Nova Star ferry

well , the new ferry from Portland to Yarmouth appears to be a reality.
For Yarmouth Harbour, this is a very large boat, 550 feet long, and I'm sure at low tide, there is less than 3 feet under its keel.
It's inbound  at about 7am, and outbound at 10 am. It has no room to manoeuvre, none, at all.
If it's is in the narrow channel , from 1000 yards south of Bunker Island, to the ferry terminal, keep clear of it. DO NOT TRY TO SHARE THE CHANNEL WITH IT, WAIT UNTIL IT IS CLEAR. ABSOLUTELY, DO NOT TRY TO CROSS IN FRONT OF IT , this is dangerous. If the economics of the ferry work out, this will make western Nova Scotia less isolated from its traditional neighbours in New England, and be a great benefit to the region

Grand Narrows- Bras d'Or Lakes

one of my readers brought to my attention that the little chart of the bridges at Grand Narrows ( Iona) is wrong. I have the railway bridge to the east of the road bridge, while it should be the other way round. I've corrected this in subsequent editions, Try as I might, I couldn't figure out a way to post the new chart on here

Yarmouth Ferry

After a 5 year hiatus, there is going to be a daily ferry to Portland, Maine.
Operated by Nova Star Cruises, daily service reported to start May 15 2014
further details at www.novastarcruises.com
telephone 1 866 864 6295

more from Mahone Bay

As I've said before, the Mahone Bay area has been damaged by insensitive development. I'm glad to report that one organisation has been able to reverse some of this. The Mahone Islands Conservation Association has managed to by a number of islands and returned them to public use. I support them financially and suggest you do too. More information at www.mahoneislands.ns.ca

You may have , in the  past noticed two lights on little wooden blockings. One was just as you enter the town moorings in the town of Mahone Bay, and the other was on Beacon Rock, just north of Indian Point. They are no more, being carried away in a big storm, and have been replaced by buoys.

South Shore Marine, has long been the biggest marine services place in the Mahone Bay area. After a pretty fraught period when its future was clouded in  uncertainty, its new owner ( the son of one of my sailing buddies ) is making a go of it and it is busier than ever. Even the galley restaurant, which I was always fond of, has been re-opened. I haven't tried the new incarnation yet, but it gets very good reviews on tripadvisor. Further details at www.southshoremarine.ca

Another marina opened a couple of years ago and seem also to stay afloat. It is East River Marine, in the northwest corner of the bay. It seemed a little exposed to strong NW winds, but it has a huge travel lift and can deal with big boats. Further details at www.marineserviceseast.com

Winter storage of foreign boats in Nova Scotia

Our media have been much vexed on this subject for the last couple of weeks. It has long been the law that boats imported into the country have been subject to taxes. (15% on assessed value in this province).
This is what my book has to say about it, and it has not changed much since the 1996 first edition.



The cruising permit is good for six months. If a boat is kept in Nova Scotia for longer than this, it will be assessed for HST, a tax loathed by Canadians, and which currently stands at 15% of the value of the boat. If you wish to keep a boat over a winter here, you can avoid this, and extend your permit by getting a work order from a boatyard. Overwinter storage and painting the bottom will satisfy the Federal Government's leeches.



I suspect they won't like this if you try this two years in a row. The official form for this is #E99 and is available on line from the revenue men.( www.cra.gc.ca) will get you there eventually


The revenue men have ignored this for decades. It may be that someone in the head office has woken from their slumbers and realised this legislation was actually on the books and could gather more shekels for their insatiable maw. They are planning to enforce this, and they consider things like bottom painting routine maintenance and not eligible for exemption. Safety issues WILL exempt you from the tax,( problems with the rigging, transmission or electrical problems, noise from the prop shaft, leaking, etc.) but don't try this for years in a row. It is almost impossible to get advance rulings from these creatures in writing, so  you, ( and us) are at their mercy). You can appeal their decisions, but I can tell you from personal experience , the playing field is very much tipped in their favour. Some U.S. states ( Georgia for one) have similar legislation, though it is not often enforced.

The Cape Breton Boatyard in Baddeck, home to a dozen expensive American boats, some of which have been there for 20 years is incensed by this action. Some of the boats have decided to leave, and this will adversely affect employment in the yard, some of the few well paying non-government jobs in a depressed rural area .If  you own Canadian property, the rate is reduced to 5%. This is likely to loose more revenue than it gains, but these guys are not known for clear thinking.

 

Heckman's Anchorage- Lunenburg Back Harbour

Just to the northwest of Chockle Cap is a small island, Hobson's Island. At least it used to be there. On the chart it is supposedly 30 feet high and it used to have a little lump of red soil, looking like a small loaf of bread, with grass on the top. It has gone, presumably in one of our recent big storms and now looks like a drying reef. There is a north cardinal buoy "ME" 400 yards or so to the north. Middle Ground, to the west is now marked with a black and red isolated danger buoy "M". The shoals extend quite a way from the remains of the island and it is well to give this a wide berth.

Mahone Bay Civic Marina

The town of Mahone Bay has become quite organised in respect of visiting boats. The town maintains a mooring field of 50 moorings. The majority of these are rented seasonally but there is usually availability for transient boats ( I'm tied up to one while writing this). The mooring field pretty well fills up the space you might have once used to anchor, and if you want to anchor , you will have to do so outside the moorings. Renting a mooring is much to be preferred as the holding ground is poor and the mud foul. The dinghy dock has been improved and it is no longer a hazard to get ashore, it is just east of the public wharf. The marina monitors channel 68 or call 902 624 0348. On entering, there used to be a light on a little cribwork structure. Thus disappeared in a recent tropical storm and has been replaced by a flashing red buoy. You can get water at the public dock, and there is a pumpout (which may or may not be in working order) but there is no fuel.