Chedabucto Bay is a large body of water which is subject to wind funnelling and excessive fog. During the morning, the land breeze died, only to be replaced with a steadily increasing south wind. I was pleased to make a steady passage and not worry about seeking shelter in the fishing port of Petit-de-Grat or Arichat. We passed Cerberus Rock on which the tanker Arrow tore her hull open and spilled the cargo of Bunker C in 1970, creating an environmental disaster. From the Canso fairway buoy, my mark was Creighton Shoal Buoy 9.4 miles northward. However, the buoy wasn’t in position. Instead, a string of floats for some unknown purpose, ranged along the surface in the locality.

In the lee of Creighton Island I removed the boom and sails before rowing across the lobster pot riddled passage to a narrow sand spit. Once around the spit, I’d be in a sheltered waterway which has been used for centuries by small boats travelling from Arichat into Lennox Passage. At the moment, the tidal current flowing out of the channel between the spit and the mainland, was too strong to row or sail through. Like ferrying a canoe in rapids, I lined Naomi around the point and along the inner shore of the spit in 12 to 18 inches of water. Free of the current in the narrows, I unfurled the jib and ran before a force 4 wind along the waterway.

I felt relieved. From Port Dufferin till now I had been ocean sailing. On this cruise, I had encountered a stretch of good weather as well as a mild sea state. I knew I had been fortunate. From now on though, I didn’t consider myself to be ocean sailing and looked forward to carefree pottering for a few days. I’d cruise this waterway, River Inhabitants Basin, and Lennox Passage before ending my journey in St Peters.