Lunenburg

         We met a kayaker named Christine who welcomed us to Deep Cove. She asked us if we were going to stay a second night and let us know the cove would be very crowded with people coming to watch the fireworks, which would be launched from a nearby barge. We thought maybe we would move to another anchorage and got underway before any of the party boats started arriving. It was looking like a lovely day and we took a long, slow tour of Mahone Bay. There are many island, rocky ledges, and several small towns. In some ways it’s like a great big lake what with the jet-skiers and small power boats zipping around. We oohed and aahed at the expensive waterside homes, some with large in-ground swimming pools between the house and the fancy dock. This area is quite built up. Dan said it reminded him a little bit of New Jersey. It was a warm, hazy day, and storm clouds gathering in the evening caused us to move from one anchorage to another just in case the ensuing front got a little crazy. Thunder rumbled around us but the storms were to the north and all we got was a quick little shower. 

Coming Thunderstorm at Covey Island, Mahone Bay

        Sunday dawned with the normal shroud of fog, but by mid-morning it had lifted, leaving us with a very warm and humid day. This was the day we had dockside reservations in Lunenburg but it was too early, and we decided to check out Tanner Pass, a place our kayaker friend Christine told us was too beautiful to miss. She wasn’t kidding. Tanner Pass was gorgeous. I said to Dan that cruising Nova Scotia is like cruising in a painting. The scenery is just incredible.  We anchored for several hours in Tanner Pass and took the dinghy to explore the length of it, all the way to the back bay behind Lunenburg. We’d been back there seven years ago, but we’d come to it a different way and missed this scenic route entirely. 

Entrance to Tanner Pass

         When we finished the Pass we hauled the dinghy and the anchor and made our way into Lunenburg. It was nearly 90 degrees ashore, the folk festival was winding up, and people were out in droves. We tied up alongside the Fisheries of the Atlantic building, right in front of an outdoor cafe where we were the entertainment for diners and people strolling by on the boardwalk. Lunenburg is a charming town, filled with restaurants and shops and historic little homes built by boatbuilders. It has a very strong history of shipbuilding and fishing and was home to the schooner Bluenose and now home to the replica Bluenose II. There once was a well-known iron foundry here that built the steering wheels and gears and other parts that make up some of the Maine Windjammer fleet. We spent two nights and most of two days walking and exploring as well as doing the things cruisers tend to do when ashore - laundry, visiting grocery stores, and chasing down propane. The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic was the highlight of our time there - three stories of artifacts and history. 

People watching. Watching us watching them. 

Approaching Lunenburg

       Tuesday mid-afternoon we thought we’d leave the dock and anchor in the harbor, but as the seas and air seemed fairly calm, we decided to just move on to LaHave. We found a nice quiet anchorage at Bush Island, around the corner from Folly’s Channel. Out of the city and back into the painting.

Folly's Channel