Well north of
the tree line,
j ords cut into
the mountain-
ous land (left).
A pod of orcas
swims alongside
us in Gray Strait
( center).
Welcome to Labrador, where the 200
miles of northern coast rise high above
the water. Mainland rivers run out into the
Labrador Sea through long ords. The pri-
mary surveyed boat channels lead close
to precipitous clif s, so our Mason 44,
Frances B, often navigated by what looked
like the ramparts of gigantic fortresses.
Mountaintops, sliced fl at or molded
into giant mounds, told of the destruc-
tive movement of ancient ice caps. Above
them stood higher peaks, 3,000 feet and
more, of hard granite patched with winter
snow. Caribou lolled on the snow near the
coast, seeking a cold breeze to keep away
black fl ies and mosquitoes. The ords are
deep, and we often found icebergs planted
in spots where the depth was perfect for
anchoring. Most of the time, Frances B
dropped the hook on a shelf of river detri-
tus. The river outlets had the best view of
the action ashore.
At the end of one ord, caribou came
to graze on a mound of gravel and grass
abeam of Frances B. When the incoming
tide changed the pasture into an island,
the animals swam away. Across the water, a
large inland lake sent out a roaring stream— just the place to do laundry and have a
cold bath. Burdened with buckets, green
soap and towels, we brought the dinghy
to the rocks and looked up right into the
eyes of a polar bear. During summer, seals
— the main food source for polar bears —
migrate out of this area; hungry bears will
stalk humans. We sailed without fi rearms
on Frances B, and the fl are pistol and whis-
tles we carried seemed puny when facing a
9 -foot, 800-pound carnivore. We quickly
backed out, the noise of the outboard
sending the bear into the hills. In another
ord we watched a foraging polar bear
cross a river. An equally massive black bear
fi shing there took one look at it and sprang
for the hills, leaving no doubt about whoAPPROACHES
To have reasonable weather and easy ice conditions, try to arrive in
south Labrador by mid-June and plan to leave by the end of September.
We had good early-summer passages r om Gloucester, Massachusetts,
to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. We went through Bras d’Or Lake to
use Baddeck, Nova Scotia, as our departure port to the west coast of
Newfoundland. Watch out for ice entering the Strait of Belle Isle in
early summer. Good refuge harbors exist on both the Labrador and
Newfoundland sides of the strait.