Mary’s Harbour
So much for an early departure - we’re up at 7:00am and we can’t see the other islands so close around us - fog. So we linger and finally depart at 11:00, passing through the American Tickle.
The ice berg we saw the day before is now sitting close to shore east of us, but the area ahead is a minefield of bergey bits - smaller but not good to hit! I steer around them until we are in a clear zone. So much to watch for!
It is cloudy and cold. We are bundled up as seems to be the new norm, even when warm at shore it is much cooler on the water.
We sail downwind past Western and Eastern Islands, leaving them to port, rather than attempting to pass between them and the shore. Another, much larger, iceberg can be seen just south of Great Caribou and Battle Islands. This one will be spotted again a few days later: very identifiable with its twin-tower structure.
Moving inland, we motor-sail past Wall, Tilcey and Seal Islands and the harbour at Cape Charles. There is still plenty of wind to motor sail 6 knots with the main, through the narrow channel at Paddy Bonds Island. Soon we are moving along the southern shores of St. Lewis Sound and approaching the markers for Rumbolts Cove and Mary’s Harbour beyond.
Harbour master, Barry, greets us and says our position is not right for the expected wind so we move to the inner harbour, along side the fish plant, to fill the water tank, and then Barry greets us back on the opposite side of the inner harbour to grab our lines and secure our position. (Glad for the water fill-up but we have gone 9 days still on the first tank so we are doing well with conservation!)
Barry gives us his number to call if we need anything and asks us to call him when we are ready to “check out”. $7.50 per night and hydro pay as you use. There are no washrooms or showers since the road was put in. We were also perplexed by this reasoning??? I guess the fishermen can drive home now to shower so the showers are no longer available to pleasure boaters like us. Guess there just aren’t enough of us to make it worth having.
The day is sunny and warm so we walk the 1km to Simms Cash & Carry for milk, eggs, fresh bread, 3 tomatoes, a bag of chips, some sweet buns, 1/2lb ground beef and a small $13 turkey breast. $53 grocery tab and no other fresh produce. I guess it’s almost time for the cans and dehydrated goodies we brought with us for this reason.
It is cloudy when we start moving on Saturday morning but soon the sun is out and eventually it reaches 27’C. The locals are all complaining about the heat! We’re complaining about the black flies!
I spend some time trying to catch up on the blog and I write post cards to be mailed to the grandkids. Then we walk back the 1km to the post office and head further along the road to the bridge over the St. Mary’s River.
St. Mary's River was the site of a salmon fishery as early as the 1780's. However Mary's Harbour was not a permanent settlement until after a fire at Battle Harbour in 1930 destroyed the Grenfell hospital and boarding school there. Mary's Harbour has always depended on the fishery for its livelihood. Since the cod moratorium the community has thrived on the crab fishery. The Labrador Fishermen's Union Shrimp Company employs over 120 people at the local crab processing facility. Salt cod is also being processed so this is the busiest fishing harbour we have come across.
Sadly, the annual Crab Festival was cancelled for the third year due to Covid-19. This was something we were hoping to attend. (Barry kindly delivered some fresh/frozen crab for us to take with us when we left on Sunday. His wife insisted we not leave without some crab.)
Seamus O’Regan, MP, was here just two days ago and fortunately I saw his Instagram post or we would not have known about the Great Caribou Studio and Cafe. After a short detour checking out the White Water Falls hiking trail, we head to the cafe. Wow!
We thought nice coffee and a little gander were in order but we did not expect to stay almost 3 hours chatting with the manager, staff and two other diners. The lattes, cloud berry danish and fresh salad were delicious but the conversation was awesome.
We are enjoying our lunch and perusing a book about the area when I ask one of the diners if there are any moose in the area. Bert tells us there aren’t many but he shows us a video on his phone taken just a few weeks ago of a caribou and calf running along a ridge on Great Caribou Island. He explains there have not been caribou sighted there in over 100 years.
The conversation then turns to us with the usual questions about where we are from and where we are going. We mention being in the fog in Red Bay and the manager asks if we were there for five days. Well! Her husband is the man who delivered our new dinghy paddles! Small world, but also a small place. It still makes us all laugh at the way we have been connected again.
The people here are mostly Inuit, including the cafe owner, manager and and two young staff. They bake all goods fresh, create paintings, sew cotton duck jackets, create beadwork and hand knit slippers, sweaters and “trigger” mittens. The duffle cloth hanging inside the door has been entered into a contest, with the winner soon to be announced from The Rooms in St. John’s. The cafe owner’s work is truly beautiful with seal fur, beadwork, caribou bone and embroidery …..depicting life in Labrador.
We leave with our purchases and connections with new friends.
Mary’s Harbour is an exceptional place with very kind and friendly people.
Nakkumeksuak