Views of Newfoundland - Nova Scotia 2013

D'Escousse Harbor, NS

The next 3 shots are crossing the Cabot Strait from Port Aux Basque, NL to Ingonish, NS

First day of our cruise; Port Aux Basque, Newfoundland.
Funny thing about this photo is that it is sunny!

 Four friends together in Rose Blanche, Newfoundland

Journal of the Journey: Newfoundland - Nova Scotia

Newfoundland – Nova Scotia aboard Windigo 2013.

I start this journal on August 5, 2013, my sixty first birthday. Jim is all happy that I am having another “Newfy Birthday”. Is this my fourth? 1976 on Regina Maris in Twilingate, 2001 on Windigo in Labrador ( not really Newfy ), 2010 on Highlandflyer leaving Grand Brit.

Morning is a little bit foggy in Rose Blanche, Newfoundland. Windigo is tied up to the dock at the old bait factory. The slap and gurgle of the gentle harbor waters knocks the hull as I sit in my bunk in the aft cabin. Peeking out the portholes I can see the round harbor with brightly painted red, green, & white houses. Jim says fog is just low lying clouds, so maybe it’s just a cloudy morning.

I can smell my birthday cake baking in the galley oven.  I am happy I brought the ingredients with me and Jim helped me make it. After our breakfast of oatmeal with banana & maple syrup, OJ, coffee, & cinnamon buns, Jim and I mix the batter and whip it with the hand beater.  I can hear our captain Sandy talking with Ethan, Trudy, & Jim in the main cabin. They already checked the weather on the 3 day read out that was downloaded when we were in Port aux Basques yesterday.

Was that just yesterday?

Jim and I drive up from Gloucester on August 1rst, leave our cat “Monty Montana” at the Nucleus with Jim’s cousin, David. After running around Beinn Bhreagh for a day, a dazzling “Baddeck day”, David drops us at midnight for the 3:00 am ferry in North Sydney . Not a bad ferry crossing takes us across the Cabot Strait ( abouot 100 miles ) to the Port Aux Basque harbor just after sunrise. We board Windigo across from where the ferry landed right near where another ferry crashed into the shore about 3 days ago.  That is what everyone is talking about here. Luckily we have a smooth crossing and a safe landing.

Port aux Basque is nice in good weather. A civilized town on the southwest corner of Newfoundland, it seems alive with visitors coming to see the “new found land” as well as families who have moved away coming home to see family. We walk to the mall to get groceries and pillowcases, took a taxi back. Jim & I order lunch at the restaurant right on the harbor and before the food came, Jim spots our friends; Ethan & Trudy, coming up the boardwalk to find us. We enjoyed a meal together catching up having not see each other for 4 years. Has it been that long?

Later in the afternoon I take a walk up to the St. Christopher Hotel to use their internet. As I sit on the bluff outside the hotel I have a panoramic view of the town, the harbor and the wild land beyond the mountains. The day clears with a gorgeous blue sky and sun spilling down on this beautiful wide harbor.  I see three men, one with his dog, leaning over the fence gazing out over the water. This is the quintessential Canadian Maritime scene. I am happy to view it live and snap a photo. Over to my left I see the distant hills and rocks and to my right the little town of houses neatly packed in the protected area behind a big hill.

When I come back to Windigo on the town dock, a commotion is buzzing. Sandy invited Milt and Judy, CCA friends from the motorboat tied up alongside the other dock, but some thing else is happening. A wedding party is posing for photos and Sandy invites them on board Windigo for a photo shoot! Fun to be wedding crashers our first day in Newfoundland! The couple, Tina and Wayne, invite us for dancing at the hall, though we are thrilled to be invited, we tell them we are tired from our late night ferry ride.

Such a lovely evening we settle in for an apricot chicken dinner accompanied with kale & tomatoes from our garden. We enjoy lively conversation and laughing around Windigo’s wooden table. Jim & I share  Fazer licorice/dark chocolate from  our recent  trip to Finland.

What do I remember about Saturday August 3, 2013?

After checking the weather programs and e-mails and walking around Port aux Basque, we head out to Isle aux Morts. A nice swing through Squid Hole is amazing b/c we can see everything. We anchor in Mikkle’s Tickle and Jim, Trudy, & I take a hike. We scramble up through the thick brush and moss.   Our soft bouncing feet like we are walking over mattresses as we find out way past ripe golden cloudberries, Canadian bunchberries, and other interesting wild flowers.  We pause to taste the wild cloudberry which looks like a large yellow raspberry, but has a mossy not very sweet flavor. Eating them when they are perfectly ripe like this is the best I’ve tasted. When we reach the rock summit of this green island we spy Windigo’s masts reaching, but the hill is so steep we do not see the boat.

