Bras D'Or Lake - Flight of The Silver Dart

Flight of The Silver Dart

Baddeck Bay, between Baddeck and Beinn Bhreagh, was the site of the first first officially recognized heavier-than-air powered flight in the British Empire which then included Canada. The flight was performed by an airplane designed by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, F.C. Baldwin and Glenn Curtiss and others, in the original Bell Labs on Beinn Bhreagh. The Silver Dart flew off the frozen ice of Baddeck Bay in January 1909. Commemorating this event, 100 years later, in January, 2009 a replica of the original airplane was flown off the ice in the same location: Baddeck Bay.

After demonstrating their airplanes using tricycle landing wheels and other innovations, Bell's laboratory on Beinn Bhreagh designed and built a hydrofoil boat- the HD4 - which set a water speed record of 71 MPH (63 knots) in 1919. HMCS Bras d'Or, an experimental 1960s-era Canadian Forces hydrofoil, reportedly the world's fastest warship ever built, was named Bras d'Or in honor of the hydrofoils tested long before on Baddeck Bay in the Bras d'Or Lake by Bell.

In 2003, National Geographic Traveler rated Cape Breton Island its second-ranked worldwide destination for sustainable tourism, citing Bras d'Or Lake as having a major influence on this designation. Cape Breton Island tied for second place with New Zealand's South Island and Chile's Torres del Paine, behind the Norwegian fjords.

"The Bras d’Or Lakes are my favorite landscape on planet Earth. Nestled into the rolling hills of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, their pristine tidal waters reflect centuries of Scottish culture, music, and friendly people."
Gilbert M. Grosvenor, Chairman of the Board, National Geographic Society

Via Rail Canada's weekly Halifax–Sydney tourist passenger train, the Bras d'Or was named in honour of the spectacular scenery provided by Bras d'Or Lake along the eastern part of its journey.