9-6, Harbour Breton to Facheux Bay

Monday (US and Canadian Labor Day)- A cool and breezy sunny day.


Ann writes:


Viewed a Salmon farming operation on our departure from Hr. Breton.  Note to self:  write indignant letter to Julie Packard re: she shouldn't be so quick to criticize an operation that keeps this community alive.

Not exactly a polluting operation- this harbor is over 400 ft deep

Tending the salmon cages- I will order more Atlantic Salmon from now on, regardless of Ms. Packard's opinions!

Started sailing, but conditions turned from tolerable to terrible in a matter of hours. I became a useless lump barely hanging, pondering how to lose my breakfast gracefully.  Jon, on the other hand was a real hero, finding a closer alternate anchorage, and then hand-steering to reduce the bashing on the bow.  He got absolutely soaked by the spray.

I ended up with a mild case of hypothermia- I was shaking uncontrollably and somewhat hysterical. Jon had to wrap me in blankets and heat up the master berth.

Jon writes:

We left Harbor Breton with the intent of sailing to Hare Bay, one of the fjords to the west. The wind built through the morning until we had the 2nd reef in the mainsail close hauled, with a seaway that was very confused by the large left over swell from Earl. This made it heavy going. We had to round a point to the west and could then turn further off the wind. By then we had nearly 30 knots, the course to Hare Bay was going to be a wet and rough one, so I turned instead toward Facheux Bay - both closer and another 30 degrees off the wind. Hand steering to try to avoid the larger mountains and holes in the water, we entered the relative calm of the Facheux fjord feeling quite soaked and chilled, and anchored in Brent's Cove about 5 miles in on the west side. The fjords have vertical granite walls perhaps 1200 ft high broken occasionally by waterfalls. The walls continue below the water: much of the time the bottom was too deep to measure - more than 600 ft - only  a few feet from the shore.

At the anchorage, there was not a single artificial light visible except our own, the Milky Way shone brilliantly in the sky. The closest small town is 30 miles away, the closest city 130. There is no light pollution here!

Leaving the Facheux Bay anchorage at Brent's Cove

Across Facheux Bay opposite Brent's Cove is its twin, Allen Cove

This is the mid south coast of Newfoundland, cut every few miles by deep fjords. The two islands lower right are, peculiarly, French territory and one must clear customs into France to enter them.

The "fjord coast" of Newfoundland (click to expand)

Facheux Bay extends 9 miles into the Newfoundland rock, but is only about 2000 ft wide at its entrance. The depth soundings through most of the bay are about 380 meters - 1200 ft deep!

Chart of Facheux Bay (click to expand)

'Anomaly' is currently lying Baddeck Harbor, Nova Scotia