Rosiru (Rose au Rue)

Breadcrumbs

The breadcrumbs from the top of Merasheen to Rosiru.  Originally Rose au Rue, it is usually called Rosiru by local people.  The batteries in the GPS went dead at Rose au Rue Point.

 Heading south

Having arrived at Merasheen Island after our crossing from Arnolds Cove we turned our bows south towards Big Island.

 Little Brule Harbour

Clyde and Neville crossing the mouth of Little Brule Harbour (pronounced Brewley).

 Passable?

It looked like we could get through here but the tide was still too low so what appeared to be an island was still attached to Mersheen proper.  We paddled around and into Crabbe Cove.

 Great Brule

We entered the harbour at Great Brule where we intended to stop for lunch.  Great Brule was the site of a community that was established in the early 1800's and had a peak population of 108 in 1951.  Just four years later it was abandoned.

Looking east

Landed on the beach at Great Brule and looking east showed it was well protected.  I recall seeing  picture of this harbour filled with anchored schooners but can't quite find it to provide a link.  Seeing the place now, its hard to believe it was once so active.

 Narrow neck

Great Brule harbour on the east is separated from St. Bernard's Cove on the west by a narrow neck almost cutting Mersheen in two here.  I was unable to get high and far away enough to catch the water on both sides but the beach at St. Barnard's in the foreground gives an indication of the narrowness of the neck.

Typical coastline

Paddling down the east side of Merasheen a bit of a breeze was blowing up the Middle Channel between it and Long Island to starboard.  The camera seems to flatten the water but we all had water  regularly flowing over the bow and foredeck.  It made for a bit of a slog as we approached Butler Island just ahead, but it was brightening up.

Rosiru Island

 Rosiru Island meant the first day paddle was almost over.

Rosiru reached

The patch of green in front of my bow beckoned at the end of a 36.5 km paddle, much of it into the wind.  Mercifully, the wind dropped on the approach to Rosiru, protected by Rosiru Island.

Rosiru, settled in 1884, was the site of a whaling station and there was plenty of evidence of its past laying around as we would see.