Passage to Port Aux Basques

Left Ile d' Entree bright and early at the crack of 7:00. Winds were light and current was with us. Sea state calm. You guessed it, motor sailed  72 miles to Cape Breton's McDougall's Pond on the North Cape. We spent the evening watching the hubbub on the eve before crab season opening. The next morning the fishing boats woke us before our alarm at 4:30 with the sound of throbbing diesel motors. When we emerged, the harbour was empty.

Off again for the second leg to Port aux Basques, Nfld., motor sailing and spinnaker run in fairly flat seas.  We saw quite a few pods of dolphins. One of the unlucky ones was sporting a blue fish net sweater.  Didn't see another boat until we were heading in and met the ferry from Sydney, N.S., right at the harbour mouth. 

The first ferrry made this passage across the Cabot Strait in 1898. Now they go back and forth twice a day carrying trucks, cars, passengers but not trains any more. The trains tracks here used to be a narrower gauge and they had to change the under carriages of every train car upon arrival and departure.  After 13 hrs, we arrived in Nfld.