Threading the Needle

Fogo Island, Newfoundland August 10, 2009

“Rock! 10 feet to port,” came from the bow.

“20 feet. 15, 35,” came from down below.

“There’s a ledge coming out starboard side. Head to port a little. Careful,” came from me at the companionway

We’ve been sticking to our ever vigilant motto on this trip but 2 more sets of eyes and hands allow us a bit more margin. Combined with this area being more thoroughly charted and there just being more people around and we’re picking little slots to slip through. You know the kind, rocks to the left, rocks to the right. It’s breathtaking and qualifies as aerobic exercise when your nerves get your heart rate up that high!

Russ’ sisters, Patty and Debbie made the long drive up from the States. Up here they call the US East Coast, “the Boston States.” (I can imagine how my Southern family would take to that!) Everyone in Newfoundland has a story about the Marine Atlantic ferry, the big car ferry that connects Newfoundland to Nova Scotia. Due to a recent fire on one of the ships, the ferries were all running behind. Debbie and Patty ended up sleeping on the floor of the Atlantic Vision’s lounge.

In the above instance we were threading our way between Lower Head and the off lying rocks around Twillingate. Debbie was on the bow, Patty was on the depthfinder below and I was watching on the chartplotter with Russ at the helm.

We’re stopping at places we’ve been hearing about in songs and reading about in books for so long. First was Moreton’s Harbour where Russ and Debbie rowed ashore and waited out an intense downpour under a dockside awning. Their fellow awning mates told them there’d been a big wedding in town last night and everyone was hung over but we should all come ashore for coffee in the morning.

Next day it was onto Twillingate and that thrilling entrance, accompanied by some squid hounds. Great walking out to the cliffs Andante had sailed under on the way in, back through a small cemetery tucked into a little valley looking out over the sea and out to a huge cross. Some local boats suggested RJ’s restaurant and we splurged on a night out.

Andante threaded the needle between Twillingate and Burnt Island on the way to Fogo with all of us womanning a different station. Those rocks seem awfully close!

Fogo has been deemed one of the four corners of the Earth by the Flat Earth Society. A hike out to Brimstone Head meant we were actually standing on the corner!

They think the last Great Auk, a penguin like bird, was killed here. They didn’t know what it was so they saved the skin. It fed their family for 3 meals . . .