Anchored Bow and Stern at the Greatest Anchorage in the Bras d’Ors
This week, we continue cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes, bringing Arabella from Macnabs Cove to Baddeck…with a lovely stop at Pellier Harbour on the way.
Robin was able to get some more experience with hoisting and lowering all four of Arabella’s sails, bringing us over to Pellier Harbour in one, long, beautiful tack, with 12-13 knots of wind on the beam.
As far as we’re concerned, Pellier Harbour is the greatest anchorage in the Bras d’Ors. We know there are probably a dozen other incredible anchorages, but this one just stole our hearts. It’s a unique anchorage, and a great opportunity to practice anchoring bow and stern. If we were bolder, we could have put Arabella’s bowsprit over the sandbar. But we just…couldn’t ;-)
Instead, I got as close as I dared and dropped the main anchor, threw Arabella in reverse, and then dropped the stern anchor. In hindsight, I should have dropped the stern anchor on the way in, but without Robin on board (hey, someone had to be filming from land) I wouldn’t have been able to finagle it.
I’m glad we had the opportunity to practice anchoring bow and stern before arriving in Newfoundland. We learned a lot in a very low-consequence way, and can bring this new boating skill on the road with us as we head to our destination for the winter. There, we’ll likely encounter a lot more anchorages like this one.
Retrieving the stern anchor requires a bit of thought. With some creative rigging, I set up a system that will make for easy retrieval.
Creative anchoring aside, exploring Pellier Harbour turns out to be a big tease: the water is warm and clear and beckoning for us to dive in…but it’s also FILLED to the brim with Lion’s Mane jellyfish (and they do NOT want to hang out). We loved the peace, beauty and solitude of this anchorage so much, we extended our stay by an extra day. Greatest anchorage in the Bras d’Ors…
We reluctantly weighed anchor after a few nights, and the sail to Baddeck was fun and light. The harbor is just as idyllic as everything else we’ve seen in the Brad ‘dOrs (but not quite as magical as Pellier Harbour).
Baddeck was home to the famous inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, so, of course there’s a museum…and of course we take a quick tour of it! After all, we had plenty of time to kill while we were waiting for a new Starlink dish to arrive (grumble grumble, harumph harumph, a story for another time), and we love a good museum.
In addition to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, we were able to check out the Community Market, where we stocked up on some critical supplies: homemade croissants!!
The outdoor ban also got lifted on our last day in Baddeck, and we immediately wandered into some local trails on Kidston Island where we snacked on wild blackberries and enjoyed every pine-scented inhale. It felt so good to be in the woods again…and where we’re going, there’s plenty more for us to explore. Our psych is at an all-time high! Get us to the mountains!!
From Baddeck, our plan is to head over to Kelly’s Cove, an anchorage closer to the open ocean. That sets us up to make the run to North Sydney in a nice, short day. There, we’ll await our new Starlink dish and wait for a weather window to jump off to Newfoundland!
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38' wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin's Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel's gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they've built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
--------------------------
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Steve Denette: The 5th-generation farmer who built the 38ft wooden ketch Arabella from the stumps of his family farm, now pioneering big-wall climbing in Newfoundland.
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This week, we continue cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes, bringing Arabella from Macnabs Cove to Baddeck…with a lovely stop at Pellier Harbour on the way.
Robin was able to get some more experience with hoisting and lowering all four of Arabella’s sails, bringing us over to Pellier Harbour in one, long, beautiful tack, with 12-13 knots of wind on the beam.
As far as we’re concerned, Pellier Harbour is the greatest anchorage in the Bras d’Ors. We know there are probably a dozen other incredible anchorages, but this one just stole our hearts. It’s a unique anchorage, and a great opportunity to practice anchoring bow and stern. If we were bolder, we could have put Arabella’s bowsprit over the sandbar. But we just…couldn’t 😉
Instead, I got as close as I dared and dropped the main anchor, threw Arabella in reverse, and then dropped the stern anchor. In hindsight, I should have dropped the stern anchor on the way in, but without Robin on board (hey, someone had to be filming from land) I wouldn’t have been able to finagle it.
I’m glad we had the opportunity to practice anchoring bow and stern before arriving in Newfoundland. We learned a lot in a very low-consequence way, and can bring this new boating skill on the road with us as we head to our destination for the winter. There, we’ll likely encounter a lot more anchorages like this one.
Retrieving the stern anchor requires a bit of thought. With some creative rigging, I set up a system that will make for easy retrieval.
Creative anchoring aside, exploring Pellier Harbour turns out to be a big tease: the water is warm and clear and beckoning for us to dive in…but it’s also FILLED to the brim with Lion’s Mane jellyfish (and they do NOT want to hang out). We loved the peace, beauty and solitude of this anchorage so much, we extended our stay by an extra day. Greatest anchorage in the Bras d’Ors…
We reluctantly weighed anchor after a few nights, and the sail to Baddeck was fun and light. The harbor is just as idyllic as everything else we’ve seen in the Brad ‘dOrs (but not quite as magical as Pellier Harbour).
Baddeck was home to the famous inventor, Alexander Graham Bell, so, of course there’s a museum…and of course we take a quick tour of it! After all, we had plenty of time to kill while we were waiting for a new Starlink dish to arrive (grumble grumble, harumph harumph, a story for another time), and we love a good museum.
In addition to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, we were able to check out the Community Market, where we stocked up on some critical supplies: homemade croissants!!
The outdoor ban also got lifted on our last day in Baddeck, and we immediately wandered into some local trails on Kidston Island where we snacked on wild blackberries and enjoyed every pine-scented inhale. It felt so good to be in the woods again…and where we’re going, there’s plenty more for us to explore. Our psych is at an all-time high! Get us to the mountains!!
From Baddeck, our plan is to head over to Kelly’s Cove, an anchorage closer to the open ocean. That sets us up to make the run to North Sydney in a nice, short day. There, we’ll await our new Starlink dish and wait for a weather window to jump off to Newfoundland!
————————–
Sign up for our email newsletter: http://eepurl.com/hn3Qyv
Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38′ wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
————————–
If you are interested in supporting/helping here are a few ways:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/how-to-help
Acorn to Arabella’s wishlist:
https://www.acorntoarabella.com/wishlistpriority
TotalBoat supports A2A! Please consider using our Total Boat referral code. Click here, then shop: https://www.totalboat.com/acorntoarabella They’ll kick 10% our way!
To offer recurring support via Patreon, CLICK BELOW. Just $5 a month gets you an invite to our monthly patron-only livestream Q&A sessions!
https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com
FOLLOW US:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/acorntoarabella
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acorntoarabella/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/acorntoarabella
Website: http://www.acorntoarabella.com
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