David, I also have a full-keel 35 footer, and though the hull speed is somewhere around 7.3 kts, and I can easily do 6+, it is never a mistake for me to plan on five knots. Like Tom, I am very fond of dawn or pre-dawn depatures (though it compounds your risk of fog and no wind), because no one will complain that they arrived at your destination with lots of the day still left. To me, nothing exhausts us like cooking and eating dinner in the dark because we arrived at dusk. In N.S. the summer days should be good and long, though if you're waiting till August to beat the fog, sunset comes at least a minute earlier every day of your trip. Still, if you leave at 5:00 or 6:00 a.m. even a 50 mile trip should be done by 3:00 or 4:00. Still light enough to take the dawg to shore, have a drink, swim and eat dinner as the sun sets. As someone else commented, if you plan on 5 kts but make 6, then you won't have to jump immediately to the engine if you slow down to 4.5.

I've also learned to separate long sailing days with non-sailing days. One of the things I've always loved about sailing is really pushing hard: overnights, long legs etc., but for peace onboard I've had to temper my enthusiasm in exchange for others' enjoyment of the trip. It sounds like your family enjoys sailing, but I would say an eight-hour sail goes over much better than a ten

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