Week 22 – 26   2018  Canada, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland
28 May – 1 July 2018   1000 nm

Week 22 28 May – 3 June 2018 Sheepscot Bay, Maine – St Andrews, Canada 208 nm

28 May Monday Sheepscot Bay – Broad Cove, Rockland 40 nm
No wind and no rain when we woke up in our protected bay. Overcastted and mist during our slow breakfast. Then we decided to pull the anchor and continue eastward. Coming outside of our three protecting rocks in the entrance to the bay, the swell became enough for us to put the centerboard down to stabilize Moon in the swell on the aft quarter. Too much swell combined with very little wind makes the sail flop when Moon roll gentle. So no sails and only motor to save our sails from wear and tear. The current was against up to one knot the whole day. Lots of lobsterpots, and we mean LOTS! Had to look forward all time not to get a line in the prop. This is really an area where you don’t motor at nighttime. In the swell and mist you see the pots only some 150 feet in front of you, and that’s when you are looking constantly forward. We are happy for the shape of Moon’s underwater hull that helps to protect the propeller and the rudder from catching lines. But when the propeller is running it will still catch everything in the water flow “through” the prop. The water is only ten C degrees so to dive and free the prop isn’t very fun, if even possible without heavy equipment.
Maine is really a lookalike to our Swedish archipelago. The rocks and clean barren islands offshore and the more wooded islands further in could as well have been back home! Unfortunately there is another thing that reminds us of home; mosquitoes! Luckily it is probably still a bit chilly for them to come in thousands, but we are prepared.
Used the head sails for half an hour. The rest of the day was only engine in cold mist.
Anchored in Broad Cove before five and had a well needed warm shower before dinner.

29 May Wednesday Broad Cove – Rockland 2 nm
Sunshine and no wind in our cove when we woke up and could enjoy breakfast in cockpit, already warm in spite the early morning. The reason for this anchoring was a delivery for us to the chandler in town supposedly arriving today. We had planned to call them before pulling the anchor, but AT&T have obviously decided that Rockland is not important because we got no signal. Even later in town we had no cell phone cover.
Pulled the anchor and motored in to the town jetty where you can stay two hours for free. Harbor office had free internet and Annika used the two hours to do get all our e-mail in and out. Then we moved out in the mooring field and anchored. Took the dinghy in to the dock and walked the town. Our ordered grease for the MAX-prop had arrived and we continued to the grocery store in the sunshine. The summer obviously came to Maine the 29th of May! Not so warm out on the water, but in town it was short trousers and T-shirt in 28 C. On our route to the food store we found a store that sold car items and they even had oil for diesel engines. We bought three gallons to be prepared for our second next oil exchange.
Back in Moon with our findings we had a rest in the cockpit before we drove back in to town to have a lobster meal at the local eatery overlooking the waterfront. Being in Maine you just have to try their lobster!
We ended our Rockland tour with another trip to the grocery store to get what we couldn’t carry first time. Among other items we bought a live lobster to be cooked according to Annikas recipe with dill seeds and salt.
Back in Moon we stored the outboard and secured the dinghy on deck to shorten our starting time tomorrow.

30 May Wednesday Rockland – Somes Harbor, Mt Desert Island 46 nm
The sun was already high up in the clear sky when we woke at six. Having breakfast in cockpit an hour later we could notice that the forecast was spot on, talking about being a bit chillier today. Pulled the anchor and drove to the fuel dock, the only one in town this early in the season.
We are far from empty, but diesel in Canada is more expensive we are told, so it’s more a top up. But we managed to fill 67 gallon, consumed since Beaufort in North Carolina where we paid almost the same price, 3,15/gallon.
Although we still have more than hundred miles to the border, the price in US closer to Canada is much higher we have seen on the internet. With all our tanks filled, water and diesel, we continued our northeasterly route towards Canada. Still no wind and we motored across to the islands together with a ferry.
Through the first group of islands we followed a marked fairway and then we were out on the next open water. There we could use the headsails together with the engine.
Next group of islands were very interesting. In Sweden all quarries have been shut down for more than fifty years, but here it was still big business. Full activity up in the big quarry and stone dust blew out to sea…
This landscape is more and more like the Swedish archipelago, even if the fjords are wider. But everything is bigger in US! Today we even found the red-ish granite we have in middle of Bohuslän!
During the afternoon the shore lines became grayer and with less smooth rocks.
We anchored far up in the central inlet of Mt Desert Island among lots of moorings – as usual.
Hope to be able to walk ashore tomorrow.
Lobster for dinner.

31 May Thursday Somes Harbor – Mt Desert Island 5 nm
We had a bright sun high in the sky already at seven o’clock. During breakfast we studied the forecast and decided to stay on anchor and take a long walk on the island. The forecast predict northerly strong wind on Saturday and we want to be in St Andrews on Tuesday latest. To manage that we have to come around the north end of the Canadian island Campobello before the strong wind begins on Saturday. We have little more than eighty miles to cover to get there, and with the amount of daylight we have now it should be doable, even if we took a walk today.
Dinghy ashore with a backpack full of cameras, water and a lunch sandwich. Walked a long tour into the island among several lakes. Finally we sat down and had our sandwich looking at a seal chasing fish in front of a fish ladder.
Back in Moon the aft deck became a barber shop in the sunny and windy weather. After a shower we weigh anchor and motored the five miles out of the inlet where we anchored to save distance and time tomorrow, because we would have countercurrent out of the inlet tomorrow morning.
Annika used the “free electricity” while we motored to cook dinner. At the entrance, behind some islands, we anchored close to shore to get protection from the afternoon strong breeze.
Dinner was served shortly after and we had a quiet evening.

