La Scie and New Friends

2100, Friday, July 7,, 2023

Today was a long day at sea followed by a lovely Newfoundland evening ashore. We cast off from the wharf in Twillingate at 0715 this morning for the 44-mile run across Notre Dame Bay to La Scie. We had to pick our way cautiously out of Twillingate, avoiding growlers, bergy buts and several large bergs. Crossing the bay we encountered a few more bergs, keeping us on our toes. The sea temperature was as low as 37 Fahrenheit and the air temp was in the upper 40s. The wind was 25 to 25 knots, on the nose. We were both chilled and a bit weary when we finally made our way into La Scie at 1700. Little did we know what a wonderful evening lay ahead...

in French, "La Scie" means "the saw." jagged cliffs resembling a saw line the port hand shore as one enters the harbour. This port is part of what is known as the French Shore of Newfoundland, based on early French occupatuon and settlement. After tying to a brand new floating dock we called the Harbour Supervisior, who said he would meet us later in the evening to pay our dockage. Mory and I took off, walking the road into town, hoping to find a spot for supper.

The town has a sense of history, including an old French graveyard, a traditional fishing skiff proudly displayed above the town as a tribute to local fishing history and even an old "twine store" painted in blue and orange where fishermen used to gather to mend nets in winter. It all gives a sense of pride in community and a respect for the past.

La Scie does fave challenges. The population is shrinking as many of the youth move away. The closing of the local fish plant some years ago meant a loss of jobs. Today all the catch in the busy port with some 49 boats is all trucked to processing plants elsewhere.

Read below for the best parts of our evening...

The best parts of our evening were to delightful, chance encounters.

The first occurred when we roamed the town looking for a bite to eat. We found Valerie's Tea Room. We opened the door on a quaint and historic house to be welcomed into the tea room and kitchen where a few locals were charting. Even though it was after hours, the owners, Valerie and Larry Waalen seated us in a cozy table where.we had homemade French onion soup, hit tea and the best chocolate cake and rhubarb crumble, all made from scratch by Valerie. We found ourselves chatting into the evening with Larry and Valerie, only to discover that we have mutual friends in Peter and Audi Souza and their daughter Zinnia! It all felt homey and welcoming in Newfoundland style, like a private kitchen party. The photo at the top shows Mory along with Valerie and Larry. Two new friends!

Back at the boat, the Harbour Supervisior, Clyde Saunders gave us a welcome and a ride to his waterfront office overlooking the fishing fleet. We paid for out dockage and then he showed us his remarkable collection of photos of the Harbour, every fishing boat and many of the yachts that have visited. It is a fascinating set of his photographs and another glimpse into the charming past and present of La Scie. I will come here again! See Clyde and a wall of his photos below.

Bill