{"id":2284,"date":"2008-06-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=2284"},"modified":"2009-04-15T08:52:15","modified_gmt":"2009-04-15T13:52:15","slug":"s_logs-dashew-dashew507","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/s_logs-dashew-dashew507\/","title":{"rendered":"Port au Choix, Trois"},"content":{"rendered":"
Port au Choix, Part Trois: Local sights, flavors, and personalities.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\"catching<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

It is a rainy, foggy day in Port au Choix. One benefit of this state of affairs is that we are filling our water tanks off the deck, thus avoiding the need to move the boat to the faucet down the dock. In this cold seawater, watermaker production is way down, so we appreciate Mother Nature’s simple answer. Another advantage is we are wearing our Alaskan "Sneakers" (boots) in which we can have great fun stomping in puddles. We are surprised to report that in this part of the world no single style of boot has taken hold the way the "sneaker" has in Alaska.<\/p>\n

\"Kiernan<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

Kiernan O’Keefe is the harbor master. We asked if he knew of a car for rent and he called around, but was unable to come up with a "machine" (that is Newfoundlandese for auto). So, he offered to take us to the supermarket, and then suggested a trip to the local archeological museum.<\/p>\n

It turns out that over the last 8,000 to 10,000 years a variety of cultures has made use of the wealth of natural resources Port au Choix. They came and went with changes in sea level and warming and cooling of the climate.<\/p>\n

Most interesting was our chat with one of the Canadian staff members who has spent many years with the Park Service here, and in Labrador. He spends three to four weeks each winter working a trap line with Inuit friends in central Canada.<\/p>\n

And speaking of different civilizations, here are actions to ponder:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • When taking a get acquainted walk we stopped to ask a grandmother tending her grandchildren the direction of the Foodland market. "Get into the truck" she said, "and I will drive you there."<\/li>\n
  • Discussing local sights with the manager of the motel, we were offered the use of her van for driving around.<\/li>\n
  • At the market, checking out, the sales clerk asked if we would like a ride back to the boat.<\/li>\n
  • Upon finishing our visit to the museum, a docent inquired if we needed a ride back to the harbor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Do you suppose there is something in the local water supply or food chain to create such aberrant and uncivilized behavior?<\/p>\n

    We asked Kiernan if there was fresh fish available. Turns out the halibut fishery had just opened (for 72 hours) and one of the small, two-man boats had come in with their first load of halibut and a few cod.<\/p>\n

    \"fresh<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    We walked over and asked if we could buy a bit for dinner and the freezer.<\/p>\n

    \"halibut<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    As a result we acquired culinary rights to one cod and one halibut, properly filleted as well as being cut into steaks. This is a part of the $20.00 worth of fish.<\/p>\n

    \"Image\"<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    Fish for dinner tonight. <\/p>\n

    \"Image\"<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    The cod has been cooked Turtle Bay style (or what some would call Vera Cruz style). The halibut has been steamed in herbs, garlic, and olive oil and served with fresh lemon and homemade tartar sauce.<\/p>\n

    The rest has been vacuum sealed and now resides within both our freezers. <\/p>\n

    The number of Johnson and Evinrude outboards on these fishing boats is surprising. In most other places Yamaha dominates the commercial markets. The answer we received was that the closest servicing dealer was two hours away for the Johnson\/Evinrude brand, and Yamaha was even further. But we did not get the impression the Johnson\/Evinrude owners were happy about their choice.<\/p>\n

    We stopped by the Coast Guard base to ask questions about the latest ice chart. The lieutenant on duty was helpful, and then offered to call the duty weather forecaster at Gander, Labrador, who discussed with us the weather patterns to be expected over the next few weeks. Echoing what we heard from John Harries, the ideal weather for good visibility comes from northerly quadrant winds. Of course, this represents head winds on the way to Greenland.<\/p>\n

    \"vinyl<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    We’ve solved the riddle of all the vinyl sided homes seen in Newfoundland. Turns out the siding lasts ten or more years, looking good to the end. It does go brittle in winter, but if properly installed will not need to be touched, so brittleness is a non-issue. We’re wondering how this would work in Arizona, where keeping paint on our house is always a problem.<\/p>\n

    \"lobster<\/div>\n<\/p>\n

    Finally, an image to consider the next time you wince at the cost of fresh fish in the market. Harvesting the sea is a cold, wet, lonely, and extremely dangerous profession. This Newfoundlander is heading out by himself to set his traps. Visibility is low, and the breeze is picking up from the southwest. He will be lucky if he can make ends meet without taking on other work. Commercial fishermen take the huge safety and financial risks yet gross about 20% of the retail price we pay. They earn every penny of it too.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Port au Choix, Part Trois: Local sights, flavors, and personalities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashew-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2284\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}