CCA Cruising Guide to Nova Scotia
Updates to 2022 Edition
June 2023
Page 4 Web links
- The Government of Canada is notorious for changing URLs and leaving dead links behind. The link to CHS chart and publication dealers on page 4 no longer works but if you type “CHS chart dealers” into your favourite search engine it should take you to the right place. The other links in the Guide still appear to work but a key word search strategy may be a helpful alternative to typing the URL.
Page 5 Buoyage
- Experience indicates that the small inshore spar buoys on the charts are sometimes not there at all, out of position, or so small as to be invisible until you are right beside them. Don’t let that dissuade you from exploring the smaller passages but don’t become complacent or over-reliant on the charted marks.
Page 10 Customs entry ports
- With the passing of Covid restrictions, the port of entry has been reinstated as follows:
New Brunswick:
Campobello: Head Harbour Wharf, Welshpool Wharf,
Deer Island: Leonardville Wharf
Grand Manan: North Head Wharf
St. Andrews: St. Andrews Town Wharf,
Saint John Harbour: Market Slip
Saint John River: Royal Kennebeccasis Yacht Club
Nova Scotia:
Digby: Digby Marina, Digby Fisherman’s Wharf
Yarmouth: Killam Brothers Wharf, Yarmouth Marginal Wharf, Lobster Rock Wharf
Shelburne: Shelburne Harbour Yacht Club
Lockeport: White Gull Restaurant and Marina
Liverpool: Brooklyn Marina
Lunenburg: Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic
Mahone Bay: Lunenburg Yacht Club (note that LYC is in Princes Inlet, Mahone Bay, not in Lunenburg Harbour)
St. Margaret’s Bay: Shining Waters Marina
Halifax: Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron, Armdale Yacht Club, Halifax Waterfront Marina (Waterfront Development Corporation) Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Dartmouth Yacht Club, Bedford Basin Yacht Club
Port Bickerton: Government Wharf
Canso: Canso Pier
St. Peters: St. Peters Lion’s Club Marina
Sydney: Sydney Marine Terminals
Louisbourg: Louisbourg Pier
Page 11 Covid-19 restrictions
- Covid-19 restrictions have all been lifted.
Page 74: Lockeport Harbour, White Gull Restaurant and Marina
- The White Gull will not be putting its floats in for the 2023 season so you should plan to tie up at the public wharf. Anchoring is not permitted in the breakwater enclosed harbour.
Page 84/85/86 False LaHave/Folly Channel/Dublin Bay
- The buoyage has been changed in this area and the old paper charts and even the new electronic charts may not accurately reflect the current situation. However, you should be alright even with the old charts if you keep your eyes open and pay attention to the depth sounder.
Page 89 Lunenburg Zwicker Wharf
- Lunenburg Waterfront Marina aka Zwicker Wharf is now managed by the renamed Build Nova Scotia. Contact them at lunenburgmarina@buildns.ca. The phone number is unchanged at 902-521-3012 and the website is https://buildns.ca/visit/lunenburg/marina/ . Toilets and showers are available at the head of the pier and water and power on the dock.
Page 94 Mahone Islands Conservation Association
- In an effort to control the proliferation of private moorings that encumber some favorite coves, MICA has partnered with the Municipality of Lunenburg to lay six public moorings for day use at Covey and Backman’s islands (pg 98), Bella Island (pg 100) and Mason’s Island (pg 100). Go to https://mahoneislands.ns.ca/about-us/mica-challenges/ for more detail about this program.
Page 118 Smelt Cove and Dan Blain’s Cove
- In the summer of 2022, the closely spaced red and green pair of buoys showing the way into the channel extending up east side of Privateer Island were in place, but the others were missing. The way in was still quite straightforward but caution and an attentive watch are required. Stay close to the east shore of Privateer Island (west side of the channel). The mid channel rock shown on the Guide chartlet between the northeastern shore of Privateer Island and the point of the mainland is covered at half tide but very real. The channel leading around the corner to Dan Blain’s Cove is narrow but deep.
Page 121 Rogues Roost
- The bottom in the northern basin of the Roost appears to be hard, fissured rock, much like the surrounding shoreline, and several people report having their anchors rattle over the bottom before fetching up hard in a crack between the rocks. They had very difficult times recovering the anchors and suggest that a trip line would be a prudent precaution. The bottom in the southern basin is mud, and there has been no reported difficulty with anchor retrieval.
Page 131 Halifax Waterfront Marina
- Contact the Halifax Waterfront Marina at 902-229-2628, marina@buildns.ca or on VHF channel 68. The website is https://buildns.ca/visit/halifax/halifax-marina/
Page 166 Liscomb
- Very strong afternoon gusts can be experienced in the mouth and lower reaches of the Liscomb River even when the wind outside is a relatively moderate southwesterly.
- Although Liscombe Lodge is still a welcome and very well protected stopping place, the floating docks and other waterfront facilities at Liscombe Lodge were found to be in very poor condition in summer 2022. The phone number is 1-800-665-6343.
Page 168 Spanish Ship Bay
- The buoys on the way in are further east than shown on the Navionics chart. As stated in the Guide, leave them to port when entering. The bottom in the southwestern portion provides excellent holding in heavy mud.
Page 177 Charlos Cove
- Paul Coates (2022) reports that there is six feet at the end face of the Charlos Cove public wharf. The wharf is in reasonable condition but there are no services of any type. However, the Seawind Landing Inn is still there and still cranking out good food. Locals advised the wharf in Larry’s River is bigger and better maintained.
