Sunday 29th June.

We woke to a hot and sunny day.  The forecast was for winds later in the day, and given that we only had 35 nm to go today, we didn’t rush to get up early.  At about 9:30 we felt a breeze stirring in the harbor, and so cast off and set off.  Once out to sea however, the wind disappeared and so we had another day motoring.  As we rounded Cape St. Lawrence (the northern tip of Cape Breton), the wind picked up so we hoisted sails and stopped the engines.  Sailing at last!  It was short lived however, and after ½ hour the winds died and the engines came back on.

We entered McDougal Pond, 46 59.97N 060 27.78W with some trepidation, since our guide book warned us of a very narrow channel with shallow water.  As we entered, the harbour master, Fred, met us, assured us there was plenty of water and guided us to the fuel dock and then a berth for the night.  McDougal pond is a fishing harbor in a glorious setting – mountains all around.  The fishermen were very friendly and several came over the shoot the breeze, ask us about our travels and tell us their fishing tales and folk lore of the area.

Fred also runs a camp ground and invited us to use the shower there.  (Hmmm, now that I think about it I think he was standing downwind of us when he made that offer!)  We walked the ½ mile up the hill to the shower and Teresa took photos of the beautiful area. 

Ships Log: 3677.9, Todays Log: 34.8, Seasons Total: 89.9