Final Day

Friday Aug 28

Written by Jens

Wednesday morning, we were greeted with fog again, at the motel, and at the club. That means that the entire area of St.Margarets Bay is probably fog covered. The race committee said that they would send out some motorboats to scout the area, before they would start the races. After a while, they sent the sailors out. The fog was not as thick as Brad had raced in before, but visibility was only a couple hundred yards at the club, so I wasn’t going to bet that any racing would get done. After Brad sailed off into the fog, I decided to bike ride over to the viewing spot I had found on Tuesday. When I got there, the fog was no better than before. I could not see the fleet of Lasers, I wasn’t even sure where to look. Once in a while, I would catch the glimpse of a boat, but the fog kept swallowing them up. I sat there for a few hours, watching the waves crash on the rocks, before I decided to head back to the club. I just got my bike loaded onto the bike rack on the van, when I noticed a couple of lasers already pulled up onto the shore. Then I see Brad pulling his boat up the hill. I’m confused. Where are all the other boats? Brad was in the 3^rd start, he should have been one of the last ones back in. Not that I was complaining, that meant he could get his leased boat checked out and returned. That was going to be a long lineup. We had already decided that we were going to skip the closing dinner, as we were anxious to get going on our way back home. We got driving at about 5:30 pm, Nova Scotia time. We got passed Montreal by 8:00 am, and got home around 2:30 pm Thursday. Glad to be back.

It’s been quite an experience for Brad and me. I know Brad was disappointed with his overall finish, but he got a chance to play with the big boys.

Written by Brad

So it's the final day of racing and guess what? It's foggy again, but much colder today as well. We sailed out through the thick fog to the other side of the bay where the sun was shining and the wind was blowing. The wind was about 15 knots and building. We were greeted with large steep waves with the occasional really big roller. Another feature to the day was intense amount of weeds in the water. They would literally stop the boat when they got attached to the centerboard and rudder. After waiting for awhile for the Gold and Silver fleet to start it was our turn. I had a decent start but the theme of the regatta of picking the wrong wind shift held for the first upwind leg and I rounded the top mark well back. I lost a few more boats on the downwind leg. I managed to play the shifts well the second upwind and held off the boats behind me finishing much better but still not where I believe I should be placing. At the end of the race I realized my rudder blade had tilted back a fair amount, this is not good for boat speed. My unlucky ways continued when I tried to tighten the rudder blade rope, only to realize my rudder line had broken. I tried to fix this, but with no luck, now I am starting to panic about missing the next race. I notified the race committee about what had happened, and to my surprise, they gave me a new rudder. Now trying to change my rudder and tiller on the water was not the easiest thing to do quickly let alone trying to do this in large waves and strong wind. But I managed to get it done, only to have the bronze fleet race abandoned and our fleet was sent in! Wow talk about being in a panic for nothing.

So all and all I had a lot of fun and know the areas I need to work on. I was not too happy with my overall placement due to the unlucky shifts and things that had happened to me. But all and all it was an awesome experience and I thank everyone for their help and support!!!!!!!!

Bad Luck All Around

Tuesday Aug 25 – Evening
Written by Jens

What I should have written in the last line of my previous entry was, I hope the spectator boat shows up. I walked 4 km to the Shinning Waters Marina where I was told that the “Delovers”, the boat that I was assigned to, was to pick me up. I was there ½ hour early, at 12:00, and waited. I looked around, no Delovers, so I asked at the marina if they knew where this boat was kept. Yes, at the Hubbards marina. That is on the other side of the bay, past our motel. That’s like a 40 minute drive. Somehow the paperwork got screwed up. So I walked back to the club, jumped in the van, and drove Up the Peggy’s Cove road, trying to find a viewing spot on this side of the bay. I found one, just down the road. The course was quite a ways out, and I could barely make out sail numbers. But trying to find Brad’s number was not easy in a sea of white sails, and white hulls. I managed to see him a few times, and managed to follow part of a race.

When Brad came in, I could tell that he was upset. Apparently, he had been doing very well in a couple of races, only to loss many boats when huge wind shifts came in with him on the wrong side of the course.


Written by Brad
I can't remember the last time I have been so unlucky sailing. The frustrations continued again today for me. Not because the other sailors are better (ok they are good), but because I can't get a wind shift to save my life! First race started off with a bad start and bad wind shifts to put me close to the back of the fleet. The next race I had a much better start and was about in 10th place at the top mark. I maintained that position on the reach and downwind leg. On the second upwind leg, another huge wind shift and I lost 30 boats.