1 June Friday Mt Desert Island – Quoddy narrows, at the border to Canada 71 nm
Woke up early as planned after a night when Björn almost had not slept at all due to all mosquito bites from the walk yesterday. It’s odd how we react. Back home Annika gets big red results of mosquitoes and here almost nothing, while Björn is the opposite. Nothing, almost, back home and here almost as an allergic reaction. Enough about mosquitoes!
When we were fully awake we speeded up to get going while the current still was running out to sea.
Out on the mirror like water we used the artificial wind we made motoring and hoisted the main. Much easier then turn into wind when the battens get tangled in the Lazy Jacks most of the time. We motored and made water for two hours before the wind came up enough for good sailing. Made full speed with the wind 110 degrees over the boat. Even the current was favorable. Moon made seven to eight knots through water until noon, and with current added our progress was up to nine knots.
After lunch the wind turned south and decreased. In spite we pooled out the Yankee, the speed went down to six knots. The fog came from nowhere and the wind decreased even more. The engine had to be engaged and now we had to keep a sharp outlook for the lobster pots in the fog.
We have had different scenarios with the floats today. Early morning we were motoring straight into the sun, making it almost impossible to see the floats until they where only meters in front of Moon. Many quick maneuvers were called for to say the least!
With the engine shutdown and sailing into the sun we could forget about the floats. Moons underwater body is well designed to prevent us catching lines when sailing, having a continues bottom all the way back to under the rudder.
We sailed across many lines between the two floats to one cage and the only thing that happened was that we sometimes could see the “pickup buoy” move towards Moon when the keel pushed the line downwards.
Having the propeller running in the same situation is probably always a disaster!
The second time we had fog today we could sail and then only concentrate on other obstacles in the fog. Suddenly we saw a breaking wave on the same spot all the time. Of course it was something else, Ice?? No, coming closer it was a dead whale floating belly up. We have to wait until Labrador to have risk of ice.
The last fifteen miles we got countercurrent. The tide is up to seven meters approaching Bay of Fundy and the current is because of that quite something. Our good progress earlier today was now exchanged to the opposite. With up to three knots against we were very slow. We experienced over falls due to wind against current and that was extra special as we only had 150 meters viability in the fog.
Shortly before five o’clock we saw the green marker on the radar at the bay we had chosen to anchor. When we had turned into the bay the visibility got a little bit better and we could almost see the rocks on our port side. Motored further in to get out of the swell and finally put the hook down just outside the fairway. The visibility was less then tree hundred meters so extra anchor light was called for. The top light and the light at the end of the boom of course, but we thought we should also use one of our flashing blue light we used in Malaysia, where nothing that wasn’t flashing was good enough. With these three lights and the AIS on we didn’t feel like a sitting duck in the fog waiting for something to hit us.
Very cold and windy on deck, but when everything was done on deck it was nice and cozy downstairs with the furnace already “humming”. The anchorage is some hundred meters south of the Canadian border and further into the bay there is a bridge between Canada and US. Unfortunately the bridge is a little bit too low for us and because of that we have to make detour around Campobello Island, the island northeast of us, and then turn back into US waters.
Hopefully the wind and tide will be ok tomorrow morning.
.
2 June Saturday Quoddy narrows – Hersey Point, west of Eastport, the eastern most village in US 24 nm
The fog was a little bit higher above the water when we woke up. There was no wind and we pulled the anchor and motored out of the bay. Out at sea the fog came all the way down to the water and we had even less visibility than yesterday. Today we had the odd situation that our next anchorage was less than seven miles away, but because of the low bridge we had to make more than twenty miles to get around the island. We actually saw the bridge again when we passed Eastport.
The trip around the island in dense fog offshore and light wind from behind and two knots current against was again exciting, looking after all floats. Today we even had three lobster boats on the radar. Two was close enough that we could see them in the fog.
We were anxious to get around the lighthouse on the north cape of the island before the predicted north westerly gale starts. That was the reason for us to leave the anchorage that early, in spite the current was against until nine. But better have current against on flat water than strong head winds against following current.
Coming up to the lighthouse, the fog became little less dense and we could almost see the tower, not only on radar and hear the loud fog horn. Around the cape, having turned almost 180 degrees into the islands, the fog almost disappeared and we were shown a majestic landscape with shores that had six meters tidal range now at low water. We were just in time for the current to change direction and we got following current all the way to our anchorage. Passing Eastport and the sound to Canada and St Andrews we had very turbulent water. Now with the wind from north, increasing all the time we could sail and were happy that we choose to start that early to reach the cape before the wind from north picked up. The forecast was spot on!
Reaching our bay we choose to anchor in, we had a few miles to windward and tacking was not to think about in the narrow bay. Furled the sails and motored up to the head of the bay where we anchored at lunch time.
We intend to stay here and wait for the wind to ease and on Monday continue to St Andrews and clear customs into Canada.
Quiet and restful afternoon in our protected bay.

3 June Sunday Hersey Point – St Andrews, Canada 20 nm
When we woke up the wind was already almost gone.
We decided to go to St Andrew already today. Sent an e-mail to John and checked if our new plan was ok. Called Customs Canada and arranged for a clearance procedure at the town wharf at one o’clock.
Had breakfast and then pulled the anchor to follow the tide down to Eastport and then, if we have done our homework correct, following current through the narrows and across the fjord up to St Andrews.
We even got some help from the cutter towards to Eastport. Passing Eastport it was more or less slack water and coming into the narrows we got two knots following current. Out on the big fjord the current was almost nothing, especially now at nip and shortly after slack.
Five minutes past one o’clock we tied to the wharf and two customs officials were waiting for us.
Very nice guys and less than half an hour later we had our passports stamped and could bring down our quarantine flag. Harbour master was on the wharf and allowed us to stay on the wharf over night for the same price as for a mooring, being this early in the tourist season.
After all these procedures to get settled in Canada, Cheryl and John took us to lunch in town. Lots of talk about their new lives as landlubbers, having sold their big Oyster after eleven years of circum navigation.
Back on the wharf we put our outboard into the boot of their car. John had promised to get it to service nearby tomorrow and we will hopefully get it back before the weekend.
When John and Cheryl had left for their house, we took a walk around the town and made some findings in the grocery store on the way back to Moon. Tomorrow we will move up the coast, close to their house and tie up to a mooring that normally is used by a big lobster boat.
We had some chop along the wharf late afternoon, but the wind and the waves eased when the sun came down and we got a quiet evening.

Week 23 4 – 10 June 2018 St Andrews, New Brunswick – Sollows Rock, Yarmouth Nova Scotia 111 nm

4 June Monday Saint Andrews – Haggertys Cove, New Brunswick Canada 26 nm
Sunshine and a fresh breeze straight in to the harbour when we woke up.
Breakfast and then we topped up water, paid the harbour fee and got rid of trash. Before nine we were on our way to have the tide following us out of the big fjord south east of St Andrews and through the narrows out to sea.
The wind was on the bow and we used the engine to get across. Although we had choppy waves in the headwind, the current out on the fjord was not much, making the waves very easy to deal with.
Coming out of the first narrows, the current from Bay of Fundy affected us and we decided to anchor for some hours, waiting for the tide, to have a shower and then lunch before continuing north.
John had got allowance to use a mooring from a lobster fishing friend and that’s where we were aiming when we pulled the anchor.
We passed Cheryl’s and John’s new house on our route to Haggertys Cove, just north east of their house. John stood on the beach and pointed us to the mooring and we tied up just after four in the afternoon. Made everything ready to leave Moon for the evening, launched the dinghy and paddled into the beach as the outboard is in for service. John actually delivered it to the service shop this morning.
We also used the dinghy facility, a continues line from shore out to deep water, where we could tie the dinghy to the line and pull it out on deep water. This means that when we come back, whatever tide it is, we can pull the dinghy back to the beach. The beach was totally clean from seaweed and in fact possible to drive a car on even at low tide.
John took us back to the house and gave us a house tour. The house is brand new and the “garden” is still up for preparation. Nothing at all in front of the 180 degree ocean view! But of course there will be some modeling, grass and some trees. A nice and comfortable house with a spacious open kitchen in line with dining and living room solution. Spent the afternoon and evening with lots of discussions and good food.
John brought us back to the beach just after dark and Moon was waiting for us with the anchor light guiding us in the grayish night. Down in Moon the furnace was humming and it was comfortable warm and dry for a good night rest.

5 June Tuesday Haggertys Cove.
There was a small craft warning for strong northerly winds during Tuesday, but that became a no show. Normal wind across the bay and some rain on and off the whole day. We had planned for a day in the boat because of the weather forecast. John and Cheryl had other engagement today and we were scheduled to meet tomorrow.
The waves never became uncomfortable across the bay, but of course the beach got some surf and we were happy not to have to use the dinghy today.
Used the day to tidy up and reorganize in Moon to be able to host a guest next coming weeks.
In the afternoon the wind disappeared, but the rain/drizzle kept on until late.
In the evening most items had found new places, even the laundry from yesterday, and we could start prepare dinner in a boat that was not upside down.

