Cape Negro Island

I did get ashore on Cape Negro Island this summer, and thanks to Rhoda, whose grandmother lived there, I did get too see the graveyard. its a little difficult to find the path , and because of the number of blown down trees, a chainsaw would help. Its a bit sobering, there are a huge number of young deaths and I could only find one 90 year old. ( In the Bahamas bucolic Green Turtle Cay graveyard , there are lots of 90 year olds and very few premature deaths, during the same historical period) . The gap in the bar is bigger, and you should probably not raft up unless its a very quiet night. My frog pond may be gone, as movement of the beach has obliterated it. I also found out why the island was abandoned in the late 1950's. It ran out of trees and so no firewood. They've been growing ever since, and as the usual spruce trees have a 50 year lifespan, every big blow flattens some more of them

Canada Post

since the strike we have had huge mail delays and some don't arrive at all. This is not helpful for any small business. If you have sent a cheque and haven't heard anything, send me an email and I will send you a CD, hoping that the money will eventually arrive

Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club

the DVD edition of my book is now available at the club. It may not be on display, so ask at the office for it.
 Shelburne  Harbour Yacht Club contact information
phone 902 875 4757
www.shycandmarina.ca
yachtclub@ns.aliantzinc.ca

canada post strike

the posties have conspired to make life difficult for small operations like this. They are now theoretically back to normal working. Normal working, to them means taking twice as long to deliver mail as in Queen Vistoria's time, though then there was just one transcontinental railway, the roads were dirt tracks, and there were no aircraft. However, if you wish to send anything by mail, it should now be all right to do so.

Printed version of the book

Some people have asked why no printed version. The short answer is cost. I have had a few printed, but locally this costs about $75. The ones I have made were ground out on my home printer, it takes hours. The resultant book is about 9"x11" and weighs about 2 pounds. This is a huge cost to send overseas through the mail and it also gets the attention of the revenue men and homeland security. Attempts to get a Canadian publisher interested, though the original sells on average at 5 times its original price, were absolutely futile. These guys will not do anything without a government grant. The CD can go through the mail at a minimum cost, and anywhere in the US, can be printed by an office supplies joint like Staples, for less than $40. Being somewhat of a  a Luddite, I prefer a real book, and I have no objection to anyone who buys the CD printing it out for their own use. There may be hope of a US publisher soon

Points East book review

very nice review of my book in June edition of Points East, pages 74, 75. Thanks very much, Sandy. See it at www.pointseast.com

praise from an unexpected place

got a letter from Percy Paris ( he knows I'd never vote for his party), he writes
" I must commend you for producing such a thorough and accurate publication about cruising Nova Scotia's coastline as well as our history and culture"
I've released it, free of royalties for promotion of tourism  in the province