25 August 2022 – Thursday – MacDonald’s Cove to St. Peter’s

We had seen a bald eagle standing on a sand spit as we pulled into the harbor last night. So we planned a dinghy outing after breakfast to look for wildlife in areas too shallow for the big boat. We went onto an area with few houses and lots of trees all the way down to the water. Charlie spotted a great blue heron roosting in a tree. As we started to pass several great blue herons took off from neighboring trees. They are very graceful birds. We circled back to see several bald eagles in the trees nearer the big boat. We saw a juvenile eagle sitting on a branch too. These small quiet harbors are perfect havens for birds.

We stowed the dinghy, picked up the anchor and set off for St Peter’s harbor at the end of the Bras D’Or lakes. We tried our Pumpout system just to be sure it worked….but it didn’t. Since we were underway, Mark decided to just hope for dock Pumpout. We called the St Peter’s marina to be sure they had fuel and Pumpout facilities. Fuel was easy. Pumpout is supposedly not working. In many places where holding tanks aren’t required, it seems that getting pumped out is virtually impossible. It’s a smelly job that no one likes although it doesn’t make sense to allow raw sewage to pour into the lakes. In any case, we were reaching a full tank and needed a solution. The apparatus that had worked before was still intact. Maggie,Charlie, and I once again were the deck based team working to pump our holding tank. This time we made sure that Mark positioned the boat so that the wind didn’t blow the aroma back in our faces.

We arrived at the marina and tied up at the fuel dock. The marina manager, Gerry was very helpful. He offered us the use of his car to go to town for supplies. After fueling, we moved the boat over to another dock for the night. Then we borrowed Gerry’s car to find Clorox which Mark thought might break up the plugged up system. At least we have room to spare and we checked to get sure that some facility in Halifax has a functional Pumpout.

We went down the few blocks of town to look at the canal and locks that we would cross the next day. The system is quite a short stretch but apparently it is valuable to keep from having a huge current from the ocean going back and forth in a narrow passage. 

Dinner was planned for the Bras D’Or lake Inn. Mark and Bev recommended it based on prior visits. It was an easy walk to dinner. My sole stuffed with crabmeat and mushrooms was delicious. Mark thoroughly enjoyed his roasted rib. We required tastes of desserts that Charlie and Bev had ordered which they reluctantly shared.
As we returned to the marina we smelled a campfire that was being tended by several local boat owners. It smells like fall is coming.