TripSailor.com® Sailing Blogs

Tuesday July 29th was a bright sunny day and we took Tregoning from Purcell’s Cove up to the waterfront in downtown Halifax and tied up by Summit Plaza (site of the 1995 G-7 Economic Summit) and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. We met Thomas and Roger as planned at noon at the large Town Clock by the Citadel. Keeping time since 1803, the turret clock was made at the request of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent to honor his return to England in 1800. It was good to see my nephews who had enjoyed an uneventful flight the previous day from London and, after a night in an airport hotel, had caught a bus into Halifax. Thomas had just finished his first year of an engineering degree at Bath University, and Roger is just about to start his second year at sixth form college (= senior in high school). In meeting them as planned, it was very good to know that we had accomplished one of the main objectives of our trip from Florida. The motivation of this rendez vous had kept us from languishing for longer than needed in the US when things had needed fixing.

That afternoon, after walking past St. Paul’s Church, the oldest building in Halifax (1750), we toured the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site of Canada with its commanding views of the harbour (now glimpsed between high-rises) and excellent exhibits. The staff, including the kilted 78^th Highlanders, are in costumes of 1869 when Halifax was a key naval station in the British Empire. That evening, Eric and Ellen joined us for drinks on the boat and we enjoyed an excellent dinner at a Thai restaurant. This was followed by a wander through the Victorian Halifax Public Gardens, which were begun in 1836 and consist of 17 acres of immaculate flowerbeds, attractive ponds, and winding paths. They appeared to be at their flora best in late July.

The next day, after a walk along the waterfront to get supplies at the supermarket, we spent the morning at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic with its excellent exhibits on the Halifaix Explosion and the Titanic. I was embarrassed not to already know about the Halifax Explosion because it was the largest man-made, non-nuclear explosion, that resulted from the collision of two wartime ships (one of which was loaded with explosives) in December 1917. The explosion and resulting fires laid waste to a huge area of north Halifax with at least 2,000 people killed, 9,000 injured, 199 blinded by glass (as people unknowingly watched the burning ships), 1,600 buildings destroyed and 12,000 damaged. The exhibit was very informative and poignant. Similarly, the exhibit about the Titanic was based on the very personal stories of survivors and casualties who were brought to shore or buried in Halifax. These stories of rescue and recovery were all the more touching to us because Eric and Ellen had told us how they had been involved in the recovery operation (no survivors) after the crash of Swiss Air flight 111 into the sea just west of Halifax in 1998.

On Wednesday afternoon, we enjoyed the Museum of Natural History and the free downtown bus service FRED (Free Rides Everywhere Downtown!). We then motored back to Purcell’s Cove, which Tom and Roger explored while getting used to handling the inflatable dinghy. We had originally intended to head east towards Cape Breton on Saturday but the weather was not in our favor with rough seas and head-on, on-shore winds so we decided to play it safe and comfortable and stayed in Purcell’s Cove until Tuesday, August 5^th. While we waited Randall and I sorted out new propane tanks for the boat (because it was getting difficult to get the old, horizontal-style tanks filled), got the laptop fixed (thanks to a friend of Ellen and Eric’s), and fixed the guest head (which had apparently not benefitted from a lack of use in the last year!). On the more fun side, Thursday was still sunny and Vince showed Tom and Roger the local viewpoints and a path up to the tea-colored waters of Purcell’s Pond where we all swam across the lake later. Ellen and Eric kindly lent us their car for a couple of days so on Friday we went to the famous Peggy’s Cove on the coast west of Halifax. The site is a very popular tourist destination with an attractive lighthouse that can be visited on dramatic, pink, granite rocks. Being the only lighthouse in Canada with a post-office inside, we dutifully sent a post-card to the lads’ parents in England. The cove near the lighthouse is picturesque but tiny with just enough room for a few local fishing boats. We stopped briefly at the simple but moving Swiss Air 111 memorial on our way back to Halifax. That evening we had a fabulous lobster feast with Eric, Ellen, Vince and Dianne. Such amazing hospitality!

The day at Peggy’s Cove was rather overcast and Saturday and Sunday were distinctly wet and cloudy. On Sunday, we returned to downtown Halifax to do a tour of the Alexander Keith’s Brewery (strong on history of Mr. Keith but rather weak on brewing information). Sadly, the firework display planned for Halifax Harbour on Saturday (and then Sunday) had to be cancelled due to the wet weather. On Monday, while Randall was fixing the toilet, the rest of us enjoyed a day hiking to the two deserted forts on McNab’s Island. Not as dramatic-looking as the extensive damage to Point Pleasant Park on the south-side of Halifax, there were still many trees on McNab’s Island that had been uprooted by Hurricane Juan which hit Nova Scotia on September 29, 2003 as a Category 2 storm, with 100 mph winds.