Pilot Press - Cruising Guide to the Nova Scotia Coast Updates

The Cruising Guide to the Nova Scotia Coast

Updates from 2005 through 2007

The current edition of this guide is dated March 2005 - check the Contents page for the date.
A new edition will be available in April 2008.

Customs, Campobello, Island page 17

Bob Stewart in Sofia Christina in 2007. We cleared at Head Hrbr, Campobello Is, NB. We had hoped to be given a CanPass clearance number over the phone and allowed to carry on as other boats on delivery to Canada had been allowed to do, but they wanted to see us - possibly because one of two people on board was a U.S. citizen. No problems getting in or out via good charted channels. We tied up to the public wharf with several commercial fishing boats, and two very friendly Customs Inspectors drove down to meet us. No facilities at the wharf, but no difficulties with Customs either.

Upper Bay of Fundy page 20

Bill Cook in Resolution in 2007. Since Bob Carter cruised this area in the mid-1980's, some of the drying harbors along the Fundy shore of Nova Scotia have fallen into poor repair.

Hall's Harbour page 21

The breakwater/ pier at Halls Harbor was extensively repaired in 2003 after a major storm, and offers the fundamentals a yacht needs, smooth pilings and a reasonably level bottom. Protection is good in anything except a Northeaster. You should try to enter and leave within an hour or so of high tide, but you would have a bit more time on a spring tide. Tides are about 30' at neaps, 40' at springs, but because the harbor bottom is far above sea level at low water, your deck may be "only" 15 feet below the wharf when you have dried out. The bottom slopes down enough toward the entrance that Resolution tilted back onto her rudder, but not enough to do any damage. There is an active fishing fleet, so contact the Harbour Authority President, Charles Skerry,* to see if they can make room for you. I recommend tying a halyard to one of the large boulders on the wharf, and heeling the boat a few degrees toward the wharf, so that you are in no danger of falling away from the face when you dry out. Just keep tending your halyard and dock lines as the water falls. Fresh water is piped to the pier, and fuel is available by truck. The small town is attractive, and there is a restaurant at the head of the pier. *Charles can be reached at 902-678-5219 or charles.skerry@xcountry.tv

Other Anchorages

The point just east of Hall's Harbour could provide some shelter in a Southwester, and the fishermen's mooring directly off the harbor is good in settled conditions. Ten miles across the bay, Spencer Island provides good protection in winds from Southwest to North.

Cape Split
This, the entrance into Minas Basin, has some of the most powerful currents anywhere. The average water flow thorough this 3-mile wide passage is five times that of the Amazon River. On spring tides, the rips and whirlpools are reported dangerous to small boats. Resolution rounded the Cape near slack water on a neap tide, and it looked about as agitated as Woods Hole at full strength.

Cape Blomidon
Aptly named, with the Southwest wind accelerating strongly off the cliff on the leeward side. We found a good anchorage South of the Cape, nearer the village of Blomidon, where the williwaws are much diminished. Good holding and relatively moderate current. Since you would not have been able to pass Cape Split unless the tide was flooding, you will probably anchor near high water, so be sure to allow 40 or 50 feet for the tide to drop.

Musquash Harbour
Resolution found reasonable shelter from light SW winds under the West point (although there would likely be some roll if it were breezy), but open to the south and southeast.

Grand Passage page 31

Bob Stewart in Sofia Christina in 2007. We went through from north to south with a strong northeast wind against a just-turned flood tide. We were surfing in a breaking following swell. Beware wind against tide through that passage.

Meteghan page 36

(Port Authority - 902-645-3151, Marina - 769-8809, Fuel - 769-8114) This is a small, but busy, fishing port with a small yacht marina in the west end of the protected harbour. Fuel was delivered by truck, but we had to take the boat over to the float at the main wharf to receive it, as the truck's hose wasn't long enough to reach us on the marina float. Very friendly marina staff actually removed a finger from the marina so we'd have room to tie up alongside the main jetty and drove me to the liquor store about five miles away and back via the grocery store.

Shelburne Harbour, page 49

Bill Hill on board Trekkin in 2007. I cannot say enough good things about the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club (902-875-4757). They have moorings, showers, and laundry facilities. Best price on fuel on the coast, as they do not have a mark-up. Larger boats are coming here to avoid checking in with customs at Yarmouth. (Ed. A superb and friendly small club that looked after 40+ yachts on a CCA cruise last year.)