In the last race of the day, the frustrations continued, when exactly the same thing happened. Doing very well for the first three marks of the course, then on the second upwind leg, another massive right hand shift came in while I was on the left side. I was on the wrong side of two huge wind shifts from two different directions in the last two races of the day! Talk about bad luck!

I can only hope my final day of racing will be better before Dad and I drive home. Missing everyone back home!

No Wind, Just Dolphins

Written by: Jens

The lasers were sent out for a race to start at noon, but the wind did not show up. The sailors floated around for 5 hours, before the race committee finally gave up and abandoned the race. All the boats were towed back in. Frustrating for everyone concerned. Brad told me that the highlight of his day was that he and his friend Sam Fuller got to mingle with a group of dolphins for about 15 minutes. Other than that, it was a long day.

Tomorrow, the 1st race is at 11:30, and Brad has been put into the bronze fleet, so he will be in the 3rd start. The plan is to have 3 races. Brad has no problem being in the bronze fleet, he knows it will be very tough to place well in that fleet. I have made plans to go out on a spectator boat tomorrow. Hope the wind shows up.

Massive Waves at Peggy's Cove

Written by: Jens

Hurricane Bill was a bit of a fizzle for us. We waited until mid-afternoon at the motel and the wind was up, but not what I was expecting. It rained for a few hours, but not in the volume I thought we would get.

Brad and I decided to drive to Peggy’s Cove, as this might be the only time we would have the chance. As we got closer, every view of the water was wilder than the one before. When we got to Peggy’s Cove, we were greeted by a spectacular view of the largest waves I have ever seen in person. Words really cannot describe the scene. Brad and I sat and watched for quite a while, trying to take it all in. I did take pictures and video.

This is Monday morning, and we were at the club at 7:00 am. By 8:00 am, all the boats had been removed from the buildings, and things put back to normal. Now, we are waiting for the wind to pick up, so the racing can start again.

Thank You to My Supporters

Written by: Brad

I would like to thank all those who contributed financially to help offset the cost of my Laser Worlds experience. Without you, I would probably be sitting at home, dreaming of this event:

• Brenda Collins
• Helga and Bill Cousins
• JDE Marine
• John Kabel
• Fanshawe Yacht Club
• Michaela Huard
• Jens and Sharon Biskaborn
• Doreen Greene
• Monica Maitland
• Betty and Steve Dietrich and family
• Phil and Connie Barton
• Barbel and Harold Brummer
• Ute and Leroy Martin
• Wonderland Dragon Boat Club
• Gayle and Mark Lemieux
• Karen Hernandez and family
• Evelyn and Patricia Nolan
• Kevin Biskaborn and ScriptReaction
• Amy Biskaborn
• Kellogg's Supervisors
• Maria Extendicare
• Rob Perquin
• Kellogg's

Thank you to all of you and of course, all my supporters back at home!

Bracing for Bill

Written by: Jens

Its 10:30am as I write this. The rain started at about 9:00 am. It’s just been a steady rain, and at this point, the wind is blowing from the east at about 10-12 knots (20-25km). I woke up at about 5:00 am and had a peak out - all was calm - not what I was expecting.
At 6:30 am, I went outside and took a couple of pictures and decided to go for a bike ride, as Bill seemed to be late in arriving. I rode the same bike trail that Brad and I took a week ago. I noticed an ocean freighter anchored in the bay, he must be going to ride out the storm at anchor. I rode for 2 hours, and got back just as the rain started.

Yesterday, after Brad went out, the other fleets hung around for about 2 hours, before they were given the horn to go. I worked for about another hour after all the sailors were gone. I heard a radio report from the race committee that they were on the other side of St. Margaret's Bay, near the viewing spots I had used before. So, I went with Bill Fuller, and his friend Kelly, over to that side, to watch some of the races.
Using 20x binoculars mounted on my camera tripod, I was just able to make out sail numbers when the boats reached the bottom of the course. When we thought that the first boats were heading back to the club, we packed up and drove back, just in time to see Brad getting back.

After de-rigging the boats, all the boats were brought into the buildings and stacked against each other, either on their sides or on their transoms. Then it was off to sit out Hurricane Bill.


