Newfoundland Newbie Cruising Advice

[bobdugan]

Hey Folks,

I'm heading up to Newfoundland this summer for the first time. I have a great delivery crew (including several CD owners) to help me get the boat to/from Sydney, NS and I'm looking forward to three weeks of cruising the south coast with my family. Here's an itinerary... for those of you who have spent time on the south coast, can you look it over and let me know if I'm missing anything amazing? The itinerary is an ideal... we need to get the boat back to Sydney for the delivery home so we'll keep an eye on the weather as the end of the three weeks approaches and jump back to NS.

To Sydney, NS via South Freeport, ME with delivery crew (650-700nm) Friday July 20 -> Sunday July 29

Sunday 7/29: Explore Sydney, NS & some provisioning
Monday 7/30: Set sail for St Pierre/Miquelon @ 2100, 140nm
Tuesday 7/31: Enroute St Pierre/Miquelon
Wednesday 8/1: Arrive St Pierre/Miquelon @ 0600, sleep
Thursday 8/2: Explore St Pierre/Miquelon & some provisioning
Friday 8/3: St Pierre/Miquelon to Fortune, NF 25nm
Saturday 8/4: Drive/Bus to St Johns, stay overnite
Sunday 8/5: Drive/Bus back to Fortune
Monday 8/6: Fortune to McCallum, 30nm
Tuesday 8/7: McCallum to Hare Bay, 23nm
Wednesday 8/8: Hare Bay to Recontre Bay, 16nm
Thursday 8/9: Recontre Bay to Francois, 8nm
Friday 8/10: Francois to Aviron Bay, 9nm
Saturday 8/11: Aviron Bay to Ramea, 26nm
Sunday 8/12: Ramea to Grand Bruit: 26nm
Monday 8/13: Grand Bruit to Rose Blanche: 21nm
Tuesday 8/14: Rose Blanche to Isle Aux Morts: 14nm
Wednesday 8/15: Isle Aux Morts, NF to Sydney, NS: 90nm
Thursday 8/16: Provisioning for trip back to Portland, ME

To Portland, ME via Sydney, NS (650-700nm) with delivery crew Friday August 17 -> Sunday August 26

[Jim Walsh]

I know you've already spoken to Steve and I'm sure he'll have plenty of first hand knowledge to share. From what I've been able to gather cod tongues are to be avoided

[Steve Laume]

The biggest problem I see with your itinerary is that you have one. Deadlines can create some very uncomfortable experiences. And I say this from experience. I don't see lay over days for when you find a place that you would like to spend some additional time or just want to stay put because of weather. I spent several days in one anchorage so that I could spend an entire day hiking the uplands and do some swimming in the lakes. Often just to relax and eat too many blueberries.

Most of the hikes are up the brooks. I got into the habit of bringing biodegradable soap and a towel for a bath and cloths wash at the last pool before getting back in the dinghy. I didn't bring dry cloths because there was no one there to see me going back to the boat. For a family trip, you might want to bring some. I would also advise you to bring a container for blueberries, whenever you go ashore. A good hiking stick is also very helpful for balance and to test certain areas for the footing before you plunge into a hole under the moss. There are no trails or makers so pay attention to where you are and stay on the game trails as much as possible. The animals know where they can travel and tend to stay out of the impenetrable brush. Follow the caribou trails and stay out of the bunny zones. The hares only tend to go where it is not fit for you to travel. I lost two pairs of sun glassed by entering bunny zones. I also tried to take a short cut along the coast by dropping down from the caribou trail and came to a ravine where I had to climb back up to the game trail to get around the thing.

Make sure to have two anchors and some long lines available. There were a couple of places where I had to have a second anchor out to keep me off the shore or shoals. In one instance it just wasn't possible to anchor as the water dropped off too fast to have out enough scope without the fear of swinging into the rocks. In this case I rowed lines to shore and sat very snugly a couple of boat lengths of the rocks. There are not always floating docks either so bring long dock lines and big fenders along with a fender board. The docks tend to be used for large fishing boats and they are rough. Finding a good anchorage in some of the fjords was one of the more difficult aspects of the trip.