Bill Hill on board Trekkin in 2006. Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club I cannot say enough good things about them. They have moorings, showers, and laundry facilities. Best price on fuel on the coast, as they do not have a mark-up. Larger boats are coming here to avoid checking in with customs at Yarmouth. (Editors note. I agree. I try to avoid Yarmouth as although slightly closer to the States once there you still have a fair distance to Shelburne and you need to time your departure from Yarmouth to play the tides. Shelburne is a designated telephone reporting site for Customs, now called the Canadian Border Security Agency) Shopping is a mile out of town on King Street. Or take dinghy to head of harbor, land behind lumber yard on "beach", walk to main street, turn left and store is short way down on right. Best restaurant is Charlotte Lane Cafe, reservations suggested.

Lockport page 52

Sandy Weld on board Windigo. "Directions": Coming from the east I used the passage between Ram Island and Hemeon's Head in THICK fog using Nobeltec charts and radar. The GPS track on the electronic charts was spot on. "Anchorage and Berths" There is 15 foot depths along the 180-foot floating dock.

Port Mouton page 56

Jim Evans on board Mary Lamb in 2007. Willow Cove is an active fish plant with large draggers and a few lobster boats. The entrance is well buoyed and shelter is excellent and it would probably be O.K. to tie up away from the plant. There are no facilities but you might be able to get chipped ice from the fish plant.

Public Wharf:
The entrance is well buoyed and has a minimum 8 feet. The 2 wharves have at least 10 feet alongside but are crowded with boats. The locals were very friendly and didn't mind us tying alongside (out of season). Port Mouton village is about 1 1/2 miles away on Rte 103 East (towards Halifax). There is a small but decent restaurant with beer, liquor and (very) basic groceries. We were given rides both ways. The small dock at 43degrees 55.6N, 64 degrees 50.8W is accessible by dinghy and close to the restaurant. Just turn right at the highway.

LaHave River page 59

B. Stewart onboard Sofia Christina in 2007. The LaHave River Yacht Club (902-688-3177) is 2.1 nm upstream from the bakery. They are a friendly little club with a new dock built in 2006. There's limited docking space but several (white) mooring balls for visiting boats. If space is available, the cost is $20.00 + tax (22.80) per night. The club operates only limited hours in Sept and closes for the season at the end of Sept. The docks are sensitive to strong winds from the North/NW (down the river) and boats are required to move off the docks in winds over 25 Kts from that direction.

Lunenburg page 62

C. Westropp in Wind Free in 2007. With the collapse of the fishery Lunenburg is struggling to maintain its waterfront as heritage/tourist Area now that all the commercial enterprises have left. The local North Sail loft has taken over the Yacht Shop and marina and moorings in the harbour. In 2007 there was no fuel available at the Marina but I am assured that fuel will be available again in 2008.

Sambro Harbour (Inner Sambro Island), page 86

Bill Cook on board Resolutionin 2005. Inner Sambro I.: There is 10' of water as far as the mouth of the little cove on the NW corner of the island; then it appears to shoal fairly quickly. There is a submerged rock off the west point of the cove. (A great place for a lunch stop, little beach and a good place to stretch the legs, but not much room to swing and the passage north of the Island can be quite busy. I am considering adding previous editor Mac Grant's recommended passage through the Sambro Ledges in thick weather for those who like a navigational challenge when I do the next update - Ed))

Jeddore page 98

Jim Evans in Mary Lamb in 2007. The public wharf is no more - it's been taken over by the fish company and is now home to several large draggers. I did actually stay there a night in spite of very tarry pilings but they (very politely) asked me to move in the morning as more boats were coming in. I then found out the hard way that the mud bank north of the wharf has grown southwards considerably and spent the afternoon on it! Anchoring in the river above the wharf is O.K. - the fishermen say there's no traffic. Holding is good but there is a fairly strong current. There is nothing ashore.

Bob Stewart in Sofia Christina in 2007. Past the public wharf on the east side near the harbour entrance there is a long N/S shallow bar that is marked with red buoys. The northern-most mark should be given wide clearance, as it appeared to have drifted southward in over the bar at the time of our visit in July '07. The NE corner of the bay near the highway bridge provided good holding for an overnight anchor.

Bill Hill on board Trekkin in 2007. There are large rocks west of Browns Island. We went across and anchored behind Prior Island. Good Holding and friendly people.

Shelter Cove (Popes Harbour), page 103

Iain Tulloch in Zimaz in 2007. Pope's Harbour is located a convenient day's sailing distance from Halifax, 50 - 60 nm depending on your departure point. It also can be entered in bad conditions and if you choose your anchorage carefully, offers protection from winds of all directions.

Pope's Harbour is located a convenient day's sailing distance from Halifax, 50 - 60 nm depending on your departure point. It also can be entered in bad conditions and if you choose your anchorage carefully, offers protection from winds of all directions. There are several locations within the harbour that you may consider. Shelter Cove, to port as you enter, Harbour Island, half- way up the inlet and at the head of the inlet.

