Chance Cove to Rantem Harbour, Phase 1 Trip Report

By Alison Dyer

(This trip report originally appeared in the fall, 2003, issue of KNL's newsletter, Ebb&Flow. Chance Cove to Rantem Harbour is surely one of the prettiest paddles in the province - Webmaster's note.)

Map 1 - Rantem Cove to Chance Cove area (thumbnail, click on image to enlarge)

NTS Map: Dildo, 1 N/12, 1:50,000 scale
Nautical Chart: Trinity Bay, Southern Portion, 1:60,000 scale

Some things, like tasting good chocolate, listening to bullfrogs, and reading Barbara Kingsolver's prose, deserve time. So too does a paddle out of Chance Cove, Trinity Bay. While our group intended to paddle along the shore and explore the several arms of Rantem Harbour, we were, within minutes, awed by the products of erosion. It was a Sunday, and somehow, a reverential slow paddle seemed appropriate.

We launched from Little Chance Cove at 11 a.m., on August 10, 2003 - two from the slipway at the public wharf, the others from the beach on the other side. The group comprised Brian and Sue Duffett, Alex McGruer, Peter Armitage and Alison Dyer. Peter noted that the fine gravel beach was "puffed up" and stinky due to the capelin spawning which had finished about one week previously. The forecast was for light southerly winds (10-15 knots). It was overcast (foggy on the other side of the isthmus) and cool. A car with Vermont plates and kayak saddles was parked on the wharf, but we never did meet up with these folks.

Within a couple of minutes of paddling, we were around Connelly's Point, and for the next four kilometres, until Western Head, were in for a particular treat. The chart and topographic map indicate a dimply coast with cliffs, coves and plenty of offshore rocks. What we found was a rugged rock face rich in texture and colour, worn and overhanging in places, sheer and chiseled in others. And a dream for those who love exploring secret places: impressive arches, echoey caves, stacks and passage-ways - just wide enough for a sleek sea-kayak - through cliffs separating one cove from the next. I can't remember where each of them was, and I wouldn't tell you if I did. That would spoil the “wow.” But if you go, and the weather allows it, hug the shore very closely because many of these rock passages are well hidden. And look out for the pair of “eyes” through the cliff! The tidal fringes are worth a close look too. They're choked with starfish and tiny mussels. 

Peter approaching some small caves en route to Rantem Harbour (left); Sue and Alex weaving their way through the maze of sea stacks and rocks (centre); Alison with a photo op (right) (thumbnails, click on images to enlarge) - photos by Brian Duffett.

Gradually, as the weather cleared, we could see Bull Island quite clearly off to our right, and the waters in the coves turned a jade colour, revealing extensive kelp beds. This stretch of the coast also has several fine pocket beaches for emergency take-outs. We meandered around islets and great sea stacks (Brian thought some looked like a row of canine teeth). Above us, in front of us, flew eagles, eagles, and more eagles. We simply gave up counting on the return trip. On a subsequent paddle by another group, several ospreys were also spotted.

A few guillemots flashed red, black and white as we approached Rantem Harbour (or Cove depending on your map source). It's actually a sizable bay with three arms and several beaches, and shouldered by flat topped hills of over 200 metres. We paddled toward Southwest Arm, wanting to find the resettled community of Rantem, and let Peter have his ritual mid-trip freshwater swim. 

One, two, a dozen or more cabins came into view with docks, but no power boats. We had the community to ourselves. It was about 12:30 p.m. and we hauled in our boats near a grassy verge for lunch. It was now quite sunny with a little high cloud cover. 

A small river feeds into the arm, forming two ponds just behind the cabins. We thought the first one (Boot Pond) to be a bit boggy, but Peter assured us it was better out in the middle. As we thought, the cabins are situated in the resettled community of Rantem. It is still accessible by a dirt road, approximately 4 km to the TCH. 

At our lunch spot, Alex felt the urge to make a phone call, so we know that the area has cell phone coverage. Shortly after lunch, a truck pulled up, and after a while, a man who introduced himself as Cecile Rowe came over to chat. Apparently, the reason why Rantem was deserted that Sunday was because the cabin owners had just finished up a week of Chance Cove festivities with a big dance the previous evening. 

Mr. Rowe's cabin was across the water from us, just east of the old cable building. Originally a fisherman from Rantem, he now lives in Chance Cove and works at the fish plant. He told us a little about the original community - how people kept goats and sheep, how his mother used to go after them up the small valley on the other side of the brook from where we ate lunch to milk the goats; that the derelict cabin (“No.1 cabin”) was the site of an old school, but that there never had been a church in the village, only a small graveyard where two children are buried; that the former residents are Salvation Army and Anglican, and most now live in Chance Cove; that two schooners had been built on the shore near our landing site; and that where we ate lunch was the site of his family's house. Mr. Rowe knows the various local place names along the track - Whisky Brook, Molasses Brook and how they came by them, and has been putting up some signage along the road. According to Mr. Rowe, the community was abandoned in terms of all-year residency in the 1960s. 

