Getting into position

Loading the gear

So after 2 days of paddling in the local Burgeo area, it was Tuesday - ferry day.

The primary reason we had come to Burgeo was to take the last ferry to Grand Bruit and then on towards Rose Blanche to paddle the approximately 100 kms back. Grand Bruit, a community that's existed for over 150 years was being resettled and the ferry was being discontinued.

We were going to live part of Newfoundland's history and be eye witnesses to the depopulation and resettlement of a remote community. I've been in resettled communities many years after when the building had fallen down. Now, I was going to be at the funeral.

Waiting to board

The Marine Eagle landed in Burgeo from Grand Bruit with a full compliment of passengers (surprisingly limited to 12) and their household belongings. Some of the passengers were making their last ferry trip out of Gran Bruit and I sensed it was a solemn occasion.

It took some time to offload the freight and as we waited we fielded questions about our boats and our plans.

All aboard

We lugged the fully loaded boats aboard and lay them on the rear deck.

Surveying the coast

We stayed on deck for our ferry ride to Grand Bruit aboard the Marine Eagle to survey the coast we would be paddling back along in a couple of days.

Joe, proprietor of the Cramalott Inn at Grand Bruit, gave us tips on where we were as we sailed and where we could get off the water if we needed. It was a lot of information to remember.

Arrival at Grand Bruit

A 3 hour steam at 9 knots brought us to Grand Bruit. The church dominated the community with the Blue Hills of Grand Brut behind.

Comfy in Grand Bruit

We were given the keys to the home of one of the relocated families where we holed up for the night hoping to get on the ferry the next day for Rose Blanche. It was touch and go because the ferry could only take 12 persons and the freight waiting to be moved meant there was no room for our boats. We anguished over what to do.

But, lady luck was on our side. The weather turned miserable overnight; it rained and the wind blew hard. The wind whipped the sea into a sizeable swell so much so that the rear deck of the ferry was awash and they couldn't take the household freight. The next morning we got our boats aboard, secured them and we were on our way to Rose Blanche.

Next day departure

Having gotten on the ferry at Grand Bruit we steamed almost 3 hours aboard the Marine Eagle to Rose Blanche. When we arrived at Rose Blanche the only suitable camping space was beside a run-down fish plant so Ralph arranged for free transport to Harbour le Cou, 5 minutes away. There we set up our tents by a vacant house, cooked supper and hit the hay for an early morning departure.

The serious business was about to begin.

The islands of Burgeo

Islands in the stream

There are tens of islands of all sizes just outside of Burgeo. On a map, they look like sprayed buckshot fired out of a 12-gauge shotgun.

Ralph, Stan and I were in Burgeo for a second day awaiting the scheduled Tuesday ferry run to Grand Bruit. The previous day we were in active water to the east of Burgeo. On this day we explored some of the islands that lay outside the town.

The next land beyond these islands would be the islands of the Carribean so we made sure not to paddle in an offshore wind!

Venice, Newfoundland?

Burgeo is heavily indented by the sea. It almost gives the impression of being a town built on a series of islands, like Venice, without the gondolas and architecture. Here Ralph and Stan paddle out the "Grand Canal" *lol* on our way out to the islands.

Oily calm seas

This was my first trip to the south coast. I don't know how many days a year the sea is as calm as this but I'd guess not many. No matter, it had settled after yesterday's swell of up to 2 metres and we were in for a sweat day of paddling.

Weathered granites

The area around Burgeo is composed of Silurian granites of varying crystal sizes indicating the granite was implaced at different depths. The greater the depth, the longer the magma took to cool resulting in larger the crystal sizes. Exposed after 100's of millions of years they're weathered to a tan colour by the pounding of the sea.

Between a rock and a hard place

Ralph and Stan paddling between Baggs Island and Rencontre Island.

Coming ashore

From the islands the beach at Sandbanks Provincial Park was clear to see and so we went there for a break. A sandy beach is preferable to a boulder strewn beach but it also has disadvantages - the fine sand gets into everything. I'd be finding sand the rest of the trip.

Sand into the horizon

Burgeo boasts the best sandy beaches in Newfoundland and on this evidence, who could argue. Too bad they are so far away from the populated areas. If they were closer they'd be packed with people rather than not another soul besides us.

We made out way back to Burgeo where we made final checks of our gear and supplies in preparation for our ferry trip to Grand Bruit the following day. Then the real paddling would begin.

It would be a week later and we'd be paddling along this beach again on our way to completing our south coast adventure.

Red Island

Getting underway

Ralph, Stan and I came to Burgeo to take the ferry down the coast to Rose Blanche and paddle 100 plus kms back. We came 2 days early to do some paddling locally and on our first full day in Burgeo we decided to paddle east towards Red Island.

We stayed at the Burgeo Haven B & B where they were well set-up for sea kayakers. We were able to get dressed in the boat house and step into our boats off of a convenient dock.

Leaving Burgeo

Paddling down Short Reach we were leaving Burgeo behind with its houses huddled together right down to the water.

Looking out Short Reach

Once we cleared the community, we could see our destination in the distance. To the right lay a bunch of islands that hid Burgeo if viewed passing at sea and to the left were the hilly cliffs that stretched east into the the distance and out of sight.

