July 8 Everyone was up around 5 am and the conga line began for the Cape Breton channel. this is a narrow opening in the northern part of Cape Breton that goes to the sea. It allows commercial shipping to come into the Bras D’Or lakes. The weather was once again sunny and the wind nice for the sailboats so several of the lead ones decided to go straight for Newfoundland. We joined the crowd and motored along in the lead. I saw a pilot whale for one brief shining moment and there were lots of seabirds soaring over the swells. As we neared our destination, the sun was setting so we turned on the juice and sped into the little town and out anchorage nearby at twilight. Twilight around here is at about 10 pm! The rest of the boats slowly arrived over night in several spots along the coast.

July 9 Many of our group were sound asleep for the morning radio net. Our friends on Lalize were anchored right next to us so we took them with us to town and a wonderful walk along the wild coast. The good trail is maintained by the locals and the Canadian government in honor of a citizen named George Harvey who lived in the late1700-mid1800’s in Isle aux Morts and rescued many passengers and crew from ships that were wrecked on the coast off the town. The scenery was wild and beautiful even on a gray day and there were few tall trees and mostly small bogs and tundra type terrain. I was thrilled with all of the little wildflowers and had to photograph many of them. Our friends’ Sheltie puppy ran back and forth and probably ran twice the distance we walked! We had hoped to have lunch at a cafe in town and were salivating for peas soup (on their menu someone told us at the gift shop) but it wasn’t open till 2pm so we were out of luck. Back to the boats for lunch and a nap. That evening and night was very windy but our anchor held and we were snug on Windermere. In the middle of the night, our friends on Lalize dragged and had to reanchor. What a bore.

July 10 Listening to the morning net, we hear several boats in the anchorage right next to us had dragged also. There was apparently alot of kelp in there. After checking in to the net, we decided to go to our next stop, Le moine Bay which was only about 20 nm. The wind was still blowing but at our back so the seas were fine. Up our first deep fjord and majestic is a description that comes to mind. Along the way, there were several waterfalls coming down the mountainside. We decided to anchor at the head of the fjord in shallower water near a large stream that comes into the bay. A loon joined us for a while during cocktail hour.

July 11 A beautiful sunny day and back down the fjord and around the corner to Culotte Cove which is totally protected and only big enough for about 3 to 4 boats. We met up with Beth Leonard and Evans on “Hawk” and had a wonderful nature walk up into the hills. Once again, there were wildflowers to photograph and amazing vistas to enjoy. That night, we were hosted by “Hawk”. Beth and Evans have circumnavigated several times and she has written several books as well as many articles for the cruising magazines.

July 12 It was rainy today and everyone stayed put in our little cove. Later in the afternoon, we were joined by “Bluewater” and I cooked dinner for 8 aboard Windermere. “Bluewater” has guests from Scotland who are god sailors as well.

July 13 Still gray but not raining at least and it was time to make another short jump down the coast to Couteau Bay and our anchorage between the mainland and Captain Island. Once again, we were the only boat in the anchorage. We did see a few local fast boats whizzing around to and fro. After lunch, we went for a walk on the island following the caribou trails in the muskeg and bogs. climbing up high for the view back at Windermere, John spotted a lone caribou even higher on the ridge and was able to get some photos of him. The island was dotted with several small lakes (or large ponds) but not too many flowers. That was ok because the caribou sighting was worth it to us.
After we returned to the boat and got the dinghy up, the fog rolled in for awhile, then it cleared and the sun came out. We have decided- wait long enough and the weather will change!

July 14 A gray morning and a bit windy for our 20nm run to Burgeo where we met up with the rest of the gang. There is a very long harbor with a narrow entrance near the town and most of the boats were in that anchorage. We were nervous about the width of the entrance but our friend, Evans, on “Hawk” came out in his dinghy and led us in. It took three tries but we finally found a good spot. The problem around these parts is kelp. There is mud usually on the bottom but it is hard sometimes to get through it to the mud. We launched the dinghy and went ashore for groceries. we were given a lift by a local named Fred and he took us to the store and then to another store for some boots for me and even showed us his house!  That evening we went for cocktails on “LaLlize” and then home for the big blow . Several boats dragged but we were all right yet again.

July 15  It was nasty outside but John went in to the dock and picked up Fred who we had promised a boat visit. Out into the pouring rain and wind he went and came back to home sweet home. Later in the afternoon, John ran taxi service into town for many of the boats with smaller dinghies. There was a big party for all of us hosted by the locals in the fire hall. It was a jolly gathering of cruisers and very friendly locals. Again the wind howled overnight.