular Perseid meteor showers. We saw over 20 meteors during that period, probably more than I've seen in my life before. One lit up the sky like lightening and left a glowing ion trail that lasted for many seconds. Finally I couldnt keep my eyes open any longer and headed below to our luxurious seaberth. What a fantastic day and night.
Today, its more of the same. The sky is blue, wind 10kts from west, seas 2ft. We have temporarily lost the tail current but it will be back when the tide changes. We're south of Block Island now and will arrive in Vineyard Sound at the change of the tide at 1500. Should be anchored in Tarpaulin Cove by supper time enjoying the sunset.
All is well with the world on Tides Inn. Even the dog is sleeping contentedly in Sue's lap.

The voyage to Martha's Vinyard

Sue and I finally departed on Sunday, following a surprise visit from our son and grandchildren on Sat. It turned out to our advantage as Sat winds were light and northerly and Sunday's forecast was southwesterlies and good SW and NW winds for the rest of the trip. We left Yorktown at 8am and sailed in 10-12kt SW winds across and out the Chesapeake with the tide crossing the bay bridge tunnel at about 1300, then turning north up the coast. We set the whisker pole and sailed NE up the coast wing-on-wing in 14-16kts of SW winds and building seas of 2-3ft. At 1700 we had our first thunderstorm roll through with winds to 30kts and light rain. We rolled in the gennie and put 2 reefs in the main in preparing for the storm. Other than a couple close lightning strikes and getting a little wet in our warm weather rain gear, it was no problem. Following the storm the wind kicked up and soon was 25kts gusting to 30, still from the SW. We still ran with the gennie poled out to windward with 2reefs in main and gennie. Making about 7-7.5kts. The ride was pretty wild sailing downwind in these conditions. The seas were up to 4-5ft with occasional higher trains. We were rolling 15-30deg either side of neutral or up 60deg at a time. All internals in the boat and the crew getting a good shaking up. Neither of us had taken any seasickness medicine as you never know which makes your feel worse, the medicine or the sea. The medicine bothers Sue more than me. Note to myself: take the medicine.
As night fell, things began to get interesting, as always. Around 2200 the new VHF DSC let out an ear piercing warning tone, automatically switching to the weather channel and announcing a severe thunderstorm warning: a squall line 30miles long, with nickle size hail and winds to 60kts! heading our way. I turned on the radar and could see the squall line coming over the bay and over the Eastern shore. It looked like most of it would pass in front of us. As we got closer I could see that most of it would pass in front, especially if we slowed down. We pulled in all sails and started motoring slowly on course, then I decided it would be an even better idea to turn 180deg and motor slowly away from the squall line. Nearly all the storms passed in front of us, until the last cell decided not to follow all the rest to the east but to head SE directly over our position. We were soon in a torrential downpour with lightning all around. I turned us back on course and we motored northerly as it was now shorter to exit this storm to the north. Two hours later we finally came out the northerly side, wet, cold, exhausted, miserable and definitely seasick. After the storm the forecast was for northwesterlies, but instead we still had very light SW winds and waves from all directions. We were a bobbing cork with no wind to stabilize the ride. Just what a seasick sailor hates. Sue and my appearance matched our dog Gennie who was making her first sea passage with us, and kept looking at us with her big lab eyes as if to say, "You guys have got to be crazy - you think this is fun?" We were now really wet, cold, tired and totally nauseas, three cold, wet puppies. I sent Sue below to get some sleep, adjusted the reefed sails as best I could (anticipating the strong NW winds forecasted) and we spent the next 4 hours rocking and rolling barely making 2-3kts to the north.
At 0500, the wind died completely and I started the motor waking Sue up. That was ok as it was her turn to come on watch and she could motor the boat northerly while I got some necessary sleep having not had any extended rest in 24hrs. We have the stbd settee set up with a lee cloth and it was the most luxurious bed I have ever gotten into. Pure heaven.
At 0800, I awoke feeling a different boat motion. The northwest winds had arrived. We set all 3 sails in 12kts of NW winds as sailed on course at 5-6kts. The sun was out, the cockpit was drying out and things were looking up - but we were still both a bit seasick. The sun really makes a difference though. At 1200, the wind died, so we cranked up the engine again. At 1400, the engine started losing rpms. I checked the Racor which was fine, but we were still dropping rpms. I changed the secondary filter on the engine, and problem solved. We were off and running again.
The forecast was for NW winds at 20. We had West winds at 4-6. At 1900, the NW winds finally arrived, quickly gusting to 20kts. We put two reefs in the main, 1 reef in genoa and zipped along on course. As darkness set in, the wind slowly eased to 12-14kts and our speed dropped to 3-4kts. We were severely undercanvased, and I kept thinking about letting some sail out, but reminded myself that I did not want to be reefing by myself in the middle of the night when the stronger forecasted winds arrived... so we carried on at 4kts. At 2200, the strong winds arrived going to 22-24 with gusts to 30. We were in good shape with 2 deep reefs in the main. I put out the staysail and put 3 reefs in the genny and we had a good balanced sailplan, sailing at about 6kts during the night. The winds stayed at 20+ all night long and we made good progress to the northeast, but the ride was rough as the waves built to 4-5ft. Our dog, Gennie, was not having a good time of it...scared on her first passage of the noise, the rocking, the banging, and besides, she had not gone to the bathroom in over 36hrs. She laid on the cockpit seat with her harness and tether on, just like her crewmates, and was ok as long as her companions were with her.
Tues morning brought bright sunshine again, winds down to 13-15 from the NW, and we zipped along on a beam reach with all 3 sails out fully deployed, making 6.5kts. The nausea was nearly gone, the sailing was perfect (other than 4-5ft bouncy conditions) and we were making good progress on course. These near perfect conditions lasted till noon, then the wind started backing around to the west (as correctly forecasted for the first time). By 1400, we were back to downwind sailing, so we redeployed the whisker pole. We sailed all afternoon and all night with light westerly winds off port quarter. The best news is Gennie finally let her bladder go this afternoon with our urging and is now resting peacefully with a smile on her face. She'll make a good seadog yet.
Yes, sailing has its scary and uncomfortable times, but its amazing how great it feels when the sun comes out and starts raising spirits. And when the beam reach kicks in with easy seas.... just great.