We head out from Isle aux Morts harbor and head east to Rose Blanche, another  civilized town with a road connecting them to Port aux Basque.  This harbor is distinct with a stone lighthouse marking the entrance. These towns seem more civilized because of the road connecting them to the bigger ‘city’. Other towns we visit in Newfoundland and Labrador are remote with no cars and trucks, no road connection. It makes a difference to how the town feels.

As we make our way across the water the ocean swells rock the boat. These swells are left over from a storm last week. It takes the ocean a while to calm down. We have light winds and big rollers. At one point I was sitting on the edge of the deck and got tipped back into the lifeline by the rocking of the boat. Whew – I caught myself by grabbing the stanchion right at the opening of the lifeline gate. This scared me a bit because I saw how easy it might be to fall overboard losing your balance like this. That icy cold water is closer that one might think. I look at Trudy and Jim who see what I just did. They assure me that I would have grabbed the boat or if in the water, grabbed the dinghy, but I am not so sure about that. I will think more carefully about where I sit when this boat is rolling in swells. Whew.

After tying up to the dock in Rose Blanche near the abandoned bait storage building, we walk out to see the lighthouse. An exquisite afternoon and evening, we explore this point of land which can withstand the roughest weather.  We could see miles of coastline from the lighthouse both ways – very unusual for Newfoundland – not for us, though it seems like in the last four visits, we could see the whole coast. We pay homage to the 5 light keepers who manned it with their families, all the boats and crew who passed by safely and those who sailed their final passages due to shipwrecks in the area. The lighthouse was designed and equipped by the Stevenson Lighthouse builders from Scotland. ( relatives of the writer Robert Louis Stevenson) It was completely rebuilt in 1998 using 90 % of the original stone. Now it is a museum and a working light.

Back at Windigo we enjoy a great dinner of veggies and rice ( meatballs for them). We laugh with the fun dice game, Left Right Center and our first game of Harry sharing more Fazer chocolate – this one with lingonberreis.

What about Monday in Rose Blanche, Monday August 5, 2013?

Today we walk with Sandy along the goat path. Sandy directs us to hike around the town while he goes on his own. We hike and photo as we go seeing how the people of Rose Blanche enjoy their homes.

At the grocery store we buy Coffee Crisp bars, water, and a huge cabbage. We enjoy talking with Sherri, the store keeper who tells us the school closed about seven years ago.  Now all the children, not many, go to school in the town of Burnt Islands just about a ten minute drive. We meet a friendly man and woman outside the store.  We chat about the town and the bugs. The man tells us he has a net to wear, sometimes they get that bad. They direct us to Harbor Le Cou by road and tell us we will pass by their house. It is the green one with white trim.

When we come down the road into Harbor Le Cou we see the man we met wearing his bug gear standing in front of a green house. I shake his hand and tell him my name is “Lea”. He says; “That’s my sister-in-law’s name, the one who was with me, she’s inside, come on in and meet her.”  Trudy and I follow him in to meet Leah ( with an h )  we learn she also has ten siblings. Eleven children grew up in this tiny house; a kitchen a living room, a small alcove pantry, a hall way with a steep stairway going to a small second floor.  We meet Leah’s two sisters; Rosalee and Phyllis. They moved away but come back to visit the house they were born in every summer.

“Will you have a cup of tea?” they ask us.

We say no, we have to get back to the boat by noon and it is already past eleven.

They hand us each a freshly made biscuit, but tempt us with another request;

“They taste much better with tea.”

Trudy and I cave in with their warmth and kindness overflowing. It is so easy to talk with these friendly people. When they hear it is my birthday they sing to me!

We realize they are as happy to get to know us as we are happy to get to know them. They set their fine china – just two settings – for Trudy and me. We are trapped by their hospitality. We wonder about the guys. Art and John tell us that their friend Walt took them down to meet some fisherman at the dock. Well, Ethan and Jim come in to find us and get talked into a cup of tea – not the fine China though, just a mug of tea with their biscuits.

Later Ethan and Jim tell us about the guys at shack drinking and telling stories.

We leave our new found friends and take the trail from Harbor Le Cou back to Rose Blanche.  Rose Blanche is a “bastadrization” of the French “roche blanc” meaning white rock . There is a noticeable outcropping of quartz in the hills above the town.

We see Sandy buzzing out in the whaler to check the other harbor. We gather back at Windigo and head back to Isle Aux Morts.

We tied up to the town pier in isle Aux Morts and went on a walk about. We visit a local graveyard – that seems like the appropriate thing to do in “Island of the dead”. The old white marble stones tell stories and names of those who also passed on these hills and paths looking out at these views.

