Henley Harbour
Henley Harbour is a place we have always wanted to visit after seeing Ed O’Reilly’s videos and Jayne & Mike’s account as they wandered the hills. The “iron jenny” had to be used to get us here after the wind changed to variable before it was forecasted to change from southwest.
We get the enclosure secured and enjoy a cold beverage before we both retire for a rainy afternoon nap. Tomato soup and grilled cheese are the perfect supper for such an evening. We play a tied game of Skipbo and head to bed….looking forward to tomorrow’s day of exploring this incredible place - Henley Harbour in Chateau Bay.
The night is cut short at 5:00am as the winds pick up to 30 knots. (Katabatic?) Harald is up and dressed, just in case. I linger another three hours before I get up to make French toast as we review upcoming harbours and try to make some plans for coming days. We know we want to be off of the Labrador shore by the 7th of August, as we still have many places to explore from here to Lewisporte.
Harald packs the shore bag and readies the dinghy, while I clean up and change into lined pants, wool socks, marino wool base layer, fisherman knit sweater, neck warmer, wind breaker, lined boots, tuque and gloves.
The dinghy gets us to the shore where we tie up and start our walk up the slope toward the “Devils Dining Table”. There are many deserted and crumbled dwellings, remains of a life 40 years ago when families lived here over the summer months. Before a closer look at the buildings we head along the dense, spongy ground cover past the rock outcrop, finding the cemetery.
Again we find names and ages from long ago, many just children. All of the names are “Stone” so we have to wonder if there is another cemetery in the area. I understood from Ed that there was a very old cemetery, possibly back to the 1800s, and also a plaque commemorating the British-Inuit Treaty of 1765. We find neither on Henley Island.
Henley Harbour was defended by an English fort built in 1766. We know where to find the footprint of the fort walls but our dinghy won’t get us there in today’s wind. We will leave it for others to see; knowing it is there and part of this place’s history is enough for today.
Climbing the ridge we see the open water and our first iceberg! Many bergey bits follow between it and us, so we know to be mindful tomorrow as we make our way further north. It is a sight we have been longing to see.
The next two hours are spent wandering and looking into the many deserted buildings - a church or a school? Some houses still hold dishes, bed frames, a living-room chair. Curtains flutter in broken windows and abandoned fishing equipment sit near or in the stages - not stable enough to wander any closer.
This is all from a life before when families lived here in the summer to fish, with some travelling to the head of Pitts Harbour for the winters. These families all left under the government’s resettlement plan, moving people to larger centres where they could be supported by hospitals, schools and other public amenities. Bob explained all of this to us, including that his parents were given $1800 to resettle. They moved to Red Bay where they bought a house for $1000. Bob returns to Henley when he can for summer fishing
We can see that some of the cabins are clearly still being used for summer occupation. Nobody is here today, though, as we wander and imagine and revel in the opportunity to see and explore.
Many photos are taken, but the best is the one of Seabiscuit, sitting alone in Henley Harbour under the watchful eye of “The Devil’s Dining Table”.
Our walk ashore has left us tired and contemplative so we linger in the cockpit, in the sun, until chores call us. Dinner is steak and veggies in the warm cockpit. Harald raises the dinghy and we prepare to leave this memorable place tomorrow morning.
The dishes are done, the heat is on and the cards are dealt. Another exceptional and memorable day.