My wife Chris and I have been cruising on sailboats since we were married over 34 years ago. Our honeymoon was spent on a Bristol 29 named Cricket out of Marion, MA, and we cruised the Elizabeth Islands, Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Cape Cod. The movie Jaws was released that year, and Chris was afraid to go in the water! That was the first of many family cruises on Long Island Sound and in the Caribbean. Living on a boat can be both simple and complex; I find it brings out the best in people.In late August, we had the opportunity to join our good friends Susan and Rich Feeley on a cruise of the Bras d’Or Lakes of Cape Breton Island in the Canadian Maritime Province of Nova Scotia. Rich is a longtime sailing buddy who I met in the first Capetown to Rio Race in 1970, and we’ve had many sailing adventures in the Maritimes over the years. An account of one of those trips, which was shared with my son Brian, was published in WindCheck (Cruising the Coast of Labrador, October 2003)
Antigone is a Jeanneau 34 that Rich has owned since the early 80s. Her homeport is Marblehead, MA but she’s spent much time in Atlantic Canada and the Maritimes. Rich left Marblehead in early August for the passage across the Gulf of Maine to Nova Scotia, and I joined him later in the month for the trip from Halifax into the Bras d’Or.
There are two entrances from the Atlantic into Bras d’Or, a series of inland saltwater lakes. We entered at the southern end, thru the St. Peter’s Canal, which was built in the 1850s. The canal has a 91-meter double gate lock to allow vessels to move between the different water levels of the lake and the ocean. The other entrance, at the northern end, is an inlet from the Cabot Straits, a body of water separating Cape Breton from Newfoundland.
St. Peter’s is a small town, as are most of Cape Breton’s villages. It was a great place for us to replenish our supplies and prepare for Chris and Susan to join us in Baddeck. The Lion’s Club Marina in St. Peter’s offers wonderful showers, internet connectivity and an introduction to the friendly culture and customs of Cape Breton. The marina staff is very helpful and polite.
The Bras d’Or Lakes cover an area about fifty miles long. The northern lake, known as the Great Bras d’Or, comprises two large bodies of water that extend to the west and east. The Barra Strait separates the Great Bras d’Or from the Bras d’Or Lake, which is actually a larger body of water. Both lakes have a number of islands, coves and harbors that make for a great cruising ground.
Baddeck, the largest town on the Bras d’Or, is located at the northern end of Great Bras d’Or. It’s a central point on the Cabot Trail, a scenic Canadian National Roadway that winds around the northern shore of Cape Breton, encircling Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Baddeck has two main marina facilities and is a full service location. Baddeck Marine and Cape Breton Boatyard are busy places, and reservations are generally required for dock space. We elected to dock at the Cape Breton Boat Yard, where Antigone would overwinter after extensive cruising of the Bras d’Or and Newfoundland’s south coast.
We met Chris and Susan at the historic Telegraph House, which is centrally located in the heart of Baddeck. We had a wonderful dinner, accompanied by some Celtic fiddle music. Many of the world’s best fiddlers hail from Cape Breton, most notably the internationally acclaimed Natalie MacMaster and Ashley MacIsaac, who are cousins. With a unique combination of Scottish, Irish and French cultures, Cape Breton is home to the largest number of Gaelic-speaking people in North America. Most of the road signs on the Cabot Trail are in English and Gaelic, and all of the literature is printed in French and English. The first day of our couples cruise was a road trip to the Fortress of Louisbourg. It’s a Canadian National Heritage site and the largest historic reconstruction in North America. Built in the early 1700s by the French as their primary outpost in a land they called Acadia, the fort protected French fishing and trapping interests in Atlantic Canada. Visiting a fortress built to protect a harbor was a fascinating trip back in time The British took over Nova Scotia in the 1760s, colonizing the area with Scottish and Irish settlers. The French presence in Cape Breton is concentrated on the west coast, around the town of Cheticamp, providing a very interesting cultural mélange.
Our first day of sailing was a windy one. The wind on the lakes normally blows 15 to 20 knots out of the southwest, but due to Tropical Storm Dan it was blowing 25 to 30 out of the northwest. We put two reefs in the main and headed downwind from Baddeck towards St. Andrews Channel, past Boularderie Island and into a snug little harbor called Island Point, where unique sandstone pillars line the harbor. We prepared for dinner on board and hoped for less wind the next day.
The wind decreased overnight and we had to motor for part of the way across Great Bras d’Or Lake to the Barra Straits. The straits have a drawbridge that operates 24 hours a day in summer. The wind picked up once we were through the strait, which separates Great Bras d’Or from Bras d’Or Lake. We had a lovely sail to Marble Mountain, an old white marble quarry site. We arrived in time to enjoy a great hike to the top of the quarry. This was the only anchorage that we shared with another boat, a C&C 35 out of Sydney, NS. Even with their company, the silence and beauty were overwhelming.
The prevailing southwesterlies took over the next day, and we sailed west to the Crammond Islands for lunch and a hike. This is a very peaceful and beautiful anchorage between two primary islands. It was hard to believe that at one time the islands were actually a farming homestead owned by early Scottish settlers. The islands are covered with thick spruce forests and filled with nests of great bald eagles.
From the Crammonds, we proceeded to Little Harbor on the western shore. This is a very protected body of water...and not very little. Rich and I had weathered Hurricane Bill in this protected space before Chris and Susan arrived. We had a delicious dinner of smoked salmon and Oktoberfest bratwurst at a German restaurant called the Cape Breton Smokehouse, located on one of the small coves lining the harbor. The restaurant is operated by Germans who bought land and built it after a world cruise. Over the last few years, Cape Breton has seen an influx of German tourists and land buyers, who are attracted by the relatively affordable prices of lovely properties.
We had a beautiful sail the next day, tacking into a southwesterly between a narrow channel made up of islands and points of land that lead the way southwest to the Town of St. Peters and the canal to the ocean. We spent the night at the Lion’s Club Marina with a great dinner on board. Chris and I left the following day, renting a car and spending some time in spectacular Cape Breton Highlands National Park while Rich and Susan continued sailing for another week. We had an excellent cruise in a unique part of the Northeast. I strongly recommend Bras d’Dor to sailors seeking solitude, peace and beauty. ✦
Charlie Gulotta lives in Bridgeport,CT. He actively races and cruises on Long Island Sound.