Written by Brad

We were greeted by fog again today when we arrived at the club. The Race committee decided to cancel the only race the blue fleet completed on the previous day due to the condition (see previous entry). So it was decided that only the blue fleet from yesterday go out an hour early to race there make-up race. After that race I was put into the yellow fleet. So I rigged up and hit the water still covered with fog. We actually had to wait at the channel mouth for about an hour waiting for the fog to clear. Once out on the race course the wind was blowing fairly hard and temperature was a little cool. Then literally when the RC set up the sun came out and the wind lightened up. The light wind didn’t last too long and by the start of the first race it was about 10-15 knots and stayed that way throughout the day. The first race went pretty well with the usually mid fleet first mark rounding and then losing some boats downwind. I found a bit of a groove the second downwind leg and held off a few more boats from passing on way to a better finish. Today, I am in the yellow fleet, and that means I have to start another race immediately as yellow is the 1st normal start. No rest time. I didn’t get too many shifts go my way and struggled throughout the race managing only to beat 10 boats. The last race of the day, once again no rest, I was starting to feel tried. Having only had two power bars to eat the entire day and a Gatorade, I was feeling it. In the last race, I had a bad start, covered by other boats, all taking my wind. Again, the first halve of the race was a struggle. I hit some good wind shifts the second upwind leg to pass a number of boats, only to have my race fall apart when German sailor decided to force me to the wrong side of the course, and then decide to literally stop me by luffing me up near the finish. This caused me to loss a number of boats at the finish line. I finished well back in this race.

On the sail back in to the sailing club the intense thick fog returned and visibility was minimal. After sailing back to the general direction of the club I found the channel and pulled the laser out of the water. We then had to completely de-rig the boat for storage until hurricane Bill passes. All the sailors have to be at the club for 7:00 am Monday morning to pull out all the boats to race again.

Race Day #3

Written by Jens

It’s Saturday morning, and fog is in the bay where the sailing club is located. I’m not convinced that any sailing will be done today.

Well, guess what, there were 12 protests from the blue fleet about yesterday’s racing conditions. That is the fleet that Brad was sailing in. The race committee has decided to throw out the blue fleet’s race. The red and yellow fleets did not protest, so their races count.

At the coach’s meeting today, it was announced that yesterday’s blue fleet, will have to re-race yesterday’s race at 12:00 today. The other fleets will not start until that race is over. Today, Brad is in the yellow fleet, which is the normal 1st start every day. That means that Brad will have 2 races, back to back, if the fog lets them.

We were also told that tonight is summer high tide, which is 2 meters higher than normal. We should also expect a 3 meter storm surge on top of that. If this happens, we could have wet feet where we are staying. We will have the van packed and ready to go to higher ground tonight, just in case.

As Brad is launching, the fog appears to be lifting around here. Who knows, they might get some races in. With only yesterday’s blue fleet out racing, there are a lot of people hanging around all over the place, waiting to go out. I have not heard any reports from the race course yet on the conditions out there, but at the clubhouse, the wind is blowing pretty good, and the sun shows up from time to time.

Day #2 Post-Race Discussion

Written by: Jens

When the sailors launch their boats to head out, they have to hand in their name badges and then retrieve them when they come back in. Today, the race committee told everyone to make sure they grabbed their badges. I bet they were relieved when they found out that all the sailors were back.

I’m sure there are a lot of interesting stories from the other sailors; I hope to hear a few. I saw some of the official pictures from today, and in some, the race committee could not see the other end of the starting line when boats appeared to be starting a race. If in fact they were starting, that would be totally unfair to all of the sailors.

We were discussing the racing afterwards, and it was noted that someone could have easily just turned downwind at any time, instead of going to the windward mark. No one would know the difference. Given the pressures of doing well at the world level, this would not surprise me at all. A person could have sat a couple hundred yards upwind of the starting line and wait for the starting gun, and then take off. No one would know.

I told Brad and one of his buddies that they should protest the race committee for allowing today’s race to count. But, they didn’t feel strong enough to go that far. I hope someone protested.

The winds today were about 12 knots (24km/hr), so the boats weren’t just gliding about out there. Potential for collisions would have been very high.

After watching the news tonight, I think it would be wise to stock up on some groceries. After Bill, we might not be able to get food for a while. The race committee said they want every one there 7:00 am Monday morning, to help set things up for racing again. Bill might have different plans.

Fog Sailing Frustrating, like Racing Ghosts

Written by: Brad

After being disappointed with my finishes yesterday, I was ready to improve today. I was in the blue fleet and the second start sequence out of three.

After a few general recalls for the yellow fleet, my start was next. I started close to the committee boat end and sailed the right hand side of the course. Oh, and I forgot to mention the FOG: so thick that it was basically impossible to see anything! And I mean anything.

