Newfoundland to Maine

It was a beautiful sunny day as we left Baddeck, Cape Bretton

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Exiting the Bras d'Or Lakes, Cape Bretton

We visited the Traffic Control Center in Port aux Basque, Elizabeth tries out the Controllers chair

Port aux Basque

A local band entertains us at Port aux Basque

The rally crew enjoy the music

Fog rolls into the harbour at Port aux Basque

Pete make the most of the weather and has fun fishing for Mackerel which are very tasty smoked

Saliander visits Burnt Island

Most of the fishermen have their own store houses and docks. Lobster season is now closed and the pots are now stacked up on the docks

We visited the fish processing plant at Burnt Island and saw this 200lb Halibut

The fog cleared enough to see Rose Blanch light house as we entered Bay Le Moine

Nice and calm up in Bay Le Moine, however once outside the entrance it was another rolly motorsail

Lots of spectacular waterfalls up in the fiord's

A few rare hours of sunshine in Little Bay

Little Bay harbour

The rally fleet anchored in Long Reach, Burgeo during the "blow me down"

We enjoyed meeting some of the locals at our dinner in Burgeo

Burgeo

The fishermen build wooden ramps to haul their boats out

Wild Irises surround the board walk that has been built around the circumference of Ramea Island

Not much of a view from the light house at Ramea Island because of the ever present fog

Ramea Island bank???

Jerts Cove on Grey River

Grey River

We watched a Black Bear meandering along the river bank in Grey River

The fiord's look quite mystical in the fog

Pete checks out the river for Trout, but no luck

Mexican Dominoes on board Moonshadow Star with Sandy, Tamsin, Brian and David 

View from the Friar at Fransois

We met up with Ivan and his brother Ed in Fransois, on a fishing trip from Burgeo

Dock party in Fransois

Washing day on Saliander - making the most of the sunshine in Fransois

Spectacular views from the waterfall in Hare Bay

Pete battles the black flies to catch some Trout!!!

The water is up to 200m deep in the fiord's

The "old boys" sit and chew the fat on the docks at Grand Bank

Frank took us for a "Tiki Tour" around Grand Bank and we dropped in for a cuppa with his daughter Vivienne

Grand Bank Harbour

We saw a great show in Grand Bank, "Cod on a Stick", and after the show Tamsin and David get initiated as new members of the OCC. Unfortunately for them it was done Newfie style - they had to drink a shot of Screech (local rum) and kiss a Cod Fish

Some of the fleet got dressed for the occasion in St Pierre

Yeah, a sunny day for our tour around St Pierre

Three cheers for Glide as she arrives in St Pierre minus her mast

St Pierre

They still use capstans to haul out the dory's in St Pierre

The old fortified town of Louisbourg

Fort Louisbourg

We were challenged by the guards at Louisbourg to prove we were not English spies before we could enter the town

The Louisbourg villagers living in the year 1744 go about their daily business

While the Louisbourg children dance and play games

It was another sunny day when most of the fleet in the OCC rally set off from Baddeck at 5.30am on 8th July. There were several nationalities making up the crews, we were the only Antipodeans, the rest were from England, Scotland, Canada, south Africa and the majority were Americans. The plan was to head out of the Bras d'Or Lakes through Great Bras d'Or Channel and over to Ingonish on Cape Bretton for the night, then over to Port aux Basque, Newfoundland the following day. It's important to exit the Lakes on an out going tide because of the strong current, as we found out when we got "spat out" the other end of the channel doing 10 knots over the ground. There was no wind when we first exited the Lakes and we were motoring along enjoying the scenery, including a pilot whale that surface several times near us, and a Puffin bird that circled around us for about half an hour. Then the wind started filling in so we decided to take it and head over directly to Port aux Basque, most of the fleet followed suit except for 4 boats who continued on to Ingonish as per the original plan. The wind was quite light on our stern so we put up the spinnaker and managed to sail most of the way on the 200nml journey, with 4 hours motoring at the end of the trip. We were also grateful for the moderate seas, as the Cabot straight has a nasty reputation. We arrived at 2.30am on 9th July and rafted up on the public wharf next to the South African boat, Imvubu. Later in the day we went out on anchor as the wind was increasing and it would have been uncomfortable where we were on the dock. We came back into town in the dinghy late afternoon, however halfway over the outboard decided to stop and despite Pete's repeated attempts it refused to go. We couldn't turn back to Saliander as the wind was pushing us toward the town so Pete started rowing. The wind blew us towards the rocks and just as we were about to throw out the anchor the crew from Imvubu arrived in their tender to rescue us. They took us back to Imvubu for a warming cup of tea, then we had a wet ride towing the dinghy back to Saliander, but we weren't complaining, we were very lucky and grateful that they saw us.

