A New and Secluded Harbour

Little Ward’s Harbour sits seven nautical miles southwest of Little Bay Island.  The cruise guide states it can “rival God’s Pocket” for protection and good hold.  It is the same length but twice as wide. After five days there, we agree - it is a perfect, quiet anchorage after the busyness of Little Bay Island.

We arrived under sunny skies, passing by one very modern cabin in the larger, outer harbour and one rather “eclectic” property on the starboard side of the narrows into the smaller, inner basin. There is a private mooring ball but we pass by it and anchor exactly where I set the point on the chart. We have over 600 feet of swing room without worry of shallow water.  The shoreline is wide now at low tide, with higher, treed hills beyond.

Harald prepares our gifted cod for supper and the quiet evening invites us for a short paddle around the harbour before the mosquitoes arrive and the earlier darkness now surrounds us.

The air is still uncomfortably warm, the next day, and the water is about 18’C but Harald wants to check our centreboard. With some help, he squeezes into his new wetsuit and takes a little swim. I work the winch and lower and raise the board at his direction from below. All appears to be working as it should be.

The shore is calling so I pack a small snack and we run the dinghy to the shore at the bottom of the bay.  The tide is low creating a very wide “beach” for our landing. We are excited about the mussels - large and in excess.

Our walk is not easy as the path is very narrow and through deep brush. We expect this is actually an animal trail so we remain vigilant as we make our way past the beaver dam in search of the reported remains of the old community and cemetery.  We find neither but do see evidence of moose - fresh evidence - we make our way back to the shore and walk to the cabin at the narrows.

This is an interesting property - house, perhaps a sauna and another log building still being constructed, outdoor wood furnace/fireplace and caribou antlers set high atop a significant pole.  There is nobody here during our stay.

We gather a meal of mussels and pockets of sea glass and broken porcelain before returning to the bottom of the bay where the wind delivers us back to the boat, without need for engine - just paddles to steer.

In coming days we relax, read, play cards and I work on some new paintings. We are visited by cormorants, herons and a lone mussel barrel which has broken away from an aquaculture bed near by. We keep our vigil at the bottom of the bay for a visit from whatever left its “pile” of fresh evidence on the path, but nothing appears while we watch.

Solo paddles get us off the boat for short stints of cardio.  We do not have access to the internet but Jef is able to get a text to us with a screenshot of Hurricane Ernesto’s track.  It appears Newfoundland will be spared but we do sit through heavy cloud on our third and fourth days.  It never rains and the wind and water remain cordial.

I would prefer to leave at high tide as the narrows are just that - narrow and shallow on both sides. It is a bit cloudy and there is no wind in the basin.  The forecast is for variable wind, 10-15 knots.  We expect we will be motoring to our next destination.   It was only 10’C at 7:00am. Some of the birch trees are now showing golden leaves - fall is just around the corner.