Trip Summary:
Port Hawkesbury to Canso
Trip Distance 24.9 NM, Total Distance, 118.4 NM
Departed at 0830 hours, arrived at 1330 hours
Calm, slightly overcast
Crew Log for August 16 - 17, 2022.
As one of the oldest fishing ports in the Maritimes, the Canso area was a booming spot since the 1500's. It's history predates, Halifax, and the settlements of Port Royal, Nova Scotia and Jamestown, Virginia. However, Canso's rich history is a distant memory, with the exception of once a year when music lovers descend on the town for the annual Stan Rogers Folk Festival. We were headed there to wait out a massive storm. expected on Wednesday.
Entering Canso Town Harbour
After an uneventful motor sail from Port Hawkesbury, we arrived in Canso Town by early afternoon. We decided to take a walk "downtown" to the Co-op Store. We enjoyed he short waterfront walk overlooking Grassy Island National Park and strolling past some of the local homes. There seemed to be a lot of opposition to the proposed satellite launch facility.
Alan reading the history of Canso Town
The Marina is modest, but had water and electrical hookups at every dock and hot showers. There was also available WiFi, but only from a vacant picnic table close to "Don's" house. It turned out that the NS Health WiFi at the hospital could be connected to from the men's bathroom. This was useful to know, given the 30+ knot winds and rain that greeted us the next day.
There is also a campground on site that had a mix of seasonal residents and visitors in town for the upcoming washer toss tournament on the weekend. I am not sure, but it seemed that there was an official dress code since everyone was outfitted in red and black buffalo check shirts. One camper even had a matching set of pants!
The wind and rain started on Tuesday evening and didn't let up for almost 36 hours. Gusts were in excess of 30 knots and the rain was constant. I emptied the dinghy 3 times in 2 days. Neither of us got a lot of sleep the first night.
First loaf of fresh baked bread aboard Elizabeth M
In the morning I decided to try another first on Elizabeth M. I baked a loaf of bread! It actually turned out not too bad and seems to be popular with all the crew! Nothing too fancy, 60 percent whole wheat. Judy tried to venture out a couple of times, but the weather was uncooperative. She was chatting with a friend who had been in Canso a few weeks before for suggestions of things to do, but there wasn't a lot of optimism in the response. We ended the day, watching The Bounty on the laptop and prepping the boat to leave in the morning.
In the end, we safely survived a major storm and made bread for the first time. Despite it's historical decline, our trip to Canso turned out to be a rather memorable one.
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