Everyone has a different idea of what they like to do. I wanted a wilderness experience and chose not to go to Pierre/Miquelon. I wouldn't want to spend the time in St Johns either and avoided Fortune in favor of Brunette Island. Brunette provided the best and easiest hiking of the entire trip with the exception of the board walk on Ramea (easier not better).

I could fill you in on a bunch of the details in specific harbors but this is already getting pretty long. The villages all had some sort of market but fresh water and diesel were hit or miss. Bring some 5 gal. water jugs. In one instance, A guy gave me a ride to the town filtered water supply and I filled them. In Francois I filled them with tea colored water but never added it to my tanks and eventually dumped it when I found a clearer water source.

Newfoundland was the most fantastic place I have ever sailed and no matter what you do or where you go, I doubt you will be disappointed. They people are as amazing as the scenery. Definitely try the cod tongues as they are part of the true NFDL experience and will give you one more story to tell, Steve.

[bobdugan]

Thanks Steve! A lot to think about there. I agree with the itinerary... it's packed with stuff... but it's all optional except for the crew change dates.

I think we are looking for a combination of civilization and wilderness. I couldn't remember the name of the island that you told me about... but now I have it... maybe we'll do that island and blow off McCallum.

Did you have a couple of favorite fjords and towns?

Bob

[kerrydeare]

The biggest problem I see with your itinerary is that you have one ... Steve.

To echo Steve (never a bad idea), in 2010 I spent a bit over a week waiting in Louisbourg for weather to sail on to the French Islands and the South Shore of NF. I sail without crew or schedule so not a problem for me, especially since Louisbourg provided many attractions and new friends. However I suspect you have quite a bit of experience in this sort of thing, so I'll simply wish you a safe and pleasant excursion.

[Tod Mills]

I know you've already spoken to Steve and I'm sure he'll have plenty of first hand knowledge to share. From what I've been able to gather cod tongues are to be avoided

Mike Ritenour should be able to offer some great insight too!

I've had cod tongues, and they really were much like any seafood. Probably most similar to clams. I'd certainly eat them again!

As far as itineraries, I've always just planned the general direction in which to explore and researched the area. Even that doesn't always end up as the course taken. I despise motoring and am far more likely to spend a windless day on the hook and exploring the shore than try to keep a schedule by motoring. Spending too much time in any one spot is almost never a problem; quite the contrary.

Newfoundland is on my list of cruising destinations in the next few years, too!

[bobdugan]

I have read that the chartplotter's position on the electronic map and the position in the real world can be off by as much as .3nm in certain spots in Newfoundland.

That is pretty disturbing.

I'm wondering if those areas are well known? And if so... where are they?

Bob

[Steve Laume]

I never noticed any discrepancy. It might have been that I was never in an area that there was one or I or it just didn't register. There were no soundings on the chart or plotter for Mercer Cove. There was one other place that showed 16' on the charts and it had filled to form a delta that dried out at low water. If you were in a critical situation, close to land, you could always back up the GPS information with a radar overlay. The first time I went to Nova Scotia, my mapping chip did't load so I only had a basic outline of the coast. It was a bit un-nerving in heavy fog. I managed with paper charts and radar, like they used to do in the old days. You could go back to charts with a lead line and your sextant. I don't think that the GPS discrepancy is a wide spread problem. I do know that if I zoom out a little, my chart plotter always shows me plowing through the land, next to the Cape Cod Canal, Steve.

[bobdugan]

I never noticed any discrepancy. It might have been that I was never in an area that there was one or I or it just didn't register. There were no soundings on the chart or plotter for Mercer Cove. There was one other place that showed 16' on the charts and it had filled to form a delta that dried out at low water. If you were in a critical situation, close to land, you could always back up the GPS information with a radar overlay. The first time I went to Nova Scotia, my mapping chip did't load so I only had a basic outline of the coast. It was a bit un-nerving in heavy fog. I managed with paper charts and radar, like they used to do in the old days. You could go back to charts with a lead line and your sextant. I don't think that the GPS discrepancy is a wide spread problem. I do know that if I zoom out a little, my chart plotter always shows me plowing through the land, next to the Cape Cod Canal, Steve.

Thanks for that reassurance Steve.

