Day 7 Chesapeake to Nova Scotia - Shelburne

These Blog entries are edited versions of the messages we sent back as we completed the passage. They were sent by radio using a laptop that controls a modem and the HF/SSB radio, using the SailMail system. We sent the messages daily to Charlotte and she then forwarded them on to a list of family members.

2100hrs (AST, GMT-4) 28 Jul 2018

Dear All,

Another day but the same foggy view from the cockpit!

Fog remained the theme for most of today with 50 metres visibility overnight and the odd patch up to about 200 metres during the day.  Our progress was also pretty slow at times with lighter winds pushing us along at 5 knots or less.  However, each time we considered switching the engine on a little more wind came and with the resulting 5 1/2 knots speed the timings looked more comfortable. What we didn't want to do was a night approach into Shelburne in 50 metres of visibility.  From the chart it seems to be well marked, with red lateral buoys showing the channel all the way in.  But Nicky has read that official Canadian marker buoys tend to be very small, somewhat reminiscent of pot-bobbers; keeping an eye out for markers that size so we don't run them down in fog at night would not be fun!

Shortly after dawn, the wind dropped away further so we switched on the engine and, with that, ran the radar and the foghorn full time.  By this time the sea temperature was down at about 10 degrees Celcius, and the air temperature at 15, so, in the fog, deck watches required oilskin jackets and warm hats, except for those tantalising times when the sun tried to break through. We passed our first turning point, about 10nm off Cape Sable, the southern tip of Nova Scotia, at about 1030hrs and then turned onto a northeasterly track for the final 25nm or so towards the entrance to Shelburne.  It was all generally uneventful, except for the odd pop-up fishing boat - with poor radar cross-section and relatively few with AIS they can make life rather too interesting at times!

Mid-afternoon we set ourselves up for a 50-100 metre visibility approach for the final hour transit up to Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club where we needed to meet/call the Customs and Immigration officers to formally arrive into Canada.  Out at sea that sort of visibility is less of an issue but coming into port there are all sorts of things (like rocks!) to bump into, and so we were very pleased when suddenly the fog lifted, and we got or first glimpse of Canada - pine trees, rocky shores, "aquaculture" (term cribbed from Canadian friends) cages and remarkably flat hinterland.

We motored up to the Yacht Club marina and Nicky went ashore to call the Canadian Border authorities.  Happily, an American yacht had arrived earlier in the day and was now blocking the fuel pontoon awaiting Customs and Borders inspection, so it was likely that we would be "done" at the same time, and so it transpired.

Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club

The officers were efficient, friendly and very quick and, happily, failed to notice (or take offence about) the fact that we did not have a Canadian courtesy ensign.  They stamped our passports (essential for enabling us to get another up to 6mth stay in the US on our return there) and issued us a chit with an official arrival number on it "to be displayed in a window on the landward side wherever you are - particularly in Halifax where there are lots of customs agents checking visiting boats".

Formally "arrived", Nicky called the OCC Port Officers for Shelburne, with whom she had been emailing prior to our arrival.  Mike was in the Yacht Club and came down to BV for a beer and has invited us to theirs for dinner tomorrow, post a concert at the local arts centre, and has also offered to take us out to some good food shops in the morning.  Fabulous!  So, we have moved from the pontoon to a mooring and will go to anchor tomorrow probably but now we are catching up with the world and fending off some of the largest mosquitoes we have seen in a while!  Oh, and we're now an hour closer to the UK too!

Love to all,

Reg and Nicky

Passage statistics:
Position at midday 28 Jul: N43 23 W65 25
Position at 1600 28 Jul: N43 46 W65 19
Midday to midday distance: 150 nautical miles
Midnight to 1600hrs distance: 101 nautical miles
Total miles covered:  724 nautical miles
Approximate distance to go: Zero nautical miles to Shelburne...hurrah!

End of Day 7  Chesapeake to Nova Scotia, Shelburne