Off to Gros Morne National Park

 Sunday morning and we had been warned the weekends were quiet in Port Aux Basques. It turns out that the local residents from the coastal towns head to their cottages in the interior lakes. Today is the day that Bob flies out and we pick up a rental car at Deer Lake and head up to Gros Morne.

To get there we took a cab 2 1/2 hours, it saved us a lot of fooling around at both ends and split 3 ways it's not bad if you say it fast. Public transportation is very limited in this part of the world! Once we got the car we visited some of the lake areas near Deer Lake. I must say the water is a lot warmer there than the ocean and the boats and seadoos are just like home. 

The mountains in the park climb up over 800 meter above sea level and sometimes the "Wreckhouse Winds" that rush down from them at hurricane speeds can overturn big trucks.

Woody Point in Gros Morne Nat'l Park will be our base for the next few days. 

Port Aux Basques

I

Our warm Newfie welcome came from a couple from Pictou who were already in port. The harbourmaster of Port aux Basques was missing in action and there is no marina. We pulled into a nice spot on the public wharf and made ourselves comfortable. 

The town has about 5000 residents and reminded us a lot of Flin Flon. We arranged for a tour of the town with the local cab company. The young driver gave us a wonderful informative narration as we saw the sites. The weather was overcast, rainy and foggy. 

We discovered that we were indeed on the public wharf - there was a steady stream of visitors to the dock all for a "chin wag" and to welcome us. 

The couple from Pictou, Bruce & Cheryl, became instant friends as often happens with fellow boaters. They regaled us with many tales of their maritime adventures while we introduced them to the dice game  "farkle".

The weather did not co-operate therefore we were harbour bound for 3 days but the time passed quickly. Finally today, on our last day, the sun has been shining. Bob went cod fishing with some local fishermen and they caught their limit in no time. Apparently,  no "cod kissing" occurred and Bob is a happy fisher!

A local offered Joann & I a ride about town and ended up driving us to the trailhead of an awesome hike through the coastal terrain. The wild flowers were abundant, the trees were short and stunted, and the  seaside vistas stunning. Once we were finished, another couple drove us back. Nfld hospitality!!!

Tomorrow, it is time for Bob to return to Wpg and Joann & I will continue our travels overland by car while Summer Wine II waits for us in Port aux Basques.

    Cod Brudet and Polenta by Chef Bob

      The provincial flower the Picture

         Thick Fog at end of the dock

              Cod fish catch of the day

         Sun shine on Bob's last day

         Bruce and Cheryl on You and Me

Can you see the ship in the background,

the size of a apartment block 100 meters away?  That's Newfoundland fog for you.....

Passage to Port Aux Basques

Left Ile d' Entree bright and early at the crack of 7:00. Winds were light and current was with us. Sea state calm. You guessed it, motor sailed  72 miles to Cape Breton's McDougall's Pond on the North Cape. We spent the evening watching the hubbub on the eve before crab season opening. The next morning the fishing boats woke us before our alarm at 4:30 with the sound of throbbing diesel motors. When we emerged, the harbour was empty.

Off again for the second leg to Port aux Basques, Nfld., motor sailing and spinnaker run in fairly flat seas.  We saw quite a few pods of dolphins. One of the unlucky ones was sporting a blue fish net sweater.  Didn't see another boat until we were heading in and met the ferry from Sydney, N.S., right at the harbour mouth. 

The first ferrry made this passage across the Cabot Strait in 1898. Now they go back and forth twice a day carrying trucks, cars, passengers but not trains any more. The trains tracks here used to be a narrower gauge and they had to change the under carriages of every train car upon arrival and departure.  After 13 hrs, we arrived in Nfld.

Quebec's Best Kept Secret

Ile de la Madeleine - c'est incroyable!!!

This was like nothing we had ever seen before! From the sea, the islands look like tiny green land masses strung together by spectacular white sandy beaches. 

The archipelago is composed of 6 main islands which are linked by long thin sand bars and located in the middle of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 

We rented a car for the day to tour as much as we could and started by visiting the nearby beach. What a view!  The white beaches, sand dunes and long rolling waves extended as far as we could see. Seemingly without end, these perfect beaches total 300 km. The sand sings under your feet. The ever-present winds make this a mecca for kite surfers and wind surfers. No matter what direction the wind is from, a protected bay or lagoon can be found. It was fun to watch the many coloured kites scoot along! We also noted that cycling seems to be a popular way of touring the islands. 

