August 10, 2025 Onward to the Magical Bras d'Or Lakes

Sunday August 10, 2025 Havre Boucher to St. Peters 42 miles and 5 hours

Finally got a day with a bit of visual interest while cruising rather than long straight stretches of open water. Anchor came up clean and easy after a nice night at anchor. Out Havre Boucher and a turn south headed to the Canso Canal.

Heading for the exit from tranquil Havre Boucher

Had us all set up for a port side tie in the lock but arrived about mid-tide and lockmaster simply had us idle mid-lock while he closed the rear gate and then opened the front gate. Simultaneously opened the swing bridge for us and we were on our way. Down past the industrial and commercial area of Port Hawkesbury. Deep water port that gets ocean going tankers and freighters.

This massive gouge in the hillside is where they removed material for construction of the lock

Gates open and swing bridge almost in position at Canso Causeway

This was an interesting vessel. Picked up off the water by internal pilings.
Stacks of windmill blades on the shore behind him.

Then on to more scenic areas as we start up the Lennox Passage. Need to get the lift bridge at Lennox to open slightly. Shows a vertical clearance of 21' and we're 21'6" to the top of our anchor light. If I fold the light over, we technically can get to 20'6" but that's too close for comfort. Tell the bridgetender I'm 22' and he gives us a partial opening as I slide through.

Lennox Passage Bridge gives us a partial opening

Not really into Bras d'Or Lake yet, but we're getting a feel for the Cape Breton area with the many wooded islands and coves we pass. Side note regarding the Bras d'Or Lake name...The maps before 1872 name it Le La de Labrador (or more simply Labrador). Labrador was the name given by the Portuguese to much of eastern Canada, the lake's name was eventually shortened to a French version, Bras d'Or. So...the pronunciation (if you were wondering) actually sounds like "labrador", think the dog breed, without the "la". Back to cruising...Make it to the historic St. Peters Canal. This is the 3rd iteration of the canal and lock and was completed in 1917 as a cut through to the lake. It's the only canal run by Parks Canada on the eastern seaboard. Unlike the historic locks we experienced on the Trent Severn and Rideau canals which are all manually operated, this one is fully electrified. Takes a while for them to get the lock ready for us but in usual Parks Canada fashion they are helpful and cheery once we tie up. They also operate the swing bridge just around the bend and we all agree even though the clearance is stated as 22', it would probably be best to go ahead and open it too.

Headed out St Peters Lock

And under the swing bridge

We considered tying to the wall just past the lock, but they stipulated we needed to keep one person on board during locking hours. Not conducive to our exploring the town so we headed over to St. Peters Marina where they let us tie up to their fuel dock for the night. Took a walk to "town" and visited the Nicolas Denys Museum once we finally found it. Stupid Google maps kept locating it at a nearby apartment complex. Finally, a kind resident pointed us in the right direction. Limited information about Nicolas which is a shame as he had a fascinating life in the 1600-1700's creating business ventures in this area only to have them continuously undermined by French aristocrats. Museum mostly had artifacts donated by local families. Martha did find an old family bible dating to the late 1800's that she thought looked similar to one her family had. Couple pictures back and forth with her brother and confirmed the covers, dates, pictures, etc. were almost identical. Had hoped for a quick grocery store run but didn't realize they closed at 5PM on Sunday so missed out.