Tonight we have landed in Shelburne, a small town on the south coast of Nova Scotia.  It reminds Kip of Williamsburg, but “people actually live here.”  Geraldine is docked at the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club.  We plan to stay here all day tomorrow.

As we rounded Cape Sable today, it was quite foggy and we could barely see the lighthouse.  There was a rip tide right at the point.  Then as day gradually faded, we enjoyed a beautiful sunset.  As soon as we have an internet connection, we will post some of the pictures we have taken so far.

Jenny continued to be seasick today, and we believe that this is a combination of the moderate seas we’ve had and her pregnancy.  Please pray that she will feel better!

Edit: During our trip yesterday we encountered two episodes of engine trouble. It was unnerving to have the engine sputter and die out at sea, then to find that the backup engine was having transmission problems. Randy and I were able to troubleshoot the issues with the help of the boat’s builder over the cell phone. By switching to a different fuel tank we were able to proceed without problems. Today I’m down in the engine room looking for clogs in the fuel lines to the main engine, and have solved trouble with the backup engine. On one hand, it is disappointing to have trouble so early, but on the other, I am learning the peculiarities of Geraldine. We have seen God prove himself faithful in answering our prayers, and that is encouraging!

We got up early this morning, and started our adventure, leaving from Southwest Harbor about 7:00 am.  We traveled more than 100 miles with some moderate waves.  We were out of sight of land for much of the trip, and entered Canadian waters this evening around 7:00 pm near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  We raised our quarantine flag, and were greeted by four customs officers who cleared us through customs.

Jenny and Kip were a little seasick today, but Quinlan was a trooper, and loved the trip.  We’re confident that as time continues that we all will gain our sea-legs.  Everyone is feeling good again at the dock.

The boat is working great, and there are only minor issues remaining for us to figure out.  We’re raising our Canadian flag, and are excited about having started on our way.

Tonight a storm moved in just at sunset creating the most beautiful curtain of pink in the sky. Meanwhile, commercial fishermen were unloading their catch. Itching to see lobsters Jenny & I went to investigate. Turns out the lobsters they were unloading were, in fact, sea cucumbers.

For the uninitiated, I give you an except from my tome in progress: Nasty Things I Have Encountered:

• Sea cucumbers live on the bottom of the ocean.
• Fishermen in Maine drag the bottom to turn catch them.
• They have a suction-tentacle-foot-thing on one end.
• They can be long and flacid or contract to a grapefruit-sized lump. 
• They can throw-up themselves (turning inside out).
• They stink.
• They are nasty.
• To the initiated, they apparently belong on a menu. These *beauties* are headed for the Asian market. I hesitate to include this in the food category.

Be warned. Clicking the thumbnails on a full stomach is not advised. 🙂 

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Quinlan, Jenny and I arrived at the boat today. We flew into Boston to visit with friends, and then drove up to Maine to rendezvous at the boat. I was really impressed at how capable and comfortable Geraldine really is. For her part, Quinlan adjusted quickly to the quirks of living and sleeping on a boat. Apparently blueberry pie goes a long way in convincing her that life on the boat will be sweet! A highlight for her was taking a bath in the cooler. Between that and woof-woofing at all the dogs on the dock, she is in heaven.

On Sunday after church, we took a tour of nearby Acadia National Park while mom and dad finalized the boat. Having been to many of the “trophy” parks in the west, we found Acadia to be lovely, but missing the jaw-dropping wonder and scale of places like Bryce Canyon and Yosemite. Still, the place has a magic and quaintness to it that makes you want to stick around to try and determine which cute ice cream shop in which cute town takes the tasting trophy for Mount Desert (appropriately pronounced Dessert) Island. But it’s not to be; on Tuesday we shove off for Canada.

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