To enter Pope's Harbour in clear visibility there is no problem, as Pope's Head is bold, rock and is fairly prominent between Tangier Island and Taylor Head. In poor visibility and rough sea conditions the approach between Bell Buoy YA2 off Spry Harbour and Green Spar YE 1 is safest.

A course of 359 M. distance 1.77 nm from YA2 brings you to the vicinity of Pope's Head bell buoy YE2 in deep water. Keep clear of Horse Rock 2.7 M.and Pope's Shoal 3 M Both to port. A course of 320 M 1.2 nm takes you safe side of green spar YE5. The entrance to shelter cove, which is the last cove on the mainland peninsula, is to port. Depending upon the tide and sea state the rocks just west of YE5 may show breaking and those almost directly ahead on a 320 M bearing from Pope Bell YE2 show at all tide levels. Make a wide radius turn, with your eye on the sounder, into the centre of the entrance between the rocks port and starboard. Chart 423601 shows a depth of 0.3 M (1 foot) in the centre of the entrance. Those who have previously entered the cove know that this is an error.

Within a radius of .03 nm (180 ft) of this 0.3M chart sounding no depth less than 5m (16 ft) was found. Further into the cove no depths less than 5M (16 ft) were noted within .03 nm. of the shore, except at the narrow isthmus to the SW. The cove is protected well except for strong SW or NE winds. Anchoring towards the south side provides best protection. Holding is good in firm mud. There are landings on beaches to the north, through the reeds to the west and on the rocky shelf to the south. There are footpaths along the north shore to the west and north. The beaches at the narrow isthmus to the west are gorgeous with beautiful views of Tangier Harbour.

These beaches are frequently visited by kayakers, who camp in the woods and significant damage has occurred; fire pits, garbage, branch removal etc. Visitors are encouraged to remove any garbage to keep this priceless spot pristine. The Nature Trust owns the entire property surrounding shelter cove and it is incumbent upon us to treat it with the utmost respect.

In rough weather visitors may be deterred from entering Shelter Cove due to the appearance of the rocks and many proceed further up into the harbour. The anchorage behind Harbour Island is very sheltered from the SW and the approach is easy, stay in the centre of the channel as you round the island.

The holding behind the island is not so good, being stony in places and the bottom shelves up quickly towards the narrow part of the island so stay off otherwise a wind change could cause you to bump. There is a landing on rock and an old fishing shack at the narrow part of the island. Those having relatively shallow draft may also process through to the NE to Pope's Harbour village and Spry Bay. Good anchoring can also be found towards the head of the harbour especially to port at the small indentation on the other side of the peninsula from the Tangier public wharf where there is a firm sand bottom and an easy beach landing.

Bill Cook on board Resolution in 2005. Shelter Cove (Popes harbor): Beautiful, and you need the sketch chart in the Guide, as there are no soundings on the Canadian chart. The cove shoals at the head (SW end) more than is shown on the sketch chart, but we found 9' depths fairly well in along the SE shore. We also anchored in the small cove among the ledges SE of the entrance, without finding the 3' rock shown, but this is a very tight spot, and there may well be rocks we didn't find. There is a smooth sand beach in the cove just south of Shelter Cove. (I will produce a new enlarged chartlet and post it on this website - Ed)

Gerrard Passage, page 105

Bill Cook on board Resolution in 2005. The chart reprinted in the Guide again appears quite accurate. We actually found no less than 13' (LW) off the east end of Long I., but this part is very narrow, and the bottom very rocky, so just a few feet away, one could be in much shallower water.

Ecum Secum, page 115

Sandy Weld on board Windigo in 2005. The "inside Passage" between Liscomb Is. and Beaver Harbour is remarkably accurate on Nobeltc's Visual Navigation Suite version 7.0.825. The only "significant" error we noticed was that Hartlings Is's western end is located farther east than it really is. (Hartlings Is. is on the eastern side of Necum Teuch Hr.) All the buoys on Nobeltc's chart that we were looking for were in place, but many buoys on the out-of-date chart #4355 were not in place.

Marie Joseph Harbour, page 116

Sandy Weld on board Windigo in 2005. In 2005 Smith Cove was filled with aquaculture gear. There was also aquaculture gear to the northwest of Turners Island - where "Marie Joseph Harbour" is printed on the chartlet. There was no aquaculture gear between Round Is. and Turners Is. The route as drawn on the chartlet past Turners Is. worked.

Bill Cook on board Resolution in 2005. The passage between Goose I. and Turners I. has depths that agree with the chart in the Guide. The anchorage between these islands is protected from all directions but east, and the two coves on Goose I. just to the west should be fine in this case.