6 June Wednesday Haggertys Cove
Quiet night without rain or wind but overcastted. Slept whole night until early morning. Björn didn’t even hear when our neighbor went out fishing. Shortly after ten the sun managed to clear the sky and we started to plan to go ashore after lunch to have a walk on one of the nearby trails. After lunch we took the dinghy ashore and John came with the car and joined us for a long walk around the peninsula, which is a provincial park with prepared trails somewhere reinforced with planking. Our walk started on New River Beach, a very little sloping beach, making the ebb tide area enormous. But this becomes very tricky when the flood comes back. Due to the flat angle the water travels very fast up the beach and people get caught if not paying attention.
Most of the forested part of the trail, especially out on the bogs, looked almost as in the middle of Sweden. Very nice to recognize trees, rocks and the overall surroundings. After the long walk John took us for a drive to show us the area where he grow up. Very interesting to see and learn some modern local history.
We drove by the outboard service to see if he had managed, but there were still items to take care of. We have neglected the outboard and now we have to pay! Lots of bolts were “impossible” to unscrew and much time was used to solve those problems. We have not serviced the outboard in four years! Shame on us.
After this full day we ended up at Cheryl’s dinner table with a beer and some very nice food. John and Annika even managed to get time for some computer stuff. John drove us back to our cove and we took the dinghy back to Moon. Still no wind and mirror like water around Moon.

7 June Thursday Haggertys Cove
Fog when we woke up shortly before seven. This morning we both actually heard our lobster neighbor. But he is really careful with the throttle. Either to save his cold engine or he is very polite not disturbing us. We have met him and he is a very nice guy. He also showed us the special knot to tie the dinghy to the continues line.
Breakfast before Cheryl and John came with the car for a tour to town Saint John. First it just had to be the reversing fall in St John River. The river is a big water inside the narrows in St John and lots of water are pushed through the narrows by the tide and the river. But the tide is faster than what can come through, making the narrows a reversing fall. Amazing to look at the fall/rapids and imagine how anyone can get through. But of course at slack it’s completely calm for a short time.
After many photos we drove to Costco for some major provisioning. Moon has started to be quite empty on lots of different “must have” items. Without a car, most of these places are beyond reach for us.
Then we had lunch before a road trip across Kennebecasis River by line ferry and around on the peninsula between the two rivers. Very different landscape with lots of farming and live stock.
Back on the “mainland” after another ferry across St John River, we did another shopping tour on Super Store, a Company we used in Nanaimo the winter before this last one. Not everything we hoped to find was available, but we found enough. Back on the beach we stored everything in the dinghy and managed to find room even for us to paddle it back to Moon.
In south westerly wind the ocean swell creeps around the corner and Moon was now rolling a bit. With the centerboard down it’s better, but still not as comfortable as we are used to at anchor. Took some time to clear all items from all extra package material and get things stowed away. Went to bed early after a full day and also because Moons movement in the little swell across.

8 June Friday Haggertys Cove
The whole night was a bit rolly and Annika didn’t sleep very well. We are more disturbed by this gentle swell across compared with the choppy sea we had last Tuesday.
Had breakfast and then John called to tell us that he was shortly coming with our outboard which he had picked up earlier this morning. We are really overwhelmed by the service we get in this anchorage!!
Launched the dinghy and went ashore, bringing all the trash we produced yesterday, another part of the service!
Put the outboard on the transom of the dinghy and had a test run. Worked very well!
The weather was not good enough for a tour by car, so we decided to meet for dinner tonight and use the rest of the day for indoor work. Back in Moon we brought a line to a barge next to us to be able to keep Moon perpendicular to the gentle swell. Made all the difference!
Lots of writing and planning was done before we in the afternoon took the dinghy ashore and walked to John and Cheryl for dinner, but first we removed our line to the barge. Not good to have something like that when we aren’t in the boat, not knowing what wind and current might do when we are gone.
Had again a nice and pleasant evening before John brought us back in the dark.
Our “new” outboard started willingly in spite the cold night. Back in the boat we put the line in place again to be able to rest more comfortable.

9 June Saturday Haggertys Cove
Quiet night and in the morning bright sunshine. Due to changing weather conditions for next week we have decided to leave tomorrow – Sunday morning, not waiting for our crew arriving St John. The plan is now to sail around Nova Scotia to Halifax where the crew will arrive by buss from St John Wednesday afternoon. Sailing is all about weather!
Because of change of plans we did a fresh produce shopping tour to St George today instead of as planned on Tuesday. Good to see another part of New Brunswick
Back in Moon we filled all empty lockers with our new findings and then had a late salad lunch.
Annika impregnated our Bimini that, after four years, had started to wet through in heavy rain. Later we took the dinghy ashore and walked to the house for a last evening together.
The menu for tonight was Lobster. We heard John ordering lobsters over the phone yesterday and were convinced that there would be more guests tonight. But instead we learned that Cheryl didn’t enjoy lobster, so in fact we were only three to share six big lobsters!
It was really a treat, but we didn’t manage more than one big each. John, who is a more professional lobster eater, managed easy two and was prepared for another, but because he was the only one still eating he opted for saving the third for tomorrow. We brought one back to Moon together with a bunch of nice fresh rhubarb stems. By dark John brought us back to Haggertys Cove and the dinghy.
This has been a very nice and good week. Not only have we had private guiding in the area, the friendship and service has been absolutely beyond what we are used to.
Thank you, John and Cheryl so very much for this perfect week!

10 June Sunday Haggertys Cove — Sollows Rock, Yarmouth Nova Scotia 85 nm
We woke up by the sun, still not having fully digested our big lobster feast yesterday. Shortly after six we left our cove and motored south on flat water the first hour. Later came some wind and we could assist the engine with the head sails, gaining half a knot.
Sunshine from a clear sky the whole day and our planned night harbour was reach already before four thanks to following current that we hadn’t dare to expect. We continued in counter current for six hours to Yarmouth where we anchored shortly before nine at the entrance of the bay where the harbor is at the head.
We saw two Humpbacks diving two hours before we left Bay of Fundy, an area known for lots of whales in summer time. But being this early in the season we were happy to see those two.
If weather permit we will be in Halifax Wednesday afternoon.

Week 24 11 – 17 June 2018 Yarmouth Nova Scotia — Grand Greve Harbour, Cape Breton Island 327 nm

11 June Monday Yarmouth – Carter Island, Port Mouton 88 nm
Our anchorage half way into the harbour in Yarmouth was much better than expected. After the high speed ferry from Maine passed leaving almost no wake shortly after nine, no boats came by during the whole night.
Woke up shortly before the sun raised and started immediately preparing for an early departure, not to miss any of the sun lit hours.
Motored the whole day, first to the south east cape on flat water in no wind. Later we got some ocean swell along the east coast.
Late afternoon we started to think about the gale next day, having 110 nm left to Halifax. No wind at all was forecasted for the night made the alternative to continue to Halifax not very good. Decided to anchor over night and continue early morning to be able to reach Halifax before the peak of the gale.
Anchored just before sunset in Port Mouton where we found a bay inside Carters Island with absolutely no swell and very nice surroundings.

