Waiting for a Weather Window in Shelburne
13 August 2013 | Shelburne, NS
Rain and fog have returned - sigh
Back again in one of our favorite spots in all of Nova Scotia...Shelburne! And I just made dinner reservations at Charlotte Lane Café for this evening, our favorite restaurant. Can't wait!
So, here we are, the rain and fog are back and we're waiting for a good weather window to head first to Provincetown where we plan to get some rest after an overnight passage. Hopefully we'll be able to check in with Customs by phone from P-town, but if not, no worries since we don't plan on leaving the boat and will then head to Newport where we can definitely check in. For now, Thu through Sat appears to be the best opportunity to cross the Gulf of Maine and Cape Cod Bay. Keep your fingers crossed!
The passage from Baddeck has been thoroughly enjoyable. For the most part, good weather...sunny and in the mid-70s during the day with low humidity, 60's at night for great sleeping. The first day, after passing through St. Peter's Canal, we hoped to get to Port Howe, but turned around and spent the night back in D'Esscousse since the seas were quite lumpy and with wind on the nose. It was nice to see the harbor in sunshine this time! Since we didn't have to rush, we spent several nights in lovely anchorages along the way to Halifax, such as Horse's Head Cove in Beaver Harbour, a beautiful, snug cove surrounded by a breakwater and forested shores. In Halifax, we were able to do some chores and arrange for some canvas repair work (needed to replace a zipper in the side plastics that surround the cockpit...essential equipment to stay warm and dry when heading into the southwest winds which are on the nose, all the way back to Provincetown.) Since we had to rent a car for a day, we enjoyed a fun tour of the Alexander Keith's Brewery, followed by a lovely dinner downtown. So glad we opted to stay at the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron instead of tying up downtown. We checked out the boats that did so, and saw just how rocky-rolley the floating docks were. Very uncomfortable!
Sadly, we said goodbye to Halifax and the RNSYS, left at dawn and motor-sailed to Lunenburg where we dropped the anchor for the night. Since early mornings before the winds picked up in the afternoon were the best time to move, we again hauled the anchor at dawn, and headed west, hoping to make it to Shelburne. The weather prediction was correct...light air in the morning, filling in to 15-20 knts in the afternoon out of the southwest. UGH! Although we could have bailed out, we decided to push on and endure a few not-so-pleasant hours to get to Shelburne. Glad we did, since we can now relax and rest before the next leg of the journey home.