Liscomb Mills, page 118

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. The Lodge is still owned by the Provincial Government, but since 2002 has been leased to a private operator. The restaurant is good; the planked salmon is a specialty, but maybe not worth ordering unless there is a tour bus there for the night. The facilities include an indoor swimming pool with whirlpool and sauna that are fee, at least for those who tie to the dock, which is approximately 60 feet long. There is 10 feet of water at this dock. There is some current past the dock, caused by the outflow of the river, often making docking interesting. The Lodge no longer has a van for shopping in Sherbrooke and/or to visit the restored village there.

When approaching the Lodge there are several red navigation buoys, to the east of them there may or may not be mooring buoys attached to "huge" concrete blocks with line and chain. If the mooring buoys aren't in place, because it's too early in the season or the current management hasn't gotten around to it, be aware that all that line and chair is lying on the bottom. There is 10 feet of water in this area so there is enough water to anchor there. If Chester is there you'll be in good hands. He has run the waterfront activities for many years and is a wealth of knowledge for the area. (Bill Hill had a bad experience with the planked salmon, which was more plank than salmon - Ed)

Sandy Weld on board Windigo in 2005. The wharf and floating dock are small (short) and will surely be busy during the season. Half a dozen moorings are located just before the wharf facilities, squeezed in among the navigation buoys. The Lodge has 20 cabins ("chalets") and a main lodge with individual rooms, a nice lounge area, gift shop and dinning room. The "planked salmon" is now (2005) a daily specialty, not just on Thursday. The lodge has a nice indoor swimming pool with whirlpool and sauna. There are nice paths upriver from the lodge. (A great place for a break from the inevitable slog to windward when heading for Halifax and places west, even if it is a fair run in. Ed.)

Little Liscomb Harbour page118

Gary Schneider in Rising Wind in 2007. Directions: Entering from the west be sure not to cut too far inside VM3 Bell since Liscomb Island has rocks some distance off shore, breaking even in a slight swell near high tide. There is an unmarked shoal of a bit more than 3 meters, which led us to take a slight curve in our course line. The green spar buoy is small and difficult to locate visually. The red beacon off Indian Point needs paint to be very visible.

Anchorages and/or Berths: We nudged up late evening into the area just east on Hemloe Island and a bit north of Hog Island. The anchor set instantly and came up in the morning with a bit of mud. There was a barely noticeable roll from the swell of the southwesterly.

Remarks: This is an easy harbor to exit heading east without going too far out of the way.

Country Harbour, page 124

Bill Hill on board Trekkin in 2006. There is a large mussel farm stretching from just above Mt. Misery to Armstrong Creek. Can still get into the cove, but there is not much room above the cove to anchor.

Whitehead, page 128

Jim Evans in Mary Lamb in 2007. There is a mussel operation here now but it is fairly inconspicuous and plenty of room is left for anchoring (in the cove north of the 5m island noted in the Guide). And what a stunning place Whitehead Harbour is!

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. There is a ledge off the SE corner of Yankee Is. it is due south of the two large boulders on the SE corner of Yankee Is. If one steers a course of 260 - 80 degrees when heading for or away from the fish plant on the far shore of Whitehead Bay one will pass to the south of the ledge shown on chart 4233. Having investigated the "rep" rock to the south of this ledge I do not believe that obstruction exists. The reported groundings in the guide have got to have been on the ledge described above that is now indicated on the chart, but wasn't shown on older charts.

Unfortunately mussel farming has now taken over � of Yankee Cove. An area on the western side of the cove still has space for anchoring. The old chart 4280 shows depths of 26 feet to the north of the islet in the entrance to the cove. I found 40 foot depths with good holding.

Malcolm and Luli MacNaught on board Somerled reported in 2005 that a large aquaculture operation takes up most of the South east side of Yankee Cove.

Port Howe, page 129

James Pitney on board First Light 2005 spent the night in Port Howe (having entered through Dover Passage). We anchored in 26' of water between the two islets. Lovely, quiet and unspoiled spot, from which there were no signs of human habitation. Water was crystal clear. Bottom rocky with lots of kelp.

Little Dover Passage page 130

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007 The last paragraph of pp 130 should read, "although the narrowest part is only 30 yards wide, favor the northern shore where the minimum depth is three fathoms because a ledge extends out from the southern shore."

The green buoy at the western end of Little Dover Passage has been moved to the north a little to mark a ledge on the northern shore should one be headed into Dover Hr.

Little Dover Run, East End page 131

Gary Schneider in Rising Wind in 2007.

