While in Halifax

One of the reasons we stopped in Halifax is because we were running out of water. The water maker did not perform as expected on the passage from the Delaware Bay to here.


We rented a car as we were a good distance from downtown. The best grocery store in town is Sobey's. They have a liquor store on the side. Food is comparable to our Whole Foods or Wegmans.  Prepared foods, gourmet preparations. There is a huge shopping mall that has the Sobeys and a
Wal-Mart, Penney's and many specialty stores.  We had to visit the Binnacle which is their equivalent of West Marine. They had charts for Labrador and Newfoundland.   http://ca.binnacle.com/

With a car we were able to have dinner downtown and we choose the Salty's restaurant        http://www.saltys.ca/   Salty's is a well known seafood restaurant in the old part of down town . Wonderful deck seating, full bar, great place to stroll and see the sights.

Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Club web site  http://www.rnsys.com/

Pictures Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron & Halifax

the dock at RNSYS- floating docks. It is a well equipped sailing facility with many slips and buildings to support their sailing activities. Every year boats have their masts removed so the ice does not do damage so they have a huge shed with racks and racks of masts. There are cranes that the members use to re-instate their masts for the season. Not a burgee in their club house though.  There is an extensive staff ( four waitresses, bar tender, dock master, shed workers). It is a vibrant place for sailing activities. When we first arrived we were sailing past a class of lasers with students in their wet suits, lining up like ducklings herded around by a bright orange inflatable.  A high performance Cat took groups out for day sails or overnights. A handicapped group met on Sundays and ended their sail with a BBQ. We were invited to a New Members / Dock party on Friday night. We were encouraged to socialize with members. Their dining room serves a full menu daily with a complete bar. 

Their club house- restaurant

road between yard and club house

Typical sky- turns dark quickly but may not rain on you.

Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club (RNYC) in Long Pond

June 21st 2015

I am writing this in slip 118 at the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club (RNYC) in Long Pond (more on this later.  We left Halifax early in the morning of Sunday June 14th bound for St. John's Newfoundland.  The first three day saw winds out of the South which made for a nice broad reach.  We alternated between the genoa and the staysail depending on wind speed but we did not see anything much over 25 knots.  We rounded Capoe Race on Wednesday morning which put the wind behind us in a big quartering sea.  The wind speed steadily increased - Canadian Coast Guard were forecasting gale force winds for the afternoon.  It was impossible to keep wind in the staysail so we motored.  For the last stretch into St John's we saw 40 knot winds, pouring rain and breaking 15 foot waves; a very good test for the new autopilot (which performed admirably).  We tied up at the floating dock at Harbourside Park (Queens Wharf) at 1740.  Canada keeps a very close watch on its coast line.  About two hours before arriving at Halifax we were buzzed - very low - by a small airplane who hailed us on 16 and wanted to know where we were coming from and where we were going.  About three hours before entering St. John's we were contacted by St. John's Harbour Traffic Control asking for a destination and an arrival time and asking us to contact them on Channel 11 when we entered the narrows.  They do not get a lot of small boat traffic.

St. John's harbor is full of massive offshore supply and anchor handling boats and they come and go all the time but the arbor itself is really not set up for small pleasure craft.  Queens Wharf has two floats that each can accommodate two boats (one each side).  there is a small boat wharf at the end of the harbor with power and water but it is fixed and is nearly always full of fishing boats.  Because our water maker was (is) not functioning we had to relocate temporarily to a space in the commercial supply boat wharf and were supplied with 80 gallons through a 2 inch hose.  Water costs $1.60 a ton; we got ours for free.

It is important to say a few words about Newfoundland and its people.  I have never been to a friendlier place where the people are more helpful.  Even though they do not really have small boat facilities - they only get about two dozen a season, the harbor office went out of their way to help us.  About 30 minutes after we tied up the first time we were visited by a port security person with a welcome package and a smile.  They do have a nominal charge per night which we were to pay on leaving but as we left on Saturday the office was closed so I am hoping we can send them a check when they open back up tomorrow.  Sue asked someone where the nearest liquor store was (we were out of beer) and the lady insisted on driving her there and then to the grocery store and then back to the boat - she would not take no for an answer.

One of the cruising guides we have is for the arctic including Greenland, Iceland and Faroe.  It was written by Andrew Wilkes and most of the photographs were taken by his wife Maire.  The day before we left St. John's a classic gaff rigged yawl came into the harbor and Gregers and I helped it tie up to the other side of the float.  The couple sailing it seemed very nice.  Next morning I was looking at the cruising guide and realised the picture on the front cover was of our new neighbor's boat. It was indeed Andrew and Maire and they came over for cocktails that evening - a very pleasant affair.

We left St, John's the next morning and motored around cape St. Francis into Placentia Bay.  Halfway down the Eastern shore is an oil terminal and the entrance to Long Pond, home of the RNYC.  We were met by the Commodore and the Vice Commodore and treated extremely well.  A very friendly and welcoming place.  They have good facilities - we filled up with diesel and I am now bankrupt - showers, a laundry electricity a restaurant and a bar.  We will stay here until about Tuesday when we will depart for Nuuk.

   

First leg- Up the Chesapeake to Halifax, Nova Scotia

The start of our cruise did not go exactly as planned.  We had intended to leave Tuesday (June 2nd) morning for Cape Charles, top up our fuel tanks and then head around Cape Charles directly for Newfoundland.  The weather forecast for offshore had been changing daily and it looked at one time as if we would have a suitable window - not on Tuesday night.  Passage Weather was advising consistent 25 knot NE winds for the next several days.  Since our heading would be NE we decided we could be in Cape May before the weather turned and would therefore gain  couple of days and be a whole lot more comfortable in the process.  So we gave Gregers a mini tour of the Chesapeake: Cape Charles, Crisfield, Solomons and Annapolis.  We went through the C & D on Saturday and departed the Cohassey River on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Bay early Sunday morning.  The Cohassey River is very interesting; One green number 2 somewhere off to the side of the dredged entrance into a swift flowing and deep river.  No other marks and the dredged channel is not deep, we felt our way in and anchored in a river bend for a very peaceful night.

We rounded Cape May about 1000 hrs on Sunday and headed for Newfoundland in a nice SE breeze.  First order of business - make water to fill the empty port tank.  Water maker would not run - kicked out on low pressure.  We decided to press on foregoing showers or other forms of bathing until we arrived.  The conditions were fabulous, we were making 7 knots on a beam reach in 20 to 25 knots with a reefed main and the staysail and did so for two and half days.  The wind moderated substantially after that and we decided to change our destination to Halifax, Nova Scotia because it is directly on the way and we would have the necessary facilities to effect repairs (also the thought of an additional three days with no bath did not appeal to some of us).   

We motor sailed in light air from the stern and reached Halifax late afternoon on Thursday.  We tried the Hlifax Marina right down town but decided it would Royal be an uncomfortable place to stay - and there were no showers.  So we moved to the Royal Nova Scotian Yacht Squadron on the North West Arm.  A very well run and welcoming facility (the oldest Yacht Squadron in N. America - I have been unable to find out the difference between a Yacht Squadron and a Yacht Club but I believe there is one.

Halifax is a lively city with a lot going on down town at night.  This is the start of their summer season and the weather has been gorgeous although it is raining as I write this on Saturday morning.  The water maker is fixed, the auto pilot rudder reference arm and the hydraulic pump foundation are fixed and the water no longer pours in at the mast partners.  Life is good and we intend to depart first thing tomorrow for St John's.