Trip Summary:
• Tangier to Halifax (Armdale Yacht Club)
• Trip Distance of 51.2 NM, Total Distance, 293.3 NM
• Departed at 0700 hours, arrived at 1700 hours
Crew Log Monday, August 22nd - Wednesday, August 24, 2022
In January 2010 we purchased our first keel boat at the Armdale Yacht Club in Halifax. At the time, neither of us knew much (anything) about keel boats, other than we loved the look of the boat. Despite it's age (built in 1970) the boat had received a number of upgrades and was structurally sound. It was also in our price range. We sold the boat a few years ago and she was back in Armdale, and so were we, where this story all started. It was all a bit surreal passing by Exploits on our way into Armdale on Elizabeth M.
We departed the mooring in Tangier at 0700 hours after a very quiet and comfortable night. We waved goodbye to our hosts, Colin and Patty who were on the deck to see us off. Colin was headed to St. Peter's to bring his own boat back. It was slightly overcast with winds 5 - 8 knots out of the south. We motored sail most of the way, altho we did enjoy several hours off and on when we could shut the motor off. It was a pleasant day on the water.
Our route took us past Chezzetcook and the family camp where Judy spend most of her summers when she was younger. At any one time there would be 3 - 4 other boats within a few miles of us, all heading back to Halifax. We made pretty good time, arriving at Armdale at 1700 hours.
After supper, we were reflecting on our trip so far and smiled at the thought that we could have driven here in 2 hours and yet it took us 8 days by boat. A short while later we heard a knock on the boat and to our surprise, Gordon Bonnenfant, the skipper of sv Mallory from our home yacht club stopped by to wish us well, complete with a gift of Nova Scotia wine. Gordon loves boats, probably more than anyone else we know. So of course, boats and sailing dominated the conversation. Well boats and "what did we do with our cat, Yoshi". It was nice to hear that people were actually following us and were interested in our adventure.
The next morning we were greeted with a pretty good down pour so we were happy to stay put. I did meet a fellow sailor, from England on sv Quilcene. She and her husband sailed around the Mediterranean for 6 years, then down to Central America and back up to Souris PEI in the fall of 2019. They left the boat there, intending to return in 2020 to sail it back to England. We all know what happened next, so they had just gotten back to the boat this summer and plan to sail back to England next year.
Judy's cousin Neil dropped by in the morning to drive us around to do some errands and then took us out to their home in Hammonds Plains for a beautiful lunch. Mercedes is an excellent cook and Neil is a great baker so it goes without saying that the meal was excellent as was the conversation. They were kind enough to take us to the grocery store to restock the provisions, before taking us back to the boat.
In 2017, we travelled to the BVI's with good friends Greg and Nancy and Sue and Anita, chartered a boat and sailed around the Islands. While the sailing was indeed memorable, none of us are likely to forget watching the Super Bowl on a beach in Cane Garden Bay, when New England made an historic comeback victory over Atlanta. In addition to being fellow sailors and Patriots fans, Greg and I were also work colleagues for many years. We always enjoyed cruising with Seahorse and later Silver Seas, so we really hoped we could meet up while we were in Halifax. Luckily they were home and kindly invited us for supper. It was certainly great catching up and was also good to have a visit with Sue. We also were very surprised and pleased to have a visit with Anita on our last evening here.
We spent out last day in Halifax catching up on chores and getting the boat ready leave tomorrow. Judy set up a sewing room on the dock to make some modifications to the cockpit enclosure, while I tried to catch up on our trip updates and filled the diesel and water tanks.
In the morning, we had a surprise visit from Mike, who likely deserves much of the credit for us getting into boating in the first place. He definitely was the most influential person to sort out my bad skiing habits. On our rides up the lift at Ski Wentworth, after he reminded me to yet again, "get my feet apart", the conversation quickly shifted to boats. Mike also insisted that not only should we buy a boat, but that we needed to race the boat. Mike is a big part of how we got here.
Judy's sister Joan also paid us a visit in the morning. Shortly before we left on this trip, Joan and I shared an extended embrace, which provided her enough time to whisper in my ear, "if anything happens to my sister I will hunt you down for the rest of your life and hurt you". An added reminder that we need to stay safe! We also, were surprised when Tim dropped down later in the day for a visit. Ironically, we had sailed past his home in Lower Ship Harbour a few days before so it was nice of him to drop in and wish us well.
We are ready to shove off this Halifax Pier and head down the South Shore. Before we do that though, we are stopping at one of the most popular anchorages around Prospect for a night.
But more about that, later.
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