Ramea

Hi everyone,

We spent two nights at Ramea.  It's a lovely small town on the Ramea Islands off the Newfoundland south coast.  There are ferry links to the mainland, mostly via the interestingly named mv Gallipolli.  Zen Again was secured alongside the main small craft dock along with a fishing boat and OCC sv Brenna.  There's a 1.5m tidal range so we had to secure carefully.

Fees at the dock are C$10/day.  This includes fresh water on the dock and use of the toilet in the Museum building.  Showers are C$5/person.  All very good value.  There's an ATM and two small supermarkets but currently no cafes, restaurants or pubs.

There's a track with 179 steps up the hill overlooking the town.  On the hill top there's a communications tower which appears to be a relay station between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.  Perhaps that explains the very good mobile signal in Ramea.  We climbed the hill early in the morning and the view was spectacular.

View of Ramea town from the hill

View S down the channel from the hill

Descending

After descending the hill we walked around the island via a well marked trail.  The trail is several kilometres in length and mostly on a boardwalk.  Many of the boards are engraved with names.  The trail really really showcases this spectacular island.

Fishing boats and their ramps

Quiet morning

On the boardwalk

Peat bogs

Lighthouse and another comms tower

Ascending another staircase to the lighthouse

Lighthouse

View over S end of Ramea Islands channel

Lots of wild flowers

Nice landscape

Nice little bay

Duck on a board

Back in town we explored.  The small museum has a eclectic mix of interesting exhibits.  The town is neat and tidy overall with many brightly painted houses.

Museum

War Memorial

The locals are extremely friendly, just as the 'Newfies' marketing says.  Whenever we were aboard folks came by to say hello.  All were amazed at the wonderful sunny weather - apparently we were very lucky!  While exploring everyone said hello when walking by.  It was nice to get to know the OCC sv Brenna crew too.  Ramea was well worth the visit.

Zen Again in Ramea

Trust all's well where you are.

Sydney to Ramea

Hi everyone,

With a good weather window to sail from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland we departed Sydney on Monday morning.  We arrived in Ramea on Tuesday afternoon after a 140nm passage.

Here are the usual plots...

Track

Arrival

Graphs

We had a great sail all day Monday and into the evening.  Good W winds of 20G25 sadly accompanied by an unpleasant 1.5m N swell and 1m W sea.  The wind and sea gradually eased as the day and evening wore on.  At midnight the wind was below 10 knots and the sails were slatting violently in a very rolly seaway.  So the motor came on and we motored the rest of the way with the seas and swell gradually abating.  As we approached the Newfoundland coast the sea was glassed out over a half-metre swell.

Departing Nova Scotia

WindPilot in control

Dawn Tuesday

Entering the Ramea Islands channel

Approaching Ship Cove & the town of Ramea

As we entered Ship Cove we saw people waving us in to the dock.  The crew of US yacht Brenna took our lines and helped secure Zen Again.  All afternoon local people and visitors came by to say hello, demonstrating the famous friendliness of Newfies (Newfoundlanders).  I reckon we'll enjoy our stay here.

Alongside in Ramea

Looking forward to exploring the island!

Sydney

Hi everyone,

We spent three nights in Sydney at the Royal Cape Breton Yacht Club Marina.  The marina is on the Sydney waterfront with great fish & chips and ice cream kiosks metres away.  And it's a 100m walk to the Governor's Pub & Eatery with good food, great beer and live music.

On the boardwalk

While in Sydney we rewatered at the marina, reprovisioned at the Sobey's supermarket, and filled a propane cylinder and diesel jerries at the Irving Oils service station.  The marina is run by the Port of Sydney with its main dock for cruise liners and other ships just N of the RCBYC Marina.  The cruise liner terminal features a big fiddle.

World's Biggest Fiddle

We wandered around the city.  The old part of the city has many nice buildings.  In the centre there are some interesting murals.  And there are several pubs, one of which is close to the RCBYC Marina.

Pretty Houses

Nice Church

Street Art

The Pub

Sampling Cape Breton beer

Live music at the Governor's

There's a good boardwalk along the waterfront.  It extends from the main port S to a new university campus.  The boardwalk is popular, particularly during the heat wave eastern Canada's been experiencing this summer.  The kiosks at RCBYC Marina were doing a roaring trade.

RCBYC Marina from the boardwalk

There's an impressive memorial on the RCBYC Marina sea wall.  It commemorates merchant mariners lost during WW1 & WW2.  Many convoys assembled here before departing to cross the Atlantic.

Merchant Marine Memorial

Trust all's well where you are.