17 Aug 15

Slept in till 08:20. Short run to the grocery store and the pharmacy (for a chart), then we finally got away from the dock at about 12:00. The wind was light, but we sailed anyway, having no fixed destination, until the wind died altogether about 15:00. We motored on the last few miles to an anchorage in the Crammond Islands. We touched the bottom on the way in; the water depth went from 40 ft to 6 ft before I could react, we bounced off the sandy shoal and were instantly back in 40 ft of water. We eventually anchored in 30 ft of water about 120 ft off the shore. There were a few motor boaters and jet-skis enjoying the warm water and the small beach, but they all left before dark. The water temperature was a balmy 73.2 F, so we (even the Admiral) finally went in for a swim (first one this year), and very refreshing it was, too. The Bras d’Or Lake is a very big inland sea (saltwater lake) that is beautiful all round, with countless 5-star anchorages and hardly any boats on it. We will sample a few of these anchorages; the real dilemma facing us now is “how long can we stay here?” The weather has finally improved and this is such a beautiful cruising ground - very protected, 1 ft of tidal range, no current to speak of; one could easily spend a whole season here. All you cruisers out there should put this place on your bucket list, even though it is a bit of an challenge just to get here, but don’t tell anybody else. 

http://youtu.be/yPNacW2DboU

45-45.179’N, 061-05.405’W