September 10
When we left St. Peter's for Halifax, we were now sailing on the ocean with Komeekha for the first time! Like any new experiences that has unknown variables, I was both apprehensive and excited;
my imagination went in overdrive with "what ifs", I didn't sleep well the night before. Yes, I like sailing and some people find me adventurous but I also have these little voices in my head that dampens my excitement with some worry. It's like when I went onstage at the local theater, and when I went skydiving ... twice, and when I bought my motorcycle with barely any experience and one weekend course under my belt. Crazy, hey?!?!
I was imagining big waves, and big rocks looking for shelter. I knew we would have some calm days too based on the apps we use. Frank knows me and is careful when suggesting our travel days (we decide together). He doesn't want to scare me to death and I walk away.
We sailed on calm seas and 10-15 knot winds to Fisherman's Cove the first day - a little anchorage surrounded by rocks and protected from ocean swells. There was only one cottage there, so it was very quiet. On the second day, calm seas and fair winds again, we could've anchored elsewhere before entering Halifax on the third day. But, we saw that the ocean would be calm all night and decided to go non-stop. We arrived in the Northwest Arm (long water leg just South of Halifax Harbour) at 04:15. This last 3-nm leg was beautiful; gorgeous house on both sides (seen through their outdoors lights as it was very dark), two yacht clubs and a couple of parks. At the tail end of it where we wanted to anchor, there were so many anchored or moored boats and many moorings, it was surprising we didn't hit any it was. To help zigzaging through a mooring field or entering a marina in the dark, I usually stand at the bow with a powerful flashlight, whispering the location of boats/moorings to Frank in our Sena mics.
We're anchored between the Horseshoe Island Park and Armsdale Yacht Club for a few days. Both have dinghie docks; and the yacht club - friendly/helpful staff - gives us access to their facilities even though we're just anchored for free. After 3 days on the boat, not walking on shore, it is time to exercise and discover the area. Daily, we either bicycle or walk somewhere (downtown, parks, lakes). Our folding bicycles are made by Solorock. We love them; they are lightweight, easy and quick to fold and unfold, we bring them everywhere including on city buses.
Halifax is booming and vibrant. So many cranes, new bicycle paths, so many pubs, lots to do and see. The harbour has events every day: dance classes on the boardwalk, beer tasting, open air markets, live music. Fun! We're so happy to have a niece and her family who lives in Dartmouth. We see them regularly. They give us a lot of suggestions of things to visit which we greatly appreciate.
In Nova Scotia, many busy street crossings have buckets of small orange flags on a footlong pole. They are there to help pedestrians cross the street. When we want to cross, we pick a flag, extend it in front of us, cars stop right away, we cross the street, we put our flag in the other bucket. Ingenious!
We wanted to leave Halifax for Mahone Bay and Lunenburg next week. However Hurricane Earl is sending us strong South winds for a few days. This means trying to come out of Halifax with winds/waves on our nose. Also, these two places don't have good protection from the South. So even if we wanted to plough through to get there, the boat would be rocking a lot on waves while we're there. Not comfortable. So we decided we would rent a car. Sebastian and Rebecca have offered us their car. They say they don't need it for a couple of days. They are so generous! From Monday to Wednesday, we'll visit the area by car. I'll tell you all about it next time.
