Grand Bruit

 Another sunny day and another sail / motor. This time we were headed to Grand Bruit. With the route planned out, we turned into the wind to take down the mainsail. With swell and rising wind it was a bouncy process. Next step was to roll up the genoa so we could work our way under motor through the rocks and islands. Well…. As we began the trip the engine began to overheat! Shut it off! Genoa back out about half way. Fortunately the wind direction allowed us to keep heading for the harbour. Entering the harbour, it was difficult to slow down. We argued about which wharf to use on opposite sides of the bay. To me, one looked decrepit and the other was sturdy but had “No Trespassing” signs on it. I chose the latter.

In fairness, I had no idea how old the sign was. I knew that the town had been resettled in 2010 so there were no permanent residents. The dock had a pile of new looking lobster traps on it. 

Our first thought was that the impeller had failed. Nope, slightly misshapen but functional. Alan then checked the raw water intake. Bingo! It was clogged with sea grass.

 

The town of Grand Bruit (Big Noise) was named after the waterfall in the middle of town.

Wandering through town we looked at the all of the houses in various states of disrepair. Most had not been touched for 16 years. Occasionally, residents would come and spend some time in the summer but there were no services. No water, electricity, cell service etc. Looking in the windows it was clear that many had just walked out and left it the way it was. It was eerie.

The church was finally beginning to fall down in the last couple of years.

The scenery was still beautiful and I could tell why the residents had loved the town like so many that had been resettled when the cod fishery had died. Just as we were leaving, we met the only person , Jonathan, in town. He was living with the help of solar panels and a backup generator. His father still had a permit for lobster fishing, so perhaps the traps were his.

Weather was dictating our progress and we wanted to be somewhere safe by the end of the day. Off to Ramea Island,

Rose Blanche

After a lovely sail / motor our next stop was Rose Blanche. This is the Newfoundland pronunciation Roche Blanche after the white rocks you see from the sea. This town is at the end of the road from Port aux Basques. After that, towns are have either been resettled or are accessible by ferry. Rose Blanche is a protected harbour, we tied to the Government Wharf.

It was importantly to remember how to tie up to allow for the tide, leaving plenty of slack so we don’t end up hanging from our mooring lines. The rates were reasonable at $25 a night and we paid an extra $10 for power as we were having issues with our freezer. 

Alan took his bike out for a ride up the path to the lighthouse. 

Alan….This lighthouse was in sad shape until the townspeople took on the project of restoring it. The only thing holding the structure up was the circular staircase to the light. A local group with help of government grants rebuilt it. They were able to reuse 70% of the original stone. The rest they quarried close by. It is made with two walls with sand to stabilize the building. 

The coal stove and the classic Sunday evening  table setting in the lighthouse. 

In the fishing museum a noted model ship builder works are exhibited. The Eaton’s catalogue was an important fixture in the outport’s life.

A view from high up, near the lighthouse of the harbour. Voila is in the centre. You can see the radar reflector if you squint.  

Above is the club house. I met three retired men, one was in the Navy, the other two were in the merchant marine on the lakes. They did not work locally, but sent their salaries home to their wives. They shared moose meat with me. 

0 dark hundred

 Friday July 10.  After charging up, and stocking up in Baddeck it was time to be on our way. The harbourmaster recommended that we leave at High Tide Sydney - 04:44 in order to catch the slack tide at the cut at Big Bras D’Or. Well we left on time.

Lack of wind meant that this was going to be a motorboat day. What we didn't expect was to have current against us for the whole trip. Up to 2 knots. That meant that we were about 30 minutes late for the cut. Fortunately due to the complete lack of wind, the 2 knots against us did not cause any issues other than slowing us down. After that 20 miles, we still had 40 more to go to get to Dingwall. All of our friends told us it was an easy entrance, but the chart said “do not enter without local knowledge” which made me a little nervous. Weather got wet and we appreciated the back drop we had made in the UK.

We arrived about 1800h and the entrance was pretty straightforward . After working our way past the fishing boats to a protected little hole in the back of the harbour we dropped anchor. A light supper and off to bed. 

After looking at the weather forecast we decided to head out the next morning. It looked like the best day.

Sunshine and wind! We sailed for a bit and then got impatient when the wind dropped to 5-7 so we switched on the motor. We should have known better. After half an hour the wind went back up and continued to increase. Most of the day we had a broad reach with winds 15 to 18 kts. 

Absolutely gorgeous. By 1800h we had dropped anchor in a lovely little spot called Squids Hole - about 1/2 a male from the town of Isle aux Morts. 

We made it to Newfoundland and Labrador!!

The next day was a rest day. 

On Monday we took the dinghy into town to explore a little. After we tied up we talked to a friendly local, who was cleaning his catch, if there was anywhere in town we could buy fish.”Nope” Would he sell us some of his catch? “Nope” “But I’ll give you some” He then proceeded to bag up about 3 lbs af cleaned cod fillets. He asked if they would get warm before we returned to the boat as we had planned to go for a walk and then offered to put them in his freezer so we could pick them up on the way back as he lived only a could of houses from the dock. Such kindness.

Definitely a small town with not much going on. Car access meant all services and shops were in Port aux Basques. Alan was disappointed that the museum was closed.

Dinner that evening with our FRESH cod.

Currently still in Squids Hole waiting out weather.

 

We are on our way.

