Gone sailing - tall ships in Nova Scotia, Canada

[MetroMPG]

I'm taking off tomorrow for another sailing adventure:

Last year it was a race around Canada's island province of Prince Edward Island : I'm going on an international diesel hybrid race (OK... tall ship race)



This year, on the same ship, I'll be taking part in a tall ship festival in the Atlantic province of Nova Scotia that will visit 5 different ports, starting with Halifax on Jul 16-20. Apparently 50-60 tall ships will be there... should be something to see.

Welcome to Tall Ships Nova Scotia Festival 2009!

Many of the ships that are going to be in Halifax on the 16th are in Boston MA right now / this weekend:

http://www.sailboston.com/

The trip starts tomorrow morning: the schooner owner, myself, two sailing buddies and an extra driver are leaving from eastern Ontario to the boat yard in Dayspring, Nova Scotia where the Mist of Avalon has been resting since last year's race. Since we've got a car full of drivers, we'll be going straight through, about 1600 km.

The vehicle: Toyota Highlander Hybrid.

Then it'll be a couple of days getting the boat ready, provisioning, getting additional crew on board, and then sailing up the coast to Halifax.

I'll update this thread if/when anything interesting happens.

[alohaspirit]

thats awesome


always wanted to learn to sail like that

[SVOboy]

Sounds like fun! Time for me to take care of things for a while

[bgd73]

that sounds like fun...and always cold.
The tall ships used to be abiug deal when I was kid in the bostoin area, grandpa was a yachter.
no stops in maine? I could go check one out at least sailing by...

[MetroMPG]

Well, not always cold! Today was a beautiful summer day spent getting the ship ready - minor repairs and cleanup after coming out of hibernation.

No stops in Maine though - the fleet is going to Halifax next.

Here's where we are and where we're going:



The drive east was uneventful. Left eastern Ontario at 8:30 AM Eastern and got to Dayspring, NS at about 3 AM Atlantic time.

I got a kick out of driving my friend's Highlander hybrid. Here's a pic I just shot of his two hybrids, side by side... gas/electric and wind/diesel:



The Highlander is EPA rated 27 mpg (US) city / 25 mpg (US) highway. It's not hard to get around 7.5 L/100 km (31 mpg US) in city driving. On the highway, in rolling hills at a 100 km/h / 60 mph target speed with a full load of passengers/cargo plus luggage on the roof :O, I was able to get 9.3 L/100 km (25 mpg US). Gliding down the backsides of the hills is necessary to pull that off though (lift the pedal and the engine stops).

It's a little easier in the Highlander to modulate the accelerator to pin down a true "neutral" glide than my sister's Camry hybrid. But of course not as easy as a Prius.

It was fun driving the hybrid, but I'm much more looking forward to sailing the schooner! If all goes well, we'll be fixed up, spiffed up, sails on, provisioned, fueled, watered and ready to leave the wharf on Monday morning.

An overnight stop in Lunenburg (where I spent the winter) is in the cards before we head to Halifax.

[MetroMPG]

Greetings from Lunenburg! Fantastic first day of sailing. Just tied up and enjoyed a dockside refreshment.

Spy on us until tomorrow morning with these two web cams:

http://bluenosegolf.homeunix.org/parentmain.html
USERNAME: bluenosegolf
Password: none required



Rum Runner Inn*Lunenburg NS

[Matt Herring]

Cool Metro...I was in Boston yesterday to see the Tall Ships in the harbor! Most were docked but a couple had the sails up and were headed out...presumably to your location.

Have a great time bro!

[RH77]

Hey Man...

We made it to Lunenburg on our vacation a couple weeks ago. Nice place! We ate at the Old Fish Factory (I think it's called). The people in NS are super nice. I accidentally strolled into a back office looking for someone to make meter change, and some random accountant made some change and recommended better, all-day parking. Even in Montreal, a city bus driver trusted we were taking the subway, so he gave us a "Reverse Transfer on Trust" -- aka free ride.

Your route looks similar to our cruise route -- We started in Boston on to Bar Harbor...Halifax, Sydney, Charlottetown, (Northumberland Straight), Quebec City, and Montreal. I hope your weather pans out better than ours (fog, mist, cold) but a what a great experience. Fort Louisbourg (and the town) was neat (had the best Pistachio Cake ever). Canada Day in Canada can't be beat either

Enjoy the trip and keep us posted! The waves were a bit choppy out of H-fax... I hope they smooth out for ya

RH77

[MetroMPG]

Hey Rick -

Glad you enjoyed (parts) of your trip, and that you made it to Lunenburg.

We're spending tonight in a fishing town just down the coast from Halifax - we'll head for the city tomorrow morning for the beginning of the big festival. 50ish ships. Should be interesting. I'll get some pics.

I've never been to Fort Louisbourg and am looking forward to it. I keep hearing it's a neat place.

Waves have been pretty normal. One seasick crew yesterday feeding the fishes (not me, but you can't always predict when it might hit - and past immunity isn't always a guarantee of future immunity). Today's leg was smoother, and the weather has been perfect. No complaints!

[Hugh Jim Bissel]

Sweet; you're making me water-sick! (like home-sick, not sea-sick) Have fun and be sure to to take (and post) lots of pictures!