Colin
4 August 2008, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Wow...Two years. Our lives are incredibly different in many ways. We expected them to be different, but we couldn't have predicted how very different they would be!

A few things have not changed: We are still sailing, still doing boat projects, and still schemeing! In fact, we have now conceived "The Grander Scheme" In two years, Evelyn will graduate from high school and Leslie will be the same age that Evelyn was when we embarked on the Grand Scheme....What if, two years from now, we did it again?

We're thinking of a variation of the Great Loop, going back to Tadoussac from here and thus cruising the area between Nova Scotia and the Gaspe which we didn't do last time, and then going up the Saint Laurence, through the Trent-Severn waterway to lakes Huron and Michigan (Thus sailing the only great lake we haven't cruised before). From there, we'd head south through Chicago and its canals to the Mississippi and then the Tenn-Tom waterway to the Gulf of Mexico and Florida. Then south to get to the keys (another place we didn't get to last time) and then over to the Bahamas before reprising our previous cruise up the east coast and back home to Nova Scotia.

Yes, it's two years off and only a crazy idea...but look what happened the last time I had a crazy idea!

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Colin
12 July 2006, Chester Basin, NS

Symphony is tied in the slip she will occupy for the remainder of the season (and for many more to come, we hope!) at Gold River Marine on Mahone Bay. This will be our new homeport.

We left Liverpool this morning after a spectacular set of thunderstorms passed through overnight. As we left Liverpool Bay, we entered a fog bank from which we did not emerge until, 30 miles later, we approached Cross Island, and entered Mahone Bay. The Bay itself was beautiful with light winds, no swell, clear skies, and HOT! We worked our way through the islands and came into our "home" marina for the first time...After more than a year living aboard and more than 7000 miles, we tied up to the dock intending to stay. Even though we carefully planned it this way, it was still almost surreal to tie up at the dock and be able to see our car waiting in the parking lot!

This marks a new beginning for us: We will be living onboard for a week or two while we get our house painted and our stuff out of storage, but we are beginning our new lives in a new country now. The beginning of our new adventure marks many things and, like all beginnings, it also marks the end of some. It's incredible to realize that The Grand Scheme has come to an end, more successful than I had ever dared to imagine. We will keep sailing and time may well see us once again embark upon a grand voyage by boat. But our next voyage will be on land, here in Nova Scotia. And so this beginning also marks the end of my sailing log: To all those we met along the way, in person or virtually through this log, thank-you...and fair winds.

(44 32.836'N 64 19.014'W)

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Colin
11 July 2006, Liverpool, NS

After a couple of days of rest (ha!) in Shelburne, we headed off this morning for Liverpool, the port of the privateers. It was crystal clear when we left the dock, but, as we exited the bay, the mists gathered and turned into a pretty respectable fog. A few miles later, the fog thinned out and we had beautiful weather, running downwind (That's Tahu Le'a running, in the pic) until we approached Western Head, the entrance to Liverpool Bay. The Bay was guarded by another fogbank and it got quite thick before suddenly, as we entered the inner bay, we passed out of the fog and into clear sunshine for docking at the local marina. The "transient" dock was almost fully occupied by fishing boats, but they made room for Tahu Le'a and we rafted off of her. With luck, we will reach our new homeport tomorrow!

(44 03.012'N 64 41.465'W)

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Colin
8 July 2006, Shelburne, NS

We have arrived safely in Shelburne, Nova Scotia. After the firedrill yesterday, the rest of the passage was uneventful and fun. We got lucky with the tides and caught the "Cape Sable Express", screaming by making 8 knots over the ground at midnight. Then a couple of hours of slow, but very pleasant sailing while we closed the Shelburne entry and waited for daylight. This is the lighthouse that welcomed us...The night sail was really nice: I could smell the conifer forests and hear the whales breathing! Now we are docked and working through the Customs process...then we sleep!

(43 45.460'N 65 19.378'W)

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