Sailing adventures on a Hallberg Rassy 40 in higher latitudes
We had a great time sailing up the west coast of Newfoundland. There are some beautiful anchorages, but sometimes the charts data is not completely correct. We had to get off Rocky Harbour dock quickly because of a bad combination of big swells and a gnarly dock and the steep mountains can create some strong at times.
We depart the USA and are greeted in Canada with a fine on arrival. Despite the rocky start, Nova Scotia turns out to be an incredible place to sail and paddleboard. We explore stunning anchorages, navigate the shortest canal to Canada’s inland sea, and emerge into a world of lobster traps, big ships, and a giant fiddle.
Sailing to the Statue of Liberty was a fantastic experience, but also stressful due to the amount of traffic and river currents. The trip down the coast offers a lot of historic places, but cruising in the US has become very expensive. An app for booking spots at the marinas has strange terms and conditions, that don’t really fit the cruising life.
We wintered longer than planned in Gloucester, finding warmth and welcome at Cape Ann Marina during the coldest season in years. With excellent facilities, friendly locals, and live music every night, it became a perfect place to winter the boat. From boat toilet upgrades to Boston day trips, our stay was full of memories, scallops, and kind-hearted connections.
Since clearing into the US we’ve slowed down due to extreme weather and social visits. It was a tough sail to Portland that left Snow Bear frozen, but we made it safely. We had a great Christmas, explored Portland and Portsmouth. Now, we’re wintering in Gloucester, doing a few boat projects and enjoying the area’s rich maritime and cultural scene
In this post, we take a moment to vent some of our frustrations with the current technologies and cartography that we sailors rely on to safely navigate the seas. These tools are critical for keeping us off the rocks, yet all too often, they fall short in quality, reliability, or usability.
After a pleasant crossing from Labrador to Newfoundland, we explored St. Anthony’s and the historic L’Anse aux Meadows, marking the end of our Viking Route. Stops in Lewisporte, Twillingsgate, Bonavista, and finally St. John’s offered scenic hikes, vibrant local culture, boat maintenance, and incredible encounters with local hospitality and 2 difficult harbour entrances.
We spent a month in southern Greenland and had an amazing time visiting this quite remote destination. We had heard rumours of an amazing anchorage and were not disappointed by it. The supermarkets here are so well-stocked, which really surprised us, but there is one thing we just couldn’t find! And we also share the recipe for a great drink to make to celebrate a successful cold crossing.
While waiting for the ice to clear and right wind to make the passage to Greenland we have been exploring the beautiful Western part of Iceland. The steep mountains often makes the gust in the harbours accelerate so the windy nights can come as a big surprise. We are really glad we had the extra time to explore more of Iceland and visit many excellent and completely free harbours.
We spent almost 3 weeks in Reykjavík as we visited relatives and had friends visiting the boat. This gave us a chance to experience a lot of the city. We also had the time to do some boat work and order new bikes and a VHF for the boat. In this post you can also get a discount code for reusable 316L filter for your watermaker.