Michael was unwell this morning (He's caught my cold) and decided to delay our departure for a day. We the crew, were very sympathetic of course and while disappointed not to make a start on our next leg to Halifax, the upside was that we had an unexpected extra day to explore this beautiful little town.
After a fairly smoky breakfast of delicious burnt toast spread with avocado and sprinkled with spice (Matt's secret recipe) the crew stole the dinghy and went ashore. There we split into two parties. Matt and Rossco turned right to explore the town and inner harbour and walk around to the eastern point, while I turned left towards the Western harbour.
My intention was to further explore the the area as far as the famous Blyman canal cut between the Western harbour to seawards and the Annisquam river. This canal has an opening bridge and I was curious to have a look close up as well as explore the esplanade for the memorial to "Those left behind".
The canal was dug by a local churchman, from whom it takes it's name, in 1643 and the bridge was built in 1907. We were told later (in the pub) that it is the second most frequently opened bridge in the US! Maratime traffic having priority.
When I found the canal and bridge I was surprise by how small it was, probably not more than 40 meters wide at the bridge. The tide was flooding and the sea was rushing thro' the canal into the river at, what seemed to me, a ferocious pace. I simply couldn't believe that it was navigable. As if to prove me wrong it opened as I watched to allow a police launch upstream with the tide and a coastguard cutter down stream against the tide. Both seemed unconcerned and when the bridge reached it full height they both crossed successfully at full throttle sending big wakes up the embankments.
From there I walked along the esplanade to the have a look at the memorials to those lost at sea and those left behind. Pictures when I get bandwidth.
They are very moving memorials. Between 1860 and 1906 at the height of the cod fishing boom some 600 ships and 3380 men were lost at sea, the other statistics were just as awful. Men lost and commemorated by the memorial 5368. Total ships lost 1,000. Lost with all hands 265.
Further along the esplanade was an equally moving memorial to the thousands of widows who struggled to survive and raise their fatherless children. Many of whom entered the trade of their lost fathers!
I turned up Washington street and climbed to the lookout at the aptly named Lookout street. From there I could see the whole of the outer and inner harbours stretching away to the south east to the lighthouse on Eastern Point to my right and the inner harbour with it's busy fishing fleet to my left. The harbour is littered with buoys marking lobster pots and I'm told (in the pub again) it's little changed in the last hundred years. A truly beautiful sight on a rare sunny day.
The afternoon was spent drinking coffee in a little Italian coffee shop on Main Street (very good coffee), crowded with locals all talking at once and not a word of english did I hear in the hour or so I spent sucking up their free WiFi!
Stones Pub was last stop where Rossco joined me for dinner. On his advice we had hamburgers with crispy bacon and peanut butter and a side of sweet potato fries washed down with a couple of local craft beers from Belfast Bay called Lobster Ale. We were assured by the bar staff that no lobsters suffered in the brewing process!
The pub was a mine of useful and surprising information (see above) as well as a small window into a very close and hardy community. Rossco and I had a "cool time"
Back onboard we were surprised to find we had a visitor, Mike, an old mate of Matt's, who lives on Eastern point and commutes each day to Boston. He had paddled several miles up the bay on his board to catch up with Matt.
The rum was splashed about after our guest had departed and Michael (now somewhat recovered) filled us in on his day.
More later PK
Rossco Keeping watch...
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