We’ll we finally left Baddeck behind & are “on the road again!” after a week. We didn’t leave until 4 PM because they located our much needed refrigerator compressor and got it shipped to Corner Brook that day! Praise God! We had our credit card rejected twice with the paying of the Baddeck bills, buying groceries, paying for the compressor….; after two calls to the Chase Bank fraud department later we were set. They were just doing their job wondering what a California boy was doing buying all sorts of things in Baddeck, NS. I had told them in advance but they blocked the card never-the-less.

The trip up the Great Bras d’Or was fantastic and we went past the Alexander Graham Bell mansion and under the beautiful Seal Island suspension bridge with a vertical clearance of 119′. We then went past Bird Islands and saw two whales on the way to Ingonish weaving between thousands of lobster pots. Kip took a million sunset pictures – fabulous. The boat is running great.

We have a second part shipment coming to Corner Brook to fix the remaining boat issues. We were to  meet up with our new friend John in Ingonish and hailed him on the radio. He guided us up a very narrow channel and we rafted up to his boat for the night. Surprise! Another new friend, Clark (Tartan 35) was there with some of his friends (John & Deborah) who own the mooring we rafted to. The next thing we were on their deck joining a party that was underway. Also there was Peter who owns Straight-MacKay, a commercial boat supply company here; the supplier of our much needed refrig compressor! He was so happy he had indirectly helped us. We had hamburgers on the grill; a great time. Did I tell you how wonderfully nice the people of NS and Cape Breton Island are?!

I am writing this at 6 AM the 12th and we are underway to Newfoundland. We awoke to an amazing sunrise so coming and going from Ingonish was in Technicolor. Today’s trip will be a long ocean passage; 12-14 hours we think. So far calm seas and the boat is running fine.

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Yesterday we continued in Baddeck, awaiting the verdict on our refrigerator.  The compressor is shot and Baddeck Marine is searching for both a compressor or a new refrig.  The problem is we can’t get the refrig out the door way or through the hatch above.  ARGH!  We are praying for a compressor!  

The weather has been hot.  With time on our hands we decided to add three inches to the height of the table.  With this decision we met a woodworker named Scoggy (second picture) that remembered our boat from many years back when Walter Paine wintered in Baddeck.  He had been aboard then and recalled many details about our boat accurately.

At noon, Robert and John went for lobsters straight off the boat.  What a feast we had with the two pounders they got for us!  We never had lobster as good.  What a treat from such nice friends.

I have been checking out the local galleries as we await the refrig solution and that has been fun for me. But we are not here for sight seeing but continue to be focused on getting fully ready to go.

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We have found a great place and are eager to stay, while we go through all the boat systems. There is a wonderful cooperative approach where I can do some of the repairs with their supervision and expertise. Today we completed going through the fuel manifolds for all tanks, just to be sure all lines are clear. I rebuilt the head in the master stateroom. We are waiting for a refrigeration specialist from Sidney and expect him tomorrow AM. The temperature in the refrigerator is 50 degrees and 8 in the freezer.  If all goes well tomorrow we will be off to Newfoundland on Thursday.

Tonight Kip invited John to dinner after he helped me work on the head all day. She made green chile & pork & it was delicious. Well, no sooner did we start,  John’s friend Robert showed up. He was introduced as the mayor; whether he really is or not I don’t know. He ate too and we had a great time hearing stories about Cape Breton Island. They explained that National Geographic says this island is the third prettiest in the world, but they couldn’t say which other two were better. I am not sure I can tell you either! Tomorrow Robert is going to get lobsters and we’ll have a BIG time tomorrow night, for sure. No leaving tomorrow. It is no surprise for us to say that the people here are the greatest.

We have plenty of time before meeting our crew in Corner Brook and want the boat in top shape before heading into the arctic. I am really glad Kip and I have another leg to check things out one more time. 

Kip ran 5 loads of laundry on the boat. That little washer/dryer really works well, but the “permanent press” cycle leaves something to be desired – a young person’s special….

We appreciate hearing from you all and are glad you are enjoying the site and our “running away from home”… Thanks to our sons Scott & Randy for making this communication with you all possible.

Last night around 5:00 Randy, Jenny and Quinlan joined us for a last night on the boat.  We had supper, went to town for ice cream, and then came back to see their pictures of their great time on Prince Edward Island.  Quinlan got one more cooler bath before we all went to sleep 🙂  After breakfast they packed up their things and headed for Halifax and their trip to Boston and then on to California Wednesday.

We then moved Geraldine to the fuel dock and two mechanics came aboard and began to sort out the fuel line blockage and cleared out some debris that had blocked the line. Now we can draw fuel from all four tanks versus just two and this was such a relief.  Stuart advised Walt on replacing the oil pressure switch which fixed our get home motor problem.  This is a back up system that runs off the generator and propels the boat in case of an emergency.  Of course we gave away two pounds of Peets coffee to these talented men!  Thanks for all the prayers.

After seeing all the work going on, a neighbor from a near-by boat asked if he could bring us dinner he had cooked and gave me 15 minutes to get the table set!  We were treated to BBQ chicken, red potatoes and veggies John had made!  The people here in Nova Scotia have been so nice to us.

Today we also remembered mom’s going on to be with the Lord five years ago now.  I painted a frame and spelled out her name using nautical flags “Geraldine” and mounted it in the galley because she was always interested in what was coming out of the kitchen and wanted it to be good!

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