When the ferryman says...

As you're loading your 55 foot truck and trailer onto a small ferry to cross an inlet and the ferry driver says "Tide's out. You're gonna rub a bit."
What he really means is "If you get on this ferry right now, you're going to rip your bumper off." (or nearly)

Ugh.

The sound was horrid, and after we loaded on the ferry, I went back to survey the damage. A fellow on a motorcycle told me our back bumper (not a bumper, just fiberglass) was at nearly a right angle to where it should be.

Double Ugh!









Coming out of the Highlands on the east side of Cape Breton, there are two ways to connect to the 105 and get to Sydney. These are only marked by a road sign, which gives no indication of what is a better route for an RV.
We turned left, because that's what our GPS told us to do. This road, towards Englishtown, leads to a small passenger ferry, which has quite steep ramps leading down to the ferry. When tide is out, the ramp is too steep to prevent the back end of a long vehicle from rubbing on the ramp as you enter the ferry deck. (think of the vehicle being in the middle of a V).

The locals all know this crossing is a problem for big vehicles. We had plenty of curious people wander over after we got off the ferry and parked to survey the damage to offer condolences (and tell us the location of the nearest RV shop).

There should have been a sign at the fork in the road!
The ferryman should have just told us to turn around (in the tiny parking lot)!
We should have known better, and just turned ourselves around before attempting to get on.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda. It's all too late now.  :(