What a strange and wonderful place this is. It is remote outpost of the Canadian National Park system located 130 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. Twenty six miles long, and nowhere over a mile wide, it is an oddity out at the edge of the continental shelf. It is made completely, and only, of sand. I am sure we will say this again, but anyone who has a chance to come here should. It is a truly amazing place, and unlike anything else you will ever see.

It is visited by only 6 to 8 private boats a year, although there are “eco-adventure tours” that arrive by weekly for eight hours by chartered airplane, and a monthly tour boat for two days. The park staff has welcoming and helpful, although it does feel a bit strange to us–used to visiting uninhabited islands–having people worried about where we are and our safety although it is not unwelcome. With that said, we have basically been given the run of the island. With few exceptions and simple rules we basically can go where ever we like.

We’ll have a lot more to say when we get an internet connection where we can post photos, (and we have a LOT of photos!) but the local herd of 400 to 500 wild horses and the many thousands of gray seals are the high profile residents of the island.

We are anchored off the northern side of the island in an open roadstead, so if the wind shifts to anything from north of east or west we have to leave, but we expect to have at least one more day to explore.

From here we’ll be heading a bit further north and west to the Bras D’Or Lake and Cape Bretton Island.