Saturday 6/25/2022 - Day 14 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

We departed St Barbe, Newfoundland today and headed north on Highway 430, to our destination, for today, St Anthony. Our stay at the St Barbe RV Park was exceptional.

Just after we turned back onto Highway 430, there is a fishing weir. A fish weir is an obstruction placed, wholly or partially, across a river, to direct the passage of fish. A weir may be used to trap fish. Alternatively, fish weirs can be used to channel fish to a particular location. Weirs are traditionally built from wood and stone. This weir is used to count Salmon in the river. After the fish are counted and measured, they are released.

The use of fishing weirs as fish traps dates back prior to the emergence of modern humans, and have since been used by many societies across the world. The word weir comes from the Anglo-Saxon wer, one meaning of which is a device to trap fish. In Ireland, fish traps in association with weirs have been found that date from 8,000 years ago. In medieval Europe, large fishing weir structures were constructed from wood posts and wattle fences. Such weirs were frequently the cause of disputes between various classes of river users and tenants of neighboring land.

Nameless Cove is a small community just off the main highway between Flower's Cove and Savage Cove. It is situated on a point of land in the Strait of Belle Isle that is close to mainland Labrador. The area was mapped by James Cook in 1764. During the early 19th century English fishermen began to settle in the area. By 1857 there were eleven families in Flower's Cove and Nameless Cove while most communities in the Strait of Belle Isle had only one family. Dempster, Walsh and Diamond were the surnames familiar to Nameless Cove in the late 1800's. These families continue to live in Nameless Cove today.

A fishing settlement situated along a wide bay on the southeast shore of the Strait of Belle Isle, Green Island Cove, also known as Green Island Harbor, takes its name from the small grassy island located offshore from the cove. This island, which provides shelter and a fair anchorage between the island and the mainland, was so named because it was agreeable in color to the name it bears. Captain James cook labeled both Green Island Brook to the north and Green Island Cove in 1764. Green Island Cove was first settled by Englishmen who came to the coast in the 1870s by way of fishing rooms and mercantile premises at Forteau and Anchor Point. Green Island Cove was originally established as a sealing and furring post, one of a string of such posts established along the Newfoundland shore of the Strait of Belle Isle by the Genge family based at Anchor Point.

Eddies Cove East is an unincorporated fishing community located northeast of Anchor Point in the Strait of Belle Isle. The settlement is situated on a shallow inlet with good shelter for small boats. Eddies Cove East was first settled by Phillip Coates, a Somerset fisherman, and his wife Sarah Duncan. The first official census in 1869, records one family with ten children in 1871. Because of a relatively high incidence of tuberculosis in the community from 1884 to 1911 the population grew slowly but reached 100 by 1935. The fishing season is relatively short because of severe ice and fog conditions. Herring and cod have been the main species fished. The shrimp and scallop fishery, with its longer season, has been pursued since 1970. Logging and saw milling have provided supplementary income, and the community produces a good quantity of vegetables for local use. In 1981 a post office and government wharf was constructed in Eddies Cove East. Much of their lineage can be found in the East Anglican Cemetery.

In Newfoundland there are a couple of unique activities. One is wood cutting. Each family can get a wood cutting permit for up to 18 cords of wood. The wood is cut in the winter when the bogs are frozen. They ride out on their snowmobiles with a sled attached, the wood hauling sled.

The wood is cut and stacked by the roadside to dry. As I have said before, everyone leaves each other's wood alone, no problem with stealing there.

On the drive to St Anthony, we passed the Straits of Labrador, a mere 28 miles wide, which connects the Sea of Labrador with the Gulf of St Lawrence. This stretch is part of what is called Iceberg Alley. One of the features of the Newfoundland landscape that we wanted to see close up was an iceberg. It was where we saw plenty of icebergs but at a distance.

Highway 430 starts to turn away from the coast and started back into the wooded areas on either side of the highway. We passed this sign today, we are going to the Norse settlement in a few days and we will learn more about the Vikings arrival to this area. We arrived at Triple Falls RV Park. It has 130 sites with electric and water. The park has campsites secluded by trees and open areas that accommodate groups. We all had back-in sites in the open area.