I found myself alone, sailing upwind on the right hand side of the course. I decided to cross back toward the middle. Crossing a fleet you cannot see is difficult - boats just appear out of nowhere. After crossing back for what I felt was a suitable distance, I tacked back to head to the right again.

The fog was getting worse and the visibility was basically 50 feet in any direction. At this point, I was lost and seemed to be following the person in front of me, who was no doubt following the person in front of him. This was not fun sailing and really annoying because I couldn’t believe the race committee was continuing with the race.

It turned out I over shot the windward mark by a long way. I was very frustrated to find I was basically the last boat. Or who knows, anybody could have skipped marks. No one could tell. The fog cleared a little and I was able to catch a few boats by the end of the race (well, if that’s what you call it). It was very frustrating; I was all ready to improve today and then something out of my control messed things up.

The fog cleared for the start of the second race. As soon as we started, the fog came back. And again, it was thick, so I once again found myself having no idea where I was going and not knowing how far away the marks were. I sailed to the left side this time and it seemed to be working well.

It felt like I was sailing by myself again because no one was visible anywhere. Some boats would appear and then I would look again and they were gone. It was like racing ghosts. I ended up following another boat that seemed to be bearing off to more of a reach. I was getting even more frustrated thinking of the last race and how I was so messed up because I couldn’t see a thing.

I rounded the top mark in about 15th place. I was instantly relieved and was getting ready to take on the downwind leg when the race committee sounded 3 horns, signalling abandon race. Okay, to say I was mad was an understatement. The conditions were exactly the same as the previous race and the race committee let that race stand. Everyone was sent back to shore, and the race officials were calling it a day. This was definitely an interesting day and a patience testing one at best. However, I hope tomorrow will have some more positive moments!

Imminent Hurricane a Menace for the Worlds

Written by: Jens

The racing was supposed to start at noon today, since the race committee needed to get 3 races completed and 3 more tomorrow, to make up for no racing on Sunday thanks to Hurricane Bill. Yes, its official now: Bill has cancelled the Sunday racing.

Around noon, I went up to the van to grab a bite for lunch. I looked out over the bay and could see a small section of some active weather. It was looked foggy out there, so I figured that I might as well keep working today, as viewing would be useless.

So, I’m in the internet area of the club house, and I start hearing the broadcasted reports from the race committee out on the course. They are having a difficult time setting a course due to the fog. They said visibility was about 0.5 miles, and the windward mark was set at 1.7 miles. Later, I heard the fog was thickening.

I could just imagine the sailing conditions, having sailed in dense fog myself. It’s not fun. The race committee managed to get one race in. Things must be getting better, I thought. That’s the last report I heard.

Throughout the afternoon, I saw people measuring the rooms in the club house. They are planning the boat storage for the time when Bill will be raging outside on Sunday. After the racing on Saturday, all the boats must somehow be put into secure shelters.

At about 5:30 pm, I saw the first Lasers returning; the racing was over. Better shut down my computer, and help Brad. I asked Brad how it went and it was clear that if Bill was not in the picture, today’s racing would have been cancelled; but the race committee NEEDS races.

Day #1 Post-Race Discussion

Written by: Jens

I asked Brad what he must do differently tomorrow and he said that his starts and upwind legs were okay, it’s the downwind technique that he must improve on.

The problem is that we (Fanshawe Lake sailors from London) sail on a relatively small body of water, which does not produce the ocean waves needed to practice and perfect downwind skills. This is the Laser Worlds. For the majority of sailors here, sailing is their job. That’s all they do. They are here with professional coaches and coach boats, that follow them around on the water like shadows during their practice sessions, and to improve their results, they have on-the-water discussions while waiting for their start about the previous race.

This is not news to us; we see it at almost every out-of-town regatta we go to. Brad heard one of the Canadian National team sailors say that they have been practicing here at St. Margaret’s Bay all summer, with coaches, and coach boats. It’s going to be a tough regatta.

The First Race Experience

Written by: Brad

Well today was the first day of racing. The bay was filled with a sea of sails as everyone launched their boats and sailed out to the race course. I was placed in an extremely tough red fleet and was the last of the three start sequences.

After waiting for the yellow fleet (which had five general recalls) and then the blue fleet, it was finally our start. I had a decent start in a cluster of boats and soon had to tack to find clean air and water. I rounded the first mark about mid fleet, which I was pleased with considering the calibre of sailors I am racing against. But I was soon passed by boats when I turned to the downwind leg of the course. I expected this, though. I am able to go downwind in waves fairly decent but with the company I was racing with, “fairly good” doesn’t cut it.

