As forecast it is another beautiful day, but with no wind and so we motor the 12 or so miles to the entrance of Hare Bay, which, just like La Hune Bay, is no mere bay, but a fully sculptured fiord.
Somewhat suprisingly as we pass into the fiord, a breeze does spring up from the south and we are able to sail the 6 or so miles up to our destination, Sandy Point, at the head of the fiord.
Once again the scenery is dramatic. Sheer walls of granite with significant greenery clinging to it rise vertically from the depths on either side of us. I guess the fiord is about 800 metres wide.
As I look back to the entrance, the door seems to slam shut.
My sailing guide describes the anchorage at Sandy Point, as the best on Newfoundland's south coast. In my view, a good anchorage must first and foremost provide shelter, then a straightforward entrance, a grand view, and access to an interesting shore.
Sandy Point is beaten on the last of these, by its fairly close by neighbour, the head of the "Morgan Arm" some 3 miles away. It possesses a rather stunning waterfall cascading down into a pool. It is, according to my guide, possible to anchor in the pool but there are dire warnings of boats "bouncing of rocks" that get it wrong and so I do not intend to risk it. I will though stop off for a look and if it measures ip to its billing, take the dinghy in from Sandy Point tomorrow.
I motor up to the entrance of "the pool" ..
....and am convinced I should come back to explore by dinghy. Then, on to Sandy Point. It's a spit that has developed across the other arm at the head of the fiord and behind it is perfect shelter from the slight chop that otherwise permeates the fiord.
I'm out of fresh meat and so make a corned beef hash.
The view is pretty good...
and looking south.
The closest access to the shore is the otherside of Sandy Point, which is the tree lined spit on the left of the photo above. The "Morgan Arm" is 3 miles further on.
When I arrive at Sandy Point another boat is there which seems to be deserted. I can see no dinghy in the water or on deck and so I assume the crew are out exploring. I drop anchor a respectful distance away.
I am out of fresh meat and therefore make a half-hearted attempt to fish, with, unsurprisingly, no luck. Dinner is therefore a sort of corned beef hash and will be tomorrow as well!
As night falls I get slightly concerned because there is still no sign of the crew of the other boat. No anchor light appears and I don't detect any sign of life. I start to imagine that the crew had fallen foul of bears or wolves whilst exploring ashore!
I am aware of no more than a gentle lapping of the water on the hull as I drift off to sleep. Such a contrast to the anchorage at Wild Cove.
25/7/24
I get up around 0800 and poke my head outside. To my surprise I see someone moving about on the other boat and realise they are upping an anchor. I wave, but get no response and soon the boat is disappearing around Sandy Point. I decide I have just 'met' my first anti-social Canadian!
I muddle around for the next couple of hours and eventually get the outboard motor on the dinghy and head off to the 'Morgan Arm' with a decent packed lunch. Three miles there and the same back is too far to row and so I disturb the solitude. It's a relief to get there and turn the machine off.
I enter the pool and tie the dinghy to a tree.
The tree is out od shot to the left.
Then I clamber up the side of the fall...
....and look back....
There are enticing pools in which I decide to swim on my way back...
I continue on and walk up the river bed. I guess that rainfall has been fairly light of late because it's fairly dry...
I continue for what I guess is a mile whilst looking for potential trails I could take up the hillside. After a quarter of a mile there's a fork in the river bed. I take the left one. The two channels rejoin later and I return down the other channel.
I see signs of Elk or Mouse
but not the living creature itself. However, creatures in great abundance are dragonfly. Of course they are too swift for me to capture on camera!
I turn back around at about 1 pm with my thoughts turning to my swim in the pools, followed by lunch!
I'm back at the falls by 2pm and locate the pool I had noticed earlier. I climb down the rocks to a convenient ledge by the water and don my swimming truncks. The likelihood of being 'surprised' by others here, is remote, but ever since Gary and I were caught with our pants down (or rather off) in Bermuda, I have adopted a more cautious approach to wild swimming!
The swimming is delightful - the water not exactly warm but no where near as cold as I expected.
After my swim I dry off on the warm rocks surrounding the pool, have lunch and then a very pleasant siesta. The temperature is just right to soak up the sun without burning and the large rocks make a surprisingly comfortable bed.
After my snooze I gaze around and cannot imagine a more delightful spot for a swim - I feel I am in the company of 'the gods'.
The horizontal slabs of rock on the right partially in the shade, furthest from the camera and against the natural wall, are where I entered the pool, had lunch and my afternoon knap!
Then I go back down the fall to retrieve the dinghy and head back to the boat. I notice another yacht heading up the fiord - it heads for the falls; I'm pretty sure they'll head for Sandy Point later.
I toy with the idea of exploring the beach on the east side of Sandy Point but don't. It's 4pm when I get back to the boat, just enough time for afternoon tea and cake before G&T's in the warm evening sun!
Later, the other boat anchors nearby and I go over to say hello. They're Americans but know this coast well. They're surprised to find anyone else here - the first time apparently!
Back on Bonny, dinner is yesterday's leftovers of corn beef hash.
26/7/24
My plan was to explore further up the river by dinghy today, but it starts raining after breakfast. I check the weather for the next few days. Apart from the next 24 hours when the winds will be light and variable in direction, fresh south westerlies are forecast for the next week. Reluctantly, I decide I had better head west today and keep going to get as far west as possible so that when the fresh south westerlies arrive I'll have a slightly better angle on the wind for my return to Cape Breton. It will mean motoring for probably 24 hours. Hopefully, I'll be able to put into a convenient port near the west end of the south coast tomorrow evening and rest up before tackling the crossing back to Cape Breton.
It takes me a couple of hours to get ready to leave, including getting the dinghy up on deck. I'm not expecting heavy weather of course, but nevertheless I don't want to tow it overnight just in case.
I get the anchor up at 1.15 pm and motor around Sandy Point and down the fiord towards the open sea.
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