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1930, Friday, July 14, 2023
Today was largely spent making final preparations for our departure across the Strait of Belle Isle to the coast of Labrador. We cleaned and defrosted the icebox, made trips to both of the grocery stores in town and stowed away all the food. We have a full fuel tank with 33 gallons of diesel and have lashed another 30 gallons in big, yellow fuel jugs to the stern rail. At a conservative speed of a little over 5 knits it should give a little over 100 hours of run time. I am not certain we will be able to get fuel again for a month.
One of our last tasks this evening was to top up our fresh water tanks. To my dismay, it appears the valve that normally allows me to select water from one of two drinking water tanks is no longer working. It seems it is now drawing from both tanks at the same time. That makes it hard to gage water use and hold some in reserve. The only thing trickier to get in Labrador than diesel is good fresh water. At home the fix would be easy. Run to a marine store or just a local hardware store and get a new valve and maybe a few feet of hose for the new connections. Neither is available at the one hardware and building supply store here. We bought a garden hose and assorted fittings that might allow us to make a solution. Anyway, the water tanks are now full. We used an inline filter on a hose connected to the town water supply at a fire hydrant. We will also be adding water purification tablets to our water tanks and have replaced the filter at the faucet
Ok, enough of that...We have enjoyed our time here in St. Anthony. We have chatted with fishermen, mayor, mechanics, shopkeepers, Harbour Supervisor, and others, learning bits and pieces about life in this town of 2,100 people at the northern tip of Newfoundland. There is frustration locally about everything from the price of snow crab to resettlement efforts to Harbour improvements. The Mayor says that federal and provincial government don't always get what life is like in this outpost of the island's great northern peninsula. He calls it the St. Anthony Paradox. It is a beautiful and engaging place that still has some feel of old Newfoundland. Today we went along the fishing piers where some fishermen were offloading round crab pots used to catch snow crab - see photo below.
We have taken note that on the headlands and shorelines here, the trees are getting shorter, stunted, sometimes asymmetrical from the harsh winds of winter. It is a little insight into the landscapes of Labrador that we are bound for. Tomorrow we may head to Henley Harbour in Chateau Bay. We are off early in the morning so as to make the 50 miles mostly under sail during daylight. We need light to avoid bergs and need to conserve fuel and rely on the wind.
Bill
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