Waiting for spring

It's been a tough spring for getting ready for the summer sailing season.  While waiting for a sea trial of Breathofaire, I decided a respite trip to Cape Breton to fish and play music with friends was in order.

On the 14 hour drive from home, we saw from the road and photographed one of this summer's planned sailing destinations - Digdequash Harbor in Passamaquoddy Bay. The islands in the harbor make for a delightful, memorable anchorage.

We will be using our long anchor rode.  The best spot shows 18' at low tide but nearly 50' at high.  Our stout braided anchor rode is 360' long.

Digdequash Harbor from the highway.  Bird Island in the distance

It was in this harbor years ago that I encountered a waterman from Newfoundland.  We were anchored north of Bird Island a spot with moderately good protection. Dinner was being prepped below and I was standing in the cockpit pondering the state of the world around our boat. This is the land of bald eagles and big tides - infinitely fascinating. My pondering became focused when I spied a lone man standing in a large open aluminum skiff coming down the harbor. He stood steering a moderate sized outboard with an extension handle.

When I waved a friendly wave, he diverted his course to intercept our boat. I started pondering what the issue was going to be about our being anchored in this spot. I guess I have spent too much time in crowded harbors where there are local customs, rules and feuds of which one has to be aware. A boat coming at you with a guy steering while standing at he ready usually indicates that there's going to be a issue that will need to be resolved. In these waters, everyone one encounters is friendly and just want to chat.

Anyway, when he came alongside, I got a good look at his craft and an interesting story to boot. The boat was a totally open, high free-board skiff.  It had no seat, no life jacket and no amenities.  What it had was a bilge pump, a battery, a gas tank, and kelp harvesting tools. Kelp harvesting has its own issues which I won't debate in this post.  He said that he was down from Newfoundland to harvest kelp because he could get $25 CAN per ton of kelp delivered to the dock.

After chatting for a while, he said that he had to catch the tide and off he went.  Time passed - not that long really and up the harbor he came.  Kelp was piled high in the skiff with mere inches of freeboard left from its load.  The bilge pump was working furiously to keep the craft from sinking. It's a good thing that there wasn't any boat traffic to create wake.

I guess the economy is pretty bleak in Newfoundland when $25 CAN would entice a man from his home island.