The LAKE EFFECT

I have rarely had a cruise that wasn’t different from my expectations, and my Nova Scotia travels have borne that out. For my friend and shipmate, Steve White, and me, our 2017 trip to Cape Breton Island and the Bras d’Or Lake on One Timer, my Sabre 362, was a much anticipated return to Nova Scotia. On our previous trip, in 2009, we’d had to take shelter from two hurricanes—Bill and Danny.

Both, fortunately tropical storms by the time they found us, followed the same path over Nova Scotia on successive weekends, a level of storm activity without precedent. The result was a lot of port time, tied to a wharf up the LeHave River in Bridgewater for Bill, and alongside the fishing boats in Woods Harbour for Danny.

What drew us back last year, more than anything else, was the warmth and generosity of the Nova Scotian people. In 2009, folks in Bridgewater came by the wharf to make sure we were OK and give us rides into town to do our shopping. In Woods Harbor, the owner of the fish processing plant drove Steve up to the Coop where you need a special card to buy diesel, filled our two jugs and then refused payment. He later invited us to use the shower in his house.

Another friend, Chuck Bellinger, joined us for the eastbound portion of the trip, and time constraints meant we had scheduled just over three weeks for the entire cruise, although six weeks would have been ideal. Days under way were eight to 10 hours, covering 40-60 miles, until we got