Middle Arm, Cox's Cove, Goose Arm, Bay of Islands, NFLD

I really didn't want to get up the anchor and leave Wood's Island Harbour. the day I left was to be a very busy one as the Homecoming Day. A ferry was bringing back residents and descendants to visit the island and pay respects to the ancestors in the cemeteries, Catholic and Protestant.

The dinghy was on deck then  I got up the fisherman anchor and everything put away. Retrieving the Bruce anchor I found the cause of the dragging in the heavy winds of just a little while ago. The remains of the steel frame from a chair were tangled and mangled around the anchor flukes. No wonder we dragged!

The morning was calm and I left under power for the next anchorage. Cruising past Blow Me Down with clear skies and just a little swell coming in from the ocean allowed me to travel close to the coast and see all the new homes, one can hardly call them camps, that were being constructed on Wood's Island.

A short motor across the mouth of Humber Arm, the route to Corner Brook, and a turn north brought me to the entrance to Middle Arm in short order. The terrain is much more rugged here than it was at Wood's Island. Travelling up Middle Arm the swell from the ocean disappeared completely and I was able to cruise along the shore taking in the rugged scenery and the outports.

Cox's Cove was my first destination. It is an active fishing community with many many dories pulled up on skidways on the fronting beach. There are no wharves here for transient yachts. One can tie up to the wharf at the fish plant, however, or anchor off the beach in a more exposed location.

The weather was calm so I continued on to the entrance to Penguin Cove and Goose Arm. One of the members of the yacht Club at Corner Brook had told me there was a nice little anchorage in the narrows of Goos Arm so I headed in that direction. There is a little more boating traffic in this arm with all the camps and outports but not so much as to call it busy.

Entrance to the narrows in Goose Arm

The anchorage in Goose Arm is on a small sand bar along the edge of the shore below the cliffs. It is quite well protected from waves but the wind can get up as it funnels along up and down the fjord. I set a Bahamian mooring with two anchors on the sand bar/bench so that Easy Go would not slide off into deeper water.

A gale set in for a day while I was here and the anchors kept everything secure even with the wind blowing up and then down the fjord. There is not really anywhere to go to shore and walk around. Lots of new development is occurring as people come back to traditional family lands and build recreational properties. There area few anchorages in this area. I think that this area is one of the more scenic and protected areas to be found along the west coast of Newfoundland.

To view the photo essay go to Goose Arm, Bay of Islands, NFLD