By Peter Armitage
"Leave no trace - take your garbage home with you, and leave nature the way you found it"
1:50,000 scale NTS Map 1 N/2 Ferryland
Nautical Chart LC4845 Renews Harbour to Motion Bay
Map of the Ferryland area showing paddling route.
Lewis Greenland and I undertook a half-day paddle at Ferryland, Newfoundland, on 25 July 1999.
Ferryland is one of the oldest communities in Newfoundland having been established in 1621 by George Calvert who became the First Baron Baltimore. The Colony was one of the first English colonial endeavors in North America and the only one in Canada that resulted in continuous, permanent settlement. French Governor of Terre Neuve, Jacques-François de Brouillon, raided the Colony with a force of 700 men in September 1696, looting and burning the entire settlement as well as taking many prisoners. Excavation by Memorial University archaeologists has uncovered many remains of the settlement as well as Beothuck Indian artifacts. For more information on the history of Ferryland and the archaeological research there, visit http://www.heritage.nf.ca/avalon/history/documents/default.html
Lewis and I departed the beach near the new Colony of Avalon interpretation/visitor centre. This beach is a very good launch and landing site especially when the winds are from the west or south. When we departed, the sun was shining brilliantly with winds from the southwest at about 30 km/hour. Preparations were underway for the Southern Shore Shamrock Festival at the former ball park on the south side of the interpretation/visitor centre.
View of the islands in Ferryland Harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
Lewis Greenland at launch site near the new interpretation centre and barachois at Ferryland (photo Peter Armitage).
We headed northeast across the Harbour, between Costellos Island and Ship Island and then to Goose Island. A narrow channel separates this island from a prominent rock that juts out of the water on the northwest side of the island. Several Cormorants were perched on the rock as we approached while dozens of gulls swarmed above. Paddling through the channel is good fun especially if one rides the swell on the way through. At the seaward exit, several Atlantic puffins bobbed about on the waves.
Peter Armitage paddling by Goose Island (photo Lewis Greenland).
Paddling through a small passage beside Goose Island (photo Lewis Greenland).
View north towards Stone Islands. Lewis Greenland in his Chinook kayak (photo Peter Armitage).
After playing in the channel by Goose Island, we headed south to Bois Island, then to Ferryland Head. Passing the 128 year old lighthouse on the Head, we started to encounter a fairly large swell from the south. Shortly thereafter, we ran into some chop from the west and bad clapotis (standing waves reflected off the rocks along the shore) especially as we rounded the rock outcrops known as Hare’s Ears. This presented a serious challenge to our intermediate kayaking skills. Our mistake was passing too close to shore; we would have escaped the clapotis had we paddled further out to sea. In any event, rounding the headland, we both agreed that we had surpassed our skill levels, and that it would be suicidal to attempt a return by the route we had come. Thus, having escaped the worst of the turmoil without incident (just pounding hearts and several litres of adrenaline), we headed west by Burns Head Rock. The near shore area at this point also had a lot of really bad clapotis, but we avoided it by staying further out to sea and heading west towards the shore at Freshwater.
A long, steep, bouldered beach runs from Freshwater along "The Downs" to Back Cove on the southern shore of Ferryland. A heavy surf was running that day given the southerly swell so we ruled out trying to land on the beach there. However, there’s a small, protected cove at the end of the road at Freshwater where we decided to land and call it quits for the day, preferring to soak up some of the entertainment at the Shamrock Festival rather than fight the strong westerlies into Aquaforte Harbour (where we had originally intended to paddle).
Landing site in a small cove at Freshwater (photo Peter Armitage).
Safety considerations
The sea off Ferryland Head is very exposed to the North Atlantic meaning that wind and waves can be dangerous to the less than expert kayaker. Clapotis, when mixed with swell and chop from wind blowing perpendicular to the swell, might be an adrenaline rush to the expert, but is terrifying and very dangerous to the inexperienced. Clapotis refers to a standing wave phenomenon caused by the reflection of a non-breaking wave train from a structure with a face that is vertical or nearly vertical.
Another hazard is the surf on the south side of the isthmus that connects Ferryland Head to the community of Ferryland. With a large southerly swell, the surf gets pretty big along this shore. I understand, that some members of our kayaking community come here occasionally with their white water and rodeo boats to play in the surf. Nonetheless, at least as far as the sea kayaker is concerned, landing on the beach with its fairly large boulders appears to be quite hazardous when the surf is up.
Paddling towards Freshwater from Ferryland Head, we could see a sunker over the east end of Crow Island which had some pretty impressive waves crashing over it. It looks very dangerous and should be given a wide berth by kayakers.
I do not know what the cell-phone and VHF radio coverage in this area is like.
Lastly, like other kayaking destinations on the Avalon Peninsula, the Atlantic waters are pretty cold, so kayakers should beware of the dangers of hypothermia in the event of capsize.
1:50,000 NTS map 1 N/2 Ferryland
Nautical Chart LC4845 Renews Harbour to Motion Bay
Aquaforte is another old Newfoundland community and is located 6.5 km southwest of Ferryland, at the west end of a 6 km long fiord known as Aquaforte Harbour. According to the Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador, the "fiord may have been known to cartographers by 1519 as R da aguea....As early as the 1670s, and perhaps before that decade, the harbour at the end of the fiord was being used regularly as a fishing station by a few fishing crews who came out each year from north Devon, England" (1981, vol 1, p.56).
Map of Aquaforte Harbour showing launch site near fish plant, etc.
Eric Skoglund and I commenced our trip at about 11:00 am on 22 August 1999. The weather - high overcast with no wind at the west end of the Harbour, but light breeze and chop from the southeast in the afternoon at the entranceway to the Harbour. By chance, we were joined by Mark Dykeman and Linda Hruszowy who had picked Aquaforte as their paddling destination for the day as well.
We departed from a small spit just to the west of the fish plant in the community. In the small protected cove there, we met local fishermen who continue to fish for lobster and cod (during the food fishery which was on the go that weekend). This part of the Harbour is somewhat picturesque due to fishing boats and stages here.
An excellent launch and landing site at the west end of Aquaforte Harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
Eric Skoglund readying his kayak for launch (photo Peter Armitage).
Upon launch, we immediately headed up to the west end of the Harbour. This is a very sheltered area even when winds are blowing hard from the west. At low tide, the water is very shallow and one has to be careful not to ground.
The Aquaforte River and Little River empty into the Harbour here. At high tide, one can paddle a short way up the former river. When I paddled here in June, we encountered a Canada Goose gander and her flightless goslings which waddled up the banks of the river as we approached in our kayaks. White Horse Cove is another tranquil spot at the west end of the Harbour. The entire area is maggoty with Kingfishers. Arctic Terns are also present in large numbers and are fascinating to watch as they hover over the water, and dive in pursuit of fish. The apparent abundance of sea trout and nesting areas on the banks surrounding this end of the Harbour may well account for the great numbers of Kingfishers. Similarly, sea trout may well account for the large number of Arctic Terns and Common Loons (ca. 10) we saw in the Harbour that day (Pierre Ryan, CWS, personal communication).
Passing White Horse Cove, we were puzzled by a loon lying on the kelp along the shore. The bird appeared to be injured - loons don’t normally inhabit shore areas at this time of the year, especially places where there is no cover. This loon made no effort to flee as we went by. Shortly thereafter, we found a dead loon floating in the water by the shore. This I retrieved and turned over to Pierre Ryan at the Canadian Wildlife Service in Mount Pearl the next day. An x-ray of the bird showed an object embedded in its neck, whereupon dissection produced a .22 bullet. It certainly seems that someone in Aquaforte was using loons for target practice. The injured loon we first encountered by White Horse Cove may well have been wounded by .22 fire.