Port aux Basques is on the south west tip of Newfoundland with a population of 4,000. The local Newfoundlanders, or "Newfies" as they are affectionately called, were excited to have us in port and we attracted a lot of attention. Doug and Dale (the rally organisers) arranged a trip up to the Traffic Control tower, where they keep a close watch on boat traffic within a 7 nml radius of Port Aux Basque as it is busy with fast ferries coming to and from Sydney, Cape Bretton. The town also organised an outdoor concert in our honour. The band was great, they played songs from the 70's and 80's, and our group enjoyed some exercise dancing, the locals weren't too impressed with our Jig though.... There is a strong English, Irish and Scottish connection in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, a lot of the locals talk with heavy accents and enjoy Celtic music and doing the Jig. The Irish humour is still there too so we had a lot of laughs with them.

Most of the fleet departed Port aux Basque on 11th July and spread out along the coast in various anchorages, most of the anchorages can only hold a few boats so we had to co-ordinate to make sure we didn't all try and jam into the same bay. We went to Burnt Islands where we tied up on the town dock, along with "Sweet Dreams" (another OCC rally boat) who arrived later in the day. Burnt Islands is a small town with a population of around 400 and the only industry there is a fish processing plant. It has a great general store which sells everything from furniture, appliances and hardware to food stuffs. Like a lot of these small communities along the coast, most of the men in the community have to go Ontario, Alberta and various other parts of Canada to find work, and they generally come home one month out of four. We visited the local museum and also the fish processing plant where we brought some Cod fillets and Cod tongues which we cooked up for dinner. I'm not sure I'm too fussed on the tongues, but the fillets were very nice.

The coastline is very rocky with little islands and rocks sheltering the anchorages, so when we left Burnt Islands on 12th July we got quite a surprise to find out just how rough the seas were outside the bay. There was no wind to speak of so we rolled our way 20nmls along the coast to our next anchorage, Bay Le Moine, but by the time we made our way up the 4 nmls to the head of the fiord it was a nice calm anchorage, which we had all to ourselves. There were 5 unoccupied holiday cottages in the bay and a couple of good looking streams feeding into the bay. Pete was itching to get out and do some trout fishing, but the fine misty drizzle was not conducive to fishing that night so he had to wait until the next morning. He set off wearing his mosquito proof clothing, ie a beekeepers netting hat and covered from head to toe, which is essential in these parts, He had fun catching some Brook Trout, but they were too small to eat. By lunch time the clouds had lifted and we were able to fully appreciate the stunning scenery with the numerous waterfalls cascading down the mountains that surround the bush clad inlet.

On 13th July we had another motor sail in the fog to our next stop, Little Bay in La Poile. The fog lifted as we entered the channel into Little Bay and the sun came out to give us a great view of the little town which consists of 30 houses, a General Store/Post Office and a small school. The town's only access is by boat as there are no roads to the town, however they have a ferry calling in twice a day bringing everything the town needs from groceries to timber etc. There are paths connecting all the houses, so the people either walk or ride their ATV's (Quad Bikes) around town which is less than a kilometer long. The next morning we followed the Canadian Rangers, a group of volunteers who patrol the coastline (a bit like "Dads Army"), up 5nmls to the head of La Poile Bay. They were heading up to go salmon fishing, so Pete folloewd them up to do some trout fishing as he can only Salmon fish in the company of a certified guide. Pete only caught a few "tiddlers" which got thrown back, so by 11am we had swallowed the hook and set course for Burgeo where we were due for our next rendezvous with the rally fleet. On our arrival at 7pm we anchored with 20 of the other boats in Long Reach, what we thought was a nice sheltered anchorage. However during the night the wind picked up and by the morning we were having what is known by the locals as a "blow me down", in which 4 boats dragged anchor. Pete spent the morning assisting Harry on Wind Watch who was on his own and motoring up and down the anchorage with a huge stack of kelp hanging off his anchor. His dinghy had also flipped over giving his outboard motor a nice dunking in salt water. He then helped Etheria who was having trouble getting their 2 anchors to hold, the problem was finally solved by borrowing a bigger anchor off another boat, Hawk. The wind calmed down by the late afternoon which was just as well because we were all due ashore for a dinner and entertainment put on by the locals. The meal was a great spread of local fare such as Moose Soup, Cod Pie, Cod Cakes, Scalded Buns followed by Partridge Berry Pie (which was to die for). A local band kept us entertained and gave us anther opportunity to practise our Jig, not sure if there was any improvement though..... The following day we explored the town and checked out the sights.

17th July it was time to move on, so after a morning exploring the nearby islands by dinghy, we headed off to the Island of Ramea, 15nmls south east of Burgeo. We arrived in thick fog and this time it didn't lift as we tried to find a suitable place to park on the town dock. Two other rally boats, Lalize and Etheria, had also diverted to the island, while the rest of the fleet continued along the southern coast. Most of the inhabitants on the islands and smaller remote villages have been encouraged by the Canadian Government to relocate to the bigger towns like Burgeo where there are more jobs, however this outpost has managed to survive and like so many other coastal towns they rely on fishing to provide the main income. There are approx 60 houses in this town, 2 stores, a Post Office and a restaurant. The ferry also calls 2 times per day bringing supplies and tourists from Burgeo, perhaps if they can develop tourism the town might have a good chance of surviving long term. We stayed another day and despite the lingering fog we did manage to explore the island on the boardwalks erected around the perimeter of the island and Pete did a temporary fix to plug a hole worn in the generator sump which was causing the oil to leak out, hopefully it will last until he can do a more permanent job which will be a bit of a major operation.

From Ramera Island we went back to the main coast and entered Grey River, another spectacular fiord where the steep sided mountains created a deep valley for the river to flow at depths of 200m down into the ocean. The mist hanging around the tops of the mountains added to the stunning vista giving it an air of mystery and we were excited about spotting a Black Bear meandering along the shore line. We shared the anchorage near the head of the bay with 10 other rally boats. The mist hung around but it didn't stop us from exploring in the dinghy and we were rewarded with the sighting of a Caribou. Pete went trout fishing, but was once again disappointed with the size of the trout he caught and the black flies added to his misery as they left their unwelcome trademarks to his hands which were already bitten, swollen and sore from previous fishing excursions. That night we were serenaded by the howling Coyotes which echoed around the fiord reminding us how remote this wilderness area is.

21st July was another rolly motorsail along the coast to Fransois with a light fog surrounding the entrance, however once inside the fog lifted to reveal a delightful town at the head of the bay surrounded on 3 sides by towering mountains called the Friar. We rafted up at the town dock along side Glide and were in the company of 8 other rally boats. We took advantage of the fine weather, which as you may have guessed is rare in these parts, and climbed up the Friar where we got great views of the surrounding area. A waterfall runs down through the center of the town and is fed from a series of lakes on the hill tops, so we enjoyed a walk around the lowest lake while the local teenagers had fun swimming in the icy waters. On our return to the town we were delighted to meet up with Ivan, a fishing guide who we had met in Burgeo. He was on his boat for a weeks fishing and exploring with his brother Ed, so we joined them for a beer and a few yarns. Then it was time to join the other rally crew for a sunset dock party and share some of our adventures. The next day Pete went up for a fish in the lake but once again got driven out by the swarming black flies and lack of edible sized trout. On that note we left town and motored around to Hare Bay, another spectacular fiord. There were no towns here, only an occasional holiday cottage doted along the shoreline. We had another rare sunny day, so we climbed up the side of a waterfall, and when we reached the river at the top where Pete intended to try his luck fishing we were once again driven of by the little black critters who rule the land..... We did however catch some Cod from the boat halfway down the fiord, which Pete promptly filleted. However to my dismay we discovered they had worms crawling out of the fillets and despite Pete's protests I made him return them to the sea. We have since learnt that they all have the worm and the fish plants remove the worms as they travel along a glass conveyor with lights shining up from underneath.