I finished the very long race pretty deep in the fleet after picking the wrong side on the second upwind leg. I placed 48th in my group. The second race was similar. Mid fleet around the top mark but bad shifts seemed to haunt me today. I finished 44th in the 2nd race.

I am looking forward to being put in a different fleet for another day of racing. All and all, I am having fun and learning lots!

Laundry Landlover

Written by: Jens

Today’s racing is over, and I will let Brad write about his time on the race course. Today, I was still juggling work and wanting to watch the racing. So I worked in the internet area that is set up in the club house until early afternoon, then drove to the other side of St. Margaret’ s Bay, to watch... and do laundry. It seems that Brad didn’t bring enough shirts to get him through without having the laundry done. Lucky for Brad, the laundromat is one of the viewing spots I found the other day.

After the laundry was done, I drove to another location, which was better for viewing. With binoculars, I was able to see the boats, but really could not take in much about the actual racing.

I have heard that the race committee has already decided to cancel the Sunday racing because of Hurricane Bill. This has not been officially announced yet, but I think that it will happen tomorrow. It seems that all the lasers will be stacked into the club house and other areas for protection from Bill. All the sailors are expected to help in the stacking operation, even though these are not their own boats. That will be something to see.

Day #1 of Official Racing and Qualifying

Written by: Jens

The opening ceremonies took place last night at 6:30. An RCMP band marched in, leading a group of dignitaries. After the speeches, a meal was supplied in the competitor’s village tent.

Today is the first day of official racing. The sailors were split into 3 groups (each group having around 56 boats), with Brad being in the red group. Over the next 4 days, each group will sail against the other groups to determine the fleets for the medal races. The results of these qualifying races count in the medal rounds. Brad tells me that the red fleet is really stacked with many of the best sailors, so he is in for a rough go right from the start.

Just to put the worlds into the right perspective, the fellow who won the North American Laser Championship this year, the largest laser regatta in North America, placed 36th in the bronze fleet at last year's worlds in Australia.

It is weird; I have heard from Brad (and others) so many times, the names of the top laser sailors. When I finally see them, it turns out they actually look human. For instance, I saw Paul Goodison from England, ranked number #1 in the world. I don’t think he can walk on water.

Check out the photos at capizzano.com, the web site of the official photographer for this event.

I am also hearing a lot more buzz about the hurricane...

Practice Race

Written by: Brad

I rigged up today in the usual warm temperature we have been having here. The breeze was slowly, but nicely, building on the sail out to what seemed to be the race area.

I have been sailing with fellow Canadians, Sam Fuller and Rob Hemming, who are both from Ottawa. We sailed upwind for a bit to get warmed up and then downwind to the starting area to get ready for the practice race. There were only about 45 boats taking part in the race. By now, the wind was starting to blow fairly strong - about 20 knots from the southwest.

Looking from the start line up the race course, the windward mark was barely visible. It was a long way up there. After the start, I decided to try the right hand side of the course. The upwind leg was so long that the separation between boats on the right and the left sides was huge. The breeze seemed to be building more as we sailed upwind. I was pleased when I decided to tack back across the fleet and was clearing most of the boats. I rounded the top mark in 6th place and started flying on the reach. The boat was humming as I was slicing through the large waves.

By the downwind mark most of the boats were deciding to call it quits to have healthy legs for the start of the competition tomorrow.

Opening Ceremonies and an Approaching Hurricane

Written by: Jens

Today is the opening ceremonies and an official practice race, which should include a race committee (I hope). I have to juggle work and viewing time in order to see as much sailing as possible. I am going to do as much work as I can today to clear the decks, so I can get back to watching the activities.

Earlier today, I had a conversion with a fellow who told me that from Sunday to Monday, we could get hit with the tail end of Hurricane Bill. Apparently it could still be a category 1 hurricane. MMMM!

It is much hazier today than the previous days. From where I sit in the club house, it seems to be windier than before too. I just checked the club weather station, and the wind is gusting 25 knots (about 50 km/hr).

Inspection and Rabbit Starts

Written by: Brad

We arrived at the sailing club at about 8:45 to get a front row spot in the boat measurement line. The boat inspectors were checking rigging, sailing number placement and foils. My boat passed inspection, which took only about 5 minutes with several inspectors checking it.

After inspection, I called home and my girlfriend to see how things were going. Following some lunch, I hit the water again in nice breeze blowing a solid 15 knots. I joined in with a huge group of about 70 or so lasers. I thought our rabbit starts with 5 or 6 lasers were interesting, till I tried it with 70 boats. Most of the time you can’t even see where the rabbit is, because of the large number of boats lined up.

