From Acorn To Arabella.
This week, we’re taking Arabella international—we’re sailing from Provincetown, MA to Shelburne, Nova Scotia. But, before we go too far, we need to calibrate our NEW Pelagic autopilot. After our autopilot broke a few hours into our last multi-day offshore passage (leaving us to hand steer for three straight days and nights), Robin and I are both pretty intent on making sure the autopilot is up and running for our passage to Canada.
We head out of Provincetown and into open water where we can calibrate our autopilot, and then it’s on! We set sail, including raising our new light wind sail, which we just picked up from Doyle Sails. Boy, does she sail beautifully. With 8 knots of wind, we cruised along at a comfortable 4-5 knots.
Calibrating the autopilot, however, posed a bit more of a challenge. Turns out, the speaker in our VHF radio and the steel propane tank tucked away in a locker below the unit was interfering with the gyroscope in the autopilot, causing it to veer off course. We moved these disruptors, and it was smooth sailing from there on out.
Well, smooth sailing in pea soup thick fog! We were a bit spooked to hear the roaring engine of fishing boats all around us, without ever actually seeing a fishing boat! Thank goodness for all the tech we have. This passage brought to you by radar and AIS!
Fortunately, on our last day, the fog finally lifted and we picked up some solid wind! Thanks to a ripping current along the southwest shore of Nova Scotia, our speed was nothing too spectacular…but oh man, that was some good sailing!
We sailed all the way to the Roseway River, where we dropped sail and motored into the channel that would take us to Shelburne. A quick phone call to Canadian Customs, and we got our clearance number in a matter of minutes. We had arrived! And just in time for the Dock Days fireworks display!
In Shelburne, we explored the Dory Museum, and participated in some fun Dock Days events and celebrations, like the farmer’s market, antique car show, and the Festival of Lights! Canada has been a lovely stop so far. Join us next week, as we sail to and explore Lunenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage site!
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Acorn to Arabella started as a wooden boat building project in Granby, Massachusetts. Steve began the journey as an amateur wooden boat builder crafting a 38′ wooden sailboat in his backyard: designer William Atkin’s Ingrid with a Stormy Petrel’s gaff rig. These videos follow the journey from tree felling, to lumber milling, to lofting, to the lead keel pour and now sailing the boat—sharing details of the woodworking, carpentry, metal smithing, tool building, and tool maintenance that traditional wooden boats command. This ultimate DIY project continues beyond the boat shop, as Steve and crew travel and learn to cruise aboard the handmade wooden boat that they’ve built. Just kidding about all that, this channel is about a Siberian Laika named Akiva.
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