A Scuff and A New Harbour
The day has come for us to leave this comfortable and hospitable harbour. We have 18 nautical miles to travel but we are both a bit tired after our late night out at the Garden Party Dance. The fog rolled in all day Saturday, so we planned to stay. The dance was just an added bonus!
We do not understand why events here start at 10:00, with people telling us “don’t go before 10:30.” We are really wanting to prepare for bed but instead find ourselves putting on our best jeans and shirts and making the ten minute walk to the town hall. The music is about to start and we find room at a table with Phil and Gail who we met at Eddie’s a few nights before. We are amazed at how many in the room we actually “know”! Clara is there with her sister and brother-in-law. There are people from Conche, including a lady we met at that Garden Party, Eddie and others we have seen on our walks. We are sorry Wade will not be coming as we had hoped to spend more time with him and to finally meet his wife.
But it is far too loud for any conversation so we enjoy the music, dance and sing and I have a great “scuff” with Eddie. We know the party will continue long into the night (early morning) but we leave about 12:30. Revellers are in the street and parties continue in homes. This is indeed a great time to be in Goose Cove!
Foggy Saturday
Leaving is not easy: the Garden Party continues with a turkey dinner and matinee this afternoon. The weather is now dry, the wind favourable and the sea state looks comfortable when we climb the hill around the gazebo to see for ourselves.
Eddie comes out to his porch as we head back to the wharf. Wade is there, too and they both try to encourage us to stay for at least another day. It is tempting but we know we must move on, south. This looks like the best day for the next several.
We say our “good-byes” and express our thanks, again, telling them both we will return some day, maybe not by boat but that we will see them again. (Garden Party is always the weekend closest to August 15th!) Hugs and handshakes. Eddie explains sharing what they have is natural. “Pass it on”.
Leaving Goose Cove
We ready the boat. I make egg salad sandwiches and Harald prepares the lines and fenders for an easy departure. Wade and Eddie come down to the wharf, dressed for the dinner and matinee but they ease our lines and Eddie asks us to raise the sails and circle the harbour. We cannot deny him this simple request and raise the main coming past the town hall where we can see the people assembling for the afternoon’s party. We blast the air horn and wave to the fellows on the wharf.
It is 12:45 on Sunday August 13 and we have now begun our journey back south. We did not sail to Labrador or even into St. Anthony, but we have so much to add to our story after our five day stay in Goose Cove.
By 2:30 the sun is coming out and the 2-3 metre swells are manageable. We dine on our sandwiches and watch for whales as we approach the southern shore of Hare Bay.
We are sailing up to 7 knots on a beam reach (wind coming from the side) and heading toward Fischot Island. We sneak between Massacre and Melier Islands, aware of the shoals so visible by the breaking waves. Slowly, heading up toward the wind, on a close haul course, we pass through the Fischot Channel without needing the engine. We have it running, though, at the ready.
A small herd of caribou is outlined on the ridges of Fischot Island, just where Bob said he saw them.
A minke slips past us about fifty feet from our hull. Large and black and so graceful.
Great Day for a Sail
We pass St. Julien’s Island and harbour, heading to Croque for the night. This will be a new harbour for us so the anticipation builds as we near the outer harbour. The recommended anchorage sits 2.6nm from the outer harbour, past Irish Bay and Fisherman’s Cove and the small deserted fishing village of Croque.
The shore houses at least six fishing stages and ochre-coloured wooden stores. There are small fishing boats tied to each wharf, evidence that the village is inhabited in the summer months. The CCA Cruising Guide tells us in 1999 “this was still an active community….with one small store. By 2012 there were only one or two summer cottages.” Seems there has been an explosion of inhabitants in the last decades. There are a few very modern, large houses. That is good to see. It is always a pleasure to pull in and find people to wave to. They make us feel welcome when they return the wave.
The Canadian Sailing Directions mention the submerged ruins of the government wharf and cribbing. I am concerned as we pass this on starboard and the noted shallow water on port side. The chart does not provide depths beyond this point but we are at high tide so we proceed with caution. There are several markers now in place, where I believe the wharf would have been, so I pass with relief through the narrow channel.
I had also read of the large white cross noting the village cemetery which we see is very small and nestled behind the stages. Most old cemeteries we have found to be away from the villages, usually on hills with a view!
We anchor just past the village in the small pool on the south shore, as recommended by the cruising guide and by other sailors who have come before us.
A pair of osprey and a loon greet us. Some families head out to get cod, the last day for fishing this week.
It is 4:30 and we are both tired from our late night in Goose Cove and an invigorating sail. We nap in the cockpit without covering the mainsail or putting up the full enclosure. Supper is easy - leftover stew. We head to bed early and sleep soundly until dawn.