Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada
Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sat 4 Aug 2012 15:08
| Having enjoyed Halifax so much we decided on another stop before leaving Nova Scotia. The problem we had was that it was a long way to the next real port that we could get into, Sherbourne. We had two options, an overnight sail down the coast, or a long day trip to Port Mouton, followed by a shorter day to Sherbourne. Feeling lazy, we opted for the latter. The first day was fairly uneventful and we part sailed and part motored our way for the 85 miles to Port Mouton. 85 miles by boat is a lot in a day, bearing in mind we go about 7 miles an hour on average, and the tides and currents are both generally against you going back west, so we didn't anchor up until about 8.30pm. The great thing is we still had full daylight and watched a spectacular sunset whilst drinking a well deserved beer and waiting for the dinner to cook. We were anchored off a beach which was a gorgeous long white sandy stretch, reminiscent of the Caribbean. As we watched the sunset we chewed over the idea of staying an extra night here to explore, and came to the decision that we would let the weather decide - if it was a sparkling day we would stay, if not we would leave. Day 2 was a different matter altogether. We set off again quite early, and were leaving in pouring rain, with limited visibility due to rain and fog, and heading into a 25 mile an hour wind, a strong tide, and 3 metre waves - oh happy days!! We had about 40 miles to do and unfortunately for John he had to do most of the sailing as I was struck down by seasickness and spent most of the day lying on the sofa in the saloon groaning!! I had tried the stugeron tablets again with my electric band, due to the problems with the patches, and they just weren't working. Just when I thought that I couldn't take any more, and John had been telling me for what seemed like hours that the conditions would get better in 5 miles, we turned the corner into the river leading to Shelbourne and it was like a miracle - I was cured!! Simply turning the boat a different angle to the waves, along with the fact that we were now largely sheltered from the wind and the waves, and that was it - marvellous. I was then starving as I hadn't been able to eat all day and started raiding the fridge! We grabbed the last mooring in the harbour and set about tidying up before nipping ashore to see what Shelbourne had to offer. Thursday had been nominated a jobs day as the weather was not meant to be brill and we awoke to pouring rain, so no excuses then! John was going to service the generator and I was on general cleaning duty. As ever things did not go to plan and the oil extractor pump, an essential pice of kit failed. John bravely went ashore in full oilies, but didn't manage to get a replacement. A full service was then impossible , but we did manage to change the impellor which is the important bit as it keeps the generator cool when it's running. Despite this set back, by the end of the day we had done a part service of the generator, all the laundry at the local laundromat, and spent 2 hours fixing a leak on the kitchen tap, which was only new about a week or 2 ago. After our 'day' of jobs, a day off was called for and Shelbourne has a few museums dedicated to it's ship building past. It is most famous for the Shelbourne dory. These are small rowing boats, about 19 feet long, which would have been used on the old fishing schooners. The schooners would have had about 5/6 depending on the schooner size stacked on the bow and they would have been used by the crew for fishing - either hand lining or with nets. Fishing in this way off the Grand Banks near Canada, was incredibly dangerous and very often the dories couldn't find there way back to the mother ship due to bad weather and fog (this seems to be a recurring theme doesn't it?) Lunch was at a highly recommended fish shop which served delicious fish and chips and was also a fish market as well - it doesn't get much fresher! In the evening we had a bit of a gathering on our boat, two couples who are also members of the Ocean Cruising Club, were in the harbour and we spent a pleasant evening exchanging stories and picking each others brains about places to visit. Saturday in Shelbourne was a big day and one of the reasons we decided to hang around a bit longer. The yacht club where we had been a few times were having a big race day, followed by a dock party, and at nighttime it was the Annual Street Dance party in town. It was a blazing hot day and after brunch, where we were unwittingly entertained by the kids learning to sail dinghys, there were regular shouts of " I'm going backwards", 'I need a bailer", and the best one, "my rudder has fallen off", (that's the steering bit), we went for a wander through the farmers market and then headed back to sunbathe on deck - I couldn't believe we were sunbathing in Canada, not after what we heard about the weather here last year - amazing! The dock party was a bit tricky for us as our boat was out on mooring so we stayed on board, and barbecued before going ashore to the street dance. Unusually for anything in Canada or the USA, the party didn't start until 9pm and finished at 1am. By about 10.30 the street was packed, the temperature hadn't really dropped much and it was a balmy evening and the whole town turned out - I think it is probably the event of the year, everyone from teenagers to grannies were dancing on the street to a rock and roll band, definitely an experience! Late nights mean late starts, and Sunday was again a gorgeous day, so we went cycling to blow the cobwebs away! We cycled around to Islands' Park, a beautiful nature reserve just outside Shelburne. In the evening, we had planned another BBQ, but just as we were getting things together, the fog dropped. You can never quite tell when it is going to happen and it can sometimes take you by surprise. Not to be put off by a bit of fog, you actually could barely see the end of the boat, John set out with his bowl of marinated salmon in one hand and the new BBQ tongs and fish slice in the other. I was in the kitchen doing the girly bit, making a salad, when I saw a flash of red shoot by the window - odd I think, and carry on chopping, then I hear a splash. I rushed outside to see John swimming back towards the boat! He had gone overboard on the way to the BBQ!! I soon realised that apart from being a bit wet and more than a little shamefaced, he was basically OK, but it took me a little while to understand how this had happened. This is John's version. First let me set the scene again, it is very foggy and the visibility is somewhat reduced, (you can however see to the end of the boat), John has left the kitchen with the bowl, tongs, fish slice and a cedar plank for the BBQ. He had also requested a spare plate, but decided to come back for this. He then went out, and went back towards the BBQ. To avoid the standing on the seating area cushions, ( why I don't know - he doesn't usually bother), he went out to the side of the boat, meaning to step over the main sheet line, and this is where it all went wrong. One foot went over the line, but the other didn't, as he started to fall forward, he decided that it might hurt less if he went all the way over rather than land on the guardrails and basically threw himself overboard, only realising once he was halfway that it might be a bit cold. So over went John, who we got back, as well as the marinated salmon in the bowl and the tongs, all of which went to Davy Jone's Locker. Some poor unsuspecting seagull is going to get a very interestingly flavoured catch when he gets that piece of salmon! I was most put out to discover that the only useful thing saved, apart from John, obviously, was the fish slice, the tongs were new and the bowl was part of a set!! John has now learnt a valuable lesson, his 'one hand for the boat, and one hand for you' rule is not one he has previously stuck to when not sailing, but this has now changed, he is a reformed character (I think)! I have also managed to get a new bowl, it's not quite the same style and shape, but it stacks very nicely in the set! Our next sail will be the return trip to Bar Harbour, Maine, which will be an overnighter as it is 180 miles, so we spent a grey miserable morning planning the trip, and also our stopovers for the next few weeks leading up to our return to the UK at the end of September for a short break. |