Lobster Heaven

Lobster Heaven

Cruising down river on the Miramichi was quick and our exit smoother than our entrance thanks to favorable tides and wind.  We made a fast trip into the secure harbor at Escuminac.  These harbors (there are two) were again mostly empty of fishing boats but thankfully the pond was full of lobster caught legally during the season.  We feasted on lobster and snow crab caught at the dockside shop along with the bean and corn salad made from our street stall finds.  Such suffering makes up for the overcast and lumpy days.

In addition we were lucky to catch the fueling master on his day off. After we docked, Steve wandered over to check on fuel since we had heard from another boater ahead of us that the service was closed on Mondays.    The attendant had just arrived to sell a buddy diesel and was willing to stay long enough to top off our tanks.  He might not have realized that the 350 gallons or so that we bought was only a top up, but we were pleased that we did not have to wait until he arrived the next morning.  Filling our tanks even halfway is a time consuming process.   Furthermore, since the fueling station was really closed, they offered to let us spend the night there instead of moving once again.

                                  

The sun even came out for a beautiful and mild afternoon which gave us a chance to stretch our legs on shore.  The harbor included a beautiful memorial to the 35 fishermen lost in a hurricane back in 1959 when such storms could sneak up with little warning.  Almost half the fleet was lost on this one night in June and 79 children left fatherless.  The monument attests to the powerful and enduring impact this storm had on the small community here.

Although tiny and remote, (we could not get our trusty FIDO or Verizon cells to work) the Escuminac Harbor master generously shared his WIFI with us so we could update our blog and check e-mail.