add 
FOREST AND STREAM. : 'l 
[Oct. 29, 2904, 
per hour, Marion arrived 20m. and Hermes 10m. be- 
fore us. 
The Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron is a very 
flourishing organization and numbers among its mem- 
bers some of the finest yachtsmen in Canada. They 
are most hospitable to visiting yachtsmen, and we were 
accorded the best treatment and had the use of their 
club house and floats. ; ' 
We spent four or five days very pleasantly in Halifax, 
visiting friends and sailing around the harbor. Halifax 
is an interesting old city, strongly fortified and gar- 
isoned with two regiments of British troops. The har- 
bor is noted as one of the finest in the world, being very 
deep. It is apt to be squally there with a W. or N.W. 
wind, and one needs a pretty stiff and able craft in order 
to have any comfort. Above the harbor and connected 
with it by a narrow passage lies Bedford Basin, extend- 
ing about 10 miles inland, in which the entire British 
navy might lie sheltered. 
Friday we started back to Chester; the morning was 
clear and bright and gave every promise of being a 
fine day. There was a light breeze blowing from the 
S. as we broke out the anchor and got under way. This 
would make a beat to windward to Chebucto Head and 
then a reach along the coast to Chester. Everything 
went well until we were near Chebucto Head, when the 
fog, which had evidently been lying off the coast, 
drifted in, and in a few minutes we were in the thick 
of it and all view of land blotted out. We ought to 
have put back into Halifax, but we decided to keep on, 
as we wished to get back to Chester that day if possible. 
We did not dare to attempt to run through the chan- 
nel as we had done coming up, so had to beat out 
around Sambro Island and the outermost ledges. This 
meant adding about 5 miles to the course and was at- 
tended with some risk. We had to run close to the 
reefs before we could see them, or hear the steam 
whistle on Chebucto Head. After a time we picked 
up the fog gun on Sambro Island. One by one we 
rounded the ledges, most of them being marked by 
spar buoys. In passing Sambro Island we got almost 
into the breakers before we could tell where we were. 
The fog lifting for a moment showed us to be right 
under the lighthouse, and just then the gun went off. 
We tacked quickly and headed out to sea, after a while 
picking up the Blind Sisters, on which there is a bell 
buoy. This was the last ledge, and from here we set 
our course by the compass to Pennant Point. _ The 
wind only came in puffs as it generally does in the 
fog, and we made little headway. We passed close by 
several fishermen and a couple of large schooners bound 
for Halifax. Our fog horn was sounded constantly. 
Land was finally made a little to the E. of Pennant, and 
after tacking out to sea sighted the buoy off Pennant 
Point. From here we set our course for Ironbound, 
being able to fetch it close hauled. The course was 
now straight, and there would not be much more 
danger. 
About 5 o'clock in the afternoon we ran close by 
Betty's Island, making it out dimly through the fog. 
The wind had now dropped very light, and all hope of 
reaching Chester before dark was given up. At 7 
o'clock we judged we were somewhere near Ironbound, 
although we could not hear the automatic. In another 
half hour we heard the sound of surf on our star- 
board hand and, shifting our course, soon made out 
Ironbound. We had run about a mile off our . course 
and had passed to the south of the automatic, which we 
were unable to hear, on account of the wind carrying 
the sound away from us. We sailed close in toward 
Ironbound and rounded the northern end of it. It was 
now almost dark and the light on Ironbound could be 
seen dimly through the fog. The automatic could now 
be heard plainly behind us, and we did not lose sound 
of it for the next half hour. We shaped our course 
for the middle of the channel, between Little Tancook 
and the mainland. The sun had now set and it became 
very dark. My companion was forward, keeping his 
ears and eyes open for any sign of land. 
Everything was soaking wet from the mist, and we 
were cold and hungry. Suddenly, dead ahead and to 
the starboard, we heard the roar of surf, but could not 
see any land. On trying the lead we found we were get- 
ting into shallow water. I swung Menotah around at 
right-angles to her former course, and in a few minutes 
we heard the surf again directly ahead. This seemed 
very queer at the time, for, supposing we were in the 
channel, on changing our course eight points we ought 
to have had to sail over a mile before reaching the op- 
posite shore, whereas we seemed to be in a cul de sac. 