Departure

Finally leaving the pier on Sunday morning after a great visit from Christopher, Heather and grandkids. We're riding the tide out the Chesapeake in light winds this morning. Good news is that the winds will pick up later today and be out of the Southwest for most of the trip. Should be a speedy voyage. We'll try to send position updates a couple times a day - as long as the HF comms and weather allow. Should take a little under 3 days to get to Block Island area. Planning an arrival by Wed.
Off we go.

Heading for New England

Sue and I are heading north to New England, looks like tomorrow morning looking at the weather forecast. This has been a week of fairly unsettled weather along the mid-atlantic states, with a series of sinusoidal frontal systems moving west to east through the region, resulting in winds shifting from north to south back to north to south with some westerlies thrown in from time to time. I was hoping/looking for 48hrs of steady southwesterlies, very common for these August days, to take us from the Chesapeake to Martha’s Vinyard, but it never happened. (Looks like it might next week). Instead the winds have been shifting almost daily between north and south.
I had hoped to pick our departure day last Monday, looking for the best 48hr window. Each time I checked, however, the forecast model had changed. Now here it is Fri morning, and it still doesn’t look ideal for a nice downwind run, but at least there are no storms forecasted (looks very reliable) so I think we’ll head out tomorrow morning and just accept the 12-18hrs of light headwinds we will encounter until we can catch the SW winds forecasted further north on Sunday. Hopefully, the models wont change dramatically between now and Sunday – however, the track record is not promising.
So, with an increased understanding of the difficulty the weathermen have in making any accurate prediction over 24hrs, and the comfort of knowing none of the forecasts/models since Monday have predicted any winds over 20kts enroute and no major storms/gales, we’ll set out early tomorrow morning. The boat is all packed… we’re taking the cold foods down today… and we’ll spend the night on the boat, perhaps at anchor down the creek, and get a good night’s sleep before heading out at first light. Its about 5-6hrs to the ocean from our marina ( to southeast – taking advantage of the forecast northerlies tomorrow), then we’ll slowly try to work our way to the north into 5-10kts of northerlies until the southerlies kick in sometime tomorrow evening.
We’ll have HF email onboard so will be able to update our blog and the list with position reports and short emails describing the ocean sailing. Since we’re not on a schedule and there’s no bad weather forecasted, we’ll try to minimize motoring and sail where the wind blows us. Hopefully arriving somewhere near Martha’s Vinyard on Sun or Mon. We’ll be monitoring HF Maritime Net, 14300mhz most of the trip. Check our position each day using the link at the top of the blog.