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.