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17 July 2011 | Mahone Bay, NS
We are back. The Grander Scheme has come to a happy, quiet conclusion on our mooring at the Lunenburg Yacht Club just two weeks shy of a year since we dropped the lines and headed off...and what a year!
We left Cape Sable Island yesterday in the wee hours, 0200 actually, and caught the last couple of hours of the ebb tide around Cape Sable. There was a full moon so it was easy navigation and the winds were very soft so we just motored on. As the day progressed, we fell into our watchkeeping rhythm and enjoyed a rare fog-free passage around southern Nova Scotia.
The winds stayed soft so the ocean surface was almost smooth, despite the swells, which made for ideal conditions to see marine life. Humpback whales bubble-netting, dozens of fin whales, a couple of leatherback sea turtles, dolphins, seals, and even a marlin shared the day with us.
Since Anne and I had gotten underway while Evelyn and Leslie slept and we'd rotated watches, we decided not to put in to Liverpool after 70 miles but to keep going. Six hours later we turned in behind Cross Island, and began identifying islands by sight: We were in home waters. The sun set as we worked our way in and it was fully dark when found and picked up our mooring at 2230 with the lights of the yacht club shining across the water.
And now, quite suddenly. We will return to the ranks of those who live on land. There will be big changes, too, as Evelyn heads off to university and Leslie begins high school. But however far-flung we become, we will always be a family that can live and work together to do amazing things.
We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
T.S. Elliot