12 June Tuesday Carters Island, Port Mouton – North Wets Arm, Halifax 79 nm
Slept well in a very quiet boat. We woke up before sunrise and left the anchorage before breakfast into the rising sun. Very happy that we had no lobster floats in the bright sunshine! After five hour, around ten o´clock, we had enough wind to shut down the engine and in an open reach sail full speed towards Halifax.
The gale was predicted to start after noon and blow from behind, giving us a dead downwind sailing. We were happy that it was late because running downwind in that sea state is not fun.
Already at three o´clock we turned around the peninsula southeast of Halifax and could change course straight into the harbour. Halifax Traffic Control called us up to make sure we stayed on the western side of the traffic separation.
Now the gale was on and together with the downwind over the peninsula we were almost flying the last five miles into town. Anchored in the head of the North West Arm after two attempts with bad holding. Sunshine and cold wind the whole day made it extra nice to enjoy a glass of wine together with a piece of cheese in the sunny cockpit.
Around us we later got two Norwegian, one Swedish and one from France.
We will have an early night because of three full days on the run, from early morning to sunset.

13 June Wednesday Halifax
Sunshine from a clear sky when we woke up. Not at all the cold weather we had yesterday. The furnace had been shut down during the night and was lit up before we left our warm bed. Fifteen degrees C is a little bit cold, sitting down to have breakfast, but perfect for sleeping. On top of that we cook our breakfast on the furnace, saving electricity.
Did a final rearrangement to get more space for Berit, coming from St John by bus this afternoon. Due to weather we had to head for Halifax before she arrived by plane from Sweden to St John. Noe she got a six hours bus tour seeing a big piece of New Brunswick.
We shut down our furnace after the morning coffee, which was enjoyed in the cockpit. The sun was now really warm and we had 23C already in the shade and almost no wind. Had our salad lunch around noon when part of the crew from the Swedish boat Fairwinds, anchored close by, came to say hello. They thought we were having breakfast! OK young people have different routines! They sometime more or less go to sleep when we wake up in the morning. They were curious about our route to Greenland, and we exchanged some information.
In the afternoon we took the dinghy ashore and walked across the ridge to downtown Halifax where the Berit’s bus should arrive some hours later. Did the town, which was surprisingly interesting, for us who are really not into big cities. Learned about the big blast 1917 when two ships collided in the narrows outside the wharfs and most of central town was whipped down by the extreme pressure or by the tsunami that followed. More than 2000 people were killed. The strongest man made detonation ever, except for the nuclear one in Japan. Embarrassing that we didn’t know about that! The photos of the destroyed town we saw reminded us of the one we saw in Hiroshima!
After that lesson we had to try the local beer. Some shopping was done in SuperStore next to the bus station before Berit came from St John.
A long walk, first uphill and the down to Moon in North West Arm. We had a lot to carry, our findings and Berit’s luggage, so we were quite tired when we finally took the dinghy out to Moon on anchor.
We all needed an early night after dinner.

14 July Thursday Halifax
Rain and easterly wind started after midnight. We were lucky to have pulled the plug in the dinghy, hanging outside the cap rail. Woke up late in a cold boat. Yesterday summer temperature was exchanged to say the least!
Furnace lit up and then half an hour under our blankets. Then breakfast cooked on the furnace. The weather was perfect for staying indoors!
After noon we made a fast trip to the grocery store close by. Back in Moon we continued reading in the rain.
Salmon for dinner and later straw berries.

15 June Friday Halifax – The Bawleen 51 nm
The weather is fairly unsettled and we have to use the days when wind isn’t on the nose, even if the wind force sometime is very limited. After a normal breakfast in the cozy heat of the furnace we prepared Moon for the next trip north along Nova Scotia east coast. Started in a fresh north westerly that gave us full speed for the first two hours until the wind decreased and the engine came to use the rest of the day.
In spite our experiences from south Nova Scotia with zero lobsterpots, we now found them in hundreds. On top of that they use floating lines. Very dangerous, especially when you don’t recognize the direction of the current from the float. We manage to avoid getting snagged, even if it sometimes was uncomfortable close.
Fiveish we headed towards a well protected lagoon. The entrance looked a bit tricky, but inside it was fairly clean.
We arrived at low water and Björn was on the bow keeping a sharp outlook into the sunny water. Unfortunately the entrance was right into the sun.-
We found little difficulties in the entrance and soon relaxed moving further in at very slow speed. Suddenly Moon “climbed” up a rock and stopped where we should have had five meters of water. No big drama when your speed is only two knots, but still, Moon doesn’t stop momentarily.
We didn’t want to make the damages worse by trying to reverse off the rock, especially as the rudder was only inches above the sloping rock. In fact we had to do something rapidly to prevent Moon, as the water was rising, to slide backwards with the wind and damage the rudder. We estimated that we had no more than thirty minutes before the water was high enough to get Moon afloat.
Launched the dinghy and put our kedge Al-Spade anchor almost to windward, fifty meters from Moon. Tied the line to a cleat at the bow to make sure we didn’t move backwards, rather to port into deeper water. It worked as planned when Moon came afloat and we retrieved the anchor and went further into the lagoon were we did our normal anchoring routine and found very good holding.
Looking very carefully at the chart we found the rock but more than 80 meters from where it actually was in the middle of the glittering sharp sunshine! OK we know that you are supposed to not go into the sun trying to see the bottom. If the water had been warmer we had investigated the damages immediately, but being well below ten degrees C the investigation had to wait for our first option to haul out. Unluckily we had no internet and could not start to search for a haul out.
Spoiled ourselves with pork tenderloin with mushrooms for dinner.

16 June Saturday The Bawleen – Isaacs Harbour 51 nm
Very quiet and calm night with no additional heating. We made breakfast on the furnace and had breakfast in the sunny cockpit. Pulled the anchor and moved slowly out of the lagoon, again into the sun as we wnt in to the west and now going out heading east.
Coming out at sea we went around a peninsula before we could retrieve our north easterly course. Again a lot of floats. At the head of the peninsula we came close to a working lobster boat. He just pulled a pot as we drove by and held a lobster high in his hand. Björn at the helm took that as a sign and did thumbs up and put our engine to idle. Shortly the lobster boat came by and they throw two nice, very fresh, lobsters on Moons deck. He opened his throttle and roared away before we even had time to do more than wave as a “thank you”
It was easier to accept all the floats after this nice treat!
We motor sailed with only one headsail for most of the day. Annika boiled the lobsters to let them cool down before the evening dinner. Anchored in an open bay, not having to go into the sun! The lobsters tasted heavenly and were poiled in seawater and dill seeds.
Still no cell phone or internet. Very frustrating now when we are looking for a place to haul out Moon.

17 June Sunday Isaacs Harbour – Grande Greve Harbour, Cape Breton Island 58 nm
Late last night we decided to have an early start in spite the predicted northerly that would become more easterly later. The idea was to sail 25 nm east, using the morning northerly wind and anchor before the wind turned to eastly, and then wait during the rain on Monday.
Another early start just after six o’clock. A reefed main and full headsails gave us a perfect close haul on flat water because the wind came over land and we were protected from the ocean swell. Moon liked the conditions and made easily above seven knots in spite thirty-five degrees to the wind.
Reaching our planned anchorage shortly before eleven, nobody wanted to stay. We used the good and still favorable wind and continued. The wind had started to become more north east and we hoped it would continue to east to south east. Our wish came through which made us continue the whole day and anchored just south of the lock in to Bras d’Or Lake on Cape Breton Island, the northern part of Nova Scotia. We anchored in a nearby bay instead of using the wharf outside the lock.
The plan is to do the lock and the swing bridge as soon as they open tomorrow morning and then sail in strong southerly wind thirty miles up to Baddeck where we hope to be able to haul out Moon to investigate the result of our grounding.