I did a couple of short races with this group until Sam Fuller (another Canadian representative) and I sailed upwind for awhile. When we decided to start heading back downwind, I was able to consistently catch waves and keep the boat moving well. After more messing around in the waves, we decided to head back in as did most other lasers who were on the water.

Searching for More Viewing Locations

Written by: Jens

After Brad started sailing, I took off in the van to check out the other side of St. Margaret's Bay, looking for some viewing locations. I found this side WAS better for viewing but it's still a long distance away. I wasn't able to pick out Brad, but it was still good to watch.

Happy to Be in the Boat Again

Written by: Brad

After picking up my chartered boat (which were randomly selected by drawing numbers), I spent most of the morning sorting out my rigging and setup. It was hot and I was doing all of this in the sun. I drank two Gatorades just from sweating.

Finally, I got my sailing clothes on and hit the water. On the sail out, I received a few good splashes to the face and consequently, the taste of salt. The breeze was about 10-15 knots with some steep waves. I was really happy to be in the boat again, especially sailing in waves. I sailed for a while with 2 guys from Great Britain then decided to head back in, after about 3 hours of sailing.

The Baybreeze, the motel that we are staying at, has a number of the competitors staying there: Germans, Japanese, and a bunch of Spanish speaking sailors from South America. The Japanese sailors are in the unit beside us. We had a long conversation with Ian Hall, one of the Japanese sailors, about all things sailing.

The First Sail

Written by: Jens

It was an early start today, so Brad could pick up his supplied laser. He got Laser 196127. All the lasers here start with the numbers 196, so the race committee will only have to record the last 3 numbers. Brad then had to put the "CAN" country code designation on the sail. He spent the rest of the morning putting his ropes on the boat.

It was mid-afternoon when he finally got on the water. After he left, I jumped in the van and drove the main road towards Peggy’s Cove looking for a place to watch the sailing. I knew I wouldn’t be able to pick out Brad, but I just wanted to watch. About 10 km up the road, I started towards the water on side roads; there were a lot of them. However, I could not get a good view and that was quite frustrating.

The place we are staying at is on the other side of the bay, which I now think should give better viewing, but it's 30 minutes away by car, and the road is very bendy.

Biking along the Waterfront

Written by: Jens

We went to the sailing club to see what was going on today. There is free internet access there, so we checked our emails. Then we drove to Halifax and rode our bikes along the waterfront, to Point Pleasant Park. After walking the waterfront, we drove back to the motel. Tomorrow things will start for Brad, as he should get his boat. Can't wait to see him on the water.

First Visit to St. Margaret's Sailing Club

Written by: Jens

Brad and I went to the St. Margaret's Sailing Club, host of Laser Worlds event. Lasers were everywhere. Some sailors that had booked the use of the new lasers for the previous week were going out for some practice races. As Brad had not booked a supplied boat for the previous week, he was told that he would be assigned a boat until Monday.

We found the local tourist information center where we got free internet access and checked our emails. We also inquired about bike trails since we had brought our bikes along. The roads here are pretty tight and bendy with hardly any shoulder to ride bikes on. We were told about a reclaimed train track trail that was only several minutes away. So, Brad and I took off on the trail. We road for 3 hours, and it was a good workout.

Travelling to Nova Scotia

Written by: Jens

We got on the road by 3:30 am. I drove to the other side of Toronto, where Brad took over. I laid back and got some shuteye. When I woke up, we were past Kingston and we decided to do a quick stop in Brockville to visit our friends Phil and Connie Barton. About 20 minutes later, we were traveling again. Brad drove to the Quebec border, where I took over and drove through Montreal. It was about 12:30 pm but with all the construction going on, it was already slow going. Once past Montreal, the traffic was okay.

I drove to where the Trans Canada Highway leaves the St. Lawrance River, and heads south-east towards New Brunswick. It was about 4:00 pm Ontario time. Brad drove until dusk while I caught a few winks. I took over and drove almost to Turo, Nova Scotia while Brad slept. Here, Brad took over and I made sure we followed the directions to our destination thanks to Google Maps.

Packing Up

Written by: Jens

Brad was working at Kellogg's until 10:00 PM, so the loading of the van was my job. Sharon has done a lot of the preparations, like shopping and getting my clothes out - she even sorted out our accommodations. We planned to leave London at 3:00 am Friday morning, in order to miss the rush hours in Toronto and Montreal.