There was nothing to indicate whether we were to the 
right or left of Little Tancook. After sailing around 
in a circle three or four times and narrowly missing a 
big rock, we decided the best and safest thing to do was 
to anchor and wait until morning. The sea was com- 
paratively smooth, with the exception of a long ground 
swell, and we would not be in much danger, unless a 
heavy breeze sprang up, which was not likely. Feeling 
our way in with the lead until we were in 4 fathoms of 
water, we let go the anchor and lowered the sails. The 
lead showed a hard rocky bottom, but our anchor was 
a good one and we held all right. We fixed up thing 
on deck and then went below. Making up a good fire 
we soon had the little cabin warm and comfortable, 
after which we got something hot to eat. What a dif- 
ference that little stove made to the cabin and to our 
tempers. After a smoke, we turned in and slept soundly 
until morning. 
When we went on deck the next morning we found 
the fog clearing up, and we were soon able to make 
out our surroundings. We. saw that we were in a sort 
of small half-moon shaped bay on the mainland and 
directly opposite Little Tancook. On the night before 
we must have kept too much to the starboard coming 
in from Ironbound and so missed passing through the 
channel. About 6 o'clock wc hoisted sail and started 
with a light wind for Chester, which we reached in 
about two hours' time, and picked up our. old mooring. 
After spending a week in Chester, we concluded one 
morning to run over to Bridgewater, which is situated 
on the La Have; River, about J 2 miles from its mouth, 
lb e river being about 25 miles from Chester. 
We left our mooring about 10:30, swinging -full, sail 
and with a nice wind blowing from the S,. The day was 
beautifully bright, and- clear, and the. sun -was dancing 
merrily over the waves. Our course gave us a dead 
beat to windward of about 12 miles to East Point and 
then a close reach along the coast to the westward. 
. When within 2 miles of East Point the wind shifted to 
the S-W. and freshened somewhat, giving -us more 
windward work.' We rounded East Point at 1:30 and 
.stood oyer toward Cross Island on the starboard tack. 
Cross Island lies about 2 miles to the S.W. of East 
Point, and on the N. and E. sides are several bad 
shoals. There is a deep channel lying close to East 
Point, though in bad weather vessels generally pass 
outside the island. On the. island are two powerful 
coast lights, which are in range with that on La Have 
Ironbound to the westward; if these are kept in line, all 
shoals are cleared in that direction. We tacked close 
in under the N.W. end of the island and on the next 
t^ck stood across Lunenburg Bay toward Rose Head. 
The land here is very high and rises sheer from the 
water. We stood in close to land, the water being very 
deep, and, coming about on the starboard tack, ran out 
to sea for about 3 miles. When we saw that we could 
make La Have Ironbound on the next tack we came 
about near the automatic buoy which lies about i]/2 
miles S.W. off Cross Island. We passed near here a 
number of fishermen in boats attending to their nets. 
This is a great spot for mackerel, the men often making 
a stop of several hundred barrels in one trap. The wind 
still held true and strong and we were making good 
headway. Half way between Cross Island and Iron- 
bound is a great rock, which is marked by a red buoy. 
Keeping the lights on Cross Island in range with that 
on Ironbound clears this obstruction. 
We reached Ironbound about 4:30 in the afternoon. 
It lies about % mile from the shore, between which 
there is a deep channel. The island looks very much 
MENOTAH. 
like the East Ironbound Island already mentioned. 
Passing through the narrow channel we eased off sheets 
and' ran down the bay toward the mouth of the La 
Have -River- The scenery around here is very fine; 
great high cliffs sloping back from the water and 
covered with trees and green fields, cosy farms nestling 
in the hollows; The mouth of the river is quite narrow 
and is obstructed by a sand bar, through which there 
is a 1 channel marked by stakes. A harbor light on the 
left bank guides one in at night. On the point are 
the ruins of an old French fort, which must have been 
very strong and massive judging by the remains. An 
old French settlement, called St. Jean, stood here. A 
few of the descendants of these early settlers still live 
around there and at Petite Riviere, a little further along 
the coast. A great majority of the people are of Ger- 
man descent, and still retain many of their old customs. 
