Eastern Harbor

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Wed 31 Jul 2013 02:12

44:30.1N 67:43.7W

 

Tuesday 30th July – My birthday (OK, my 61st)

 

Still foggy when we got up and so there was another change of plan and we abandoned the idea of going to Roque Island and headed for Eastern Harbor which would reduce the length of the trip back to Soames Sound on Wednesday. In addition the pilot book spoke of quayside fresh lobster sales and Sarah had decided that this was the ideal birthday treat. Before we left however, the fog parted briefly and for the first time we were able to see the land all around us. It was very pretty indeed, but what caught our eyes first was a beach not 50 yards away that had the most wonderful looking large round stones…. But then it started to rain.

 

So we hauled the dinghy up on deck and set off into the fog again, with eyes, ears and radar all tuned and on high alert.  This proved handy as the radar warned us about what we assumed was another boat, but it turned out to be a rock that was not well shown on the chart. Suddenly we seemed surrounded by low lumps of land, none of which should have been there and so we eased our way cautiously back out to where we found a red buoy and a known safe route. Visibility varied greatly and at times we were bathing in bright hot sunshine and then plunged into cold, damp, dense advection fog. (Not the straightforward radiation fog you get on land!) There were a number of lobster boats out and about to enliven things and it is hard enough spotting and avoiding the pot buoys which are in pairs with a line floating between them, without random seals sticking their heads up and masquerading as buoys as well!

 

We came across another Ocean Cruising Club yacht (Fiscal Stray) as we went past the entrance to Mistake Harbor but they were engrossed in a three way VHF radio conversation with the coastguard and another yacht that was anchored in Mistake Harbor, which had run out of fuel.  Fiscal Stray were very kind and diverted into the anchorage to give them 5 gallons of fuel, although they were a little taken aback to find 5 other boats anchored there already, but apparently none of them had a spare jerry can!

 

We made our way towards the entrance to Eastern Harbor and were having to slalom through clouds of pots again, when suddenly the prop shuddered and shook and we immediately dropped it out of gear. Sarah is a very good driver, but patently rather unlucky of late. She was driving at this point and immediately decided that as her wetsuit was already wet, she would be the one to check the prop out again. The better news was that the prop seemed OK when we put it back into gear, but there was clearly something amiss as the rudder was vibrating a lot. So we limped into Eastern Harbor and having found a suitable spot to anchor, we dropped the hook and Sarah again donned her wetsuit and popped over the side. Please do not think that I did not offer to do this myself….. but she was adamant it was going to be her again!  She found that she had indeed been very unlucky as the culprit this time was a hessian sack that was firmly wrapped around the prop. She managed to unravel this and once again saved the day. Even if it had not been foggy, the odds are that we would never have seen this sack floating below the surface of the sea.

 

We then launched the dinghy and all three of us headed across the bay to the lobster-boat dock where there is a shed where you can buy the fresh lobsters pretty much straight off the boats. This was quite an education and we watched as they stared to load a huge truck that had come to collect the day’s catch. We purchased three smallish lobsters, as they were all we could fit into our largest pot – and then only one at a time and headed back to Serafina.

 

Sarah (she was having a busy day… and as the local store turned out to be 15 minute car trip away) decided that she was going to have a crack at baking bread, so she set about this task with relish as James and I brought the dinghy back on deck and generally tidied up.

 

Later, Sarah, with a little advice and help from James, cooked the fresh lobsters and we had a wonderful meal after which she was able to put her very impressive risen dough into the oven and baked the most wonderful looking loaf. What a star.