Nova Scotia, Canada Yarmouth to Port Medway, September 2005  Dan S., Lyn G. & Marcus Demuth. Trip report written by Lyn G.
We left Pier 63 at around 7:30pm and arrived in Bar Harbor at 6:30am for the 8am ferry to Yarmouth. We had arranged a one way car rental; Dan went to return the car to Hertz while Marcus and I moved the kayaks and gear down towards the ferry from the terminal. One kind soul (we met many on this trip) carried our gear in the back of his pickup truck all the way to customs on the other side. Canadian customs started the morning acting somewhat officiously, but we softened them up, and they ended up helping us and even let us fill our water bags at their tap. It seemed from our reception on both sides that this may have been the first time anyone carried kayaks on the CAT ferry.
The ferry ride was 3.5 hours. While waiting to disembark, we met a woman from NS, Sarah. Her 2 grown sons were kayakers, and she asked if there was anything she could do for us. We asked where in Yarmouth we could buy camping gas and she actually picked it up for us and delivered it to our launch site! She showed up with two sizes of gas containers as well as a gift for our trip: a basket each of perfectly ripe Ontario peaches and apples. She also gave us an invitation to stay on any one of the 3 islands her family owned in the Tuskets, and lots of good advice and information.
The launch site was a short carry from the customs house, but what a struggle to get all our gear in the hatches. It seemed like it took forever. We finally launched from Yarmouth at around 4pm, which worked well with the tides. We had no precise destination. Our first stop was on Crawley's Island, a beautiful sandy landing (one of the few we had on this trip), and a nice island in a bay of islands, with one cabin that was unoccupied. We camped on the beach, and the next morning 2 older couples showed up in an old sailing skiff, and taught Marcus how to clam, chatted with us, and gave more advice and good wishes. Because we had slept over 12 hours, we launched towards the Tuskets, against the Fundy tide and against the wind.
We thought we'd have a real struggle, but for some reason we did fine, and made it to the Tuskets (a short trip) in time for a late lunch. We saw what looked like an old lobstering community, and a small rocky beach, and asked permission to land from a nearby fellow. He said sure, and then invited us up on his porch, where his wife promptly served us hot tea and cookies. She'd been raised on the island but now only came there on the weekends. She talked about what life on the island was like as a child, he talked about how hard life was for fishermen, and when it was time to move on, she gave us a book that had been dedicated to her late husband called "Life in the Tusket Islands" and asked us to send it back to her when we arrived home.
We explored a few of the other islands, and ended up finding the perfect campsite on the outermost island, coincidentally one of those owned by Sarah. There were sheep everywhere (they were shy but the evidence was more olfactory than visual). Because of gale force winds the next day, we ended up happily staying here for 2 nights. We launched the next day and decided to explore Lobster Bay instead of making a dull crossing to Pubnico Point. My paddle broke with my first stroke, so I used Dan's the rest of the trip. En route, we refilled our water supply at W. Pubnico (or some smaller town near there), and chatted with a group of friendly, outgoing fisherman. After checking out 3 or 4 islands in Lobster Bay, we found a perfectly lovely site. The rock formations in NS are very varied and interesting.
By now we had developed a routine. We realized it took us 2.5 hrs. from the time we woke up to launch time, including a leisurely breakfast, and a check on the weather. We left Lobster Bay against a strong headwind, and were headed toward Cape Sable. We were warned by many people not to attempt to paddle around the Cape in any wind greater than 15 knots. We camped in a nice grassy area (one of a few nights we didn't spend on an island), and hoped the wind would calm down the next day. Marcus made an amazing dinner that night in celebration of Dan and Maggie's 20th anniversary. I paddled to town to get an iced cake for him (and, without luck, some more liquor).
The next day's wind was still too strong to risk paddling around Cape Sable, though it was a close call. The portage was brutal, but we got to restock on food and water (and yes, confession time, Dan and I had a quarter-pounder with cheese and fries, while Marcus, (self-righteously) had fish and chips). We left the city to paddle around Barrington Bay, which was spectacular, and camped in a Provincial Park, which, by this time, was like the Hilton, because it had running water so we got our first shower in 5 days. It was cold but felt perfect. Camping in these parks is not allowed, but we met a local who assured us if we came by the sea it was fine. We did meet the park ranger the next day and he was perfectly fine with us having camped there.
