Nova Scotia, Prefferably New Scotland

Hi Viriato,

I lived on a 75 foot ketch for four years. The Mar II was built in '59 in Denmark. The Mar docked in Halifax in the summer and the British Virgin Islands in the winter. If you are coming across the pond, you won't want to miss Halifax harbour. As far as the legalities to mooring around the maritimes, I can't help you there. Here are a couple of websites that you might find useful and might be helpful in answering your question:

Cruising Canada
Marine Service on-line (Government of Canada)
Requirements for Foreign Recreational Boaters In Canadian Waters (Transport Canada)
Cruising Guide to the Nova Scotia Coast, Newfoundland and Labrador

The following is an excerpt from the RC4161 Customs Information for Visitors to Canada and Seasonal Residents form from the website of the Canada Border Services Agency website

Finally, depending on how long you are planning on cruising this side of the Atlantic, you might want to work your way up towards Quebec City. You can visit the final resting place of thousands of Irish immigrants at Grosse Ile which is near Quebec City. This was the main entry point for Irish immigrants fleeing Ireland. Websites with a bit of info... http://www.moytura.com/grosse-ile.htm and http://www.angelfire.com/ny/views/grosse.html

I hope this helps you out.

Hi Keltic

WOW! You just throw the full technical library on me! Thank you so much! I have more than enough to start planning the voyage now.

If you read previous posts, I am changing a Golden Cowry 38' sloop, ferrocement hull, built 1988, for an Amel Super Muramu 53' ketch, fiberglass, 1994.

Yours was a maxi classic! Oh man...! That was a dream boat!

But 75' is too much for me alone. I ain't that good.

Again, as I said before, Halifax is in the mind of any sea-gipsy in the planet who on top, like me, likes history. [It's funny that the Spanish word did remain through times that far north: Labrador (Farmer). (!?)]

I will let know the forum when I do start the tour, but I am not in hurry, so I can be anywhere as long as the law permits. This is the beauty of this way of life: Not accuracy required. I arrive when I arrive and I wouldn't care less if on target or some miles North or South of target. What am I missing?

The Irish diaspora is pretty much like the Galician one. Irish in Canada, Galicians in Argentina. It seems that the 80% of the Buenos Aires population has Galician origins. The former Argentinian president Raúl Anfonsin's parents were from the Pontevedra province and Fidel Castro's parents from La Coruña province. After the Civil War, in the beginning of the 40s, dozens of liners cast off from Vigo and La Coruña packed up to the top of the mast with poor souls that never came back. There is a collection of pictures of that time taken in the docks' farewells scenes that sill today makes difficult to hold the tears.

I will be more than happy to have the honour to pay my respects to all those Celt men and women with guts bigger than the Everest. Grosse Ile is in the agenda.

Oh, dear...! Emmet, oldraven, keltic... Do they do extended visas?

I've been living for one an half years in the boat and I have not intention to go back to dry land again. I've been messing around with the sea since I was 5. My first "thing" was a Gipsy Moth, then a Vaurien, then a Snipe, then a 470 and from that to a Beneteau 40.

I am taking this summer to start grasping the handling of the new boat with the idea of fine tunning this winter which in the Hebrides can be hell on earth. Gale after gale for weeks to an end... And damn cold! The compensation is that the scenery in this area is magnificent: Iceland, the Norse Fjords, Scottish Firths and Lochs, South and West Eire... I feel very lucky!

Better I stop or by Christmas I will be still talking about the sea...

Thank you one more, Keltic.

I lived in Halifax for four years before moving to Alberta. I sorely miss the landscape, the people, and the beer...!

My wife, my daughter and myself are off to Nova Scotia on the 26th of July. We can hardly wait. It's my daughters first time. We had to miss last year due to her birth. I welcome everyone who wants a touch of heaven.

Nice. The wife and I lived in Dartmouth for about two years before comming to Alberta. Seems to be a one way highway from HRM to Edmonton/Calgary.

Awesome. I hope you enjoyed yourself and the little one got a bit more salt water in her blood.

We spent almost a whole mounth down home in Spencers Island this summer. We returned to the sweltering Florida heat on the 26th. The little one got to swim in the Bay of Fundy and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence so yes she did get salt water in her Nova Scotian, Arab, and Swedish blood. It was her first summer trip of many to come. I still like Alexander Keiths A LOT as those who liked it then. As a matter of fact I brought back a two four however I've shared it generiously with family and some friends who've never tried it. Some of my fellow pipers love it. Got to go to PEI for the first time as well. Beautiful!

There's beauty beyond belief in Nova Scotia. Once it gets into your blood, you'll want to continue to go back every year. The best time to go is mid August till mid September.

Forgot to add in my post that Spencers Island is the birth place of the famous ghost ship th Mary Celeste. My ansesters built and funded it.

Where abouts where you in PEI?? My cousin and I are heading down there next Saturday and it's our first trip down east!! We are mostly staying within the central part of the island but we have rented a car to do some touring. We're getting pretty excited!!

We stayed in Oyster Bed Bridge which is south of Rustico. We went and saw Green Gables and Cavindish Beach. The whole Island is beautiful! Not as Beautiful as Nova Scotia in my opinion but beautiful in it's own way. Worth a visit or two or three! Speaking of Green Gables, I know Megan Follows personally. She's the actress who plays Anne in the movie Anne of Green Gables. Enjoy yourself in PEI. I'm sure you're going to love it!

HELLO! From Nova Scotia. My wife and Daughter and myself of course are here and just returned from a bon fire and I was jaming on the pipes while sipping on some good ole Alexander Keiths between sets. Those who like it like it ALOT! There's nothing else like it in the world! Well, talk to you all soon from the tropics!

I'm glad to see so much traffic up this way. Ange, Coira, and I are settled in well enough, and life is next to perfect. A Nova Scotia perfect, that doesn't require gobs of money, just good food, good sights, and close family.

We're living in a small community called St. Andrews, just outside of Antigonish.

Boy Adam! I thought you fell off the face of the Earth! Havn't heard from you in a long time. Glad to see you're back home. I've heard of St Andrews before. Never been there. I'm sure it's very nice. Hope to hear more form ya.

Hah! Yeah, it has been a while. Things have been very busy around here, between settling into a new job, and getting the home business set up.

Next on the agenda? Another baby, of course. We're going to start trying again in the new year. If this is anything like last time, we should have another baby by next Christmas.

I wanted to spend July 4th week in NS this coming year but we couldn't find any open time shares for that week. Been across the border a few times but NS has always been high on my list. At this point, it will be tough to get up there in the next few years , with starting up the new business.

I'll just have to suffer through the nine days in Ireland this coming April.