Sept. 6 – Hopewell Rocks Park

By on September 9, 2019 in The Pearl
“For the truth is that I already know as much about my fate as I need to know. The day will come when I will die. So the only matter of consequence before me is what I will do with my allotted time. I can remain on shore, paralyzed with fear or I can raise my sails and dip and soar in the breeze.” ―Richard Bode
We had another busy day, full of exploring. We drove up the Fundy Coast to Alma, Cape Enrage and the Hopewell Rocks…all great places to see the power of the tide in the Bay of Fundy. Our first stop was in Alma to see the harbor with it’s lobster boats sitting on the ocean’s floor. From there we drove at to Cape Engage to take in the view and look at the lighthouse.

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The Bears of Anan

By on September 8, 2019 in Idyll Time

Anan Bear Preserve is located 30 miles south of Wrangell on Earnest Sound. We applied for permits to this U.S.Forrest Service controlled wildlife viewing area back in the spring. They only allow 60 visitors per day. We could come here by our own boat but the anchorage in front of the preserve is not recommended […]

RETURN TO ENVOY AFTER A SHORT BREAK BACK HOME

By on September 8, 2019 in Envoy
Envoy is currently cruising to Preveza, mainland Greece. Still having problems loading images so that’s why there’s not many.
Late in the evening of Sunday 28 July we arrive back to Envoy berthed at Taranto in Italy. There’s a 20 knot wind blowing and the boat is moving around making it tricky to get our luggage back aboard across a bouncing passarelle. All is as we left it except that we inadvertently closed the fridge door (we usually leave it wedged open when its not operating) and in the high heat a bit of mould had formed inside. However this is soon cleaned up.
Next day the marina lends us a car and driver to take us to a supermarket a couple of km away where we do a huge shop to re-supply. It’s fun in these smallish and unfamiliar Med supermarkets, but there always seems to be a shortage of trolleys.
Taranto is interesting but seems a bit run down with a lot of derelict, unoccupied buildings.
Next day we cruise back to Porti di Caesareo – already mentioned previously. Some locals take a shine to us and insist on taking us ashore for coffee and delicious cake.
That night Envoy rolls a bit and our RHIB, which is lifted out of the water at the transom, moves around and abrades some of our sign writing off the stern. Fortunately we have some spare decals aboard so this can be easily remedied.

Gallipoli
Envoy’s new owners – Larry and Catherine from Brisbane are due to join us shortly for a couple of weeks so our agent had arranged a marina berth in Portolano marina at the beautiful town of Gallipoli.
This “marina” is a bit of a joke really – there’s just a floating pontoon making a poor attempt at blocking waves from the open sea and it’s quite rough inside. The lazy lines connecting the mooring lines to the jetty are far too short so they are more or less floating and one get’s caught up in our bow thruster – damn! Last time this happened we had to pull Envoy from the water to free it at a cost of nearly a thousand bucks. More on this soon.
Fortunately we are bow on to the swell so it’s not too uncomfortable, but at one stage our passarelle is moving through a range of about a metre up and down.
We arrive there early afternoon and by late afternoon there’s a strong wind blowing directly into the marina, which has little room to manoever as it’s really of a size for smaller trailerable boats.
A twin-engined displacement motor boat slightly larger than Envoy arrives to berth next to Envoy. As the boat comes in I can see the skipper has no idea what he’s doing and he allows his boat to be taken so far downwind that there’s no chance of him turning stern-to the jetty. His boat slams broadside into Envoy and the two boats next to us. Where he hits Envoy is the forward end of our anchor, which is now making a good job of grinding into his teak capping rail and adjacent gelcoat. The skipper’s wife rushes out and attempts to push their boat off, but the on-scene marinaras and myself warn her away – there’s a real risk of serious injury. I put out our heaviest duty fender to try to minimise damage to the other boat but it soon bursts with the pressure – later the other skipper pays me for it. The skipper then makes things worse by using power and wrapping a mooring line around one of his props. The marinaras then use their large RHIB to tow the boat upwind and back outside the marina. One of the marinaras takes over the boat’s helm and to his credit does an excellent job of docking her even with one engine unusable. He lines up the boat at the entrance and reverses at remarkably high speed straight into the empty berth next to Envoy. The other boat also needs a diver and we are told to expect him next day at 0700. I am very sceptical about this – nothing happens during early mornings in the Med. My scepticism proves waranted when he arrives about 1000. Then he does a great job of removing the lines fouling our bow thruster and our neighbour’s prop.
Next day Larry and Catherine arrive. It’s Catherine’s first time aboard and she likes Envoy very much. They aren’t really concerned by the primitive marina, but meanwhile we have organised a berth at Bleu Salento marina inside Gallipoli harbour for the next two nights. Bleu Salento is only slightly dearer at 120 Euros per night but is perfectly sheltered with properly laid lines and plenty of room to manoever.
We organise a rental car and do a couple of days touring the local area including the stunning town of Lecce, already covered in a previous posting.

