No Pirates Today
Last night, squeaky clean from showers, we carried our store bought pizza, salad and small container of ice cream to the lounge and prepared our supper there. We were able to see last night’s “The National” so we are somewhat up to date on world affairs. Still so much sadness and strife.
Back at the dock we bathed in the sunshine of FaceTime chats with 3 grandchildren, all who wanted special “tours” of Seabiscuit. Only one has been aboard and that was when he was six months old. Why do children always want to see the steering wheel?
At least she is clean as a whistle after all the heavy rain. We were happy to be at the dock for storms on Wednesday but now it is time to head to a new destination. It is sunny and 15’C, light wind from the southeast.
Everything is charged - from phones to the emergency beacon and our toothbrushes. Both water tanks are full and we have sunny weather ahead so the solar panels will be happy
I settle our bill with the marina and we prepare by unplugging the power, closing all hatches and starting instruments.
This marina staff just keeps showing their kindness! Dion and Brandon come to the dock to say goodbye and to help with our lines. We think we’re going to turn around in the basin ahead of us but as they hold the lines the boat starts to turns itself. With a bit of gear control I am able to turn it around to the entrance to the bay.
We never did visit the gazebo - maybe another time. Being at shore usually means chores and errands and this particular stop also meant 5 loads of laundry and weather delays.
We know we can also visit here by car, so all is not lost.
We raise the sails and actually get about 2 nautical miles along with wind power. It isn’t much but we enjoy the quiet without the engine.
Making our turn at Bloody Point puts the wind on our nose so we’re back to motor sailing again. The air cools and sweaters are retrieved from the cabin.
The ferry is not in Burnside today but a few fishing boats cross our path. A forest fire in 1912 raged through this area, destroying all but two houses in Saint Chads and wiping out the area now known as Burnside.
(We hear news today of 10,000 people being evacuated from Labrador City because of a forest fire just kilometres from the city.)
I test the radar and the boats appear just where they should be. Just after passing Stock Cove Island we are near shore when we hear the blow and spot a small whale between us and the rocks. Two speed boats are approaching at a high speed from behind us. We hope they see it too.
I let the other boats go ahead so their wake doesn’t make our passage any more difficult than it needs to be. With about 100 feet of width and the chart showing an area of 6 feet depth at low tide, we take it slow. We have arrived at Saint Chads, on the Eastport Peninsula, at high tide on purpose!
Passing east of Damnable Island, in the middle of the harbour, we decide to anchor just at the entrance of the eastern cove. Here we will be out of the way of any fishers. It is Friday so we anticipate they’ll be arriving soon for weekend cod fishing.
Anchored in the shelter of Saint Chads. No pirates today
This place used to be named “Damnable”. The word appears in other places - hiking trails for example at Salvage. There is an interesting story to share.
“The name ‘Damnable’ comes from the phrase ‘damn the bell’, which has been part of the vernacular of this region for hundreds of years. We were told the legend of a pirate ship that had been hiding from the British in Saint Chads Harbour. The skipper aboard the vessel snarled the words after accidentally striking a bell that echoed through the bay and notified their adversaries of their hiding location. Now, ‘damnable’ has been cemented into the language and history of the peninsula, and is physically represented by a network of bells at different lookouts along the trail system that hikers can ring upon arrival.” Newfoundland and Labrador.com
It felt like a soup day so even though it is warm here, Harald prepares tomato soup. After our lunch we read and take a closer look at upcoming harbours. We are almost as far south as we had planned to be, except for visiting the Terra Nova National Park Headquarters at the bottom of Newman Sound.
We settle on Salvage for the next couple of days. The weather forecast is good and the hiking there reportedly great. (I have been thinking about this harbour since we first discovered it. The guidebook has very clear instructions and the photos show large fishing boats at the wharf. If it’s passable for them, we can do it too)
Salvage - our next harbour
Supper is coconut curry chicken and vegetable “stew” in the enclosed cockpit. A bald eagle and several terns keep us company.
Reading with our headlamps at dusk is attracting our first real nuisance of mosquitoes. They are finding the tiny openings where the canvas fits around stanchions and lines. We put the screen in the companionway after a hasty retreat to the cabin.
Evening reflection at Saint Chads