TEXAS RANGER: Shelburne, NS to Yarmouth, NS to Southwest Harbor, ME August 10-13

One of the most densely populated graveyards of ships is Cape Sable at the tip of Nova Scotia. In fact, in the gift shops they sell posters listing the hundreds of ships sunk around this point of land in the North Atlantic Ocean. Transiting this stretch of water can be far less dangerous if done at slack tide, as currents driven by tidal rise and fall can reach 5 knots. We carefully studied the data, and then departed Shelburne at 0130, rounding Cape Sable at the favorable time of approximately 0600. We had no difficulty, but stayed well clear of the point and its associated shoals and rip tides. We then picked up a substantial favorable tidal current running north and rode it to Yarmouth, NS, arriving there about 1030. We docked at the marina, and were told that "there is nothing happening here" since the high-speed ferries were discontinued last year. Indeed that assessment seemed to be correct, but since we primarily sought a "jumping-off" place for our trip across to Maine, we weren't too disappointed.
The next morning we departed Yarmouth at 0200, notifying the Vessel Traffic Service of our movement so that they could alert boats of the returning fishing fleet to watch out for us. We had a delightful crossing of the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy with relatively calm seas and light winds. There was only minimal brief fog, though a fog bank behind us can be seen in the photo below. One can see from whence the description of fog "rolling in" comes. We crossed paths with several ships, but at adequate distance. As we approached Maine, we saw a boat with an enormous bowsprit, and a man on it harpooning tuna. We spoke with him later at the dock, and learned the tuna were spotted by an associated airplane, and that after throwing the harpoon into the fish, it is electrocuted via a cable to the harpoon and then pulled into the boat. They day before he had caught four (one 700 pounds), but only two on the day we saw him. Tuna buyers then come to grade and purchase the fish...a high grade tuna suitable for sushi can bring $20 a pound!

Tuna Harpoon Boat

We arrived in Southwest Harbor about 1500 after negotiating our way through countless lobster trap floats, and cleared into customs by telephone. Kay is delighted to have better access to data and affordable cellular service, and since rainy weather is expected, we spent a day touring the Mt. Desert area which includes the Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor.