Hello Meshuggana!

When we last saw Meshuggana in September, she was perched on jack-stands in the parking lot of the Royal Newfoundland Yacht Club. Hurricane Larry did a number on her, bending and snapping two stanchions and taking a bite out of her rudder. Allen removed the damaged stanchions and brought them back to Toronto to repair himself, and we hired a local fibreglass expert to repair the rudder. We were satisfied with the repairs and thought all she would need was a coat of bottom paint and a good cleaning. We were wrong.

Newfoundland can be punishing in winter and unfortunately, Meshuggana felt its wrath. It is common practice in Ontario to shrink-wrap boats for winter storage, to protect them from the elements and UV damage. What we did not know last Fall was that the opposite is true in Newfoundland – shrink wrapping is not recommended.
Newfoundland winters come with strong winds and often massive amounts of snow. The wind and snow-load exerts immense pressure on the shrink-wrap and the supporting wooden structure underneath the wrap. The pressure on the shrink-wrap and frame that was installed in the Fall (for $1000!) caused two more stanchions to bend, with one being pulled right out of the deck. To make matters worse, the damaged wood frame punctured the dinghy, which was stored on the deck. We had a lot of work to do to make Meshuggana sea-worthy again. Fortunately, Allen has the skills and with some help, he was able to get the parts, tools and resources to get her in the water on schedule.
Back in January when we began to think about driving to Newfoundland, but first we had to overcome two major obstacles: one-way car rentals are crazy expensive, and while Cat Stevens is a natural sailor, he gets violently car-sick. We needed to figure out a plan to return our vehicle to Toronto and not torture the cat for 3 weeks. We found the perfect solution!

My sister Inese and her husband Arnis have talked about taking an East coast road trip. They love Cat Stevens (and he loves them) so we came up with a plan: Cat Stevens stays with his “aunt & uncle” while Allen and I drive to Newfoundland 2) Inese, Arnis and CS fly to St. John’s 3 weeks after we leave 3) they give us the cat and we give them the vehicle for their East Coast road trip! It worked out perfectly and an extra wonderful bonus was spending time with family as well as their great help with getting the us and the boat prepped for our journey.

On July 28, Meshuggana was ship-shape and splashed into Conception Bay, ready for new adventures. The first adventure was on Bell Island, very close by in Conception Bay.

Bell Island is just a 20-minute ferry ride from the mainland, so we visited while we still had a vehicle. The island is famous for its iron-ore mines, that produced some the of purest product, 53% iron-ore, from 1895 to 1969 when they were closed and sealed. Bell Island has a rich history as well. During WWII, 4 ships were torpedoed and sunk in the harbour by a German U-Boat, to disrupt iron-ore shipments to US and UK weapons factories.

Twenty years ago, Mine #2 was re-opened as a museum and tourist destination, with the tour taking us 650 meters down under the ocean. The shaft was closed in the 1940’s and was not modernized with electricity while still in use – it now has electric lighting and gravel pathways for tourists. Our tour guide, Brian, had two grandfathers that worked in that mine for decades, so he shared with us some incredible personal stories of life as a miner.

On July 29 we embarked on a 6-hour sail around Cape St. Francis to one of our favourite cities, St. John’s. This time the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and the city was alive with tourists – even a cruise ship was in port. We were looking forward to the arrival of our friends from Toronto (and fellow ABYCers), Dan and Hazel coming to join us for two weeks of sailing adventures.
We departed St John’s on an uncharacteristically sunny day, retracing our path from last year, passing Cape Spear (the eastern most point of N America), the rugged Newfoundland coastline and were treated to several whale sightings and many, many puffins, on our way south.

We loved sharing some of our favorite ports with our friends and giving them a taste for Atlantic sailing (it’s not Lake Ontario!), but we were not expecting a major problem – engine failure. After spending a peaceful evening at the wharf in a small fishing village, St. Bride’s, we set out for a 12-hour sail across Placentia Bay. Conditions were rough, but we needed to beat a worsening weather window. About an hour into a bouncy ride, the engine sputtered and stopped. We had a big decision to make – turn around and return to St. Bride’s, a town with no resources, or keep going to our original destination, across a large bay, to St. Lawrence. We are a sailboat, so we put up the sails and moved forward.
Discomfort and stress was high, wind was just off our nose and 2-meter (6 foot) waves were crashing. Then the fog rolled in making visibility nearly zero. We focused on keeping the sails full, the boat steady, taking naps and trying to keep morale up. For most of the distance we had no internet or cell reception, but the moment we got a signal, I called the St. Lawrence Harbour master to request a tow once we reached their shore. Newfoundlanders to the rescue again! After almost 13 hours at sea, with zero visibility and 5 miles from shore, Brian, an off-duty paramedic with his friend Derek, came out to tow us to shore and safety. Once we were safely tied up to the wharf, we asked Brian what we owed him. His answer – nothing! We gave him a bottle of Appleton’s rum, which he graciously accepted.

Allen diagnosed the reason for engine failure – dirty fuel. Allen again had the skills and resources, and with Dan’s help and a long, hot day dealing with smelly diesel tanks, polished the fuel and got the engine running. Relieved everything was good, we took a much needed land break and did some hiking, blueberry picking and even experienced St. Lawrence’s Come Home Weekend, a reunion weekend when former residents come back home for a weekend of concerts, games, fireworks and family fun.

St Lawrence let us fix the engine and recharge our own personal batteries, and after 3 beautiful nights in port, our next designation was calling – France!