{"id":2327,"date":"2008-06-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-06-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=2327"},"modified":"2009-04-15T08:52:15","modified_gmt":"2009-04-15T13:52:15","slug":"s_logs-dashew-dashew503","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/s_logs-dashew-dashew503\/","title":{"rendered":"Lark Harbour, Newfoundland"},"content":{"rendered":"
Cruising in Newfoundland: Fine dining and other surprises in the quietly prosperous fishing village called Lark.<\/div>\n

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Our mental image of Newfoundland was one of fog-shrouded semi-deserted and run-down "outposts". Our first taste of Newfoundland is certainly different.<\/p>\n

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To begin with, the village of Lark is neat, well kept, and has a quietly prosperous feel to it.<\/p>\n

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The waterfront is lined with lovely houses, most with a timber ramp for hauling their flat bottomed fishing boats. Almost all of the homes appear to have relatively new interlocking vinyl siding.<\/p>\n

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The commercial crab and lobster fishery is just winding down for the summer. The harvest is not too bad this season, but the prices are down, and fuel costs up.<\/p>\n

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Traps are stacked at many of the homes.<\/p>\n

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The fishing skiffs look like a hybrid dory design. Flat bottom for efficient powering in protected waters and ease of building. This approach also makes it easy to haul the boats out on these timber ramps. We wonder how many centuries this system has been in use in Newfoundland?<\/p>\n

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One of the pleasures of cruising is checking out the local eateries. Marlaine’s had that look about it that invites you in. How could you resist a restaurant that boasts a "whale watching deck"?<\/p>\n

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We were not disappointed. The fish stew, filled with hearty chunks of crab, lobster, and fish (for $7.95), is delicious. The proprietress confirms that this time of years minke whales are often sighted in the bay, feeding on a smelt-like fish called capelin, which is also harvested by the local fishermen.<\/p>\n

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The library is located within the school, and has five work stations for going online. We took advantage to upload photo files to SetSail. <\/p>\n

A note on the name, Blow-Me-Down Public Library. The mountains on both sides of the anchorage are notched to the southwest, providing an acceleration zone for southwesterly winds. When southwesters occur, the local breeze is significantly enhanced from what you find outside. If you are walking in an exposed area and a gust catches you, it is best to have lots of rocks in your pockets or a handy anchor to deploy to windward.<\/p>\n

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Nearby is a convenience store with modest inventory of hardware and groceries, including this package of Hard Bread (also known as "Hard Tack"). <\/p>\n

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We have not seen anything like this since Polynesia in the 1970s and could not resist a package. Check out all the ways you can cook with what once was a staple of seafaring.<\/p>\n

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This lovely mural adorned the side of a garage on the walk back to the dinghy.<\/p>\n

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There is a local Coast Guard base just off our stern. This must be a tough duty station, with fog, gales, cold, and ice with which to contend. We’ll confine our stay to the more benign parts of the year. We will also keep a close eye on the weather in the Straits of Belle Isle from here north. We’ve been advised that unforecast gales are the norm, and many of the harbors are not that well protected.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cruising in Newfoundland: Fine dining and other surprises in the quietly prosperous fishing village called Lark.<\/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-2327","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dashew-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327"}],"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=2327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2327\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}