I plan on using my radar just to confirm that things are where they are supposed to be. I've read about these discrepancies online and also here: https://cruisingclub.org/cruising-guide ... -maritimes. But the information in the cruising guide was very dated... entries back a decade or more with no specifics about where problems exist.

Did you read this article: https://ca.news.yahoo.com/husband-haunt ... 02801.html It's very sad... but also clear that this couple was heading along the same course that we plan to head to get to St. Pierre/Miquelon. Did you bring a gumby suit on Raven for the Newfoundland trip?

Bob

[Steve Laume]

No Gumby suit on Raven. My reasoning is that once you put that thing on, you are pretty much helpless in trying to save the boat. I feel that my boat is the, absolute, best piece of safety gear I have. I do have a 4 man offshore life raft and a EPRIB with GPS. I need to revisit my ditch bag and might include a shortie wet suit with gloves and booties. Theses could be put on once you were in the raft to help combat the cold. One thing to consider when going to Newfoundland is that you are relatively close to shore at all times. Well within helicopter range. I plan to go outside of Nantucket again to save the time required to transit the Cape Cod Canal. This puts me onto Georges Bank, which is a very cool place to be. There are also quite a few fishing boats in that area so help should not be too far away if it came down to needing to be rescued.

I still maintain that the most dangerous part of cruising in Newfoundland, aside from the drive to the boat, is the hiking. A spot locator might mitigate some of the danger and not hiking alone would provide a major increase in safety, Steve.

[Jim Walsh]

http://iprox.mi.mun.ca/MDR2015.pdf
http://iprox.mi.mun.ca/cmi/

Ran across these links and thought you might find them helpful.

[Cathy Monaghan]

I agree with Steve, you can make a very tentative itinerary for yourself, but it would only be a guide and subject to many changes. Plan on only being able to move 4 or 5 out of every 7 days. This goes for any kind of cruising, not just your trip to Newfoundland. Though weather is always a factor, wind direction and foul currents may also change your destinations as well as when you get there.

I make up a tentative itinerary every year and type it up so it looks like a table grid. I leave a few blank rows between each completed row in the table so that we can write in where we really ended up. You may be surprised at how much that itinerary changes.

By the way, we've got both Casco and Penobscot Bays on our itinerary for this summer. We'll see if/when we actually get there.

Hope this helps,
Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[jen1722terry]

Hey Cathy,

Our home port for all summer will be Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island this year. Kindly let us know when you are in the Penobscot Bay Area this summer as it is easy enough for us to sail over to see you.

If you're in Penobscot Bay around August 11, you may want to anchor off North Haven for the day and catch the annual Codfish relay. Basically, teams have to don foulies, pick up a large and quite dead codfish and run a few hundred yards, strip off the foulies and the next team member repeats the process. Codfish and team members are quite the worst for wear when the races are over. The whole thing is hilarious and all display fine, if rather smelling, sportsmanship. Great fun.

Good luck with your spring outfitting and thanks so very much for your fine work with maintaining this site for all the members.

Happy Easter

Jenn and Terry

[Cathy Monaghan]

Hey Cathy,

Our home port for all summer will be Northeast Harbor on Mt. Desert Island this year. Kindly let us know when you are in the Penobscot Bay Area this summer as it is easy enough for us to sail over to see you..................

Jenn and Terry

Hi Jenn & Terry,

If all goes as planned, we will be participating in this year's CDSOA Maine Cruise. The cruise is still in the planning stages by fellow CDSOA member and cruise leader Joe DeAlteris. It is tentatively scheduled for July 29-August 4, 2018. If Joe retains the current schedule, the cruise will be arriving in Northeast Harbor, Mt. Desert, on August 3rd and remain there on the 4th.

Fair winds from snowy NJ,
Cathy
CD32 Realization, #3
Rahway, NJ
Raritan Bay

[tjr818]

Of all the times for us to be in Bar Harbor Maine is a long long way from from Saint Louis. My wife will be in the Bar Harbor Fine Arts Festival on the grounds of the Bar Harbor Inn, August 3,4, &5. Stop by I would love to finally meet and chat with some fellow CDSOA members. We will not have or 27 with us, but we can still meet for a beer and some Cape Dory talk.

Tim and Leigh Roberts,
Harbor Point Yacht Club
West Alton, MO