Fortune Harbour

The sun is trying to poke through the fog when we get up on Saturday morning. By noon we can see the distant hills so we raise the mainsail and the anchor and head North and then turn West around Birchy Island.  Freighters pass behind us, one up bound and the other down to Lewisporte.

Now we have a clear view of the bergs at Shoal Tickle - the ones we saw on July 1 on our little road trip. There is a larger one off Spruce Island and it appears to have a large bergy bit field across our path.

We are motor sailing on a good track but the wind is light. Southwest of Exploits Islands we are travelling at 7mph in the noted current. The wind is 10knots from the NE.  We are relaxed, running the autohelm. There is a large ice berg off shore that fades in and out of view in the distant fog.

There is another smaller berg in Indian Cove as we round Indian Cove Point, entering the s-curve channel toward the village of Fortune. We take the last turn and head West to settle off Gillespie Island at 4:45pm.  I send the signal home and Harald reinstalls the 1” stainless steel lifeline tubing - the aft port rail which just fell down for no apparent reason as we were entering the safety of the harbour. (There’s a theme building we aren’t too happy with.)

It is all very familiar after our two stops here last year. The deserted mussel farm now has a pontoon boat sitting in the middle of it. Maybe the farm is being removed?

During our supper of BBQd ribs and salads, we make our decision to leave Labrador for another year. We are both disappointed but know this makes sense. Our radar and VHF radio are acting up, our wind vane is not transmitting to our instruments, we left too late and we know this is a record year for ice between here and our planned destination.(Coast Guard continues to report 100+ bergs between here and Labrador).  So we have two months to take our time up the Northern Peninsula with more time to explore places we visited last summer and to see some new places, too.

There is no cell service here but we plan to send a note to the family, confirming our travel decision, as soon as we can. In the meantime, we will stay here two nights. Maybe we’ll travel to shore to visit the oldest wooden church in Newfoundland.

Again there is no need for the heater but the boards are in when we settle at 11:30, both feeling some relief that The Big Land will still be there when we finally get to see her coast again.

Sunday is sunny and warm with a 10knot wind from the east.  After breakfast of French Toast and fresh strawberries, Harald caulks around the leaky windows and tightens the stanchions. I air out the bedding and edit yesterday’s photos.

We are amazed by the movement of fog coming in through the channels east and west of us. It creeps towards us and eventually we can no longer see any shorelines. Very eerie yet kind of magical too.  The fog killed the breeze and we can just make out the white circle of sun through the fog before it sets behind us.

Harald wins Phase 10 tonight with a score of 35 to my 40!  It’s getting serious.

After dinner we prepare for our morning departure. It is so quiet.  Harald turns pages. My knitting needles click.

Surgeon Cove Point Lighthouse