Labrador: Mesher’s Harbour

                                                                                               The wind was too light to test the repair on the way to Mesher’s Harbour, instead we used the calm to run our engine at a higher rpm to burn off any carbon build up. By the time we arrived at entrance to Mesher’s Harbour the wind had picked up just in time to make getting into the bay challenging. Our cruising guide explained that their was a shallow bar and suggested staying 60ft off the starboard side rocks to keep enough water under the keel. The wind strength and direction made it impossible to safely go as close as 60ft to the shore. With the wind pushing us sideways we also needed to cross the bar at a higher speed than we would normally choose to do when crossing a shallow bar to avoid being blown down onto rocks. The one consolation was the guide said the bottom was soft mud so at least we wouldn’t do damage if we bumped bottom. 

With Frances at the bow, Krystina kept Snow Dragon as close to the shore as she could and made it over the bar without seeing anything less than 3.5m on the depth sounder. We didn’t see any sign of the river the guide suggested anchoring by on the north side of the bay and decided to anchor on the south side based on aesthetics. Aside from a small cabin that looked well maintained but not currently in use, the area was wild forest. An unusual sight for us after spending the previous months in areas where trees are few an far between.

 On our way to shore we took the dinghy over to look at the sandbar which was easy to see in the clear water. The bar did appear to be mostly mud but there were a few scattered boulders that would not have been a good idea to hit. Not ready to walk amongst the dense spruce and larch trees we opted to explore one of the rocky islands at the entrance to the bay which only had a few shrubs and trees to negotiate. It was a delightful temperature for an early evening wander and we ended up taking our jackets, hats and gloves off. Without needing gloves it was much easier to pick the blueberries and cloudberries we found amongst the vegetation. The sun was beginning to set but what really drove us off the island were the mosquitoes who were out in force. Little did we know that the bites we received would annoy us for a week.

Krystina Picking Berries With Rifle For Bear Protection