While we enjoy the beautiful nature of Eastern Canada we also have some 'stress' around the delivery of the SeaQuest. We communicate a lot via email with skipper Chris during their 4 days in Sada, Northern Spain. So we constantly keep an eye on the mail and arrange an order remotely, which costs us very little sleep for one night. What happened?

The SeaQuest arrives in Sada on Monday afternoon Sept. 11 after a tough trip over the Bay of Biscay with a lot of water and unfortunately some damage. They lost the green navigation light, but that doesn't matter. Skipper Chris himself can replace that with a better waterproof version. Autopilot 2 has failed, and that doesn't matter. They can use autopilot 1 and Toine can make autopilot 2 here. The most annoying thing is that a part in the mast broke, so the sail couldn't be rolled in. Probably broke because of the strong wind (and maybe a bit worn out or shot up a bit???) when the sail suddenly rolled out all the way while they wanted to reef it further. They then had to take off the sail with slats in it on the open sea and fortunately the sail didn't break. Well, here in Canada you are at a great distance and can only help you to a limited extent. Skipper Chris keeps us well informed by e-mail. After a day they know which part is broken in the mast and also that it is not in stock there. Luckily Toine has good contacts with Marco van Seldén in Brouwershaven and through Marco he can arrange for the right parts to be sent with 24 hours express. Indeed one day and some hours later it arrives (one day earlier than the part the Spaniards ordered themselves). Did 'intervention' from Canada still yield a day's profit 😉. That same evening it was built in, but there is too much wind to hoist the sail. They do that the next morning and then the rolling out of the sail turns out not to work. What now? A few hours later it turns out that the control knob on the steering position is corroded. Just the part that Toine didn't replace last year when reinstalling the steering position. Immediately a new, less beautiful and temporary button comes on and then the crew sails out again on Friday afternoon 15 Sept exactly 4 days later. Uh huh, another step further. They call it 'maddening' to have to wait like that. Now they sail with light again towards the Azores and we have some more rest.

It's beautiful here in Eastern Canada. A very beautiful nature and friendly people. First we spend another day on the more cultivated Prince Edward Island (PEI) and the following days in the north of Nova Scotia near Antigonish and on Cape Breton. Almost every day we make a nice hike and today a tough kayak tour. Nice to do and also good for the condition 😉. We also find a better rhythm when it comes to food; less eating out and more use of arranging our own breakfast and the cooking facilities at the places where we spend the night. Our standard breakfast is now fruit and yoghurt with muesli for the whole family. Very good how the girls do everything. They left everything behind at home, don't meet any peers and are looking forward to the life to be built in Florida. But fortunately the four of us can really enjoy being here in this beautiful nature.

Below in the map you can see the route we have driven so far.

 

For the past week, from day to day... Monday Sept. 11 we spend on PEI, especially in the beautiful luxury hotel room. Toine arranges things for the boat and Eline finishes paper 4. On CNN we follow the course of Irma in Florida. Luckily it doesn't cause any damage in Deerfield Beach to the house where we are going to live, only a higher water level. At the end of the afternoon we make a walk through the beautiful town of Charlottetown with many beautiful colored wooden houses. Followed by nice sushi food. Just before it gets dark we drive to the north side of the island with a view on the St Lawrence Gulf where the wind is quite strong with a big wave. That's close to the house 'Green Gables'; a 'famous orphan girl called Anne' has lived there and that's a very famous story for Canada. Helen gave me the book and I'm reading it now.

 

The next day, after a nice breakfast, we move on to the ferry that brings us back to Nova Scotia in 75 minutes. We have lunch in Antigoish and afterwards we take a nice walk at George Cove. Also to react a bit to the news that we get that afternoon that a part for the mast has to be ordered and it means a delay of delivery. In the evening we sleep in Red Roof B&B, a very special place in the middle of nowhere. Without mobile phone connection, but fortunately with wifi. It's a big white house with a red roof built by a lady from Luxembourg. She lives there for 10 years with her American husband, and a lot of llamas, two donkeys, dogs and chickens. We sleep upstairs and have a beautiful view over the sea. We eat baguette with cheese and sausage for dinner, with a delicious glass of red wine on the balcony in the sunshine. And we see a beautiful sunset (very sharp, as it should be). Our bedroom has a view of the sea and in the distance we can see PEI and at night we can see the lighthouses of PEI. The most special place so far, but also the worst night with waking up between 1 and 6 o'clock to order the mast part.

 

Then we spend four days in Cape Breton Highland National Park. The first two days in a cottage on the west side near Cheticamp and the last two days in a cottage on the east side near Ingonish. Every day we make a nice hike, around a lake or to the top of a mountain with beautiful views. It is fine sunny weather. Looking for 'moose' (elks), who sit here a lot. But unfortunately we don't see any 😂.

At Pleasant Bay we visit a Whale Museum and then go on a boat trip to spot whales. There are a lot of whales here and there is a good chance that we will see them from our own boat. But this is also very nice to do. We search almost 2 hours until we finally see a Minky Whale. We see them four times out of the water and dive in again 🐋. Top! Also nice to hear the stories of the guide; a boy who has been making 4 boat trips a day to look for whales all his life during the summer season. He also tells about the winter. Then there is a lot of snow here for a few months and even the sea is partly frozen. Hard to imagine.

 

At the cottage in Ingonish we have two delicious 'home' meals. Once fantastic steaks from the BBQ and once fresh halibut and salmon Japanese style. The Chabot trail that runs all the way along the coast of Cape Breton is beautiful, with great views. Today we drive out of the National Park again and make a tough kayak trip on the way to Baddeck at the Northern River. With fast two-person kayaks (this time with splash-sail) and a guide we make a three-hour trip on the river towards a sea inlet with some more waves. Halfway through a picnic with tea and cake at a waterfall. Super fun to do!

 

Tomorrow we will take the ferry from North Sydney (Nova Scotia) to Newfoundland where we will stay for a week. Due to the delay in Spain we now have time for that. In the meantime we keep a close eye on the course of Hurricane José. It should not stay too north on the ocean because then the PYD crew will be bothered by it. And also Maria is coming. What an active hurricane year. We worry a bit about that now and then. The SeaQuest will probably first visit the Azores and then decide how to proceed depending on the course of José.