We made our way along the coastal road on Ile du Havre Aubert, stopping to visit a   site depicting daily life of the early settlers in both miniature and life sized settings.  They had their challenges!

We continued on our way to the Havre Aux Maisons Island stopping for lunch at the old convent, Vieux Couvent, which has been converted into a hotel/ restaurant and bar. It is owned  by Denis Landry whose father, Emery, runs the B&B in Shediac where Bob and I stayed  last year when we took the boat out  and to which I returned  this year when I was putting the boat in. So we were interested to visit on his recommendation. It did not disappoint!

The menu had many interesting dishes.  We decided on the award winning seafood chowder with coconut cream and basil. Without a doubt, the best chowder anywhere!!  The seafood crepe made with  local "Tomme Demoiselles" cheese, seafood and oysters with rhubarb salsa was outstanding. The food everywhere on the islands was very gourmet with exceptional flavour and tasteful presentation ( including Summer Wine's!) 

After our wonderful lunch, our tour of Hauvre Aux Maisons Island included stops at a small winery, a fromagerie, a smokehouse and a glass blowing shop. 

The cheese making has been introduced to the islands relatively recently in 1980's and cows had to be brought to the island to make this possible.  The fine cheeses are mostly unknown outside the islands and the province and are another of the secrets held by these islands. The lush grasses and the salt from the sea spray give the cheese a smooth texture and gentle flavour.

We stopped at a Winery for a taste test at $2.00 /head. Mostly fruit based wines with a few dandilions thrown in. 

The smoked fish factory was interesting mostly because of the size of the smokehouse. We bought cold smoked herring and a pate. That night for h'orduevres, we were having smoked salmon, and the smoke smell was so intense we turned off the stove and checked for fire. ( I'm not kidding)

On our return to the boat, we stopped in Caps Aux Meules to climb 187 steps to a  lockout platform and froze our noses off once we got up there. The  weather has been very cool, windy and drizzly. 

The following day we spent right around the marina visiting the quaint seaside area known  as Le Grave where several old fish shanties have been repurposed as artisan workshops and galleries. We have been really impressed by the quality, craftmanship and variety of artwork. 

Sadly, we had to leave the "Maggie's" far too soon. A good weather window opened for the sail to Nfld so we took advantage of it. 

We hope to return someday....

 

Souris to the Madeleines

Bob and I got up at 3:30 am and slipped out of the harbour twenty minutes later in the black of night. We motored to the Cape  and raised the sails then Joann awoke and joined us for a 13 hour beam reach with winds 12-20. We took two hour shifts so we could grab a nap along the way. We made Ile D'Entree by 2:30, reduced sail and continued along the channel for 2 more hours to our destination at the marina at Hauvre-Aubert. Wow what a place! The harbour master, Rheal, was there to meet us at the dock and give us the lay of the land. We walked  around for a bit and arranged for a car rental for the morning. Bob BBQ'd some halibut he had picked up at the fish market and we retired early. A great sailing day!

Souris

Souris has been a good experience. We have been able to reprovision for the next leg. We have taken on food for about five days, diesel  and extra water. The staff here have been great, and Debbie, the marina mgr, even lent us her van to go to Co-op for groceries.

There is a ferry that comes in from Iles de Madeleine daily exchanging cars, trucks, cyclist, & pedesterians, many of which are tourist then heads back two hours later.

There are some buildings built in the early 1900's and an array of hand painted murals on the walls. There are nice beaches and the eastern end of the Canada Trail.

The weather has been cool but the rain has held off which has been nice for walking.

Bob arrived a few hours after Beth departed and we welcomed him with a feed of fresh muscles. We headed to a fish truck in the morning and bought  seven different spieces. To add to our fish assortment we pulled in 10 Mackeral of the dock, one per cast. How much fun is that!

 We are ready to leave for Ile da Madeleine and hope to get away by 4am, the tidal current will give us a push for the first two hours and get us around Souris Cape12 miles then another 65 miles to go.

Montague to Souris

Up early, and motored to the river gulf and sailed on a beat, pulling into Souris around 3:30. A gray day with winds 10-16 knot. Everyone added a couple of layers to keep comfortable. Lots of sea creature sightings today though not long enough for identification. 

Tomorrow Beth is out of time and must leave us. She has visited seven ports of call and three provinces with us. She added lots of enjoyment to the tour.