It has been another month. Suffice it to say there has been more cold weather and some mechanical setbacks. Summer actually arrived about the first day of summer. Surprise ! Since then we have had lovely weather. Mostly sunny and a high between 18 and 29’C. The boat has been another challenge. The VHF radio stopped receiving intelligibly. Everyone kept telling us it was the antenna. So we worked on that for several days. We changed out the radio wiring. Neither helped. We finally called the manufacturer in California and within 30 seconds Alan was speaking to a technician. “It is broken, you can send it back and for a nominal charge it can be repaired” . The problem with that is two border crossings. Mutter mutter “international clients”  We decided to order a new one from Halifax which was delivered in a couple of days due to the Canada Day festivities. It works great. We have also had an issue with the anemometer. I think Alan went up the mast 5 times. It was also finally replaced and works well now. The electricity on Voila has been temperamental. But we are slowly solving that issue. Our new Starlink draws more power than expected. The freezer was being difficult but seems to be working now.

On to the fun stuff. We have chatted with a variety of cruisers, both local and international. Several boats that are also members of the Ocean Cruising Club. Canada Day was a fun family event at the marina.

In between chores we have taken a few short cruises. The bays around the lake are gorgeous. 

It has been fun showing a local couple some of the basics. It must be so much fun to be learning all of this for the first time and they are so enthusiastic.

We are currently in Baddeck on Cape Breton. Our plan is to head out at 04:30 tomorrow through the cut and all the way to Dingwall. From there, probably the following day, we will head to Ile aux Morts in Newfoundland. 
 

Finally Sailing

 Once the mast was up, it took us nearly a week to tune the rig and bend on the sails. The wind has been howling and the weather wet. We spent one day driving the hour to Sydney in the rain for supplies. Definitely too miserable for any sightseeing. On the way home we drove through the slush falling from the sky. We were too close to the water for accumulation but some parts of Cape Breton turned white. 

I would like to say that I am truly grateful for our diesel heater that has worked flawlessly for the past month. 

On Sunday we said goodbye to our friends from the Falklands as they were to set off for The Azores the next morning. Yesterday, Thursday, we finally set off for a small shake down. We didn’t go far, sailing under genoa with about 15kt winds. I don’t know for sure because we are waiting for parts to fix the anemometer. We are currently anchored in Damion’s Cove, catching up on more chores lol. The temperature has finally reached the 20’C mark and Alan is making bread. I think we are settling in.

 

Launch Day!

May 20

The weather Gods were smiling down on us. A Wednesday evening and it was sunny and relatively warm. The truck and trailer arrived to start our journey into Bras D’Or Lake.

Everything went smoothly and we were eventually safely tied into a slip with some help of our neighbours. There is quite a community of sailors here. BC, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, France and the Falkland Islands along with the local sailors.

The following Sunday we headed back to the crane to have our mast raised. Due to power lines all sailboats must have their masts lowered. In addition to putting the spreaders and radar back on, Alan has been having fun helping others with their rigging.  

2026. The Season Begins

 May 7th - It is amazing the difference in our thought process between driving to the boat and flying overseas to the boat. So much stuff. It has always bothered me when we give away or throw out so much food that will not survive the 6 months in a really warm environment. This time I brought it with me. Since it is familiar to shop in stores I know, there were also many items we picked up to take with us. Alan on the other hand, kept added to a to-do list for Voila and the parts needed to complete the projects. 

We finally packed up the van and departed on May 7th, in the pouring rain and cold temperatures. Funnily enough, our first stop was a marine store in Quebec City. 

I had discovered the flares are very difficult to acquire, in spite of the fact that they are legally required. I assume they are also required for fishing boats too but I digress. 

Time for lunch so we stopped for a picnic in the car next to the river.

We stopped for a couple of hours to visit friends in Levis. It was fun to catch up and talk sailing among other things.  Onward towards the maritimes. We stopped for the night in Edmundston NB. Dinner was fun at a place with burgers, Mac and cheese and Mexican food.

 

We were up early the next morning. We stopped in Grand Falls for another picnic. This is a beautiful spot. The falls even have a tunnel underneath which provides local power. A zip line across the falls keeps adventure seekers happy in the summer.

The next stop was to feed my knitting habit. The Briggs and Little mill is the oldest continually operating mill in Canada . I couldn’t leave without some “souvenirs”

Coffee next to the World’s Biggest blueberry.

Finally on to our destination for the weekend, our daughter’s place in Moncton. It was fun to spend the weekend with Christina and Ken. They took us out for Mother’s Day day dinner of fish and chips. We ate Ice Cream outside with no worries about the ice cream melting.

Finally it was time to head to St. Peter’s Lion’s Club Marina. The weather had not improved. More rain and temperatures only slightly above freezing. After checking in with the marina and checking on Voila we chose to spoil ourselves with a stay at the Pepperell Inn for a few days.

The next couple of weeks were spent doing the “projects” and putting away the provisions, clothes and other misc stuff. Alan fixed a leak around the fill pipes.

When we went to put in the drain plug in the hull we discovered that it was stripped and fell out. Definitely not a good thing. I complain a lot about the amount of stuff Alan holds on to but I was relieved to discover that he had heard about an issue with the plug and purchased a new one - something like 15 years ago! Another project on the list.

All of this was completed while a surveyor worked around us to complete a required insurance survey.

All of this time the weather had been well below 10’C in the daytime and hovering around freezing at night. Rain probably 6 days out of 7.  It was finally time to cut off Voila’s protective blanket on a rare sunny day.