Back in the USA

       We left Westport for a rather lumpy/rolly passage to Grand Manan.  Now we know how much the Willie Dawes and we ourselves are willing to endure.  Tommie the cat was not happy and went from one place to another seeking a stable position.  Dan and I concentrated on staying in our own chairs, taking turns to check out how the rest of the boat was faring.  Dan has a video monitor so he can view the engine room from the helm, but that day he made a point of going right down into it to make sure everything was secure. 

The wildlife of the Bay of Fundy kept our minds off the swells.  We saw a humpback whale, several porpoises, a large group of white-sided dolphins - one of which came to play at our bow - and many different kinds of sea birds from gannets and shearwaters to puffins and phalaropes.  Grand Manan was a welcome sight.  We were happy to pick up a mooring in North Head Harbor and make an early night of it.

Sturgeon Cove

From there it was a half day jaunt over to Sturgeon Cove in the Letang River.  We were on the back side of Black’s Harbour, where the ferry to Grand Manan is, and we could hear its horn.  Otherwise, it was quiet and snug and we saw no one else.

Letang River

Dan decided we should spend our last night in Canada anchored off the International Roosevelt Park on Campobello.  Several years ago he helped build the dock there, which we tied our dinghy to when we visited the park.  Apparently no one comes there by boat, apart from someone who still maintains a summer home in or near the park, but that is probably because a day stop by boat would still entail clearing customs and there is no customs official at the park.  

The dock that Dan built - International Park 

It was a wonderful park!  We walked the grounds and visited the cottages where the Roosevelts and other prominent families lived during their summers and ended our tour with a drink on the deck of a small restaurant where we chatted with a woman from Canada going through a transition period in her life and a couple from Delaware.  From the deck we could see the Willie Dawes resting at anchor and were amused to hear from the docents that a few visitors had asked if that boat belonged to “one of the families” associated with the park.  We didn’t have time to walk any of the many trails there, one of which went out to Friar’s Point, where a certain rock stands apart from the cliff.  As this rock seemed to be watching over the fish farm directly in front of it, we dubbed it Our Lady of the Fish Farm when we anchored.  Its real name is The Old Friar.  

FDR's Summer Cottage

View from the Hubbard Cottage

   

Our Lady of the Fish Farm, aka The Old Friar

We left Canada this morning and cruised through the fog to Lakeman Harbor on Roque Island.  We’ll probably spend a few days here until the next front passes through.