They are a very thrifty race and keep their attractive 
little farms in fine condition. 
We slipped by the mouth of the river at 5:30, and as 
the wind still held, we decided to keep on as far as 
we could before dark. Just inside the entrance the 
river widens out into a magnificent roadstead, with 
Getson's Cove on the left-hand side and Ritchey's Cove 
opposite. .This river, which is justly called the Rhine 
of Nova Scotia, is navigable up to Bridgewater, which 
town is about. 12 miles from the mouth. 
As we headed up the river the scene that unfolded 
before our eyes would have delighted any artist; the 
sun, slowly setting over the western hills, bathed the 
whole landscape in a golden light and threw into 
deep shadows the western bank. On either side 
• stretched the rolling hills, with their green fields and 
-well kept farms. Along the banks were many small 
settlements with their wharves and fishing nets spread 
out to dry. The water is deep and very little current, 
the channel lies well in the middle of the river. We 
anchored for the night about a mile below Bridgewater, 
for at sundown the wind dropped completely. We 
drew in toward the right bank and anchored in a quiet 
cove, overhung by large pine trees; After supper we 
sat on deck until late, smoking and drinking in the 
balmy night air. '' 
Next morning we rowed up to Bridgewater and had 
a stroll around the town. Bridgewater is a prosperous 
little hamlet, prettily situated among the hills. After 
lunch at the hotel we.. came back to Menotah and sailed 
down the river to Ritchey's Cove, where we stayed tor 
the; night.. The wind was blowing heavy from the W. 
and we tied down one reef in the mainsail and started: 
We moved along very fast, and after we got down the 
river a piece, we found the wind blowing heavier from 
the S.W. and we had all the sail on we could handle. 
Several times the squalls from the hills laid us down 
to the coamings. . As we came: near ?the mouth of the 
river, we encountered a. heavy cross sea; but a few 
minutes more .and we were : in the quiet, waters of 
Ritchey's. Cove, where: . we anchored. We rowed ashore 
and strolled around the place. Great quantities of fish 
were spread oat to dry, which were anything but sweet 
.. smellim/. The . people around here all seemed very 
prosperous- * ~ "■■7^ ." ; V.v" 
- Next ;, -m-orfii'iig tl-awned gray and" cold and did "not 
. look very promising. However, at 8:30 we got under 
way, putting one reef in the mainsail. The/wind was 
S.W;, and blowing- a good breeze. We beat out through 
the mouth of the river, and a close reach, took us close 
to Ironbound: Here our old enemy, the fog, shut .down 
again, and in a few minutes we had lost all sight .of. land. 
We had taken our bearings correctly and reached Iron- 
bound all right, passed through the channel just able 
to make out the land on either side. We laid our com- 
pass course for Cross Island so as to take us close by 
Mid Rock. In about twenty minutes we made out the 
buoy on our starboard bow. A short tack took us 
around it and we then headed again for Cross Island. 
In about an hour we heard the automatic buoy on our 
starboard quarter and a few minutes later sighted the 
surf on Cross Island dead ahead. We ran in close to 
the shore, and skirting the land until we came to the 
N.W. end of the island, and then shaped our course for 
East Point. We were now running through a pretty 
dangerous part and had to be very careful. The wind 
had freshened, and we were making fully 6 knots and 
going directly before it. Suddenly I saw directly 
ahead and extending clear across our bows a black reef 
just showing above water. We were not more than 
200 feet from it, and there was only one thing to do, 
and that was to gybe as quickly as possible, though it 
•was rather risky in the wind that _ was blowing. _ I 
swung her round like a top, the main boom swinging 
over with tremendous force and putting a great strain 
'•on the sail and rigging. Fortunately nothing parted, 
gnd we soon drew away from the reef. We had . evi- 
dently run in a little closer to East Point than_ we 
wished to do again. Soon afterward we made Little 
Duck Island and, rounding it, set our course due N. 
for Chester. 
