Trepassey Harbour (Loch or Fjord) 46:44N 53:22W

Millybrown
Mark Hillmann
Wed 3 Sep 2008 17:58
Newfndland (rhymes with understand) so it is still foggy.  Earlier we could see perhaps a mile but now we are motoring across to St Pierre Island.  105 miles of fog. 
 
Yesterday was different, after we motored out of Aquaforte and down the coast the wind got up from behind and blew the wet fog away.  Sunshine and a good fast run round Cape Race. Then a reach across under the coast with a flat sea and the last part was a beat up through the entrance and across to the village.
 
Trepassy Harbour is shallow, much of it 4 to 6m which seems strange after 500m deep fjords but we beat across it in completely flat water and a proper little sailing breeze.  Who needs an engine if you can hold 4 knots to windward?  In the sunshine you could see the low hills all round, with few trees:  Is the coastal area farmed, or too salty for trees?   There is what looks like a sawmill on the other shore, which is still forested.
 
We tied up at a pier last night, but  it was suggested that we move to a pontoon next to it to avoid catching the large tyres as the tide came up.  We took the advice and ignored the "dangerous structure" signs.  Bread, fruit, milk and biscuits were fetched from the shop and we were given cod for supper by one of the two boats at the pier.  The other was landing whelks, large ones caught in traps like crab pots and exported to China or Japan. 
 
We are the ones not allowed to fish, as all fishing is licenced in Canada.  "Toronto" they mutter here, as a term of abuse.