Small Boat Race

Lunenburg

So currently in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. I little but of a touristy town but it has what I need...a sail repair place and a boat repair place. Since the beginning of my trip my roller furler was a little sticky. Was having trouble pulling in and pulling out the sail. On the way into the harbor it was completely jammed. I pulled in, anchored and slept to deal with the headache of figuring out what to do in the morning. Thank goodness for Internet. Google brought me right to what I needed- "Covey Island yacht repair." John the owner himself came out the boat to have a look. We took the sail down and inspected the swivel...very grindy. He went back to the shop to make a call to the manufacturer. I dreaded the news...hoping desperately I would not have to take down the mast or undo the fore-stay to get this thing off and wait for a few days of shipping for a new one to come. But good news just dump some boiling water through it and work it a little hopefully dissolving salt that may have gotten in there. It worked! Nothing like a little home remedy to get things working again. One problem solved! Thanks John! But another one came about while removing the front sail. While I was just rolling it up...it ripped. Thankfully there is a sail maker just down the street. They looked at it and scolded me for not having the UV protection on the edges, which is what caused the tear. I felt like a child being scolded by her mother for not putting on my sun screen. They made me bring in the rest of my sails before they allowed me to do anything else. Thankfully, my other front sail was in working condition, solving the issue of a front sail, leaving yet another issue. This one had the UV protection but on the wrong side. No problem, just unfurl the furler and roll it up the opposite way. The main sail, on the other hand, needed a little beefing up. (This is the one that I hand stitched at seam that blew) so all for the price of $135 dollars I have a more trust worthy mail sail with stronger seems and a little bit of a face lift. It was done in record time. Done the next day!!! Thank you to my new girl friends at North Sails Atlantic!!! I have never been in a sail loft before...so cool, huge sewing machines in floor and a hole for the person sewing to sit in. Huge room, but not big enough for some of the sails they get. They said that its not uncommon for them for measuring purposes to pull the sail through the doors to into and across the street!!! Any way, a good stop and learning a lot.

Halifax

Dartmouth Scottish Festival

Trains in Dartmouth

Halifax Harbour

Chanty Sails

St. Peter's Canal

This whole incident was very confusing to me. The bridge in the picture is a swing bridge and I need the call the bridge master for him to open it. So I tie up and see this sign (above)...looking for some phone number written to call (as the sign seems to indicate) someone to let me through. I neglected to see this little phone with the box closed. Any way, I call on the VHF radio to the coast guard to see what I am supposed to do, they suggest a few channels for me to call the bridge master on...no luck. I walk up to the little control house...no one there. I come back down and stand in front of the sign for a little while, scratching my head at this confusing sign with no phone number. I see the box...proceed to force it open (a little rusty on the hinges). I feel a little like i am geocaching...so close to finding the cache just looking for a clue. A phone is inside...I pick up the phone and it starts ringing...a girl answers...I am not even sure what to say...-long pause-... I am on the telephone and feel I should introduce myself, say my first name and in a long complicated way I tell them what I need because I don't really know who I am calling. Some home down the street who comes down to open this bridge or something? After the long pause I force myself to remember that just because I am physically on land and speaking on the telephone I have to talk in boat terms. "This is sailing vessel Chanty requesting passage through the St Peters Canal swing bridge." It was all very weird. Its sort of like seeing some one you work with at the grocery store with street cloths instead of a uniform and wondering to yourself...how do I know that person. Out of context. Then (totally unrelated) a bunch of people (well maybe 3-4) with cameras show up and start taking pictures of the boat as if someone send out a memo..." boat going through swing bridge...don't miss it" Even more weird...one starts running to get a shot from the front of the boat but she couldn't run fast enough. Every time she stops there isn't quite enough time for her to take the picture. I felt a little bad and slow down for her. It was just a weird experience. I wonder if I said "weird" enough times.

The latest

Some very needed blue skis!

Handy Dandy sea swing...my stove

Steve in the usual foul weather gear we ALWAYS had to wear for the rainy weather, oh ya...and the hail!

The latest is...Steve hopped of the boat last Monday at the Bras D'or lakes and got a flight back to St John's. Steve, for those wondering who he is, is a friend of Deb and Rolland's who not only helped me sail the boat for a bit before I was on my own but helped with all of the pre-departure stuff. Thanks Steve! Since then I have made it to Halifax and stayed here for 3 nights. Figured out the wind vane with a sailor who has one here. Feel much better about that. Also, I have been doing things like provisioning and getting charts and the like. Today I went to a Scottish festival in Dartmouth. Lots of bag pipes, drums and skirts. Very interesting! I was a little bummed when my camera stopped working...i forgot to take the extra battery...BA! None of the other Nikon users took along an extra or a charger either. I managed to get about 5 pictures.

So the plan is probably to leave tomorrow to Yarmouth and then onto some time in Maine. I hear it really pretty there.

Pictures of St Peirre

Chanty in France

Rachael leaving Quidi Vidi

Rolland actually smiling in a photo

Left Quidi Vidi last Tuesday night. We made it to St. Pierre, France. (A little french area off of Canada) So now I have a french stamp in the passport. So every thing has been going pretty good. Besides the seasickness, motor stalling because of air, halyards getting caught on the mast steps, not having the right charts, halyards not in the right tracks inside the mast, a ripped sail, hail and lots of rain and lots and lots of fog, Steve and I are still alive. We were able to read the motor manual and bleed the air out, seasickness only lasted one day, repaired the sail by hand in St Pierre (took the whole day) and got a few charts. What else, finding places to get fuel has been challenging. Right now waiting for a person to come special to turn the diesel pumps on for us in the bras d'or lakes being Sunday and all. Next place to fuel...nobody really knows here.