Week 25, 18 – 24 June 2018 Grand Greve Harbour, Cape Breton Island – Isle Aux Morts, Newfoundland 162 nm

18 June Monday Grand Greve Harbour – Baddeck, Nova Scotia 31 nm.
Woke up in time to be at the lock just as they started operating for the day. We found out that they are closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays! Lucky us that continued all the way yesterday.
Had to wait in the lock until the last school bus passed the bridge, and during that time we got in contact with Stuart in Baddeck Marine and he could haul out Moon on Tuesday or Wednesday!
When the bridge was cleared we were allowed to leave the lock. We motored until we were at the south tip of the lake and then unfurled the Yankee. Only the Yankee because there was enough wind to give us eight knots in a downwind run the 25 miles along Bras d’Or, the big inland lake. Half way we had to furl and pass a bascule bridge that opened when they saw us coming. No answer when we called, the bridge just opened.
Already at two we came around the little island that protects Baddeck and after some assistance from the marina, they moved one boat to give us the only big spot in the mooring field, we were tied to a mooring. Launched the dinghy and drove across to the marina to look at the facilities.
A sturdy hydraulic trailer, carrying anything up to 40 ton, used on a normal launching ramp. Looked different from what we are used to, but probably the right tool for Moons hull. No problem with mast and stays as sometimes with a travel lift. Tomorrow after the rain we were scheduled for the haul out. The forecast showed perfect conditions for the whole Wednesday with summer temperatures which made us speed up things a bit.
Back in Moon. Björn drove to Nanny on a mooring behind us and brought the crew, now upgraded with Liv’s brother, to Moon for coffee. They had tied down their dinghy on deck, getting prepared for the passage to Newfoundland, so a “taxi ride” was needed.
After coffee and catch up since last time we met, Björn drove them back to Nanny before the rain started.
We had a simple dinner as we had a hot lunch out on the cold lake.

19 June Tuesday Baddeck
Rain all night, sometimes quite intense. Nice to have the dinghy lifted from the water with the drain plug out.
Had breakfast in a slow pace while the rain kept on. Prepared for the job ashore, finding all tools and parts that are to be used.
Looked at the drawings to remember where to put the beams of the trailer that are to carry most of the weight of Moon. The forward one is very critical. Not too far back not to rest on the centerboard casing, and not too far to the front to get out of the steel plate that is supposed to take the load. Always an exciting moment.
The haul out went extremely well after some adjustments to get Moon in exact position above the forward beam of the trailer. When she came out of water the beam was centered onto the 500 mm steel plate! The best result ever.
We had many expatiators among the tourists visiting Baddeck and the Lake. Not every time a big bout comes up on a normal trailer ramp for small fishing boats. On top of that Moon was backed on the trailer a couple of hundred meters to the workshop, also that very exciting. The trailer seemed almost to have been designed to take care of the shape of a hull like Moons design. Even the length was perfect for the aft hydraulic arms, supporting Moon half a meter in front of the rudderpost. The haul out and transport was handled very professional by the owner and his son, making us feel very relaxed.
Moon was parked just outside the workshop and the chandlery that belongs to the marina and we had the restrooms, showers and laundry almost at the bow. Moon was allowed to stay on the trailer for the investigation and repair which made everything much easier.
Started directly to high pressure wash the hull from slime to be able to see clearly what have happened.
The damages didn’t look that deep, but we have to wait until tomorrow morning when the surface is dry to be able to measure if we have water further into the composite structure.
Dinner in the restaurant at the pier as Moon was quite upside down due to everything we had put on the floor from
various lockers to be ready for almost anything tomorrow.

20 June Wednesday On the hard in Baddeck Marine
We were up working just after six to get max out of the sunny and warm weather.
The moister meter showed high readings on the two worst damaged places. Difficult to know if it was only in the fiber or all the way into the red cedar. The latter would be a time consuming story, while only in to the fiber could mean a quick repair. To be able to judge, Stuart had a vacuum bag put over the two damaged areas to pull out the moisture. While the bag sucked water we attended the propeller. New grease and a new anode were soon installed. Measured the contact between the old anode and the shaft and again after the new one was installed. Checked the hull anode’s contact with the shaft and all readings showed good contact, which is the same as good galvanic protection .
The seal for the shaft to the centre board was next on the menu. The arm for the hydraulic ram was dismantled and then it was possible to get to the two lipp seals. Cleaning and new grease between the two lipp seals and then everything back in place.
After lunch we dismantled the vacuum bag and used a heat gun to dry the still wet surface. When the surface of the paint and damaged area was visually dry we measured again. Very much dryer! The “official” verdict from us and Stuart was that the moister was only in the Kevlar fiber, a material known to be difficult to wet out with epoxy, but easy to wet out with water. Fiber glass is the opposite, hence the conclusion that the water was only in the Kevlar fiber outside the fiber glass. The Kevlar fiber had probably saved us from worse damages from the grounding but sucked water that had to be eliminated before the repair.
Now our enemy was temperature and time. Epoxy need temperature and time to cure and neither was available more than until tomorrow. Grinded the surfaces and then laminated with three layer of fiber to get back the strength and water tightness.
On top of the laminate we put a layer of thin clothe to be ripped off when the epoxy had cured enough for painting. That method takes care of the risk of amine on the surface in cold and humid environment. The heat gun came handy again and was used most of the afternoon to cure the epoxy to be able to paint before bedtime.
We had a Pizza at a restaurant up in the village while the epoxy cured.
Nine o’clock in the light of a big lamp we painted the laminated areas with underwater epoxy paint. To let the solvent out of the paint as fast as possible and start the curing process before the night got to cold, we used the heat gun again.
Before bedtime Björn was down and gave the surfaces a last good blow.

21 June Thursday Baddeck – Otter Harbour 14 nm
Björn was down with the heat gun already at six o’clock before breakfast. Now it was time to get some antifouling on the damaged areas. Still the heat gun was useful to dry out the antifouling and be able to paint several layers in short time (and of course keep the epoxy warm).
Breakfast at eight and then the coffee mug was brought down to the heat gun. At lunch time we thought we had cured the epoxy enough. We had used a fast hardener, bought in the shop yesterday.
After lunch Moon was launched. Same excitement among people around as two days ago.
Everything went as smooth as the haul out and after Annika had checked the seal around the centre board shaft which was dry. After Moon was afloat and we tied her to the pier and went back to thank everybody for their efforts and great help.
We were really happy to have found this good place in an area were boats was not normally as heavy as Moon. –
This little trip ashore became as short as we had dared to hope for. The costs were also reasonable as our insurer pay for the investigation of the damages and haul out without deductible. Is that something you can say about your insurer? Pantaenius have been very fast in their response to our questions, something that became very important as we had no internet the day of the grounding and two days after.
Late afternoon we headed out on Bras d’Or, the Unesco recognized lake.
Half past five we anchored in a nice cove and had dinner and an early evening after three intense working days.

