extra-tropical cyclone "nemo"

Nemo has just left us, maximum winds same as category 2 hurricane, and there has been damage on the shoreline between Wood's Harbour and Lockeport. I've looked at some of it. Most of this will be repaired by summer. I haven't had any reports from Seal Island and the surrounding areas, so if you go to these places this summer, approach with caution as the marginal anchorages here are very vulnerable to severe weather.

are cruising guides obsolete?

     well, that's what some of the guys into electronic media say ( I'm thinking of Active Captain, amongst other ones), and while I wouldn't want to diss anyone, I don't think we quite ready for the boneyard yet. Those of us who write guides are always out-of date. Very true, it's impossible to keep up, but are the alternatives better? You want to enter a harbour late at night in thick fog with the only thing you've got a three year old one line comment about the anchorage written by a guy who may have only been there once? Maybe not so simple. After all, the rocks don't move around all that much, up here, anyway, so being outdated doesn't result in loss of your boat. Conflicts of interest? well, I've never accepted a penny from anyone. I'm pretty sure the Tafts, Curtis Rindlaub, Duncan and Ware don't either.
       In a less travelled place like this, the number of reports are few, the reports about local weather conditions and difficult harbour approaches are non-existant ( one one Active Captain report, I'm pretty sure the whole approach instructions to a certain anchorage just lifted straight out of my book, which raises  my blood pressure a bit,  but other guideshave done this too, so I won't get excited about it)
      To my mind, the biggest failure of these types of guide is that you just don't get the ambiance of the place, however imperfect ours is, its definitely better than unverified,one line, reports from multiple sources. And of course, if you can't get an internet signal, you are toast.
       But, they're free, doesn't cost you a cent to register, and you may get some useful information once in a while. but you surely can't sit comfortably in front of the fire and have a decent read with them

developments in Cape Breton

       A new marina is being built in East Bay (Bras d'Or lake). Breakwaters and docks have been completed.This is part of a resort complex at Ben Eoin, on route 4 between St. Peter's and Sydney. Some of these projects die at birth, but this one seems to have more going for it. I can't find it on Google Earth but the approximate position of the entrance is 45º58.40'N   60º26.15'W.

      If you have transportation , this is a short ride to Sydney or Louisburg. There is a ski resort ,supposedly becoming a year round destination on the other side of the main road. The scope of the marina facilities is not yet apparent, but it will be a welcome addition to a fairly remote part of the lakes.

      The Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club has been in operation for more than 120 years. Unfortunately the economic problems endemic to Nova Scotia outside of Halifax has hit here too. In 1975 the population of industrial Cape Breton was 130,000. It is now 90,000, with many of the young people moved to Alberta to find work. The 68 remaining members of the club can no longer maintain their 120-year old clubhouse which needs 2 million dollars in repairs. They have sold it to the waterfront development corporation and they are moving their headquarters to the new marina above. I think this may make to marina viable , and without this I would have serious doubts about this. The RCBYC docks and boathouse will remain at their present location in Sydney.
     I wish them well, the last three decades have been difficult for anyone living outside the Halifax Regional Municipality, which gets an enormous amount of government largesse, while the rest of us, though we provide the vast majority of the province's exports, struggle with crumbling infrastructure  and ever declining levels of service from the provincial government

summer cruise

I'll be away on my boat for a few weeks so posting books will be a bit problematic ( I'll be home from time to time), but there is always a supply at the Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club, and I always have a few on board my boat, a blue 30ft sloop with tanbark sails named Radical Jack

Lyme Disease

Nova Scotia has an increasing prevalence of Lyme disease. Areas confirmed to have  infected ticks include Yarmouth County, around Shelburne Harbour, around Lunenburg, Bedford, and New Glasgow. However, the public health service does not have the resources to collect ticks for examination from remote areas of the province, like offshore islands. I would regard any tick bite suffered West of Halifax as having a potential to carry Lyme disease, and the department did consider this, but have so far refrained from saying so. The chances of getting Lyme from any one tick bite is low, but the consequences of unrecognised infection are serious. The usual tick you find on yourself is locally called the "American Dog Tick" and is not recognised as a vector for Lyme. They have been present in western Nova Scotia since the earliest decades of the twentieth century.The black legged ticks, locally called "deer ticks", that do carry the disease are much smaller and are often missed. It is said that attachment for more than 24 hours is required to transmit the disease, though as 40% of confirmed cases of Lyme have no definite history of a tick attachment I am a bit circumspect about this. In my experience, all embedded ticks can cause a pretty fierce allergic reaction and local cellulitis requiring antibiotics. Our public health people don't recommend prophylactic treatment, but this is not the practice in places like Cape Cod or rural Connecticut where they have been dealing with this for decades. There, giving 200mg of the antibiotic doxycycline as a single dose for embedded tick attachment is a common practice. Given that access to medical care when you are on a boat in rural Nova Scotia is problematic, you might give this consideration. Should you develop the medical conditions of Bell's Palsy, or inflammatory arthritis, particularly of the knee, within a year of a visit to any undeveloped coastal area west of Halifax ( going for a picnic on an island,for example) you should be tested for Lyme disease. This will not be new stuff for anyone who cruises around Cape Cod or the Elizabeth Islands

canada border services agency

This is the new name for what used to be the customs. The procedure is much the same, but these days you are more likely to be inspected. You still call 1-888-CANPASS when you get in range. If you clear in Shelburne, there is a direct line to the CBSA in the clubhouse. You will be asked to tie up to either the facedock, or the fuel dock. This summer and last, virtually all visiting boats have been inspected. The CBSA say on their website they are not interested in normal supplies of food and drink, but I would advise to declare all your drink. Declare ALL firearms. Don't bring in even minuscule amounts of recreational drugs. I've known guys tape a packet under the engine sump, but the dog will find it. Don't bring in more than $10000 in cash ( fat chance, no?} as this will put you in the high risk category and your boat might be taken apart. You can get cash out of a machine in almost every community in the province now, so there is no need for large amounts of cash. Everyone on board needs photo ID, preferably a passport and there should be documentation for the boat. There have been patrol boats based in Shelburne for the last couple of years, and it is possible you be boarded at sea, though this is unlikely. Further information at www.cbsa.gov.ca

praise where it is due

The early spring has rekindled thoughts of summer cruising ( though I work on my little tub, outside, all winter, western Nova Scotia being a lot warmer in winter than most places in New England). I don't accept advertisements in my book and I don't ask for any sort of discount, in fact I try to avoid saying who I am when I get boat related services. I fell sometimes however, I would like to thank people and organisations that have given me exceptional sevice, and today I'd like to thank the Brewer Marina in South Freeport Maine. We arrived there in July 2009 in parlous condition. We had a huge leak from the sterntube, close to 15 gallons a minute, and had been pumping like madmen to keep the old girl afloat for the best part of 5 hours. We were immediately hauled out of the water, propped up and we got fixed up. The bill was very, very, reasonable, the manager, John, and the staff treated us like royalty. Bob, the chief engineer explained to me that most small  Hurth gearboxes were installed with the wrong handedness propellor ( it should be RH, not the LH that came with the engine) and that was why they were so unreliable. I was very grateful to them as when we got there it had been quite an ordeal, and I'd like to recommend the place