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The next remarkable navigational feature is the Seal Island Bridge which crosses the Great Bras d’Or with a clearance of 118 feet. The tidal currents continue to run quickly under the bridge, but cruisers can usually relax and start enjoying the scenery as they move further down the channel.
Hills on either side of the channel add to its mystery until it opens into a wider passage and navigation becomes straightforward. Tides and currents are minimal, and lakeside villages and towns are welcoming.
Baddeck is an attractive town servicing cruising boats. Dockage is available at the town wharf and at two marinas, and moorings are available.
The Bras d’Or Yacht club hosts Baddeck race week. This summer event is held during the first week of August. To start off the fun week, a sail past is held where boats sail around Kidston Island, the island that protects the harbour, showing that Regatta week has begun. Everyday a sail race is held for both junior sailors and older sailors and social events are held each night.
Cruising destinations close to Baddeck include the Washabuck River in St Patrick’s Channel, and Maskells Harbour in the South West Great Bras d’Or. The St Andrews Channel leads to Little Bras d’Or, another entrance to the Lake which is a narrow channel crossed by the Trans Canada highway bridge with a 21-foot clearance.
Continuing south, the Barra Strait is the gateway to the Bras’Or Lake and is crossed by a bascule highway bridge and a railway bridge. The railway bridge is open except when used by train traffic, but the highway bridge is opened on demand by the bridge attendant.
The village of Iona maintains a wharf on the Northwest side of the Strait. From here it is a short trek by foot to the Highland Village Museum, a living history of the Scottish Gaelic culture situated on a 43 acre hillside overlooking the Lake.
Once in the Lake, choices of destination are many; Malagawatch, River Denys and West Bay are on the west side of the lake. East Bay is a 16 mile long inlet to the North East entered between Benacadie Point and Middle Cape, and St Peters inlet is in the South East, entered from the north between Cape George and Evan Island. This inlet culminates at the south end at the St Peters Canal, which connects the lake to the Atlantic in St Peters Bay.
The Cape Breton summer is short and sweet and soon it’s time to make the trek back to Sydney Harbour. If the cruiser does this trip in the fall North West winds, the trip can be very exciting. This wind clears the visibility making the Highlands seem closer as one clears the Great Bras d’Or channel and turns east. The sea spray breaking on Table Rock makes the cruiser realize that they have left the sanctuary of the Bras d’Or and are once again at sea.
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