22 June Friday Otter Harbour – Ingonish Harbour 31 nm
Sunshine from a clear sky and no wind when we woke up. Breakfast and then continue after pulling the anchor.
But NO. The windlass that we have repaired numerous times over the years decided to give up completely. Ripped apart and the gears and shaft got stuck and damaged. The only thing we can use is the clutch to release or lock the gypsy. Luckily we had internet and Annika order a new windlass to be delivered to St John’s in Newfoundland two weeks from today.
We are members of OCC and we found Ted and Karen, the only members in Newfoundland. Talked with him over the phone and he accepted to take care of windlass when arriving to St John’s. He will also take care of the vat, of course on our expense later. Very nice way of learning what use you can have, joining an association of like minded people.
When all this was done we attended the chain and anchor. A chain hook on a long rope from the bow roller to the electrical winch on the aft deck was used to pull the chain eight meter back. The normal securing chain hook was hooked on the chain at the windlass and the long rope was brought forward again, hooked on the chain just behind the securing hook. Then the process was repeated until the anchor easy came over the roller. Nice to be able to create redundancy for most activities.
Having secured the anchor we used the engine to go north under a nice bridge and out to sea. The last half mile we had three knots of following current in the narrow outflow from the lake. The buoys came “flying” against us in three knots and we were the only one with a helm!
North of the narrows we turned north west as soon as we had passed the shallow waters. The two miles to Birds Islands were full of floats. An extra sharp outlook to determine the direction of the current to decide which side of the floats the line floating along the surface was. Again we managed to reach our goal without catching a line.
The entrance to Ingonish Harbour was really something. Two long gravel arms stretched from each side towards the mouth of the enclosed bay. We had only fifteen meters between the red and green markers with one knot following current and some katabactic winds from the sloops surrounding the bay.
Found a wharf to tie up to and then we admired two downhill skiing sloops across the road, a not so common view from Moons cockpit.
Just as we were ready for a walk came a fishing boat to the wharf and unloaded the catch. Annika was given a nice size cod that later came out perfect for dinner together with egg sauce and potatoes.
A nice final of a day that didn’t start that well.

23 June Saturday Ingonish Harbour – Isle aux Morts 85 nm
The wind from the slopes increased around two o’clock at night. No problem as it was blowing us off the wharf, but a bit noisy. We left the wharf before sunrise half past four to start our full day sail across to Newfoundland.
Passed the two narrow buoys just as the sun came over the horizon. Lots of floats and more than ten lobster boats out fishing. The strong wind from the hillsides behind us saw us flying along with only the Yankee. But after a while the wind from land died and was exchanged to a more normal strength from south. We hoisted the main and pooled out the Yankee to get Moon going in the new down wind direction. Had to use the centre board to stabilize Moon in the very confused swell.
Annika found out that the seal on the shaft to the centre board dripped water when the centre board was working. Not much, but had to be emptied ever so often because there is not much space for water under the shaft.
We tied up to public dock in Isle aux Morts shortly after six and Annika had dinner ready as we were done with the mooring lines, prepared for the tide. Very good to be able to use a wharf as we have no working windlass on the bow for another week or two.
Walking around in the village we felt like home. Reminded us much of Aleutians, Alaska with almost no trees and the windswept landscape that we like so much. A short visit to the pub to get internet access. They have mobile phone here, but unfortunately not the one we are connected to.
Back in Moon we slept almost before we hit the bed after an exhausting long day in wind and sunshine.

24 June Sunday Isle aux Morts
Rain when we woke up and easterly wind. This is the end of a sunny period, and the wind will come from where we are heading the next days. Had a shower and then breakfast and then kept reading and writing the whole morning.
Annika investigated the seal on the shaft to the centre board, that isn’t leaking when the centre board is not in use.
Took the leaver off again and it was obvious that the seal close to the leaver was not exactly in right place. After some adjustments on the seal, everything was assembled again. No leak, but the big test will have to wait until the centerboard is down and working in heavy sea.
After a long and partly rainy day we had a chicken casserole for dinner before another early night.

Week 26, 25 June – 1 July 2018 Isle Aux Morts – St Lawrence, Newfoundland, via France 183 nm.

25 June Monday Isle Aux Morts
Cold morning with only fifteen degrees in the boat when we woke up. Lit the furnace and stayed in bed until the air had become a little more welcoming. We were happy that we already yesterday moved Moon into the corner of the wharf to be prepared for the coming north easterly gale, because Moon gets even more chilly with the wind in from behind. Breakfast in a slow pace, but almost before it was finished the guys from yesterday who promised to drive us to the supermarket in the next village, Port Aux Basques, came and picked us up.
Berit and Annika went along and Björn stayed in Moon to keep her safe, warm and dry. The forecast show a north easterly gale from midnight, but you never know if it comes earlier. The sky was grey and the rain was off and on the whole morning. The shopping party came back just after noon and we had a simple lunch. Annika and Berit went up to the pub, which was closed. But the router for the WiFi was on and Annika managed to get access to internet outside the door. Found out that the ordered new windlass was in transit and that was a relief.
When moving in to the corner we had to lift up four big tires on the wharf to get a clean wharf for our fenders and fender boards. The harbourmaster was impressed and wondered how we had managed. We told him about the spinnaker halyard and the winches we have and told him we will put them back. “No No don’t do that, we have tried to get them off the wharf for some time”. Obviously someone have put them there without allowance, and then just left them there. Tiers are hopeless for a pleasure boat when you have tide of more than a meter. We were happy with a nice clean wooden wharf which only needed a fender board where the ladder was.
Shut down the furnace before getting to bed. Strong gusting wind will sometimes blow out the flame.

26 June Tuesday Isle Aux Morts
The predicted gale begun shortly after midnight. Around two we had strong gale, but with our position in the lee of the wharf and the wind almost over our bow, it was only the rain and the noise from the wind that made us aware of the weather. When we woke up we had eleven degrees C in the boat. Outside it was four degrees and only a few kilometers inland the rain came as snow. We used the Webasto hydro heater to warm up the boat before we dared to go up.
During the early morning hours the wind increased again and we had more than 30 knots when the wind turned north west and we got the wind somewhat onto the wharf. We put a long line across to the other wharf and eased the pressure on our fenders, in fact we managed to release the pressure completely. At noon the rain stopped but the wind kept on the whole afternoon. Late afternoon, when the wind had eased a bit, we took a long walk. Along the walkway we could read about the heroic rescuing of shipwrecked sailors during the 19 and 20-hundreds. To the west we could now see clear sky under the gray clouds.
Back in Moon we had Gluwein, hot red wine, together with ginger cookies and blue cheese to heat up our cold bodies. After dinner we went up to the now open pub to do some internet.
Back at the boat the wind had turned west and we moved Moon back to our first position to have the wind over the bow and make tomorrow’s departure easy.

27 June Wednesday Isla Aux Morts — Ramea Island 66 nm
We left as soon as we woke up to get going before the rain started. The engine had to be in use the first hours with a reefed main to stabilize Moon. Run the WM until eleven when the wind came and we shut down the engine. Nice sailing for several hours until the engine had to come to use again. Motor sailing for half a day and the rest of the day only sailing is a result above average. We managed to avoid the rain and from ten o’clock we had sunshine rest of the day but very cold.
We used the centerboard during morning hours to check the waterproofing. Not a drop! We are happy!
Shortly after half past four we arrived at Ramea, a little pleasant island 3-4 miles off shore. After a traditional anchor dram, a beer at the local pub, we took a long walk out to the lighthouse we just past, arriving Ramea. On the way back we found a nice piece of wild salmon and a Newfoundland curtseys flag in the little convenience store. Early night as we are going to start early tomorrow. We have to compensate for our three days in Isle Aux Morts.