Ethan and I head back up to the main drag to check  e-mail at Barry’s Bar & Grill. We arrive back at the boat just as the rain starts to fall for my birthday dinner.

Was that the night we had potato, salad, and corn? Anticipating tomorrow’s Cabot Strait crossing I choose water as my birthday beverage tonight.

The Heathbar Crunch Cake is good. Jim says; “It is fantastic!”

It’s early to bed. I am glad to let this day go, birthdays are not easy for me. This one so far from home chokes me up a bit, but I get choked up at home, too.

I see lightning and hear thunder during the night

Waking at 5 am, we leave the dock in Isle aux Mort. A quiet harbor is behind us as we ghost past the outer islands.

After motoring for a few hours, I took the 6:00-7:00 am steering, we

motor-sail and sail close reached across the Cabot Strait. It’s a beautiful smooth crossing!

Jim could see whole cost of Newfoundland and Cape North of NS at the same time and a great view of St. Paul’s Island.

We arrive in Ingonish by 6 pm  with a   nice sunny view of Cape Breton mountains.

We eat a late dinner – broccoli with ham with pineapple for them  and sautéed zucchini with onion and mushrooms for me plus left over birthday cake for dessert.

We played “Oh Hell” card game after painstakingly teaching Ethan and Trudy how to play. Of course, Jim wins.

Wednesday morning I wake at predawn to see the pink sky to the east, then snooze a bit, and peek through the porthole again to see the shining sun rising in an expanse of blue sky.

Sandy cooks breakfast. He is cooking all the meals this trip. The table is set with 5 places of OJ, napkin, silverware, ready for hungry crew. Today we are treated to banana pancakes with Cloudberry or Maple syrup. He makes perked coffee, I opt for the Vietnamese instant I brought with me.

I drive the boat from Ingonish out around Cape Smokey along the coast, giving the helm to Jim as we near Bird Island. What a perfect day to view seals and birds! Puffy white clouds decorate the brilliant blue sky as we marvel at the islands with their marine life; seals, puffins, eagles and other birds entertaining us.

In through the Great Bras d’Or channel under Seal Island Bridge, we approach our summer home, Baddeck Bay.

We see Beinn Bhreagh, the long peninsula of puffed green trees under the blue sky and puffy clouds. It’s a puffy day with a strong breeze blowing as we watch the Regatta Week races tacking upwind and flying spinnakers downwind all around Kidston’s Island with the iconic lighthouse standing proud.  Jim identifies all the boats racing telling about our friends and relatives we see here every summer. We see The Point, the summer home of Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell, with eagles swooping down the red cliffs. I watch the wide wingspan floating on down over the other houses on Beinn Bhreagh disappearing into the sky, but my eye scans close to the water until I see our red roof of Killick. There is where I’d rather be. ( that is how I feel when I see my summer home )

Windigo motors around Kidston’s Island and into the inner town harbor to show Ethan and Trudy a closer look at Baddeck. They see their friends from St Petersburg FL anchored by the lighthouse – how funnuy! We swing around and head back out down St. Patrick’s Channel to spend the night in Washabuck.

It feels a little funny being in Baddeck but not “really” being in Baddeck – just passing through a place we call home. We get a glimpse, a bird’s eye view, a reminder of how much we love the beautiful mountain across the bay from the little town behind the island.

As soon as we anchor we swim!  Before Sandy jumps he asks; “Who’s gonna be the last one in?”  ( me! ) Well, we all enjoyed the delightful water of this peaceful cove. No wind gives us a still evening of 360 degree mirror reflections.

Sandy cooks us a nice dinner of salad and mixed vegetables ( pork for them ). He gives us his slide show of the Windigo 2001 cruise up to Nain.  We chime in sharing our memories of sailing with him and our three kids – hey, I am just realizing now that he added a few  iceberg photos from the 1999 trip we did with him. Those photos are that good, they need to be shared again and again.

Thursday August 8, 2013

Waking up to a quiet harbor, blue sky, sun, we greet a calm morning in Washabuck.  The amazing reflections are here again today. The water is so still. Sandy makes us hot muffins, granola, OJ, and coffee. Ethan and I do the dishes. We must be careful with the coffee pot – only Sandy can dump the coffee grinds overboard so as he has himself to blame if the filter goes into the water.

It’s a gorgeous day going places we didn’t expect to go;

·      Driving through the Iona Bridge

·      Sailing across the BIG LAKE to Little Harbor ( which is really big)

·      Going ashore for a beer at the Cape Breton Smoke House

·      Plugging in ALL my technology; laptop, camera, I phone!