We set off for Grand Banks on 24/7 and had our first decent sail in weeks, and with wind gusts over 30 knots we were flying along at 9-10 knots - yahooo. Unfortunately we had a “Mayday” call from Glide, who was coming from a different direction and beating into the wind. They lost the top section of their mast when a swage fitting on the back stay gave way. They were unable to cut the rigging free which was dangling over the side along so were in a precarious situation as they couldn’t use their motor for fear of catching a rope or sail etc around the prop. Moonshadow Star, another rally yacht, came to their assistance, along with Windermere, a 65ft converted trawler (the only power boat in the rally). Windermere was able to tow them back to a safe anchorage where the locals bent over backwards to help the injured yacht by removing their mast and rigging etc, to enable them to continue on the rally.

Grand Banks is one of the larger towns on the southern coast with a population of 2,500, and it was another rendezvous point for the Rally boats. We all rafted up 3 deep at the town docks and arrival caused great excitement with the locals, they don’t get many boats visiting this part of the world so we were treated like royalty. The towns people came out in their droves to check us out and we had a steady stream of pedestrians and cars filling along the docks. Pete and I met a local man named Frank, he was quite a character with lots of interesting stories and jokes. Frank has a New Zealand connection as his late brother was living there most of his adult life and Frank and his late wife had the opportunity to visit them 30 years ago. Frank took us on a tour of the area and we had a wonderful night when his 2 daughters, Vivien and Patsy, with their husbands, Jack and Glen, came down to visit us on board Saliander with Frank. The "Newfie" hospitality continued in Grand Banks with a luncheon and a wonderful theater/dinner. The show, a musical comedy called "Cod on a Stick" , very funny and very well done and the meal, Cod of course, was equally good. We visited several museums along the Newfoundland coast, including the two in Grand Banks, which were all very interesting and enlightening. Our celebrity status was enhance by the television crew who turned up to interview some of the captains, Pete being one of them. The footage was aired on the news over 2 nights, unfortunately we all had previous engagements with the locals so never got to see the interviews.

In the early days Newfoundland was visited by fishermen from Britain, Ireland, France and Portugal, but by 1600's the English and French were the predominant settlers. In 1713 the French ceded control of Newfoundland to the British, however retained the nearby Islands of St Pierre and Miquelon.These days Newfoundland is part of Canada.

Our final destination of the rally was St Pierre and on 28/7 we motorsailed in convoy over to St Pierre. The television crew were awaiting our arrival however the misty rain that greeted our arrival put paid to a grand entrance and one by one we slipped into the harbour to tie up on the docks. Our clearing in was made easy by the authorities who allowed us to fill out the paper work at the yacht club where we received a warm welcome from some of the local celebrities, along with drinks. St Pierre is quite a contrast to Newfoundland which is very laid back and rural, where as St Pierre is like a mini France with cars bustling about the town, the girls in their latest fashions, French bread and croissants, and the sophisticated French cuisine that is served at their restaurants. The prices are the same as Newfoundland except they change the dollar sign to the EU, so by the time we convert it back to Kiwi we're paying almost double the price. Pete and I were chosen to be interviewed by the local radio station which operates during the summer months. I got stage fright (can you believe it, all my limited French language deserted me and could only mutter a few mono syllable words in English), however luckily Pete has the gift of the gab (so to speak) and was able to give out some more detailed information about our trip. We had a lovely sunny day for our tour around the island which has a population of 6,000 and receives 13,000 visitors over the summer months. A good number of the residents have come from France and are employed by the government. There is not a lot of industry on the island and the big fish plant that employed a lot of people has recently closed down. The island therefore depends heavily on the support of their mother land France where most goods are imported from. Most of the crews had great delight in stocking their fridges with French delicacies including wines, cheese and Pates to go with their French bread and Croissants. Glide managed to catch up with the rally fleet in St Pierre with the help of Farring who stayed behind with them to act as their guide through the fog, as Glide had lost their radar when their mast came down

We did a good walk up around the top of the town, but alas the fog had returned so we didn't get to see much of the view, As you've probably guessed by now the fog is very prevalent at this time of the year in theses parts. It's not like the fog we get back home, it’s a sea fog which can hang around for days, even if it's windy, so you rely heavily on your radar and GPS. On 29/7 we had a great farewell dinner with all the rally crew members, where we chatted about our highlights and experiences of the 3 week rally which was coming to an end. A lot of planning and preparation went into organising the rally and making it so successful, especially by the rally organisers, Doug and Dale (Blue Water), and we’re also very grateful for all the locals who organised our wonderful diners and entertainment. Boats started their departure from St Pierre on 31/7 to go off in their different directions, most will be heading back down through Maine at some stage so no doubt we'll meet up with a few on our way back down south.

