#16 Down East Circle; Bra dOr lake to Newfoundland 2014

 This year I will be starting from Baddeck NS as I left Firebird there for the winter.  I got a ride to Nova Scotia from my sister-in-law Deb.  The ride up was uneventful except when politics were discussed.  We are on the opposite ends of the political spectrum.

I was able to spend a few days in Bayfield with Deb's mom Anne.  She is a delightful person and was very gracious.  We spent several hours discovering the wonders of her new IPAD.

This is the local Bayfield harbor.  A working harbor for about 10 lobster boats. While I walked around the area, a fisherman was catching flounder as quickly as he could bait and pull them in. I have never seen that amount of flounder caught in one area in such a short time.  He was just using earth worms for bait.

Back at Baddeck, I spent several days getting Firebird ready to go and deciding where to next. I cruised around the area trying to figure why my autopilot was not working as I would have liked.

This is a picture of Alexander Graham Bells home estate. It isn't open to the public although there is a great museum for him in town.

 This is the Government wharf, boats can tie up there for a nominal fee.  Children were jumping off the pier and swimming all the time I spent getting ready.

Firebird ready to cast off.

 Traveled thru the lake to Ingonish for an anchorage for the evening. This place is very secure and the water is flat most times as the mountains protect from wind for most directions.  On the way I passed bird Island where I was able to get some photos of Puffins.

  These next two photos are of Ingonish , there is a ski slope to the southern side of the harbor.

The trip so far has me at Ingonish, which is the jump off spot to head to Newfoundland and will be my return port of entry back to Cape Breton:

The next series of pictures are from Port Aux Basques Newfoundland.  It took me 10.5 hours to cross the Cabot Strait to get there from Ingonish Nova Scotia. The port is also a major ferry terminal from Sydney.  They arrive and depart twice day.  When they do there is a good wake to contend with.  I had to spend several days at Port Aux Basques because of the pending storm (Hurricane Arthur) heading my way.  But in the meantime I enjoyed the town and the folks.  There was a celebration called Canada Day which took place during my stay additionally, there were concerts given each night at the boardwalk.

For those of you thinking of going to Newfoundland please consider refueling capabilities.  I found that most harbours or ports do not have dockside refueling.  Most often you will have to order a delivery truck and a lot of truck want cash. Note that some  of the trucks do not have small nozzles to fit recreational boats so that should be a consideration.  At Port Au Basques, there are gas stations close by so refueling by fuel can is available also.  There is a hardware store close by where propane can be refilled.  I updated "Active Captain" with this type of information.


Ferry departing.

 The concerts were given in this stage which is shaped as a boat.

Booths for vendors, I tried poutaine for the first time.

 A good view of the harbor and boardwalk.

 Continuation of the boardwalk, across the water you can see those boards which are lighted at night

 At the end of the boardwalk is the Ferry Terminal,

 Another view of the harbor.  That building to the right is a restaurant which has free wifi.  I would walk over to close proximity and sit on a bench to catch up on the latest e mails and weather information.

Another boater sharing the dock and weather wait with me rented a car and asked if would like to go for a drive up the coast..What could I say but YES!

We visited Cape Ray which is on the western coast and where the first telegraph connection to the mainland was achieved.

Who else but me?

 Two days later there was a break in the wind so I set off for Ramea Island some 82 miles east. Ramea Island ½ way to St Pierre Miquelon (FR).  The forecast was for 15-20 Knot winds and 2-3 meter seas and fog.  They got it right on all accounts and the voyage was in total fog all the way.  I had hoped that the fog would lessen as I got further from shore but that didn’t happen.  I was able to find Ramea Island with chart plotter and radar.  Coming into the harbor blind, I could see on the radar screen two large landmasses on either side of the entrance and only had that indication as to the harbor entrance and a long neck into the inner harbor and wharf.  There was a lighthouse with flashing light but I couldn’t see it at all.  Suffice to say I made it to a secure dock.  When I was tying up, a group of men appeared from apparently nowhere and we had a good time discussing Firebird and my trip, “going alone are ya?” and shaking their collective heads.  I later read that the fog is so deep on the Newfoundland Coast that wind no matter how strong doesn’t push it away. Arlene from the local restaurant greeted me and gave me the lowdown on the offerings of the town.  She invited me to have diner tomorrow at the diner.  Today they were closed.

My first impression was that of the Robin Williams movie Popeye and SweetHaven.

One of the things to do on Ramea is to walk the boardwalk which goes around 1/2 the island.  I did this and the following pictures are of what I observed.  Taking a step off the boardwalk is very foolish for the ground will sink beneath you for several inches and you will get soaked. Trust me I know.

 The boardwalk stretching out for the return trip to town.  The lighthouse is about 1/2 way. Note that venturing off the boardwalk you will encounter a very soggy terrain.

 I didn't get an explanation for this. Looks like a tank part.

I returned to the boat at Low Tide

The following pictures are of Ramea Harbor without fog.

After spending an extra day at Ramea Island the weather report was favorable and the fog was expected to burn off.  So I set out for St Pierre.  I had thought to go as far as Francois Bay but decided to do the whole trip in one day because of weather uncertainties. As it turned out that was a good decision. I motored most uneventful all the way.  It was sunny and relatively warm so I put a chair in the bow and used my remote to steer the boat for about 8 hrs of the 10 spent traveling.  I did spot some whales breaching about 5 miles away, but getting any closer was impossible, as they would be gone by the time I arrived.

Please move on to the St Pierre chapter.