We spent today on a mooring, and were able to fix our “get home” drive (backup engine) and reorganized our living area. We met the nicest couple (Donnie & Marilyn) who saw us, queried “Geraldine”on the internet, hit the website and then contacted us! Donnie helped with the fuses that fixed the get home motor. We presented Donnie with a pound of Peets coffee; our reward for a special encounter. This is the second such presentation of the trip.

We also got the high-frequency email to work, though I wouldn’t claim to be an expert yet. Next is to get the weather fax working. I also want to connect my Macbook to the Raymarine network on the boat; so far it hasn’t worked.

Just a quick post to move the tack to Lunenburg. We made it ahead of schedule at 2:00am without trouble. Quinlan slept through the whole thing, while Kip and Jenny were able to get in cat naps.

Side note: I stepped into our time machine and added a post back in Southwest Harbor, Maine.

We ran for an easy half-day yesterday, brining us to Port Mouton.  We dropped the anchor behind Spectacle Island. This very close to the location of a coastal Canadian National Park called Kejimkujik.  They are in the midst of building a fish farm here, and we noticed several salmon pens.  We were all able to pile into our dingy, Olive, and explore the area a little.  We were able to see a seal on a rock as we motored around.   The dingy can handle the five of us, but is pressed down a fair bit, so we have to be careful!  Walt is pleased with how quiet the Honda outboard motor is that we chosen to power Olive.

On the leg to Port Mouton, Jenny did some of the driving, and spent the rest of the time down below taking a nap.  This seems to have agreed with her stomach and she felt much better.  We noticed what we think was a shark fin that (between 1 1/2 and 2 feet tall) following us for a while (it may also have been some sort of whale).

We also believe that we’ve figured out the source of some of our engine difficulties (some metal shards that may have gotten into one of our fuel tanks as they were being scrubbed to get old crusty diesel fuel deposits out).  Tonight, we are pushing to reach Lunenburg, where we will be able to obtain more supplies and make a few repairs.  There is a storm coming, where we could expect 6 foot seas and wind directly on our nose blowing about 25 knots.  In order to avoid this, we’ve decided to travel for a while at night tonight, and expect to arrive between 3 and 4 am.

Lunenburg has been called the best colonial village in all of North America, and so we expect that we’ll stay there for several days as we make our repairs, and Randy, Jenny and Quinlan may go ashore to do some touring.

Here are photos from our passage to Port Mouton. How do you keep a toddler occupied on a boat? Use your secret weapon: Grandma! When I write about working on the engine, that means I’m down one of three little hatches, into the crawl space below the floor. Imagine a hot, swaying telephone booth with parts, pipes and motors all hammering away at crazy volume. Fun! Lastly are pictures of Port Mouton.

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Update: We arrived in Lunenburg at 2:00am without incident. The weather has started to move in, so we are all grateful to be at a port, instead of anchored out. Looking forward to exploring!

After two long days, we spent today relaxing in Shelburne. During the American Revolution, the middle-class Loyalists pulled out of New York and Boston, settling in Shelburne. As a result the buildings in the restored waterfront date from the late 1700’s.

The members of the local yacht club invited us to a BBQ and concert. On the way there we caught sight of some of the aforementioned loyalists doing some kind of re-enactment dance practice in full uniform. Had a great sunset and are ready to push on tomorrow. Good night!

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Edit: More photos of Shelburne

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