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How thick can fog get?Sounds like a trick question, but here in Nova Scotia it's a matter of meterological and social interest. If you can't see your neighbors, there must not be any!We left our port of entry behind a couple of days ago to take advantage of a 15+ knot southerly breeze which could get us out a ways toward Halifax in a comfortable reach. We went as far as we could before sunset and dropped anchor behind a secluded headland in Bill's Cove on the Sable River. The Irish contingent will understand when we describe it as looking exactly like Inishoo. We were ready to grab our potatoes in a pot to boil in seawater for our picnic on the beach! We awoke in the morning to intensely dense fog. How dense was it? It was flowing into the boat through the companionway like a genie out of a bottle. I was trying to lure it into the soup pot to make cream of broccoli. You could not see across the cockpit. The flag was not visible at all. Onyx, brave sea kitty, went for a stroll along the deck just to make sure everything was still there and she disappeared into the mist. When she came back, her fur was puffed out wide for warmth and the tip of every hair was adorned with a droplet of mist. So pretty! We hope the pictures Alex took show it off well. We motored all the way to Hubbard's Cove near Halifax in flat calm and obliterating fog with me on radar the entire way and Alex on deck ready to take evasive action if necessary. Luckily, there weren't many boats out in these parts. This is where our friends, the Foggs, live. Yes, Gilly and Larry Fogg picked us up and took us to their lovely home for dinner. Gilly's sister, Ally, and her husband, Turtle, were there with their baby girl and it was great to see them all again. We'd made it in time for a celebration. A smoked pit feast of chicken and ribs, baked potatoes and squash, together with great camaraderie, were most welcome. Today was our first "layday" of the trip. We slept in till 9:00 am mainly because it was rainy and dark but also because we didn't get back till 1:00 am the night before. It was the first rain of the trip and it gave us a chance to check the leaks we'd fixed. All okay except one new one. Oh well, its always something. The locals are thrilled as there has been a drought from Maine to Newfoundland this year. Then the projects started. Alex had to change the oil and oil filter on our new Yanmar engine. First, he had to locate all the gear he'd stowed (of course, not being as efficient as others on this vessel, he didn't keep notes on what he stowed where, so we had total disarray again). Then he had to loosen bolts that muscle men had tightened. Expletives seemed to help a great deal. Finally, he had to get the gear to suck out the old oil and replenish the new. If it all worked the engine would start! Yahoo it did, but it sucked and drained the whole day away. That's okay as we are sitting here waiting for two storm systems to pass before we embark on our crossing of the Atlantic. One low centered over Maine. The other TS Cristobal heading for Newport RI and then expected to head straight for Halifax. We conferred with Herb who agreed that we should wait it out until at least Wednesday. It turns out that Halifax is the perfect departure point - below the latitude of icebergs and usually above the hurricane belt. So rather than heading further along the coast to Bras d'Or Lakes, we'll leave from here chasing the lows. Conditions should be perfect. We're spending the next day or so doing laundry and reprovisioning. Basically getting ourselves physically and mentally prepared for about three weeks at sea. Our cousin Middie also called and invited us to breakfast as he is passing through Halifax tomorrow. Large world getting smaller every day. Until then, Daria + Alex+ Onyx s/v Aleria |
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