After sailing 3 or 4 miles the fog began to lift and 
soon the sun came out bright and we could see Chester 
■ in the distance. With an increasing wind we flew along 
and reached our moorings about 1:30, being just five 
■ hours in running the 28 miles from Ritchey's Cove. 
I had for a couple of years been trying to get away 
for a cruise along the coast as far as Shelburne, but had 
.not succeeded. This year I was determined to go and got 
everything ready to start on July 27. I had great trouble 
' in getting a crew, as all my friends found at the last 
"■ minute that they could not go. I finally succeeded in 
getting one chap to accompany me. Getting all our 
stores aboard we set sail about 4 P. M. on the 28th. 
intending to get as far as La Have that night. As it 
was moonlight we would have a pleasant evening sail. 
The. wind was blowing . fresh from the N.W. when 
. we started, and we ran along in good style, reaching 
. Little Duck Island about 6 o'clock, when the wind 
dropped suddenly and left' us becalmed. In the next 
two hours we drifted along a couple of miles and were 
I just off East Point at dark. About 8 o'clock the night 
breeze struck in from the sea. We tacked close in 
under Rose Head, and then headed out to sea until we 
had the two lights on Cross Island in range with that 
on Ironbound, when we tacked and headed for Iron- 
bound light. 
About 10 o'clock we reached Ironbound Island and 
passed through the channel into La Have Bay. Here 
the wind failed us and we had still 5 miles to go be- 
fore reaching the mouth of the river. My friend now 
turned in, and I kept watch until midnight, when I 
aroused him and went below myself. We were drifting 
slowly along, and when I came on deck at 2 A. M., 
we were about mile from the mouth. I i ere the cur- 
rent was so strong that we were not making any head- 
way, so we anchored for the rest of the night. 
In the morning we hoisted our sail as soon as the 
wind sprang up and sailed into Getson's Cove, where 
we anchored. It began to blow very hard and at noon 
had reached half a gale from the S.W. We did not 
attempt to go outside, but under a three-reefed main- 
sail sailed around the river, enjoying the scenery. Near 
the mouth of the river we got a sudden squall which 
hove us well down. I have never yet taken water into 
Menotah's cockpit, though she has been on her beam ends 
once or twice. The wide stern lifts her as she heels and 
prevents her from settling. She never loses her headway 
and comes up quickly as soon as the jib is slacked off. 
We anchored for the night in Ritchey's Cove. The 
wind shifted to the S. E. about 7 o'clock and increased 
steadily accompanied by rain. We put out our second 
anchor as a precaution, though the bottom was good 
holding ground. ; 
The next morning the wind and' rain had ceased, but 
a thick fog hung around and prevented Us from starting. 
We loafed around all day reading and smoking, and 
whiling away the time. In the 'evening we went ashore 
and called on some friends. Coming back to Menotah 
we had great trouble in finding her, as we could not 
see her light until close up. After rowing around in a 
circle several times, we at length got on board. 
Next morning the fog lifted and the sun was shining 
brightly. There was a light breeze blowing from the 
S.W., and we got away about 9 o'clock, intending to 
reach Liverpool that evening if possible. We -had 
made about 4 miles when the wind died out- and we 
lay becalmed until 12 o'clock, when a fresh breeze came 
up again from the S.W. and we were soon bowling 
merrily along. This wind would make it all windward 
work along the coast, .and it looked very doubtful if 
we could reach Liverpool before dark. We could, how- 
ever, run into Port Medway this side of Liverpool. 
On the first tack we stood out to sea about 4 miles. 
As soon as we were out of the shelter of the land we 
found the seas very heavy, a reminder of the recent 
gale. The, wind had freshened,- and we: were soon 
pitching into it in fine shape. However, under a single- 
reefed mainsail and a storm jib, she was- riding the seas 
splendidly, and she was not taking very much green 
water over the bows, though she would put her bow- 
sprit clean under at every jump. The large jib which 
was furled along the bowsprit got partly loose and 
forming- a 'sort- of- bag which soon became filled with 