Directions:
The green marks shown on the charts were present in August of 2007 but both of the red marks shown at the Eastern end of the run were AWOL. The outer green Bell and spar are of respectable size, the inner green is so small that we did not see it until we were within a half mile of it on a clear day looking with glasses. While it is not politically correct to recommend such things, our chart plotter with Navionics charts was spot on in this area. Without it, the lack of the red marks and the forbidding look of the steep granite would have caused us to pull a one-eighty and go back to slugging into the SW wind that had just blown up. As it turned out, when jogged slowly in and in, never seeing less that the forty-five feet in which we anchored. Even our "swing room circle" before letting go never showed less than forty feet.

Anchorages and/or Berths:
We anchored at 45 16.298, 60 59.217 in forty-five feet about one quarter mile from the area that the chart shows as the end of the deep water making into the "run" or passage. The first of the northern coves was just ahead and has one small cottage visible, and another hidden on the eastern side. Our 80 lb. plow with 3/8-chain bit well but we would not be comfortable here in anything except a Summer time SW wind and settled weather. Any hint that there might be wind from the Southeast to Northeast and this would not be a safe place for the night. The granite shores are very steep to and the place has the feeling of a small fjord without the surrounding cliffs. Continuing in further west a second cove on the north side has rocks well marked with local decorations, and more cottages in the surround.

Remarks:
This is a taste of the South Coast of Newfoundland without the extra two hundred miles. The flora in the lower heaths of Dover Island are very similar to the heathers, sundews, Cloudberry, and pitcher plants to be found on Isle Aux Mortes. The granite plutonic foundation strewn with glacial erratics and covered with a deep layer of peat is also similar. While there are a few "camps" or fishermen's' houses that have been turned into Summer places on the western shores, the East facing side is uninhabited and feels very remote. The Dover Run Passage appears quite possible, but one should not anticipate that all marks would be present. There were few fishing boats in evidence.

Facilities:
Absolutely none what so ever!

Louse Harbour, page 132

Doug Bruce in Bluewater in 2007. I wanted to add an update on a (new?) rock discovered in Louse Harbor this summer: We got into the outer harbor past Louse Head with no problems -- the existing directions were very helpful in that regard. We then entered the narrow passage to get in behind the little island that one leaves to starboard to reach inner Louse Harbor. We were there at a normal low tide, so went very slowly, as Bluewater draws 7'2". Upon reaching the narrowest spot between the island and the other shore we "bumped" ever-so-gently on a ledge dead center in the channel. Other friends, Linda & Phil Glaser aboard Antara also nudged the same ledge a few days later, but were able to find a route around it by going closer to the shore.

Phil Glaser in Antara in 2007. I found the same ledge with a 5' 6" draft. But I'd put it slightly to the NE of Doug's mark, and suggest that one should pass it to the SW, about a third of the way from the SW side of the channel to the NE side. DO IT SLOWLY if the tide is low!

Another ledge found at the same state of the tide was at near the middle of the shank of your anchor symbol. Again, it was a very LOW tide and discovered with a 5' 6" draft. Otherwise, it should not be a problem. Its approximate position is marked as a RED dot on this chartlet. (Ed - I have marked both rocks on the chartlet to the right)

Charles Gibson on board Hannah II in 2006. The chartlet on the page 132 bears no resemblance to the geographic fact. The 1996 edition of Chart 4233 is much more accurate and that shows all the islets and near surface rocks. In addition to the two anchorages mentioned in the text there is a third and even better one located on the southern arm of the harbour slightly to the west of the "5" metre numeral shown on chart 4233. That one provides a perfect hurricane hole. [Editor's note. An updated chartlet is attached and will be in the next version of the guide with suggested anchorages when I have been there to check it out this summer.]

Bill Cook on board Resolution in 2005. We saw the first "rock" indicated on the sketch chart (opposite the words "Louse Harbor"), but anchored about where the second is marked, without finding it.

Canso page 135

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. When entering from the east and going straight through leave the large box based light located on Starling Rk and to the north of the Grave Island breakwater to starboard. Various boats have tried leaving it to port and discovered the hard way that that isn't the correct side to leave it. To the south of this box based light is a red and green spar buoy, this you leave to port if you are going straight through to Chedabucto Bay or to starboard if going into Canso Harbor proper. In June 2007, I do not recall seeing PJ18 or PC12 (red spar buoys to the east and west of Starling Rk.) which are shown on my chart #4281 dated 1996 and on Nobeltec's electronic chart. (It's less confusing if they are not there)

The fish plant has been closed since the early 1980s with occasional openings now. Before that it was processing 1 million pounds of fish a day! The lobster season here is for two months and ends June 30. There is a post office, bank and co-op combination hardware and grocery store. The liquor store is 3 miles out of town.

