It was a great downwind sail from Isle aux Morts with 25 SW making for a fast trip.This is my first trip up a fjord in Newfoundland and it was unique. Having studied a book put out by Environment Canada about the regional weather, I was not caught unaware of the effect these fjords have upon the local wind. Sailing up Bay Lemoine, the wind increased and became aligned with the waterway. After passing the abandoned lighthouse at Rose Blanche, I took all the sails down and proceeded under power in anticipation of making the 180 degree turn upwind into Duncan Cove. As I motored into the cove the
wind accelerated to double or more its speed outside, nearly bringing Nomad to a stop several times even with full throttle. The water is hundreds of feet deep until nearly the end where it shoals up onto a little shelf where I could anchor. I explored the little cove at the end and found it to be deep enough, but decided to anchor further out in a little more wind with an anchor and a shore line to a large rock . To enjoy the protection at the end of the cove, I would have had to put four shore lines out and and warp the boat around to head out to facilitate a hasty departure if the weather changed unexpectedly.
More work than I wanted to do! Like Isle aux Morts, this bay was sheltered from the VHF radio signal, although the weather fax came in readable on the shortwave. Exploring ashore is best done at low tide when landing is easier, the two meter tides leaves a nice beach for walking on. Ashore there were some concrete blocks and the ribs and engine block of a wooden boat, all that remained of a long closed fish farm. Getting beyond the beach required some effort as this is wilderness and the vegetation is nearly impossible to penetrate without a machete. I finally located a way up to higher ground and
able to hike the backcountry extensively from there, frequently following caribou trails through the dense undergrowth and staying above the treeline on the rocks. The environment is sub arctic tundra with most trees at higher elevations being only a few feet tall and most of the ground covered with lichens and blueberries and other plants I had never seen before. Off the rocks, the hiking was difficult as the lichens were like walking on an ankle deep wet sponge and that is interspersed with muddy bogs. Where there was any soil, it was all peat that stained all the freshwater brown. Usually caribou/moose trails
provided the best route. Seeking weather reports with the handheld VHF, climbing the hills was no help, I had to climb to the highest point above the cove to get radio reception. Most of my time here was spent hiking in the rain and windy weather that is common here. The night before I sailed from here, the wind stopped and that allowed the mosquitoes to find their way out to the boat. I t does not pay to complain about the weather!This area I am exploring is true wilderness, there are no roads between Rose Blanche and Burgeo with only a few outports still occupied and accessible only by boat. It is a
sailors paradise to explore if one is prepared for the difficult weather conditions that frequent the area and are completely self reliant.
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