EVERYTHING WORTH DOING in Port Hood happens within eyesight of the beach. In the winter, when the Northumberland Strait is clogged with the brine of sea ice, you can heave a puck from the arena and almost hit the ocean. Port Hood Beach has the warmest water north of the Carolinas – the result of the strait’s shallow sea being trapped between the beach and Port Hood Island and warmed by the sun. Even the wimpiest bathers float as carefree as an Arctic seal.

Residents, sometimes three generations of them, spread their blankets and sneak beer from coolers. The rotund and slight, young and old, mix here like they have now for 250 years. Nighttime strolls down the beach may bump into an impromptu party which you’ll probably be invited to join. But just as likely you’ll have the beach all to yourself. The summers in Cape Breton and in Port Hood are an ode to the ebb and flow of ocean and life – both in perfect sync.