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We woke to our first fog, though it was light and visibility was fair. Our biggest concern was finding a solid campsite for the next night, because Ophelia was headed our way with winds predicted to be up to 90K (we heard in town) and 60K on the weather station, and heavy rains. There was no wind at all as we paddled towards Bacarro Point, but as we rounded it, we went directly into a very heavy fog bank. It is amazing how easily one can get disoriented in the fog! We paddled along shore instead of making the crossing to Green Point, which has shallow rocks and ledges. We hadn't seen more than 4-5 boats the whole time we were in NS, so getting run down was not a worry. We stopped for lunch, and just as we were finishing the fog suddenly lifted and Green Point was so close we felt we could touch it, so we made a beeline for it and had our first and only whale sighting; 3 pilot whales who didn't engage us at all but stayed visible to us for about 15 minutes until we saw that it was starting to get foggy again. Sure enough, as we got around Green Point the fog enclosed us once again.
We'd already considered staying on Cape Negro Island because it was historically interesting, but we were unsure if we would find sufficient shelter. We saw a fisherman (he was actually harvesting by rake a seaweed called Irish Moss that is used as thickener in food products) as we were paddling towards the island and asked for the best place to set up our tents safely during the blow. He told us there were 3 warm and dry cabins on the NE corner of Cape Negro Island, they were owned by friends of his, and we were welcome to stay there. We did indeed, very happily, take him up on that offer, and ended up completely warm, dry, and comfortable during the storm. We spent time talking to the owners of the cabin next door, who were incredibly gracious and welcoming. The son even got down from the roof they were firming up in preparation for the storm, and caught fish for us to cook up for dinner. We spent 2 nights on Cape Negro, and reluctantly left, knowing we were already well behind our (loose) schedule to make Port Medway midway thru our trip. We were determined to put on a few more miles each day and stop being such hedonists.
That didn't last long. We stopped for lunch on Blue Island and fell in love with the wildness, the views, and the rock formations. Though we landed at 1pm, we decided we had to camp there. Blue Island was the favorite spot of everyone's trip. The next day we had perfect weather for the paddle to Sandy Cove, the third and last nice sandy beach we camped on during our trip. On the way there we saw hundreds of seals, which was normal, and heard loons for the first time, heard a coyote and saw its tracks. The wildlife was abundant, but we saw almost no fish. It was odd paddling in perfectly clear water and seeing no fish.
Another beautiful foggy day. We headed towards Port Mouton with the weather again predicting high winds and heavy rains. Again we ran into a fisherman collecting Irish Moss who told us where to find cabins we were free to use. We landed on Port Mouton Island to find 2 cabins; one was so badly vandalized it was unusable (he warned us about this), the other only gently vandalized. We decided to stay there for the night, but needed water, so went to town to find water and have our first and only restaurant meal of the trip. We ate so much and for so long that we ended up launching into a headwind near dark, around 7:15pm. But it was a short trip with a predictable route, and visibility was still good, even in the dark, and there was almost no boat traffic. Conditions deteriorated when we were about way to the island, then quickly when we were about of the way there. We could no longer see the island, the wind was blowing over 30 knots, and quartering waves were breaking over our kayaks. Marcus made the call to turn back and head towards lights on the mainland where we had seen a number of sandy beaches. We had to paddle very hard to get there, but stayed close together and made it safely. The wind and rain graciously stopped just long enough for us to set up our tents, have a quick meeting about our plans for the next day, and call Rachel. As soon as we were zipped back in our sleeping bags, we were treated to a torrential downpour and lightning and thunder most of the night.
The next day was gorgeous and everything dried quickly in the sunshine. We met up with Rachel and her friend Sheena on a beach about 8 miles away (brutal paddle for my skeg broke the first week and we had a 25 knot quartering wind all day). We had lunch, then paddled with Rachel to Coffin Island, where we all camped, got drunk, and had a great time. We met Sheena on the beach and she joined us on a paddle to Rachel's house. It was a perfect day. Light wind, following seas, great company, and the anticipation of seeing how Rachel made a life for herself in this amazing province. Let's just say that she's done it very well. She has a group of talented, fun, and interesting friends. Her home is so comfortable and wow, can that girl cook!! Who knew? It was the perfect last night to a perfect two weeks. |