Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia

Saturday, August 23, 2008

045-51.540 N
061-55.140 W

Ahoy from Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia!

Today we headed from Charlottetown, PEI to Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia. This was a 67 nm trip and we were supposed to have had 15-20 kts out of the SW which would have made for a great sail. We had those conditions for about an hour as we departed Charlottetown, but as soon as we made the turn towards Nova Scotia the winds dropped and after a while we were motoring along on glassy seas. Well, at least we weren't bashing into it and I even had time to process the video from PEI. And on top of that, it was a wonderful day with sunny skies and warm temps.

What's a bit scary is that this weekend is supposed to be the best weekend of the summer. Yikes! It's nice, but this is the best?!? When we were in Chandler, just a few days ago, people were preparing the boats to be hauled as their cruising season was over...Those jokes about the month of summer in this area aren't that far from the truth.

This section of Nova Scotia, which is still on the Northumberland Strait looks like a wonderful area in which to spend some time. There are hiking trails all over the place which must provide some stunning views. If you're a fisherman, this is where the world record Blue fin tuna was caught via rod and reel. It weighed something like 1485 lbs and was caught on a 133 lb test line! Wow!

We pulled into Ballantynes Cove marina where the dockage was a wonderful $18. There's a little cantine that serves great fish and chips and there's an Interpretive Center which provides all kinds of info on the area. It's beautiful and we're very happy here. Just after we docked, a local boat pulled in and the woman looked as me and asked "Are you Geoff?" I scanned my memory, didn't recognize her and answered "Yes." She then explained that she knew all about us from my logs and that she and her husband had spent 6 months in Belize and relied heavily on my logs for info on the area. It's funny how I we met someone from Nova Scotia who knew us from my Belize logs.

Tomorrow we're headed thru the Canso Causeway to to Bras d'Or lakes. I'm not sure that we'll make it all of the way, but we'll give it a shot.

-- Geoff & Sue

Log ID: 1270