Cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes: A Good Start in St. Peter’s
This week, with the woods ban still in place, we decide to hightail it to Newfoundland via the Bras d’Or Lakes. We’re itching to get climbing, hiking and biking again!
Before we start sailing north, I took the time to do something that’s been on my to-do list for a while: calibrate our fuel dipstick. I used our Keenan Filters fuel filter to move all of our diesel into one tank, so we can use the empty tank for calibration.
Leaving Terence Bay was a little emotional. It’s a bummer we didn’t get to explore all that this region has to offer, but it’s time to keep moseying to where the mountains meet the ocean (and where we can actually climb those mountains). Aboard for the run from Terence Bay to St. Peter’s is Kyle, who you might remember from when we installed our water systems during the last crazy year of the build.
The sail to St. Peters—the gateway to the Bras d’Or Lakes—was full of variety and spice: we saw everything from low winds that forced us to run the engine, to 25 knot winds that put Arabella on a wild heel as she crashed through the waves.
We arrived at the St. Peter’s Lock around midnight. It’s never our favorite to arrive in a new harbor at dark, but that’s how it goes with sailing sometimes. You can’t always pick your timing…
At St. Peter’s, Robin meets us with the truck and jumps on board as we navigate the lock and pick up a mooring at the Lions Club Marina. We have certainly entered a different biosphere—one that is much less harsh (and much less foggy) than the cold, open North Atlantic.
After a few days on a mooring, we decide to start moseying through the Bras d’Ors, heading to Macnabs Cove, where Akiva will get to have his very own island to explore. I also decide that cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes would be a good opportunity for Robin to “single hand” Arabella, so she’ll be running the show as we bump around the lakes.
Past little baby lighthouses, we drop anchor in Macnabs and promptly run Akiva over to his island.
Anchored in a beautiful corner of the Bras d’Or Lakes, I take the opportunity to replace and improve the painter line on our hand-built wooden dinghy, Victoria. Waking up to a missing dinghy is NOT a good time, as we’ve learned from experience. I have an idea that will add some shock absorbency to the system, which will increase the longevity of the painter line and reduce the amount of stress on the attachment point. I’m glad to have my pattern maker’s vise to help me bring my idea to fruition.
Tune in next week, as we continue cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes, making way towards 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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Original Soundtrack available at benfundis.bandcamp.com
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Acorn To Arabella
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, with the woods ban still in place, we decide to hightail it to Newfoundland via the Bras d’Or Lakes. We’re itching to get climbing, hiking and biking again!
Before we start sailing north, I took the time to do something that’s been on my to-do list for a while: calibrate our fuel dipstick. I used our Keenan Filters fuel filter to move all of our diesel into one tank, so we can use the empty tank for calibration.
Leaving Terence Bay was a little emotional. It’s a bummer we didn’t get to explore all that this region has to offer, but it’s time to keep moseying to where the mountains meet the ocean (and where we can actually climb those mountains). Aboard for the run from Terence Bay to St. Peter’s is Kyle, who you might remember from when we installed our water systems during the last crazy year of the build.
The sail to St. Peters—the gateway to the Bras d’Or Lakes—was full of variety and spice: we saw everything from low winds that forced us to run the engine, to 25 knot winds that put Arabella on a wild heel as she crashed through the waves.
We arrived at the St. Peter’s Lock around midnight. It’s never our favorite to arrive in a new harbor at dark, but that’s how it goes with sailing sometimes. You can’t always pick your timing…
At St. Peter’s, Robin meets us with the truck and jumps on board as we navigate the lock and pick up a mooring at the Lions Club Marina. We have certainly entered a different biosphere—one that is much less harsh (and much less foggy) than the cold, open North Atlantic.
After a few days on a mooring, we decide to start moseying through the Bras d’Ors, heading to Macnabs Cove, where Akiva will get to have his very own island to explore. I also decide that cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes would be a good opportunity for Robin to “single hand” Arabella, so she’ll be running the show as we bump around the lakes.
Past little baby lighthouses, we drop anchor in Macnabs and promptly run Akiva over to his island.
Anchored in a beautiful corner of the Bras d’Or Lakes, I take the opportunity to replace and improve the painter line on our hand-built wooden dinghy, Victoria. Waking up to a missing dinghy is NOT a good time, as we’ve learned from experience. I have an idea that will add some shock absorbency to the system, which will increase the longevity of the painter line and reduce the amount of stress on the attachment point. I’m glad to have my pattern maker’s vise to help me bring my idea to fruition.
Tune in next week, as we continue cruising the Bras d’Or Lakes, making way towards 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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