Nikola is our first boat. When we commissioned its construction, there were naturally some things we knew little about. With so many topics to consider, we didn’t have time to research everything in depth during the planning process. That’s precisely why we came to Alubat, an experienced aluminum boat shipyard.

So far, Nova Scotia has been a wonderful place for boatwork. With a repainted hull, a functioning centerboard, and a new propeller, we, nevertheless, venture out of the marina to explore the area’s beauty.

Nikola is lifted out of the water in a small Canadian picture-postcard idyll. For the first time since it was launched over a year and a half ago.

We previously reported how our electric engine has a very interesting capability in theory, that is to regenerate power while sailing, by converting the movement of the propeller through water into valuable energy. In practice, the initial propeller choice on our boat, a 19″ 3 blade Flexofold folding propeller, was unable to sustain that power generation in real world scenarios. We therefore soon started the search for a better propeller.

We set sail in Nantucket with a decent wind, only to be swallowed up by fog as soon as we leave the harbor. If we didn’t know better, it would seem like a journey into the unknown. But Canada awaits us on the other side of the Gulf of Maine.

The New England leg starts in Rhode Island, and Newport takes us straight to the epicenter of US sailing. You can’t get more sailing tradition than that.

New York’s skyline fades into the background as we continue eastward. The light wind sail that was battered by the thunderstorm in Norfolk awaits us in Mamaroneck.

New York doesn’t seem eager to let us arrive. The wind blows so hard on our nose that we have to tack toward the skyline at 33 knots. Entering the bay turns out to be a little frustrating. The cargo ships whizzing past don’t help us relax, either.

The air grows cooler and the water grows murkier. The feeling is almost homely. One thing is certain, though: the Caribbean is definitely a few hundred nautical miles behind us.

On land, the sun rises no less often. And yet it seems that way to us. Sunsets have also become more frequent since we’ve been on the water.