Anchorages and Berths:
"You may anchor in the harbor, and possibly the best spot is in 18' along the shore midway between the Grave Island breakwater and the public wharf. Berths may be found in the government/fishing wharf area. In the spring of 2007 the public wharf (the eastern one) was condemned, even though it looked fine to me. This wharf is normally a busy place with fishing boats unloading (their fish trucked to fish plants elsewhere) and the Coast Guard. When it is repaired there are 14-foot depths alongside here. To the west of the fish plant there is an "L" shaped wharf, at the entrance to the tickle, with 6 feet at low water and good protection, if there is space for you. Further up the tickle is a floating dock, new in 1995, with gas and diesel. Otherwise Irving will deliver to one of the wharfs, if the quantity is enough. Be forewarned, the tickle gets very narrow, turning around could pose a serious problem."

A very small marina is located at the inner end of the breakwater on the southeasterly side of the harbor. Or it's an extension of Gave Island, as shown on chart #4281, to the shore. The marina basin (with 8 foot depths) is formed by a second short "L" shaped breakwater. There are five finger floats of about 40 feet long. There are no facilities here. Fresh water is available and fuel can be delivered.

If you're in this area for the night, don't spend it in Canso proper. Move over to the cove formed by George Is., Grassy Is. and Piscatiqui Is. This cove has been described in the guide for many years with the advice "to have a man spotting from the spreaders on the way in, as the channel is tortuous". In fact the channel is used daily for the tour boat to and from Canso to the Canso Islands and Grassy Island Fort, a National Historic sited of Canada. The depths on chart #4281 aren't quite correct, but the route in is fairly well shown. As described to me by the head of the Canso Islands and Grassy Island Fort one wants to stay fairly close to the shore on the starboard hand on entering for there is a rock ledge on the port side near the entrance. (There may be a small green buoy in place marking this ledge). Then a sand bar extends from the starboard side near the inner end of the entrance, with perhaps a red buoy marking its end. The best anchorage is to the NW in 15 feet or so with good holding. To the south and east the bottom is very soft sand with poor holding!

On the north side of Grassy Island there is a Park Service float with 8 feet along side which is available from 6pm to 9am, otherwise it is used by the Park Service boat going back and forth to Canso.

Port Hawkesbury, page 138

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. Strait Superport now owns the government wharf and they charge $1.00 per foot per night. The Yacht Club has Internet access.

Fred Keire on board Why Fret in 2006. The Canso Strait Yacht Club is now under the umbrella of Port Hawkesbury Municipal Authority. It offers a very convenient place for a lay- up prior to transiting the Canso Causeway Canal. Once outside on the northern end of the canal locks, there is not much protection and a sailboat must be very attuned to the weather outlook before transiting the canal in that direction. A northwesterly wind would present a challenge depending, of course, on the strength of the wind. Similarly, a transit to the east against an easterly wind or a northeasterly wind would suggest a lay up at Port Hawkesbury. At Canso Strait Yacht Club diesel is available. The pumps are located near the government wharf. Harbour staff is very friendly and helpful.

Lennox Passage, Poulamon Bay page, 139

Gary Schneider in Rising Wind in 2007.

Directions:
This harbor is marked with an anchorage symbol and is to the east of the Lennox Passage bridge on the north side of Isle Madame. We entered from the east and passed the green flashing light on Eagle Island and rounded into the harbor before green NT13. From the east, pass NT 13 and round in before the flashing light. Entrance is very straightforward and there are adequate depths.

Anchorages and/or Berths:
There is an anchorage symbol on the chart, which shows a designated anchorage area, although no other boats were near. One can anchor in the depths to suit your vessel fairly easily; our anchor set well and we found soft gray mud on the anchor and chain in the morning. There are yellow floats marking mussel floats on the eastern side of the bay, as well as inside Crow Island, bit there seemed to be plenty of room in the harbor and the area marked "anchorage" is clear of aquaculture gear at present.

Remarks:
We enjoyed a peaceful evening in a quiet rural setting with a number of traditional looking smaller houses on the shore of a what appears to be a community with many years of history. In heading east from the Canso Lock we called the Lennox Passage bridge on channel 16 to inquire regarding their 2007 operating hours. He asked to change to his working frequency of 68. Although the bridge tender usually goes home at 7:30 in late August (St. Peter's Canal time as well), he kindly stayed extra 15 or so minutes to allow us to pass through in the evening. It's unlikely that would happen in the US of A! CAUTION! must be exercised in the vicinity of the bridge, since it does not open quickly and the current can be fairly strong. Do not approach this bridge as though it were one on the Atlantic seaboard "Inland Waterway" that opens for boats twenty times a day and has its timing down pat. We saw the gates go down and held our speed, and then we saw the bridge begin to open so we still held our speed. This was not good as the bridge opens very, very slowly and we ended up hitting reverse and then making a three-sixty to avoid running into the still-opening span! There is a light located on the far end of the lifting section of the bridge. It is bright red as the opening begins and does not turn green until five or six minutes later when the bridge is all the way open. Fully opened means that the lifting span is at about a forty-five degree angle and if you have a stick more than forty of so feet, the slot twixt the end of the opening span and the abutment is not more than thirty feet so you must be tight to the far abutment and not in the center of the span. I should make it very clear here that the excitement was purely the fault of the guy at the wheel of the boat and in no way should reflect poorly on the bridge attendant.

