Most Boring Post…:)

Sunday August 17

We arrived at the entrance to Bay of Islands just before nautical dawn, so with main only downwind we sailed a leisurely 4kts, waiting for sunrise. It was a perfect end to a great 22 hour sail, complete with whales! With arrival at Bay of Islands, Corner Brook, we have effectively (or a close as we are going to get this time) completed our circumnavigation of Newfoundland!

Winds shifted on our nose as we pointed East into the Bay towards Woods Island (halfway into the Bay and ~7nm, so 1 hour). Spectacular cliffs and the highest point in NL surrounded us. We motored to the very sheltered, shallow bay and put down the anchor.  Our plan was to remain here for 3 nights, until the 20^th, when we had a reservation at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club.

We are definitely back in “civilization” because, while we had the “anchorage” to ourselves for the day, the Sunday day trippers from Corner Brook came to enjoy the sunshine.  The Island has only summer cottages now but many are owned by the grandchildren of the original fulltime residents and 2 years ago they had a ‘ComeBack’ event and signed all the cottages with their original owner’s names. Of course, we launched the dinghy, hiked where we could on the island (found moose tracks!) and settled in for the night.

The next two days, “the weather” came in with strong north winds and rain that dropped the temperature and basically batted the boat around on its mooring. We never left the boat!… just hunkered down with good books, chocolate scones and some card games. Our first 40lb propane tank finally emptied – filled in QC so lasted 10 weeks of baking, cooking and a lot of teatime!

Wednesday August 20

Come the 20^th, the rain had stopped but the winds remained, increasing over the day from 15 to 25 kts.  This was the day that we were supposed to take a berth at the Bay of Islands Yacht Club Bay. It is the only Yacht Club Corner Brook and is closest to the town and the Deer Lake Airport. We were also awaiting the AC strike news as Ali was to go home for our daughter Blythe’s baby shower and son’s James’ birthday. This meant that we had to find a secure berth where we could access car rental, airport, provisions and a place where Steve could safely manage the boat on his own.

As background, the Club is run by volunteers, so communication was a little spotty, (big shout out to Lynd our ‘shore manager’ who was able contact them on our behalf and booked us in). It was only that morning, 20^th, that we received any guidance as to what dock we would be at. Unfortunately, it was not to be – they directed us into the back of the club sandwiched between two motorboats.  The Club is very small so this 70 ft of space at the very far end of the club seemed impossible to access with no bowthruster and the 25kt winds.  With limited hope, we did a “drive by” only to confirm that there was no way we could get the boat in there in those winds without doing some real damage to the other boats.

Plan B  was the government wharf at Frenchman’s Cove but it was under construction with 2/3’s of it inaccessible and the rest occupied by fishing boats… a No Go.

Once again we leaned on Lynd who called the Cox Cove Fish Plant manager and confirmed Plan C: the fish plant/government wharf at Cox Cove was available as the plant was idled for a few weeks (no fish coming in). Lynd had previously helped another PCYC sailor find a dock and has a knack for sourcing!

Cox Cove is north of Corner Brook in the Bay’s Middle Arm, 40 km from Corner Book at the end of the road. The dock was about 80ft at the end and was full of fishing equipment, but it was quiet and sheltered from all winds except the east, so a pretty good place to wait for Ali and the crew’s return on August 26. Walked to the Falls, had local Fish&Chips, secured boat, fenders and lines for a 6-day wharf rest.

Thursday August 21

Jobs list: Car rental, water, fuel (requiring several 30 km runs to the nearest fuel station to fill Jerry Cans), laundry, provisions and basic maintenance to make sure the boat was ready to go. Shout out to Sugar & Dice and Broomstick Brewing Co that made our stay here yummy!

Friday August 22

Got Ali to the Deer Lake Airport (50km north). Fuel, boat jobs.

Saturday August 23

Oh, about those east winds…  after midnight the wind rolled east with a solid 15 kts and basically tried to pound the boat into the dock.  It felt like riding a barrel over Niagara Falls between the jolts of hitting the dock, the rebounding against the mooring lines and the noise of impact of the fenders and the giant tires on the dock. Easily the least restful night of the entire trip.

We will end this post here. The Crew – Ali, Kent and Stewart – arrive tomorrow and based on the wind forecasts, we will head out on Wednesday morning.  PredictWind indicates light winds (Tropical Storm Fernand seems to have sucked all the energy out of the Gulf) so we may be in for a lot of motoring; take 2 days to cross the Gulf. Hoping to be in Quebec City by September 2^nd or 3^rd!