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Now we are in Halifax for our last fueling and food shopping stop before we head around to the St. Lawrence River and start the long trek up river against the down flowing river current and the prevailing southwesterly winds.  Our hosts in Halifax are Murphy's On The Water at their Cable Wharf facility in concert with the Waterfront Development Corporation.  In trade for free docking, we opened the ship up to public visiting.  Considering the nearly constant rain we all have been experiencing, it is no surprise to me that there were few walk-aboards.

Halifax is also home to some interesting vessels.  One of them is owned by the Murphy's of Murphy's On The Water.  I first was introduced to the classic wooden ketch MAR as a kid of 8 or 9 years old when she was the BLACK WATCH owned by Ernest K. Gann, the well known author of American flying literature.  He had begun to write about the sea and lived aboard BLACK WATCH when he was cruising the Mediterranean Sea. He pulled into Malta several times when we were living there as my father was assigned to Malta as Consulate General for the U.S. State Department.  Dad was an avid cruising sailor and made our residence the "home" of all visiting cruising sailors.  Whenever Ernie pulled in, I pined to be able to row his clinker-built dingy and, when given the privilege, I would spend hours rowing around, much the same way I might ride my bicycle around just to be able to ride around.

Tomorrow we take off for the Great Lakes.  The trick to this next leg is how to maximize the sailing.  At some point we must stop sailing and start motoring because of the prevailing wind direction and the narrowness of the St. Lawrence River.  Also, at some point, we must pick up a pilot for the middle section of the St. Lawrence River leading up to Montreal.  After Montreal there will be miles of winding, rock-strewn and lock-laden river until we reach Lake Ontario, where it is to be hoped we can do some sailing as we transit the last miles to Toronto, even if it is against the prevailing winds. At least for the beginning, as we set out from Halifax, the forecasts look consistent as they project southwesterlies for the next 3 days.  Such a direction is favorable all the way to the Gaspe Peninsula.  Wish us luck!

Cheers,
Captain Miles