Jim Evans noted that there are nice coves on the way in but Haddock Harbour itself is not very interesting.
Facilities: None

Lennox Passage, Poulamon Bay page, 139

Gary Schneider in Rising Wind in 2007.

Directions:
This harbor is marked with an anchorage symbol and is to the east of the Lennox Passage bridge on the north side of Isle Madame. We entered from the east and passed the green flashing light on Eagle Island and rounded into the harbor before green NT13. From the east, pass NT 13 and round in before the flashing light. Entrance is very straightforward and there are adequate depths.

Lennox Passage page 139 and D'Escousse page 142

Jim Evans in Mary Lamb in 2007.

Inhabitants River
Unbuoyed, strong current - "interesting" but not a place to stop.

The Basin
Too big for really sheltered anchorage but good holding in filthy black Muck. Very wild - just me and the coyotes howling at the full moon all night. Creepy!

Lennox Passage Yacht Club, D'Escousse
Has a beautiful new building but very few docks and poor shelter on the East side they hope to remedy this soon. $1/foot includes services Including laundry (although I couldn't find the power points on the Wharf - maybe not finished yet). The Pearl Restaurant (turn right on the road) is under new management and has good food, good service and good Value.

Lions Club Marina, page 145

James Pitney on board First Light in 2005. The telephone number of Lions Club Marina is (902) 535-2729 (not 2792 as shown in the guide). I second the laudatory comments about the marina and the market. Everyone was most gracious.

Ross Pond, page 152

Malcolm and Luli MacNaught on board Somerled in 2005. There is a lot of building going on in both coves but they recommend North Cove as the preferred anchorage.

Crammond Islands page 152

Bob Stewart in Sofia Christina in 2007. Enter from the South and stay close to the spit extending southwest from the east island. Leave the north entrance to the locals! There is a charted and buoyed channel leading in from the southeast. At the north end there is a long and shallow bar to the west from the east island and, just south of that, across a very narrow unmarked and uncharted channel there is a very long and shallow bar extending out to the east from the west island. Locals say it has snagged many first time visiting boats. There is a nice anchorage in the southeast area between the islands.

Malagawatch Harbour, page 154

Malcolm and Luli MacNaught on board Somerled in 2005 found shoaling to 5ft between Campbell Point and Neily's Point and for a short distance and recommend staying to port of center. Bill Cook on board Resolution suggested MacRaes Harbor (behind Malagawatch Point): Good protection except from northerlies. Pellier Harbor: Protected from all directions. (Both fine anchorages - Ed).

Gillis Cove, page 157

Malcolm and Luli MacNaught on board Somerled in 2005. Favour west of center when entering as there is probably much less water than the 12ft opposite the dock shown on the chartlet. There is still a lot of abandoned / active aquaculture here and the caveat in the remarks still applies.

Great Bras d'Or., page 167

Bill Cook on board Resolution in 2005. Otter Harbor: An alternative anchorage is just north of Harbor Point in 15' Big Harbor: Can carry 6' or more as far as the prominent pier in the southern arm, if you stay close to the pier.

The Bras, d'Or Lakes

Henry Fuller on board White Mist and owner of the Cape Breton Boatyard. In 2006 the lakes were designated a "no dumping zone" and reports that almost all the marinas in the Bras d'Or have pump-out stations that are up and running. (Editors note. Henry has been one of the leaders of the charge to maintain a healthy environmental balance in one of the most sensitive bodies of water on the Continent)

Jim Hawkins. - The Great Bra D'Or Channel is well marked with large, lighted, radar reflecting buoys and range markers. The entry is straight forward except for the fact that the tidal current slews across the narrows and at its maximum can reach up to six knots. In addition, the time of slack water cannot be reliably fixed and the tables which purport to give these times are notoriously unreliable in actual practice. Plus, the direction of the current in the channel is counterintuitive. That is, the current floods much of the time the tide is falling and ebbs much of the time the tide is rising! Furthermore, winds blowing up or down the channel can retard, advance, or even reverse the "normal" flow pattern. We encountered a delivery captain, Captain Hamilton Carter, who has passed through the Channel numerous times; his formula seemed to work for us:

To be sure of the current is with you - or at least not strongly against you - going in, arrive at the entrance 2-3 hours after high tide. Going out of the channel, arrive at the exit 2-3 hours after low tide.

