We completed the first whole year on the water. While we celebrated last New Year’s Eve in Barbados, this time we are starting the new year in the Bahamas.

After comfortable sailing in Chesapeake Bay, things are getting exciting again. We have to round Cape Hatteras once more. This time, however, we will be our own worst enemies, not the capricious cape.

When it comes to sailing on the US East Coast, there’s really no way around Chesapeake Bay. And yet, in spring, we managed to bypass it.

Autumn’s natural beauty calls for a contrast of city, culture, and history. Boston is waiting for a visit, offering an opportunity to immerse yourself in its cozy big-city flair.

New England heralds the arrival of fall. Although the sun’s rays still feel like summer on your skin, the leaves become more colorful with each passing week.

Once the waves caused by Hurricane Erin have subsided, we leave our hiding place and sail back to the US. We pass the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s largest tidal range. In sync with the moon, the water level there fluctuates by up to 16 meters. The tidal range in Yarmouth was already impressive.

A year and a half ago, Nikola set sail. Her logbook shows zero nautical miles, and at her helm are two occasional sailors with roughly 900 nautical miles of experience. As rookies, we set out to discover the world together.

We didn’t actually want to go all the way to Newfoundland. Nova Scotia would have been more than enough. But then we met some Canadian sailors in Halifax who we had previously met in the Bahamas.

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.