The distance between Bristol, RI and St. Andrews, NB is 350nm. Our plan was to sail up as quickly as weather and mood would allow in the hopes of arriving in time for Macsen's 2nd birthday on June 6th. Apart from a five hour stop in Southwest Harbour we managed to move pretty quickly. The stop was necessitated by a blown fuse in our radar. Thick fog all along the coast made travelling without radar not only unpleasant but downright stupid/dangerous. In addition to the fog (and accompanying rain and cold) we also had little wind and were forced to motor much of the way. This was doubly unpleasant as there are thousands of lobster pots dangling along the coast (even in 100m deep waters) and there is a great danger that the lobster lines will get caught in the propeller rendering the motor useless. To prevent this Seb and I spent the night switching between hand steering the boat and standing on the bow watching out for lobster buoys. An unpleasant and unrestful night.
The unpleasant night was forgotten however as Grand Manan Island came into sight. The fog and the lobster pots thinned in unison and the lovely coastline of the Bay of Fundy came into view. Breathtaking in both its beauty and its significance for our voyage. As we passed through Letete Passage and into Passamaquoddy Bay we hoisted our homecoming flags (guest flags from the 21 countries that we have visited so far) in the forestay. My parents and some other close friends were waiting on the dock (the wharfinger even brought my mother out in the skiff to meet us). I simply cannot describe how great it was to finally arrive here in beautiful St. Andrews after more than a year of anticipating this day!
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