Dead loon transported on the stern of Armitage's kayak (photo Eric Skoglund)
Loons are a protected species and it is illegal to kill them, which is why the CWS, in conjunction with the RCMP, initiated an investigation into the killing of the loon we found. If you’re out kayaking and discover a dead loon, please retrieve it and turn it over to the CWS (keep it in the freezer until ready for transport to the CWS). This will help the CWS determine the cause of death and provide useful information for long-term loon population monitoring (e.g. the Canadian Lakes Loon Survey).
Aquaforte Harbour appears to be a staging area for loons en route to their winter grounds off the coast of Newfoundland or more southerly regions. The loons will return to inland lakes on the Avalon Peninsula the following spring for breeding purposes.
In general, loons are very skittish. Paddlers should leave them alone and should not approach too closely or chase after them. As author of The Coastal Kayaker’s Manual, Randel Washburne says, "Seemingly innocent visits from kayaks may change animal behaviors in ways that produce life-threatening stress, particularly for the young" (1998:220).
A secluded part of the harbour; looking up the Aquaforte River. This area is thick with Kingfishers (photo Peter Armitage).
Heading east, we passed a pretty little sea stack halfway down the southern shore. We stopped for about an hour to eat lunch at Lance Cove near the entrance to Aquaforte Harbour. We were joined by Linda Hruszowy and Mark Dykeman who had been paddling along the northern shore of the Harbour. The beach at Lance Cove is easy to land on at low tide given the small grained pebbles on the beach. However, it is close enough to the open sea to make ocean swells a problem when they are large. From the beach, one has a good view east between Spurwink Island and South Head towards the lighthouse on Ferryland Head. This lighthouse was built in 1870-71.
A small seastack on the southern shore of Aquaforte Harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
Mark Dykeman and Linda Hruszowy landing for lunch at Lance Cove (photo Peter Armitage).
Getting ready for launch from Lance Cove beach (photo Eric Skoglund).
View towards Spurwink Island and Ferryland Head far in the distance (photo Peter Armitage).
After lunch, we paddled out around Spurwink Island where we encountered a single Black Guillemot. We then headed over to Broom Cove and along the northern shore of the Harbour. Here, we found a small sea cave near the outlet of the Stony River, but it wasn’t big enough to get a kayak into. The water was crystal clear which greatly facilitated the viewing of sea urchins, muscles, kelp and other aquatic life.
Traveling west, we soon had a great view of a waterfall at the mouth of the Spout River as framed between the shore and the small rock outcrops off Howlett Point. At low tide, it’s possible to land on a small pebble beach beside the waterfall, and to take a shower in the warm river water cascading over the falls.
We returned to our starting point around 4:30 pm after a very leisurely and enjoyable day.
Small cave on the northern shore of the harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
Potential landing area on the northern shore of the harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
The northern shore of the harbour has several good pebbled beaches that are suitable landing (photo Peter Armitage).
Spout Cove. View towards a waterfall at the end of Spout River (photo Peter Armitage).
The waterfall at the end of Spout River, northern shore of the harbour (photo Peter Armitage).
Armitage by the waterfall at the end of the Spout River (photo Eric Skoglund).
Safety considerations
Aquaforte Harbour is one of the most protected bays to paddle in on the southern shore. Even with gale force westerlies blowing over the Avalon, the shelter afforded by the cliffs at the end of the Harbour means that one can still explore a little and spend time with the Kingfishers and Arctic Terns.
However, as one travels out to the eastern end of the Harbour, swells and chop may be encountered depending on wind strength and direction. Waves could be a problem when traversing the entrance to the Harbour between South Head and North Head. Fog could also be a problem here even though the distance across is less than 1 km. Southeasterly winds and swells could be a real hazard when making this short crossing.
There appears to be no cell-phone coverage in the Harbour and I have no clear picture of what VHF radio transmission is like, although I did succeed in getting the Environment Canada weather channel.