Good-bye La Scie, Hello Nippers
We chose a warm, clear day to head further south after Mr. Bath came by with two meals of filleted cod for us. We are off the dock at 8:30 with the wind from the south. The sailing ends as soon as we turn south around Cape St. John.
Motor sailing down the east shore of the Baie Verte Peninsula, I take note of the resettled communities along the way. We pass Tilt Cove, where it is reported only four people remain, Round Harbour, where apparently there is only one summer residence in use and Indian Burying Place, abandoned long ago.
It is easy to make out Three Arms ahead of us, but we are heading into Nippers Harbour, our last stop on the Peninsula. The twenty-seven mile journey was pleasant and the entrance to the harbour is easy to find behind Nippers Island and the Gull Island Bank. They said, “aim for the church”.
Rounding the red marker I see the actual harbour is not so easy to enter. As the CCA Guide told us, “everything is very close”. It is, however, well marked: a green marker on port, along side the abandoned fish plant and wharf and another red on starboard, marking the small peninsula jutting into the channel.
Once inside the small basin, with just 225 feet to play in, we see there is only one possible spot for us and it has been taken by a very small runabout. They are about to leave and signal us to come in. I maneuver through the small space, turning and waiting and turning again, eventually approaching the wharf where a fellow takes our lines. He tells us there is no fish expected today so we are ok at the boom and crane.
Some longliners do go out and return within the hour - perhaps laying their nets for tomorrow. The commercial cod fishery will close on Sunday and then reopen in a few weeks.
Having shore power is a bonus as we haven’t had it since Fleur de Lys. I make grilled cheese sandwiches and plug in everything needing a charge. We are grateful to have the boat batteries charged too, as we anticipate several days of rain ahead.
It is always a bonus arriving at an overnight stop with some daylight and fine weather. We take in the Harbour View Trail after being warned the one on the other side of the harbour may not be safe: the boardwalk is overgrown and in disrepair and there has recently been a bear and a moose spotted along the way.
The walk takes us along the shore until we come out in a residential area. There are no houses along the wharf basin as in other communities. (This made for a very quiet night.) We eventually end up at the “pavement” and walk to the gravel turnoff to the harbour. We only walked an hour, much of it uphill and had forgotten to pack our water. The shade, a cool drink and a nap are very welcome on our return to the boat.
It is also nice to have leftovers on days like this, so we don’t have to prepare dinner after sailing five hours and completing a warm walk. Beef stew and early to bed. (There are nippers in Nippers Harbour.)
