 We departed Ballentyne’s Bay around 7:00am. Chapter II left just a few minutes before us, bound for her home port of Charlottetown–where we had come from just the day before. We had a great time the night before telling sailing stories and comparing adventures. John Dennis built Chapter II himself and he has sailed her all over the world–including crossing the Atlantic Ocean six times. Ananda has a bit of catching up to do! |
 We arrived at the Canso Canal at 10:00am and were allowed to pass through right away. The canal has only one lock and the “rise or fall” is about 4 feet or less—depending upon the tide. This lock is designed to the same specifications as all of the locks on the St. Lawrence Seaway because many freighters use this passage instead of going around Cape Breton Island. |
 The lock also serves to slow down the flow between Cape Breton and the Nova Scotia mainland because the velocity of water passing through the channel that was left open after the causeway was built is very strong and it would be hard for vessels to navigate without fear of running aground. The passage on the “ocean” side of the canal is fairly heavily industrialized with a major fuel terminal and a paper mill. |
 We continued our trip past Port Hawksbury and then anchored in the harbour in front of a church in Canso at 3:30pm. By the time we had our anchor set it was beginning to rain so we settled in for an early supper and early to bed. |