Little Harbor is a special place to Jim and me for many reasons.

It brings back memories of my first time here was when our daughter, Keara, was 4 months old. We were sailing on White Mist with Jim’s grandfather and his second wife, Anne. We had been anchored in Malagawatch. When the winds started coming real strong, Jim suggested moving White Mist into Little Harbor. Later we learned that we sat out a GALE all snug in Little harbor. Jim remembers Keara sleeping in the pram/bed that we brought on board. He was able to nestle it in to the upper bunk. In the morning, Keara would hold her hands on the edge of the bed and peek out with her big blue eyes – just the top of her head showing – so cute. This is when Keara learned to sit by herself. I remember coming on deck after the big winds diminished. We were hanging out in the cockpit and Keara just sat by herself on the cushion right next to me. This is a thrill for any new mother! Grandaddy Grosvenor thought she looked very cute sitting there and nicknamed her “eagle bait” thinking she’d be a tasty morsel for an eagle to snatch! Sailing brings back so many fun memories .

We think of the sunflower raft here last year with the CCA celebrating  their 90^th anniversary. Everyone jumped in the water and all swam around in the middle of the circle the boats. Little Harbor is a great harbor, but it is not little!

Jim, Ethan, & Sandy consult about repairing the centerboard and fix it! Well, they got it up. They took a swim before dinner. During cocktail hour, Sandy comes over to me and tells me that he feels sad for me that I cannot eat fish. He says he can understand about red meat, but FISH? I tell him about Engine 2 Diet and how I really love vegetables. I assure him that a PBJ has enough protein for me for a day. I am touched by his concern.  I tell him I am sorry to be a pain about it on the boat and he tells me I am not a pain! I like that.

Trudy gets in the galley ( somehow ) and cooks up a great dinner; sautéed veggies for me. They have pork in theirs. We play three games of Harry with Toblerone chocolate for the prize! There are three winners and Ethan is the only guy to win tonight!

Friday August 9^th

Next year August 9^th will be Erin & Fraser’s wedding day! This year I wake up in Little Harbor Nova Scotia. Grey skies greet us followed by rain as we finish up breakfast; granola, OJ, coffee, ½ banana & grilled cranberry bread. What a good idea to grill cranberry bread!

We don our foul weather gear ready for the rain that does douse us! We sail – all three sails; main, jib, & mizzen! Nice breeze gets us going and lightens our spirits as we hear the weather report for rain later and a big storm tomorrow.

We follow the red and green buoys over to St. Peter’s Canal. This is a canal with locks. How nice to tie up in the lock, relax, wait for the water to rise while we eat our lunch! Out the other side, we follow the red and green markers again over to Isle Madame. We enter the pretty harbor of D’Escousse home of the Lennox Passage Yacht Club.

We anchor in the middle of the huge round empty harbor – just one other boat. About a dozen boats are tied up to the dock or in slips near the dock.  An ashore party – Ethan and Trudy, Jim and I take the whaler in to investigate the yacht club and town.  Friendly people greet us as we tie up.

A nice guy at the dock tells us the Wi FI password. I plug in all my stuff, check e-mails, make a phone call to my mom.  It’s great to hear her voice again! They tell us of the storm that is raging down there today. This is the storm we expect to hit us late tonight – wind and rain.

No worries. We walk around and find the little store. Oh, a fresh green apple tastes so good! The houses have some interesting wooden designs detail above the windows. Maybe this is an Acadian thing? This island Acadian.

Back at the boat, Sandy is getting his famous Windigo meatloaf ready. I work alongside him making a vegetable dish for my dinner, too.

He shares a video of Heli-skiing and then we play a fun game of Harry. We are ready and waiting for the storm to come.

Saturday

Yes, the storm arrives in the middle of the night with pelting rain and gale force winds from the southeast. Pouring rain in the morning makes moving from the “caboose” to the main cabin a “foul weather gear affair”.  We are lured over as Sandy prepares poached eggs on brown bread, coffee and OJ! After breakfast, Trudy cooks up an apple crisp making the boat smell all cozy on this rainy Saturday. What s fine day to pause, write up this journal, and read. I am reading The Promised Land a novel of Cape Breton by Bill Conall that Jim’s cousin lent to me. Jim is reading the second book of The Clash of Kings/The Game of Throwns.

We are enjoying a sunny afternoon in D’Escousse.  Tomorrow morning –early- we head out toward the east coast of Nova Scotia. We will make our way to Halifax.

We will be sailing and exploring this fascinating coastline.

Hope all is well with my adventure views blog readers. Thanks for reading.