McKinnons, Harbour page 155

Bill Hill on board Trekkin in 2006. - Entrance is at 45* 55.425'N 60* 56.858'W per our GPS. It is a cut through the narrow land NW of the entrance. Depth was eight feet at the entrance. We did not see any marks. The old entrance is sanded in and unusable. Best anchorage is in the cove further in on port after channel turns to port.

Ingonish Harbour page 173

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. On entering in the dark be aware that this entrance, like similar entrances with strong currents, doesn't stay as charted for long and or the buoys don't stay in "position" at all times. In 2007, proceeding in from the MOA buoy, the channel curved slightly to the south of where the red spar buoys were located and the inner green, a steady light, was not located on the end of the spit.

White Point Cove page 175

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. A dozen or so small fishing boats were moored between the breakwater and the beach. The wharf, attached to the inner side of the breakwater, was in use by the fishermen. The bottom near where the moored fishing boats were located seemed to be rocky (similar to what is along the shore), the anchor didn't hold and we didn't stay.

Cheticamp, page 180

Fred Keire on board Why Fret in 2006. As the harbour has been dredged recently, there is ample, i.e. 10ft or more, water up to the public dock which provides a good shelter depending on the face to which the boat is tied and the wind direction. The entrance is well marked and should present no difficulty entering at night. A strong Northwesterly or Northerly wind would make the harbour more difficult to enter. There are no shower facilities in town, but the Cabot Trail National Park has showers for visitors. It is a long hike or a taxi drive to the park.

Mabou Harbour, page 182

Jim Evans on board Nellie Lamb in 2006. There is a fierce tide in the harbour mouth: slack tide is recommended. It is pretty shallow (less than 7 feet) in a direct line into the harbour but I found on the way out that keeping to the north, as on the attached sketch it's much better. I got right up to the village but apart from a rickety little dock (apparently private) there's nowhere convenient to get ashore except at the harbour at Mabou Harbour Mouth. It's a beautiful place, though, with lots of opportunities for anchoring.

Havre Boucher, page 185

Charles Gibson on board Hannah II in 2006. In July 2006 we anchored there for two days awaiting a tropical storm to abate. The entrance was well marked and at low water the shallowest part of the channel was 10 feet. Inside depths were greater than shown on chart 4448, edition April 1, 1990 corrected to October 2000. While here the surface wind was 25 to 30 knots. We had some concern since the bottom is a soupy mud; coming back on the anchor under power it did not come up hard. Our ground tackle is chain with a 46-pound Delta anchor. I put out seven to one scope and we held well during our stay. The bottom however is not suitable for holding winds of gale force plus, unless the gear is heavily cushioned with say a cantry weight (Editor. A Kellet in this neck of the woods) of some sort.

Pictou Harbour, page 188

Fred Keire on board Why Fret in 2006. Extensive waterfront development is taking place in Pictou. The marina closest to the entrance of the harbor has a difficult entrance; but is better protected from all wind directions, however, berthing space there appears to be very limited. We arrived while the Lobster Festival was in full swing (July 8) and secured the last space for our 44ft boat in the Hector Marina. The marina has public bathrooms during the day. At night, the bathrooms and showers are accessible only by key, which makes these more private.

Pugwash Harbour, page 189

Fred Keire on board Why Fret in 2006. The harbor entrance is well marked, the channel is wide but the current does run fast. Upon entering, on the west side, Brickyard Marina offers a few deep berths reputedly with water and electricity. However we sought a berth at the Pugwash Yacht Club. It has one float in place while another, new, was being placed in the vicinity of the main float. Our size boat i.e. 44ft appears to be near the maximum size for the float. The old bridge piers shown on the chart were being removed to make the harbour more useable. No electricity or water is available at the Yacht Club float. We left at slack water and had no difficulty exiting from the inside face of the float. Pugwash is a delightful town. It has Internet access at the old railway station, which serves as a library now.

Cap Aux Meules page 195

Sandy Weld in Windigo. In 2007 a dozen or so small fishing boats were moored between the breakwater and the beach. The wharf, attached to the inner side of the breakwater, was in use by the fishermen. The bottom near where the moored fishing boats were located seemed to be rocky (similar to what is along the shore), the anchor didn't hold and we didn't stay.

Havre Aubert page 196

Sandy Weld in Windigo in 2007. When entering and leaving be aware of the state of the tide, the current can be significant enough to move the channel buoys out of their intended location. With good light when we entered we could see that both green buoys were in very shallow water while the red buoy had been swept to the deepest part of the channel.

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