Fortune to Grey River

 

We head to Grey River. We wanted to go to Isle aux Morts (not cheerful, those names – do we see a pattern here?) but the breeze won’t cooperate, so we pick an closer spot. There are so many option anyway… so, Grey river.

The entrance to is a bit tense, no visibility at all (let’s say, 250 meters), and we have to find a gap in the cliffs that is about 400 meter wide. In addition, there is a SW swell that MIGHT break at the entrance according to the nautical guide. If this is the case, we might found ourselves uncontrollably surfing towards the cliff but from where we are, maybe 500 meters away, we have no way to find if this is a real risk, apart guessing the situation from the rumble of the waves breaking on the cliffs. We feel our way in with the GPS. And then we are inside the fjord (the place IS really a fjord; plus I have to do a bit of marketing as Eric absolutely wants to visit fjords; a Fjord it is).  Inside, the fog lifts (somehow) and we motor to Frenchman cove.

We drop the anchor in Frenchman cove. I get the attraction for fjords Eric, but no, thanks. I find them lugubrious, spooky, lonely. Too Gothic for me, I prefer Roman.

One surprise is that we see a skiff power out of nowhere going nowhere (as far as we can tell). And back. And then another skiff emerging out of the fog (we are dressed with 3 layers, the guys are in T-shirt – where do they come from? ) and heading for a kind of tiny beach at the bottom of the cliff. One of them steps ashore with something (a roll of tape) and comes back a few minutes later and they are gone. Discreet wave.  it reminds me of a time I anchored in Minquiers (a minuscule, off the way archipelago way off Cotentin coast), it was same scenario – you are alone, then someone comes in from nowhere, does mysterious moves, and leave with a discreet wave from the distance…

Frenchman cove, the fjord...

After a couple of hours in Frenchman Cove, we move back to the village end of afternoon. We anchor in front of the village. A sundowner (have to trust the clock on that one as fog did and will not lift), and we row ashore - the whole thing turns out to be a very good surprise. Grey river, 70 inhabitants, is one of the few remaining  outports. Those are communities that are not connected to land. Most have been re-settled:  the government makes the inhabitants move to another, bigger place, say,  Port-au-Basques. But here, there is still a school, and (apparently) some permanent residents. We walk the village, basically a small lane running through the cluster of houses. They have a large diesel generator but even at night lights are sparse.

The Grey River outport

They have “Landlines” through a big aerial, but no cell service. We meet a local, Ira,  on the quay, the frustration with the government policies is not far below the surface (and that goes as far back to  questioning why Newfoundland chose to integrate to Canada…) . 

Ida makes his point

We elucidate the boat traffic in the fjord: it is a family going to their cabin up the fjord for the weekend. I check Ira: so people find it too crowded here ? the irony is not lost on him. He is born in Ramea island, which is in fact probably more populated and more open than Grey river… I also wonder why he has chosen to come to live there… and so his wife. Nice guy and very well mannered; reminds me of the folks in Western Ireland.   

Regarding outport people, I heard a good line in a local song about Ourport people yesterday"... we never asked to be found". 

Anyway, a great escale, really different from anything else.