Great view from cafe near Gallipoli


Larry and Catherine quickly adjust to shipboard life and we cruise to Santa Maris di Leuca to anchor off the marina. During the night the wind changes to onshore making for a rather uncomfortable night – at least we thought so, but Larry and Catherine didn’t seem to mind. We set off at first light heading for Greece on what would turn out to be an eventful day.

Fundy Trail Parkway

By on September 8, 2019 in The Pearl

“Life’s a climb but the view is great.” – Miley Cyrus

Another one of our adventures on Thursday was to drive the Fundy Trail Parkway. It’s a 6,323 acre park featuring a 19 mile paved road that hugs the southern coast of New Brunswick. It has stunning views of the world-renowned Bay of Fundy, the park has been carved out of the Fundy escarpment, one of the last remaining coastal wilderness areas between Florida and Labrador.
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Oil Tanker Tour

By on September 7, 2019 in M/V Dirona

It’s getting increasingly difficult for the general public to see the details behind large commercial ships and even harder to tour chemical and oil tankers. Partly the crews are busy at work and partly there are safety and security concerns, but the net result is limited ability to see the details behind how these advanced…

St. Martins Sea Caves & the Bay of Fundy

By on September 7, 2019 in The Pearl

“I believe in the ocean…curing all bad moods. I believe in the waves…wiping away worries. I believe in the seashells…bringing good luck. I believe in toes in the sand…grounding my soul.” —Unknown

Our Nova Scotia adventure has turned into a New Brunswick adventure. Hurricane Dorian has Halifax in her sights…high winds and rain are predicted for this weekend, so we’re going up the Acadian Coastal. This path will take us inland and up towards the Gulf of St. Lawerence. It’s a road trip and we have no set plans, so anywhere new is exciting to us.

One of the places we explored yesterday was the St. Martins Sea Caves. They’re natural caves carved into 250 million year old rocks by the powerful Fundy tide. The sea caves can be accessed for eight hours each day, two hours before and two hours after each low tide. We spent the morning wandering along the cliffs and walking on the ocean floor that is under 35+ feet of water at high tide.
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Sept. 5 – St. Martins, NB

By on September 6, 2019 in The Pearl

“As steady as the tides, Life constantly uncovers the treasures hidden within us.”  –Unknown

Today we did a lot of exploring…too much to do one blog. So I’ll share what we did and what we saw in parts…first pictures of St. Martins. It’s a picturesque village rich in seafaring history. It was once one of the richest shipbuilding cities in the British Empire. More than 500 sailing ships were constructed here in the 1800s. Today the village is best known for its sandstone sea caves – submerged during high tide, and accessible to explorers during low tide. There are also miles of unspoiled beaches, two lighthouses and an active harbor with two covered bridges.   

This community’s daily rhythms are guided by the rising and falling of the World’s Highest Tides. At high tide, the colorful fishing boats bob almost level with the top of the pier. At low tide, the same boats sit in the red mud on the ocean floor.

Quaco Head Lighthouse – the original lighthouse was built in 1856 and sat off shore on a small island. This new one was built in 1985…the base is new, but the light is from the original lighthouse.

Views around the lighthouse

One of the covered bridges in St. Martins

There are cute little shops around the harbor. We had a spectacular day to explore St. Martins and the sea caves. 

Here are pictures taken at low tide and the same pictures taken about two hours before high tide. What a difference.

Low tide pictures are first…then high tide.

Looking towards town

Looking towards the second covered bridge in St. Martins.

Aerial view of St. Martins harbor at high tide.

St. Martins Wishing Rocks – Local legend has it the Mi’kmaq believed that a stone with a band of white completely around it was a sing of good fortune from Mother Nature. I was told if you find one of these stones you should make a wish. Once the wish comes true, you’re supposed to pass the stone on to someone else.

Gota Canal Day 11: Norrgvarn

By on September 6, 2019 in M/V Dirona

The section of the Gota Canal that runs through Lake Viken is among the most scenic, through several narrow one-way channels, and open areas dotted with islets. It also the highest point along the canal, at 301.2 ft (91.8 m) above sea level. On our 11th day along the Gota Canal, we passed through eleven…

Stella’s Back!

By on September 5, 2019 in aCappella

Dora’s best dog park buddy, Stella, has been gone on vacation with her people. Dora sure missed her.

Well, Stella is back and the girls are making up for lost time. Dad captured it on video.

Sept. 4 – St. Martins, NB

By on September 5, 2019 in The Pearl
“Live life with no excuses, travel with no regret” –Oscar Wilde

Today we drove up the coast of Maine, through little towns we visited on our boat in 2013 and 2016. It was fun to see the towns in a different way and it brought back wonderful memories of the summers we’ve spent here. We also had a chance to visit a few town we didn’t make it to while cruising. Lots of interesting sights along the way. 

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