Bay de Loup

Burgeo left behind, we paddled across Bay de Loup. The swell was running from the southwest and where it was getting squeezed into the Bay, it heaved up into 2 metre high, occasionally breaking waves. I'm always amazed at how calm the water looks when I view the pictures I took even in those conditions. They never seem to do justice.

Rounding Salmon Net Head

After paddling across the top of Red Island we rounded Salmon Net Head and entered Northeast Arm where we expected the water to settle.

In Northeast Arm

The waters became calm after we rounded Salmon Net Head and entered into Northeast Arm. At the bottom of the Arm were the locations of the former communities of Red Island and Doctor Harbour.

Tranquility Base

At the bottom of Northeast Arm we found this sheltered spot where there the community of Red Island used to be. We stopped here for a snack break and marveled at the serenity of the place.

Barely an island

An island by definition is a stand alone body of land separated from the mainland by water. Here there's a narrow passage at the back end of Red Island that we slipped through on our return to Burgeo.

Some can pass

We were told of this place where its possible to pass from Bay de Loup into the the bay leading to Northwest Arm at Red Island. We missed it on the way to Red Island but I spotted it on the way back. At high tide its easily passable but we were there at low tide. I, being lighter than Ralph and Stan, was able to knuckle walk the kayak over the sand bar. The guys got out to pull their boats over and joined me on the other side as we continued our paddle back to Burgeo. A "warm up" paddle of 26 km.

Off to the South Coast

Air photo of Grand Bruit area

Tomorrow Stan, Ralph and I are off to Burgeo on the South Coast of the island to do a multi-day paddle between Rose Blanche and Burgeo. We'll take the last provincial ferry run to Grand Bruit and on to Rose Blanche to begin our paddle back.

Its a very exposed coast. Due south are the Bahama Islands, Cuba and the rest of the Carribean islands. I checked out the air photos at the Government Lands Division and noted there are very few and far between takes outs. Once launched, we're committed.

Our greatest asset will be judgement. Hopefully the weather will cooperate.

I expect to be back around July 5.

Wrist gasket replacement

Remove old gasket

Picture from my last post I'm using again to document the entire gasket replacement process in one post.

This was the left side that didn't work out so smoothly but I came up with a better system that worked very well.

I cut off most of the old gasket and then used the iron set on medium heat to remove the remaining piece of the old gasket.

Recommend checking out Kokotat website for other hints to replace wrist gaskets. I won't comment on all the details. This post is directed more at the mechanical part of replacing the wrist gasket.

My hardware

I cut off a piece of wood from a log that was just bigger than a coffee can that I knew slipped into the sleeve of the drysuit. I sanded and trimmed so that it would be relatively snug when inserted. Then I cut the round piece in half and a bit off of each side so I could insert wedges to really snug-up the material.

Inserted into drysuit arm

I taped a piece of waxed paper on both pieces to prevent the work being glued onto the wood.

I placed both halves of the form into the sleeve and tensioned up the material by sliding in the shims.

An elastic placed on the material above where I will apply the Aquaseal holds the material in place, just in case.

From here I placed the new gasket in position where I wanted it and placed another elastic over the latex gasket to hold it so it can't move while gluing and manipulation.

Ready to apply Aquaseal

After securing the gasket with the elastic I peeled the edge back so that I could get it ready to apply Aquaseal to both the gasket and the drysuit material.

I cleaned both surfaces with rubbing alcohol and then sanded with 220 grit sandpaper. Clean up with rubbing alcohol after sanding. Apply Aquaseal with a popsicle stick on both surfaces.

I put popsicle sticks under the gasket where I rolled it back. The popsicle sticks made it easy to roll the glued gasket back over onto the edge of the suit material where I also applied Aquaseal.

Ready to dry

Here's the new gasket in place and now all left to do is wait for the Aquaseal to dry.

Just like a factory job

And this is the finished product. This looks as good as the original factory job so I was very pleased.

Interesting note: its a small gasket that Jon at The Outfitters salvaged from Alex's suit. He didn't have any small gaskets in stock so he gave me the used one. Thanks Jon!

Good timing

Removing the old gasket

Last Thursday as I put on my drysuit for a practice session at St. Philips one of my wrist gaskets blew out. Bummer. I pulled the velcro tight and had a productive night anyway.

I was lucky that it happened when it did because I have an extended trip planned for next week and it would have been a scramble to get it fixed. I doubt I would have had it repaired in time.

So, I had a week. Brian suggested I have a go myself. Nothing to it he said. That's easy to say after you've done a few as I now know.

With considerable trepidation I started the job and cut the old gasket out. Set iron on medium heat to release the remaining gasket from the drysuit material. That worked good.

To make a long story short, I made a mess of it. I had it all set up nicely to glue the new gasket on but the gasket moved. Aquaseal all over my hands, sweating bullets, a prayer or two and I took it apart to dry and make a second attempt the next day. Better luck but the end product wasn't pretty.

I've learned and made up a jig to do the other gasket that I believe will work better. If so, I'll post some pictures to save some other poor soul the experience I had.

Pot of gold

A double rainbow!

They say there's a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. I don't know anyone who's found it. I know lots of people who chase it, everyday. I don't. I'm content with my lot in life.

Today I celebrate Fathers' Day. A hug and a kiss, that's my pot of gold.

Happy Fathers' Day all you dads.