Trawler Trash Trauma

Brooklyn Fishing Fleet

We had a lovely evening on anchor at Carter’s Beach, but woke up to a windy and rainy Saturday morning, exactly as forecast. With more dire weather warnings as the day developed, the Navigator strongly suggested that we seek shelter for the rest of the day and night in Brooklyn, a very small town near the small town of Liverpool, with its very own paper mill and tiny yacht club/ hot dog stand. The trip was not too rough, and just a bit wet hauling anchor and getting underway. 


We radioed ahead on VHF to see if there were moorings or dockage available for a boat our size and got not the expected answer back on VHF, but did see two men standing on the slightly rickety looking dock waving us in. What the heck, we thought and rigged the dock lines and started in as the rain began falling harder. The dock volunteers caught our lines and were exceedingly accommodating-- they directed us in to the little clubhouse, gave us maps of the area and instructions on how to sort our garbage. 

Blogger at Work

Seriously, Nova Scotia takes garbage seriously-- or I should say, recycling, which seems to be a two part thing, composting and garbage (the leftovers of the previous two (or three) things. It’s defined down to potato chip bags (garbage) fish bones, meat skin and fat and fruit peelings, etc (compostable) and milk containers, glass and plastic bottles (recyclables-- there is something called “blue bag” which I can’t seem to figure out). Those of you who know me well know that I’m very committed to recycling. My husband calls me the Recycling Queen-- but I am intimidated. I have always managed a separate bag for the wine bottles, empty cans and plastics under my sink in addition to the big normal garbage bin, but compost too? I can’t disagree with the wisdom of the plan, but complying on a boat, even a 56 ft trawler, feels a bit more than I can manage. And now I’m nervous every time I need to dispose of trash-- what if they catch me putting compost in the garbage?

Lunenburg Approach

We had a nice rainy day on board in Brooklyn with eggs, sausages and toast for lunch and about 4 pm the sun came out, just enough time before showers and dinner for a nice long walk. On to Lunenburg the next morning in dazzling sunshine and fairly comfortable seas. We’ve been to Lunenburg before, but had a good time rediscovering old things with our guests and finding a few interesting changes on the waterfront. Lunenburg’s town center runs along the shore and up a steep hill, with buildings neatly painted in dark reds, shades of blue, a few grays and an occasional green or yellow-- it’s quite a sight coming in from the water. I perched on the deck and took about a dozen pictures, but I really don’t think I captured the affect.

Dory Shop, Lunenburg

Our guests left mid week on a very rainy morning, baggage neatly wrapped in garbage bags of different sizes and hues; all of us in foul weather gear survived the wet trip in the dinghy, actually two trips for the guys and the luggage. Breakfast out, reward for enduring.

The weather really didn’t want to clear up, despite a ray of sunshine here or there. The wet drizzle, grayness and fog persisted until on Friday we decided we needed a change of scene badly. The short trip up to Mahone Bay was easy, we anchored and went exploring. Mahone Bay has a certain tourist charm, but little seemed changed since our last visit except, happily, the major upgrade of the local grocery store. I had looked forward to revisiting this port and couldn’t quite figure out why I felt a little funky that night. I mentioned it at dinner and Paul concurred, suggesting that maybe we needed new horizons. 

At Anchor, Lunenburg Harbour

That sounded good to me, so after a few errands in the morning, we took Carry On exploring. We poked around Oak Island, Indian Point, many other islands and coves and anchored near the mouth of Gold River. The change of scene felt good, along with the first really sunny day we’d had in about a week. Today we headed to Chester, a half hour run, we will take care of some business there tomorrow morning, then take the ferry over to Tancook Island just for fun.

Using the “SPOT” isn’t rocket science, but if any of you noticed, our large blob of an arrival at Lunenburg seemed to have been by air. In our excitement at reaching Lunenburg and sunshine, we forgot to turn it off. And as we discovered on the trip over the Gulf of Maine, there is a finite number of tracking points. Maybe we need to buy stock in a lithium battery company!