Following a good night's sleep it was time to start exploring the town of St. Peter's before heading north into the Bras D'Or Lakes. The canal that serves as the gateway to the lakes from the south was originally a portage route where boats were hauled across the land on rollers. After visiting the Deny museum near the locks we headed off to town to visit the MacAskill house museum. Wallace MacAskill, a famous Canadian photographer was born and raised in St. Peter's before relocating to Halifax where he perfected his craft. The museum was filled with many of his original photos as well as a lot of period correct camera equipment. Every Canadian has seen one of his famous picture's, it's of the Bluenose on our dime. I was particularly interested in seeing his work because I have one of his prints. While stationed in Halifax in WW2 my aunt purchased it and it hung in my grandmother's house for years. We ended up staying 3 nights in St.Peter's and could easily have stayed longer but there is so much to see and it was time to get moving.

For the first 5 miles north of St. Peter's the channel winds around serval islands and shoals before reaching the open lake. It was reminiscent of sailing in the 1000 Islands as we drifted along in a 10 knot following breeze admiring the scenery. The dock master at St. Peter's told us that you could anchor in a different cove every night from May till October and never anchor in the same one twice, unless you wanted to. There are so many beautiful anchorages to choose from it's like flipping a coin. However, after a relaxing 3 hour sail we dropped the hook in a well protected secluded bay where our only neighbours were one other boat and a seal who patrolled the harbour.

We have spent the last few days following the same routine as we slowly worked north to Eskasoni and it's small archipelago of islands. Each morning after coffee the crew of White Bird has joined us for a 2 hour kayak tour of the surroundings while we work out the day's plan. The breeze normally fills in after lunch resulting in yet another enjoyable sail to the next destination. For the most part we have the anchorages to ourselves, sharing it only with the abundant wildlife. Unfortunately, there's another big rainstorm forecast over the next day or so, so we're hunkered down until Sunday when we'll head to Baddeck and continue our search for live music.

Today's picture is of the band at the Lunenburg Waterfront Ceilidh