28 June Thursday Ramea Island, Newfoundland – Grand Miquelon, France 55 nm
No it’s not a printing error, two islands on the south coast belongs to France!
Left Ramea at six to take advantage of the south west wind. But we had to motor for three hours before we could start to motor sail and later shut down the engine.
We sailed close hauled for several hours, and then the wind allowed us to ease the sheets and sail much more comfortable on a close reach and of course a bit faster, having the wind now 50-60 degrees over the boat. We actually had a great sail with sometimes nine knots over ground with only marginal current with us.
Closer to Miquelon we expected williwaws but couldn’t see any on the sea surface and for that reason we didn’t reef sail area. That was a mistake. Now we had to follow the strong wind and furl the Yankee before we could resume our course, having lost some headway to Miquelon harbor. Had to tack and closer to the harbor we lowered the sail and motored into the harbor.
Almost no space at all. Found a place under the loading crane and for the moment that was ok. The Custom came to the boat and all of us had to go to the office.
Took a walk after having cleared customs and when we came back the fishing boat behind us was gone. We had earlier agreed to move Moon to his spot so he could use the crane when he comes back early morning. Very good because the wharf had no tires where we now tied up.
The wild salmon from Ramea tasted very good!

29 June Friday Grand Miquelon
We heard our fisherman when he came back shortly after two o’clock. The harbor is very small and every movement sounds like they are in our cockpit!
Björn went to the Boulangere and bought bread to our breakfast. If you are in France you have to adapt to some important behaviors!
Back in Moon the ferry just came, and it was big. The ramp we had taken in account when we tied up was obviously from an old smaller ferry. But everything went smoothly and the captain did thumbs up when he was secured.
We had breakfast right in the morning rush, but it’s odd with these French guys , they seem not to see what’s around them. None paid any attention what so ever, even if they almost stumbled over our boat!
This day became a day in the harbor because of strong southerly wind and fog in the afternoon. St Pierre, our next goal, is due south.
We have a well protected spot in the harbor during most wind conditions except easterly, when the harbor becomes untenable or almost dangerous with heavy surge into the harbor. The fisherman in front of us got the rub rail demolished during Tuesday’s northeasterly blow.
At low tide Moon is close to the wharf, but at high tide we are almost one meter off the wharf thanks to the wind keeping us off the wharf. All our fenders and two fender boards took care of any contact with the vertical rubber fenders on the wharf. We are very secure.
We took a long walk before noon all the way to the light house on the west coast in the windy but warm and almost sunny weather. At the light house we could read about several ships that had run aground in the shallow water west of Grand Miquelon. In those days there was water between Grand and Petit Miquelon, where it today is a causeway made by nature sanding up.
Very nice wind for sailing, but unfortunately straight from where we are going!
We were back in Moon after little more than an hour and had a salad lunch. Annika and Berit then went to the information building to get internet. Having been spoiled with internet via cell phone directly in Moon, we are not used to have to walk away to have service. But better that than no service! We will probably have to get used to only use the HF radio for e-mail the coming months.
In the afternoon the wind increased and it started to rain. We lowered our big French flag. The noise from the flag up in the rig was not good and we will later use a “storm” size flag instead.
When the ladies came back the furnace was on and a warming dram was served. Nice and cozy especially as the rain was more intense now and we even had got dense fog.
Some friends ask us why we sail in these areas!

30 June Saturday Grad Miquelon – Saint Pierre, France 25 nm
Late night the rain and wind stopped and in the morning even the fog was lighter. We had breakfast and left Miquelon around nine, not to compete with the ferry coming in shortly after ten. We met the ferry half an hour later in the fog.
The little wind came right on our nose but because we were in the leeward of the islands we had almost no swell. But dense fog made Annika sit down in the boat watching the radar to find buoys and other boats without AIS. We saw all buoys except for the lobster floats. The crew in the cockpit had to keep watch and we had to change our course for five floats to avoid snagging them in the prop.
After four hours St Pierre arose from the fog and even closer the town was almost without fog thanks to high island west of the town. Found a spot outside one of the racing boats from the race Halifax – St Pierre.
Tried to find somebody at the yacht club twice with no success. Even the Customs were closed. The latter didn’t matter as we already had cleared Custom in Miquelon.
Took a walk in the town and had coffee and a quiche in a nice café, not cheap!
We discovered that lots of money comes from France (EU money??) to subsidies living on the islands. A good thing was that we are back to the decent way of telling people the price on the menu as tax and tip is included!
The walk was not that long, but very steep up and down before we came back to the yacht club where the race had its final dinner and party. We felt obliged to participate in the prize ceremony, but after that we let them have their party for themselves. Seemed like half the town participated and the music was going on until after midnight.
The weather forecast promised light easterly winds for the next two days, and to not be caught out here, we decided to give it a try tomorrow. But that had to be a very early start to be able to reach the mainland before the easterly got too strong and become a problem, heading east.

1 July Sunday St Pierre, France – St Lawrence, Newfoundland 37 nm
We didn’t sleep much before one o’clock. Even so we made an early morning and left quietly as the sun rose, not to wake the sailors who probably needed their morning sleep.
In spite we were forecasted to have fog, we saw Newfoundland ten miles to north east after half an hour.
Our goal was St Lawrence thirty miles due east to be in good position for the jump across to the Avalon peninsula when the wind changed to southwest on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Saw more birds then further east and two whales. Used the engine the whole way and entered the harbor of St Lawrence shortly after noon. Found a good spot on the wharf with the bow to east where most of the wind was supposed to come. Took a walk just as the fog “closed” the bay and the easterly started to blow. We were just in time and are now prepared to wait one or two days for the wind to blow from another direction than east! Perfect place to wait out the weather. Protected, Wifi in the boat, showers ashore and electricity on the wharf. Water? yes but very brownish and the people in the village don’t drink it.
Our two water tanks are full and we use the showers ashore making our need for water neglect able.
No office open on Sunday and because we have no working phone we couldn’t make contact with the customs.
As we had lunch a guy came on the wharf giving us a cod just to welcome us to St Andrews. Shortly after another car came by and that was the harbor master who opened the showers for us. Annika went to the office where a lady helped her to contact the Customs and soon we were cleared in. The guy representing the customs somewhere in central Canada seemed not to know where St Lawrence was! It’s somewhat difficult to see the importance when you notice something like that, but beware if you try to cheat! Now we are officially back in Canada after our three days in France.
In the office we found the password for the WiFi and can communicate with the rest of the world while waiting for better wind.
Björn fund 30 amps 120 volt on the wharf and we can now test our 230 volt heating system. We use 2000w electrical water heater for our radiators (or a hydronic heater, or the engine ). One 24 volt charger 25 amp and one 12 volt charger. Those three are designed to run fine on less than 30 amps 120 volt or 16 amps 230 volt. This will be the first test. The rest of the boats 230 equipment (oven, toaster, stow and so on) runs on the 6 kW inverter fed by the batteries.
During the afternoon we had a shower and laundry done in the service building.
Had pasta bolognaise for dinner, the cod we have to wait for until tomorrow.

Week 27, 2 July – 8 July 2018 Newfoundland St Lawrence – St John’s 178 nm

2 July Monday St Lawrence
Woke up late after a long night sleep. Very convenient to be able to switch on the electrical water heater for the heating system. Cable ashore makes life almost too convenient!
Wind from east, grey skies and cold. We had already yesterday decided to stay in harbour due to headwind. Used the time to change oil in engine and gearbox. The harbor had depot for both oil and filters.
After lunch the sky cleared and we took a long walk out of the village. The surroundings were very similar to our landscape high up in the mountains. Unfortunately another, not so pleasant, similarity – Mosquitoes!
Back in Moon we did a lot of writing and reading before it was time to prepare the cod we got yesterday from a fisherman at the wharf.
Looks like the southerly wind that we are waiting for will give us another day in St Lawrence.

