L’Anse aux Meadows to ?

Summer 2022
John Andrews
Sat 22 Aug 2015 18:38

 

50:38.6N  057:17.8W

Whichever forecast we looked at, we were faced with a week of South Westerly winds, coming from exactly the direction we need to go in to get to the southern tip of Newfoundland and make our way over to Nova Scotia. We all agreed that we would just ‘bite the bullet’ and endure the three nights at sea. After all, we’ve been through worse.

We set off first thing and surprisingly got a bit of an easterly wind which pushed us on our way – we could be there much sooner than expected! As time moved on, however, the predicted head winds moved in, blowing at up to 25 knots on the nose and life became quite uncomfortable on board. We were putting in long tacks, crossing the shipping lanes in the Belle Isle Strait in increasingly dense fog,  getting to the Quebec shoreline and tacking round at a depressingly large angle, finding that we were only making 2.5 knot per hour towards destination. This was going to take more than three days, and the wind was forecast to increase.

We were not enjoying this, so John started searching for refuge ports, and we now find ourselves snugly tied up in Port Saunders, listening to the wind whistling through the rigging. Last night brought thunder and torrential rain and winds of over 30 knots. This morning it’s not much better, so we are spending the day here, planning to set off to Woody Point tomorrow, when the wind is forecast to drop significantly, although it will still be against us.

We were treated to some great Newfoundland hospitality last night. Two men came down to the quay from the house opposite, chatted to us at length, and then invited us to their house where they were having a bit of a get together. Despite being tired after our time at sea, we went up after our dinner, and found the family sitting round a brazier, cooking sausages. Sterling brought out his guitar and we were treated to a round of Newfoundland songs, (more disasters at sea, trouble with women).  We are in quite an out of the way place here, but we were nevertheless surprised that several of the family hadn’t even travelled as far as St John’s. They were real Newfies, with all the Newfie generosity. Sterling is going to come by today with offerings of moose – frozen and canned – caught, butchered and canned himself.