Newfoundland

Colin carries on with his tale of an unsurprisingly unpleasant crossing to Newfoundland with a surprisingly pleasant landfall.

Colin carries on with the story of their 2018 cruise: A nerve jangling approach, deserted anchorages, a spooky abandoned village and managing a boat mechanical problem of the type that seem to plague us all sooner or later—a tale of real cruising.

Though we’ve visited Grand Bank before and we’ve spent numerous nights tied up in Port-aux-Basques, that doesn’t mean we’ve experienced all these places have to offer!

Though road-served, Rose Blanche still has an out-of-this-world feeling.

Outports (isolated non-road served Newfoundland communities) are slowly dying as the youth move to more urban environments for work. So don’t wait too long to visit the ones that remain.

The outport of La Poile, Newfoundland—beautiful and isolated and aging.

Ice hockey, street hockey, field hockey…wharf hockey?

The outport of Grand Bruit, Newfoundland—closed in 2010, it’s a beautiful and eerie waystop.

Burgeo, Newfoundland—bakeries, beaches, and…a canal?

Bakeapples and fog…Newfoundland shows its true colours!

The south coast of Newfoundland offers two beautiful fjord anchorages at Doctor Harbour and White Bear Bay.

Ramea, though on an island off the south coast of Newfoundland, is served by a car ferry from the road-connected town of Burgeo.

The outport of Francois has a lot to offer, including a floating dock and hiking—everything from short strolls on the boardwalk to an epic.

Deadman’s Cove has it all: a sheltered anchorage (in most conditions), challenging hike, stunning scenery, and a private swimming pool.

Gaultois doesn’t see very many visiting sailboats and so the townsfolk come to the wharf to visit. Unfortunately, on this visit the weather didn’t allow Morgan’s Cloud to stay long.

A visit to Hermitage to do the laundry became a visit filled with great experiences in an unexpected treasure of a place.

McCallum is another friendly Hermitage Bay village with a quirky custom.

Phyllis and John return to a magic harbour where their cruising life together began.

If you are a cruiser, the health of coastal communities will be of interest. Phyllis has some thoughts.

An outport in Placentia Bay? Who knew!

Sure, listen to local knowledge, and cruising guides can help choose a destination, but sometimes it’s better to go your own way and make up your own mind.

A number of our friends have written that they have missed our news letters, which have been few and far between lately. Their reminders, plus the quickly approaching holiday season, have galvanized us into doing something about our long silence (due to a very busy schedule, not apathy!).

Phyllis shares the latest act of kindness bestowed on her and John by a Newfoundlander.

After recommending the Lewisporte Marina to a number of cruisers looking to leave their boat in Newfoundland over a winter, John and Phyllis finally get a chance to visit Lewisporte themselves…for the second time in John’s case.

Beautiful and remote, Little Bay Islands, Newfoundland, is a gem of an outport harbour. Phyllis writes about the village’s struggle to stay viable and how it resolved.

After 20 years of sailing north toward Newfoundland and on to Labrador, John thought he knew how to get it done…until the weather patterns threw him a curve ball.

Phyllis and John are back out cruising and in one of their favourite parts of the world.