3 July Tuesday St Lawrence
Had a very quiet rain all night. Slept until after seven. Again put on the electrical heater and stayed in bed for another hour to let the boat be warm and comfortable for breakfast. Outside we had dense fog, not even able to see the next wharf. Felt like a good decision to stay another day in this convenient harbour with good protection, WiFi, laundry, showers and electricity.
Annika doing laundry before noon and Björn was working with photos for a new album, covering US east coast. Lots of photos because New York and Newport was included. Photos to an article in OCC magazine was also on the menu. After lunch we took a walk in the village. Yesterday our walk was long and very warm, where as today was chilly in the fog.
We lost the WiFi in the boat due to two big fishing boats moored between Moon and the harbour office. Because of that Annika had to work in the harbour office instead of using her own “office” in Moon. The fishing boats harvest cucumbers that are sold to China. One boat had over 50 ton caught in one day, earning 1,5 CAD per kilo.
Our windlass has been cleared customs and is hopefully in St John’s by Friday.

4 July Wednesday St. Lawrance – Trepassy, Avalon Peninsula 91 nm
Really early start to be able to reach our next port/anchorage before dark. Unfortunately not much wind when we came out of our bay. At the entrance to the bay we had thick fog, a fog that followed us through the whole day. Lucky we have AIS and radar as the fog only allowed us to see fifty to hundred meters around the boat for most of the time. Off and on we could sail, but most of the day we had to engage the engine. On top of this it was bitterly cold.
A nice warm dinner was served before six o’clock and shortly after that we saw the lighthouse on top of the peninsula where we were going to turn northeast into Trepassy. Not only the fog disappeared, a strong katabatic wind came down the high peninsula and gave us two hours with extremely fast and nice sailing on flat water all the way into the anchorage.
Not as easy as usual to anchor due to our collapsed windlass, but finally we were set and got a very well earned anchor dram after a long day in fog with a brilliant final making full speed.

5 July Thursday Trepassy, south coast of Avalon – Port Kirwan on the east coast of Avalon 43 nm
Woke up shortly after six and had breakfast at anchor. This is the first time we anchored since the windlass broke down. But retrieving the anchor came out ok, using the aft electrical winch and a long rope. We could pull eight meters at a time and secure with two chain hooks when attaching the next sling. The chain and anchor were very muddy hence the retrieving took some extra time. We hoisted a reefed main and then sailed off in warm wind from shore. The wind was very light making us use the engine the whole morning.
Had two Minke whales quite close when we rounded the first light house and headed for Cape Race, the Cape famous for its difficult weather and sea state.
After ten miles we could see the light house and had many blows from whales in the bright sunlight. Very pictures. Coming around to the south side of the cape we got strong head wind over land. As long as it came over land we were fine, but we were a bit worried about the conditions coming around the cape if the wind had the same direction. Off course the condition was almost worse than we expected. There was no way we could motor or sail against this steep sea and strong wind. We had a forecast telling us that the wind should ease and wear in an hour or two. The only reasonable solution was to unfurl the Yankee and sail offshore, waiting for the wind and sea state to be more cooperative. As we know about the wind shift and we didn’t want to come too far out or losing headway, we sailed almost heave too. Very slow and into the wind.
An hour later the wind eased from gale to a force that we could cope with, heading north east. Unfortunately the wind did not change direction enough to allow us to sail without the engine, but this was good enough and allowed us to reach the coast again after an hour. Lots of whales, this time Humpbacks, were fishing between us and the coast. We had sunshine all day in spite the fog was at the horizon.
Three o’clock we headed into a deep fjord and stayed at the first little harbor, Port Kirwan, where we tied up to the public wharf perfect with our bow into the wind. Kirwan had summer record, 31 C, yesterday and today was another warm day. During tying up we had to undress rapidly in the 26C sunshine with little wind!
Took a long walk up the steep hillside and out to the coast with marvelous views out at sea.

6 July Friday Port Kirwan – St John’s 44 nm
Quiet morning in sunshine. Left the wharf shortly before nine o’clock and out in the flat water of the fjord we hoisted the main with one reef. Out at sea we could unfurl the Yankee and shut down the engine.
Today the wind finally came from south and we could very comfortable sail 130 degrees to the four islands famous for its birdlife. 260 000 Puffins are breeding here and more the half a million storm petrels, not to mention common murre and razor bills.
When we came closer to the islands it was obvious that this concentration of birds we had never seen. The sky was full of birds. Looked more like mosquitoes that sometimes can make the sky gray!
We tried to have some photos, but it was not easy. They are extremely fast and the sea state didn’t make it easier.
Coming closer to St John’s the wind increased even more and in the final into the narrows we had forty knots making us fly into the harbour.
Got a good spot all the way into the harbour, although it’s a commercial wharf with big tires on the wharf, we managed to tie up reasonable safe using all our fenders and fender boards.
Before dinner Annika started to dismantle our windlass and now we could see what finally had killed it. Water under the lip seal got into the bearing and corrosion did the rest. But the final disaster happened when the gearbox suddenly came apart and the whole thing got stuck. Why a windlass hasn’t got a stainless permanently greased and sealed bearing is difficult to understand. Even a bad designer should know where a windlass is supposed to be used!!

7 July Saturday St. John’s
Slept until nine after a little bit disturbed sleep during the night due to strong, gusting winds.
Berit took a walk to the information center to get information about how to get to the airport, and on the way back she bought some things for our lunch.
We continued to dismantle the windlass.
Ted, our contact in St John’s, came with our windlass and we had a chat about what not to be missed on the north coast of Newfoundland. The windlass was the right size and voltage, but no capstan and on top of that a crack in the frame holding the windlass under deck. This was not something that could have happened during the transport with the styrofoam box not affected!
We broke lose the cracked part and glued it in place, changed the position so it would not be effected of the weight of the motor. In the fall we will have to do a more serious repair! And change the bearing!!
After preparing the surfaces after dismantling the old windlass we took a long walk in town. Much more interesting than we had excepted. Lots of tourists of course but not too crowded. It has been a very nice and warm week and still it is t-shirt and shorts. Going downhill through downtown we found a nice pub and they served very good beer!
Down in Moon we prepared the dinner when the crew had a well earned shower. There is no showers in the harbour and the fitness center don’t allow us to shower unless we buy a 15$ day pass each.
Lucky we can have a shower in Moon.

8 July Sunday St John’s
The wind died early night and we had a full night undisturbed sleep. Had breakfast in a slow pace before we started with the windlass. We had improved/repaired the first one several times and now we did those upgrades on the new one, hoping that we will avoid those failures. We put loctite in all eight bolts that hold the gearbox together, trying to avoid the final disaster when the gearbox came apart. Hopefully the new one will be more robust and last longer than the first one!! At noon all parts where in place, but waiting for the seal to cure we took a long walk up to Signal Hill and a geologic museum. For us three technicians the museum was very interesting and nicely put together. Coming out, or rather up from the museum, the wind was even stronger. To walk up the remaining trail to the top was too chilly and we opted for the town instead.
Berit was to fly home tomorrow late dinner time. We didn’t want to be stressed on a restaurant tomorrow, making us chose a restaurant tonight for final outing. Found a good restaurant in downtown and had very tasty lamb racks.
Back in Moon we had to reorganize after the hard work with the windlass to be able to sit down and sum up the weeks together with Berit.

Annika & Björn