Necessity is in Ingonish Harbour at the northern end of Cape Breton Island
Necessity
Eva and Jan Fr. Mack
Mon 24 Jun 2013 01:11
We have made quite a jump up the coast with a few scenic stops. First we went to Portage Cove close to Canso, a major hob north on Nova Scotia. That should have been the perfect sail, but then you have the lobster pots. They are not counted in the dozens. There are hundreds. All over! Coming out from Spry harbor the wind was light, so we had to motor. Not good with lines crisscrossing among the pots. It had to happen, and there we were anchored to a lobster pot. The water was less than tempting - approximately 6-8 degrees celsius. I don't like swimming in that temperature, and even less working under the boat. This was a job that would take more than a minute. The situation was not entirely new on Necessity. Close to Cape Horn the same happened. At that time we designed a wet suit made of long undies, wool sweater, rain gear and "McIver" (duct) tape. It becomes surprisingly watertight, and it definitely keeps much of the cold out. 20 minutes work, some help from Hans-Jacob and I was ready to dive. Five minutes later Necessity was ready to go. I was wet and a bit cold, and I hadn't even got a lobster to show for it, but we were happy to be free. Then the wind came, and the sailing was perfect. So was the anchorage in Portage Harbour. A little rum, a good meal, the heater on (it can be damn cold up here) and another rum. We were ready for bed and slept like hogs.
The next day we were off to Censo less than an hour away. They had a very good grocery store, a good laundry and some fishermen gave us some snow crabs for free, but heaven behold, no internet. We made a quick exit towards Cape Breton Island across the strait. That is a very different place from Canso. There is a canal running through the island. At the beginning of the beautiful canal you can tie up to the wall, and there is broadband mobile internet.
Today we have transited the canal and the lakes, and we are now anchored at the northern tip of Cape Breton Island. Again we are without internet, so this little text will be posted by shortwave radio. Tomorrow we will head for Newfoundland. Will there be internet? I am not at all sure about that.
Jan Fr. 23.06.13
ps It is midsummer night and according to Scandinavian tradition we celebrate around a bonfire on the beach. There was actually a bonfire on the other side of this bay, so maybe there was a celebration on - or maybe not. It is long gone by now. They were probably just burning garbage.
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