The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador* mentions that there were no people living in the small community in the 1940s but people continued to live in Rantem Station, a couple of miles inland, until the 1960s. 

Since lunch stretched on with an ever-brightening sky, we were forced to return the same way rather than further explore the bay in order to be off the water by 4 p.m. The SW breeze had stiffened a little, but once tucked away between Western Head and Connelly's Point, we were unaffected by it. The cliffs of Bellevue Peninsula, off to our left, were now impressively visible. The rising tide enabled us to squeeze through some cave openings that were inaccessible earlier in the day. In the last few minutes of paddling, as we rounded Connelly's Point into Chance Cove, we faced some whitecaps and about a 20 knot SW breeze a little workout that was a fitting end to an otherwise very leisurely (70 minute) paddle.

All agreed that this was phase one of the trip. A subsequent paddle, and trip report, would explore the other arms of Rantem Harbour (i.e. Little Southern Harbour to the north).

Alison and Peter checking out one of the caves (left); Alex and Sue pausing off one of the pocket beaches where caplin spawn (centre); Sue and Alison poking their way through one of "the doors" (right) (thumbnail, click on images to enlarge) - photos Brian Duffett.

Trip rating

The length of this paddle can easily be tailored to the specifics of the group. This particular short paddle (about 12 km return) in good conditions (i.e. little wind), with access to several emergency takeouts makes it suitable for beginners to expert paddlers. Exquisite scenery, plentiful wildlife and well under two hours driving from St. John's makes it an ideal day trip destination. Another attractive, and longer, paddle might be to go from Chance Cove west to Bull Arm, a distance of about 30 km including a detour into Rantem Harbour's Southwest Arm. 

Concerns

The area is fairly exposed to easterlies funneling up Trinity Bay, and to swell, particularly after northerly winds. The area is open to the entire bay and to the effects of a long fetch. In particular, winds will channel along the cliffs north of Bellevue Beach, down Bull Arm, and up each arm or cove. So look out in the bay to see what might “hit” you around any headlands and points. Trinity Bay is also the deepest bay in the Avalon region but shallow near the coastline which can create conditions for steep breaking waves. In southwesterlies, the route we took is very sheltered. There are numerous submerged rocks to be wary of (with which rock-hopper Sue will agree) when darting around close to shore. In rougher seas, one is unlikely to be that close to the shore. Cold water temperatures are the norm for most times of the year (unlike the other side of the isthmus that can be warmed by waters from the Gulf Stream). 

Other details

Chance Cove is about 120 km northwest of St. John's. It's a pretty community strung along two coves with a couple of stores (closed on Sundays) and a post office. Good parking is available at the wharf (but ensure you don't obstruct activity there during the fishing season). A good meeting place is Whitborne Junction on the TCH. This gives the group the option of changing the paddling destination (e.g. from Trinity to Placentia or St. Mary's Bays) depending on wind conditions.

Peter and Alison exploring the benthic environment under one of the cliff overhangs (left); one of "the doors" connecting two of the pocket coves (centre); landing in Rantem Harbour for lunch (right) (thumbnails, click on images to enlarge) - photos by Brian Duffett.

Sue navigating one of "the doors" north of Chance Cove (left); Peter heading south to the next pocket cove (centre); traffic jam at "the doors" - Alex, Brian and Sue (right) (thumbnails, click on images to enlarge) - photos by Alison Dyer.

Brian exiting "the doors" (left); one of the sea stacks along the way, one of numerous perches for the multitudes of eagles in the area (centre); Sue turning the corner into Rantem Cove (right) (thumbnails, click on images to enlarge) - photos by Alison Dyer.

Brian and Sue in tandem through "the doors" (left); the happy paddlers, left to right, Peter, Brian, Sue, Alex and Alison (right) (thumbnails, click on images to enlarge) - photos by Alison Dyer and anonymous.

• abandoned community located at the bottom of Trinity Bay. For many years the landing point of the telegraph cable across Trinity Bay from Heart's Content qv. In later years only a single telegraph company employee lived there, the remainder of the community consisting of railway employees and their families at Rantem Station, several miles inland. Seary speculates that the name of the community (like that of Random Island) may be traced to an old expression "on the randans," referring to a long-past riotous night of revelry or to unruly seas. A few families also fished out of Rantem, but it is unlikely that there were ever more than one or two of these.
• the community first appears in the Census in 1869 with a population of 12.
• there were 20 to 30 people recorded at Rantem in most Census years, a number which likely includes residents of both the station and the cove. 
• by the 1940s there were no people living at the cove, and Rantem Station was in turn abandoned in the 1960s when CNR changed its policy of having repair crews resident on each section. 
• in 1992 there were several summer cabins at Rantem Cove, most owned by descendants of former residents.

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