We set sail in Nantucket with a decent wind, only to be swallowed up by fog as soon as we leave the harbor. If we didn’t know better, it would seem like a journey into the unknown. But Canada awaits us on the other side of the Gulf of Maine.

The first night is a memorable experience. Pitch-black night meets thick fog, the air is freezing cold and damp – your nose and lungs would rejoice. The fresh air makes you alert and clearheaded, so keeping night-watch is easy. However, when you’re awake, you can get spooked. However, you may get spooked when you’re awake. The darkness and fog are pierced by the insistent ringing of buoys and the signal horns of cargo ships in the nearby traffic separation zone. Without AIS and radar, it would be scary.

Over the course of the next day, the fog clears and the sun hastily makes its way through, putting on a spectacular light show. In the Gulf of Maine, the difference between seeing nothing due to fog and enjoying a feast for the eyes is only a few meters. Otherwise, the days and hours at sea are quite uneventful. The only exceptions are a giant shark that accompanies us for a short distance and an orca in the distance; otherwise, the sea is eerily empty.

There are no ships in sight off Lunenburg either, which is where we need to clear customs. After spending weeks in bustling Long Island Sound, this feels very strange. Fortunately, customs clearance is quick over the phone. And on Friday evening, no officials from Halifax want to come by to inspect us or the boat. Instead, a raccoon takes a close look at us from the jetty. We rather quickly return to the anchorage in front of the large golf course.

For a short while, we—along with crowds of day tourists—explore the UNESCO World Heritage Site with its colorful wooden houses and captains’ villas. In addition to fishing, boatbuilding has also shaped this small town. A large number of fishing boats, as well as Canada’s pride and joy, the schooner Bluenose, were built here.

But we must hurry on to St. Margaret’s Bay. The first haul-out is coming up, and along with it a lot of work.