Page 182 Louse Harbour
- The crowd sourced soundings on Navionics provide a useful guide when entering Louse Harbour.
- Heading south to the anchorage shown on the chartlet in the Guide, you will cross over a very deep area that is not shown on modern CHS or Navionics charts, although it was shown on the old Admiralty charts. Keep going south toward the rocky patch (home for many seals in 2022) and anchor when the depth moderates again.
- Contrary to the many cautions in the Guide about the narrow channel that leads to the northern anchorage, Charles Westropp reported that he entered twice during 2022 without difficulty. He says “There is a significant ledge that runs from the nameless island on the east side of the channel taking up about half of its width. The shore on the western side of the channel is steep-to and, by favouring it, I carried 12 feet all the way in at mean low water. Tuck in by the cliffs that provide good shelter from the south and west and anchor in about 18 feet with good holding. It is a delightful and private spot.”
Page 184 Little Dover Run
- The buoys through Little Dover Run seem to change or be out of place much of the time. During August of 2022, red spar “PS6” and north cardinal “PS” at the western entrance were barely afloat and nearly invisible at half tide. At the eastern entrance, “PP4” was missing and buoys “PP6” and “PP7” were very close together.
Page 190 Guysborough
- The white tower beacon referenced in the second paragraph is white and red. Buoy “CQ4” is very close to the western (mainland) shoreline.
- Guysborough Marina was operating in 2022 with showers, ice and fuel available, but unfortunately the pub, the bakery and most other retail operations were permanently closed. A pleasant little craft market was operating on Saturdays in the building by the marina.
Page 192 Lennox Passage
- The bridge across Lennox passage has 20 feet clearance when closed.
Page 203 Cape George Harbour
- The cove behind the sandbar (“Gretchen McCurdy’s Cove”) has about 10 feet of water going in but more like 18-20 feet once inside. Setting an anchor with reasonable scope in the centre will have you swinging very close to the shore at the edges.
Page 204 Eskasoni
- The anchorage south of Goat Island is delightful, just like being in an inland lake.
CCA CRUISING GUIDES – CRITERIA FOR HARBOUR SUBMISSIONS & UPDATES
February 2, 2020
HARBOR DESCRIPTIONS – WHAT EDITORS WANT
- OVERVIEW of harbour -- the key factor(s) that make it worthy of consideration
- LAT/LON and local chart number
- APPROACH to harbour identifying buoys, landmarks, ranges, any dangers that could help make a safe entry in limited visibility
- ANCHORING/DOCKING options with details, including depths (at MLW). If a harbourmaster is in charge, please provide details and contact info. Also, the degree of protection from wind and wave action
- FOR THE BOAT – describe facilities including water, fuel, electrical hookups
- FOR THE CREW – showers, laundry, groceries, restaurants, museums, car rentals, taxis, etc. Plus, nearby places of interest to visit, such as hikes or natural phenomena
- ADVICE – any special recommendations – for or against
- HISTORY – local stories and history of significance
- ALTERNATIVE ANCHORAGE(S) NEARBY (if appropriate)
- UPDATES – anything that corrects info in the current edition of the guide.
- SKETCH CHARTS (carefully drawn with as much detail as possible) for areas where existing charts do not exist or accurately portray the harbour’s characteristics
- PHOTOS that:
- Provide useful perspective of features not obvious from existing charts, such as the location of docks or the best place to anchor
- Are beautiful shots that make the area and your boat look appealing
We realize that’s a lot of detail. For many harbors, only some of these factors will apply.
CCA CRUISING GUIDES – CRITERIA FOR PHOTOGRAPHY
QUALITY
- High-resolution images at 300 dpi with a minimum frame dimension of 4 x 4 inches – larger sizes preferred
- Unadjusted/retouched images in JPEG, TIFF, or RAW file types. Others may be possible
- The relationship between digital image pixels and maximum print size is as follows: 600 x 900 pixels = 2 x 3 inches; 1200 x 1800 pixels = 4 x 6 inches; 2400 x 3000 pixels = 8 x 10 inches. The more pixels a photo has, the better the clarity will be when printed.
- If an Apple user, please be certain files are JPEGs or TIFFs that are Windows and PC compatible
SUBJECT MATTER
- Harbor/village shots that help readers understand “the lay of the land” and water
- Approach and entrance with important identifying marks, rocks, unusual land features or lighthouses
- Dockage or wharves where available
- Where to land to get ashore
- Town or waterfront area (harbormaster’s office, fuel depot, shops, etc.)
- Anchoring area(s) with protection from seas and winds
- Overview shots from a high hill or drone are particularly welcome
- Beauty shots that add to the allure of area or province depicted, all well-lit (ideally with sunrise or sunset colors)
- Sailboats under sail or anchored in especially beautiful settings*
- Ditto for power cruising boats.
- Wildlife shots, including whales, seals, seabirds, etc.
- Shoreside flora and fauna
- Interesting people when there is a story to be told
- Icebergs (for Newfoundland and Labrador)
* These shots will be considered for covers and will need to be 8 x 10 inches at 300 dpi or larger
CREDITS
- All photos will be credited to the photographer owning the copyright
- Photos submitted must be your own, or you must obtain the photographer’s written permission.
DELIVERY
- Via email to the respective editor for individual files or guides@cruisingclub.org
- Upload multiple photo files to Dropbox using a public guide specific link such as:
https://www.dropbox.com/request/mXPmIwQaHNKwPvEfsMRQ?oref=e
NOTE ABOUT VIDEOGRAPHY: Video files may also be welcome under certain conditions. Please contact the CCANP Publisher at guides@cruisingclub.org