After we got set-up, we caravaned in cars to St Anthony for our afternoon boat tour and greeting by a City Commissioner.

The Northland Discovery Boat Tours promised whales and icebergs to boot. We headed out of the harbor with about 25 other watchers. It was a warm sunny day, with a slight breeze on the water, perfect weather for our tour! As we headed out from the harbor at St Anthony the water was rough.

There was one mammoth iceberg out there, then the captain tells us we are heading out there! Where the bottom of the berg meets the sea water, its color changed from white to a bluer color. We circled the icebergs, always keeping our distance as these icebergs are constantly melting and changing shape.

The iceberg had two distinct parts above the water, one looked like a bear, the other a dragon. However, just under the surface they were still connected. Our guide explained that if the berg breaks free or suddenly shifts as the weight distribution changes from melting, a boat can be swamped in the resulting wave.

Deep blue cracks several feet wide up the side of the iceberg came from glacial streams that filled voids and refroze before the iceberg broke off from the glacier. The gasses trapped in the ice are over 10,000 years old and due to the lack of industrial pollution at formation, totally pure.

And of course Iceberg Beer, Iceberg Water and Iceberg Vodka, all Island exclusives, are only made from the water of melted icebergs. It is the sheer size of them that overwhelms you. You will never forget them.

Coming back into the harbor, you had a glimpse of the St Anthony lighthouse and the restaurant that some will be eating at tonight.

After we got off the boat, we walked in the footsteps of Sir Wilfred Grenfell and learned about his legacy at the Grenfell Interpretation Center. St. Anthony is the home of the Grenfell Mission, established by the International Grenfell Association to provide medical services to the scattered and isolated population of northern Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Grenfell Interpretation Center and Grenfell Handicrafts. This center gives you a glimpse into the life and times of Dr Wilfred Grenfell through a gallery of interpretive panels and displays. We started our tour with a film about his life and accomplishments. 

Dr Grenfell single-handedly tackled the medical plights of people in coastal Labrador during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Dr Grenfell also established co-operative stores in several communities, encouraged women to produce handicrafts for sale, started a sawmill which eventually failed, and established orphanages, schools, agricultural stations and other invaluable social and economic endeavors. Today, the center houses Grenfell Handicrafts, which provides training and a marketing service for beautiful, hand-embroidered parkas and other unique products that can be purchased.

On a Saturday, a councilman, met us at the town offices and told us all about St Anthony’s rich and vibrant history. Named in 1534 by French explorer Jacques Cartier it has held a strategic location to rich fishing grounds and a haven to fishing fleets. It was later named St Anthony Haven. In 1892 a British doctor named Wilfred Grenfell arrived in St. Anthony and commenced building a medical system that has grown to serve the entire region of Northern Newfoundland and Labrador.

The first Municipal Council was formed in July, 1945 and has since seen 87 people serve on various councils. The town is proud of St Anthony’s many accomplishments in their development, including their marine service center, fish plant operations, small and large business development.

The councilman also shared the history of the 10 foot tall polar bear in the town offices, don’t worry, he is stuffed. This big fella was wandering around the town and hanging near the elementary school. Wildlife rescuers were called in to aid in the relocation of the polar bear. He was tranquilized and complications arose and the bear had to be euthanized. He would have been sent to a facility for research, but the town asked to keep the animal. The request was granted and he now stands watch over all the activities of the town offices and the public library.

After our visit with the Councilman, we headed to see the lighthouse up close. The cliffs by the lighthouse at Fishing Point Park offer some of the best shore based whale watching and iceburg viewing.

There was an optional dinner at Lightkeepers Seafood Restaurant, one of the top rated restaurants in Newfoundland. It affords you beautiful views of the harbor, whales and icebergs. It sits atop St Anthony Fishing Point and near the lighthouse. We skipped dinner, because the couple that rode with us was ready to get back to the rigs. Which was probably a good thing, because we keep eating out and I keep bringing half my meals home … we have tons of left overs!