It was a lovely sunny day when we left St Pierre on 1/8 and as we were making our way around the island to head for Louisbourg in Cape Bretton we spotted a pod of about 6 whales. We managed to get about 1/4 mile away from them to watch their water spouts shoot up high in the air at random times, like musical fountains. The fog arrived to engulf us mid afternoon and we had to motor sail for almost half of the 200nml trip until the wind finally kicked to allow us to sail. 7 other boats left from St Pierre that day and 4 of us headed for Louisbourg, Cape Bretton, arriving at staggered times on 2/8 to be cleared in by Customs.

Louisbourg was settled by the French who erected a fortified town by the harbour in 1713, it was the center of fihing and trade During the 18th century the French and British struggled for control of North America and in 1745 and again in 1758 the British besieged and captured the fort. On the second occasion after the inhabitants had fled they destroyed the town by bombing the walls and the buildings to ensure the French would not return. Over time the remnants of town disappeared completely under a layer of earth. However in the 1960's a lot of coal miners became unemployed when the government closed the mines, so the miners were put to use rebuilding the town and fort from the original detailed plans. They have done a wonderful job of resurrecting on third of the town, leaving the rest to be discovered by future generations. When we visited the town we were met at the gates by a soldier dressed in uniform from 1744, the year the British attacked the castle. We were challenged by the soldier to prove that we weren't spies for the British before being allowed to enter. Once inside we mingled with the towns people who were also dressed appropriately for 1744 and were busy going about their business as Blacksmiths, Bakers, Gardeners and Soldiers etc. It was all extremely well done and very interesting.

We set sail to head south on 4/8 and carried a good wind for 250nmls before having to motor the last 60mnls to arrive in Shelburne, on the south eastern end of Nova Scotia, at dusk on 5/8. We met up with 2 other rally boats, Scallywag II and Twice Eleven and also received a warm welcome back from Darlene, Asst Manager at the yacht club. Shelburne was a good place to catch up on laundry, stock up on fruit and veg etc, and we enjoyed taking part in the "Dock Party" st the yacht club after their Annual Regatta, but after 4 days it was time to leave Canada and head back to Maine in USA.

We’d had 2 days of rain, so it was nice to see some sunshine as we left Shelburne harbour on 9/8. We started out motorsailing as there wasn’t much wind. As we approached Cape Sable there were large numbers of birds congregating in groups on the water which were feeding on some large schools of fish. The fish were also being hunted from below by several whales that were cruising around the area so we stopped to watch them as they surfaced for air periodically. Once we rounded the southern tip of Nova Scotia and started crossing the Bay of Fundy the wind made an appearance and stayed with us for the rest of the passage. After sun up on 10/8 the rain arrived and 8.30am the wind picked up speed. Within what seemed like minutes the wind had increased from a comfortable 10-15knots to 25-35knots with gusts up over 50knots. It didin’t take long for the seas to build and before too long we were surfing down 6-7ft waves as the frontal system increased in it’s intensity. We rolled up the headsail and put 2 reefs in the main to reduce our sail area, but we were still doing 9-10knots and at one stage hit 14.5 knots as we surfed down a wave. We had thought we may get some protection when we reached the outer islands of Penobscot Bay, but the wind and waves continued to push us from behind. We had to be careful not to jibe as we dodged out way around the buoys marking the lobster pots that litter the channel. In the midst of all this we watched a whale breaching ahead of us, it was an amazing sight to see something of that size launch itself into the air and come crashing down into the water on it’s back sending a huge spray of water into the air. The wind and seas finally calmed about 2nmls before we reached our destination, and the rain had turned to a soft drizzle by the time the weary crew dropped anchor in Rockland Harbour, Maine.

We’re now busy catching up on chores and maintenance as well as getting ready for NZ friends, Mike and Marilyn, joining us for next week for a few days.