Waterways of Cape Breton Island explored in new book

Cape Breton is one of the most admired and celebrated islands in the world. There are many reasons why this is so, not the least of which is its wealth of remarkable waterways. Most notable is the Bras d’Or Lake, a UNESCO-designated Biosphere Reserve, one of only sixteen in Canada. The Margaree-Lake Ainslie River System, another of Cape Breton’s treasures, was designated in 1998 as Nova Scotia’s first Canadian Heritage River.

Aqua: Waterways of Cape Breton, published by Boularderie Island Press, celebrates these and many other of the island’s rivers, lakes and harbours. In this book you will discover much about Cape Breton’s waterways, including their physical features and how each of these waterways contributed to our natural and human history. You’ll learn practical facts, such as species of fish in each waterway and where marinas and beaches are located, and for the believers, some folklore and fish stories. Aqua is not a guide book. It is a casual reference, as useful and informative for outdoor enthusiasts as it is entertaining for armchair adventurers.

Author Pat O’Neil has captured the essence of 19 Cape Breton lakes and rivers with plenty of useful facts, lore and history. O’Neil has worked for thirty years in the writing/publishing industry as a writer, editor and publisher. She was Managing Editor and principal writer for The Cape Bretoner Magazine for six years. She has been published in several Canadian magazines and newspapers and has worked as a copywriter and producer for both radio and TV. As owner and operator of Solus Publishing, she published books by several local authors, has written two travel guides and two hiking books, and has co-written eight full-length screenplays.

Contributing editor and historian Ken Donovan guides the reader through the history of the impressive shipbuilding industry in Cape Breton and the importance of the ferries that transported folks before highways made travel easier. Contributing editor and botanist Dr. Jim Foulds reveals the ecological importance of these waterways. All supplemented with over 50 full colour photographs by Barry Morrison.

Aqua: Waterways of Cape Breton will be launched Friday, May 6, 4-6pm at the Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design in Sydney. CBC Cape Breton Mainstreet will broadcast live from the launch. Everyone welcome.