Foggy and Boggy
Helacious anchored in Squid Hole, Newfoundland.
Crossing over Cabot Strait or “the Chuck” from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland was much more pleasant than the name would suggest. I think we were fortunate with the light winds from the previous few days keeping the seas flat. It was foggy however and we arrived in Port aux Basques early evening with just enough visibility to see the public wharf and get ourselves secured. The wind was building and it blew hard from the east for the next four days. We had doubled all the lines and hunkered down inside Helacious, the diesel heater keeping us nice and warm. We were on the leeward side of the dock, fortunately. However, it did mean getting on and off the boat was a challenge. We finally worked out a way to run a line to the winch to pull us in close enough to the dock to allow us to clamber off.
The boat tied up in front of us was from Norway, they recognized Helacious from our stay in Tromso last year!
Port aux Basques is not picturesque. It is functional and the buildings were very basic. Maybe it was due to the weather, but we saw very little activity. The streets were deserted by 5pm and it seemed the evening entertainment was to sit at the dock in your car, watching us and maybe the ferry arrive.
Finally the wind eased, although it was still from the east, but we were determined to move on. We called harbor control to get permission to depart. This was necessary as the entrance was extremely narrow and the giant ferries, once they get moving, go very fast, impossible to outrun. We were given permission - the ferry was not due to depart for another hour. We slipped our lines and were heading out to the channel when hailed on the radio. The ferry decided it was going to leave NOW, and we were in its way. We managed to dodge out of the channel to let it fly by. So much for a timetable.
We motored just 5 miles down the coast and popped into a lovely circular anchorage called Squid Hole. It had a narrow entrance, but then opened up and was protected from wind and swell 360 degrees. It was damp and foggy, but Brian was determined to go fishing, so off he went. The fish were not biting today, but the fog did lift and the sun came out, so we took the dinghy in to shore to see if we could hike up to a high spot for photo opportunity. We discovered, once ashore, the deceptively green and lush foliage covered thick boggy land, that occasionally gave way to small ponds, sometimes right under your feet. The occasional dense stands of juniper trees were impenetrable, so we had to make do with a short hike to a more modest viewpoint.
As we were walking around, within ten minutes the fog descended again, and Helacious began to disappear into the mist.
The following day we motored on down the coast, the wind still from the east. We stopped for a while over a shallower bank and threw out the fishing lines. What a haul. Brian caught 4 cod and 2 huge mackerel. We had bought our fishing license in Port aux Basques so knew the limit was 5 a day per person for cod (fishing only Saturday thru Monday). No limit on mackerel. Dinner that night was beer battered cod.
Rose Blanche, our next stop is the last settlement along the south coast road to the east. After Rose Blanche the only access to any of the communities along this coast is by boat. It seemed a lot more vibrant than Port aux Basques, the houses were still utilitarian, but colorful. There was the sound of hammering as people were fixing the docks that had been destroyed just last September by hurricane Fiona. We spent the night rafted up to a lobster boat, our timing was perfect, the season ended the previous day, so we were not going to be asked to move at 0600hr. The next day was….foggy, but we headed out to visit the lighthouse regardless. It is the main attraction here in Rose Blanche.
Helacious in Rose Blanche harbor.
The walk by road to the lighthouse was quite a distance, however as roads were not so important here, most of the houses around the inlets were connected by a lovely grassy footpath. We set out on Big Bottom Trail, and things only got better! The fog made everything so mysterious, it was a delightful walk.
We interrupted John Wright as he was taking some recently glazed bowls to his kiln. He invited us in to see his work, then his wife Jane joined us and soon we were being served lattes in the studio.
The walk on to the lighthouse continued to delight us.
Rose Blanche lighthouse, built 1871, restored 1999.
The fog lifted and as we walked back toward Rose Blanche, it looked quite different. We stopped to admire a set of moose horns displayed on a garage when the homeowner popped out and invited us to see the ones her husband had carved. Well who could resist? We got a tour of his workshop and saw the product of a winters work on display in his “shed”.
After a late lunch, we untied the lines and moved around to a nearby bay for the night. The waterfall at the head of the bay was most impressive.
A couple of days later found us in La Poile, our first outport. La Poile (pronounced La P-oil) has no road access, it is totally reliant on the daily ferry from Rose Blanche. The 60-70 permanent residents that live here get around on 4-wheelers along the concrete pathway that wends its way down the side of the bay. The stacks of firewood spoke to the main source of heating fuel and we watched as a very necessary appliance was delivered to the dock.
Helacious tied to the public wharf in La Poile.
An anxious resident waiting for the ferry to dock.
The next morning we as we prepared to leave we were pleasantly surprised to see the fog lifting. For a brief time we enjoyed seeing the landscape that surrounded us, and as we sailed along the coast we could see hints of the mountainous interior. The fog bank was never far away though.
Helacious in Culotte Cove.
An afternoon of clear skies allowed us to enjoy exploring the shoreline of Culotte Cove. We dug for clams and squelched through the bog looking at pitcher plants.
The following day it was back to fog as usual and we motorsailed on to Burgeo. Here we tied to the government dock just out of reach of the ferry and stayed for a couple of days as the rain passed through.
Walking around the town of Burgeo we found a prime example of efficiency, the hardware store and lumber company sharing space with the state liquor store. What could possibly go wrong? The views along the coastline from Sandbanks park were lovely. However we were not here in Newfoundland for hazy vistas, if the weather did not improve we would be heading south. We needed some sunshine. A constant refrain has been “ This is a most unusually foggy summer. It is not normally like this. Inland, just 5 miles, the weather is lovely”. We decided to find out if this was true.