Getting to Newfoundland

When we decided to come to the Maritimes we decided we would include Newfoundland (officially Newfoundland Labrador, one province). Just getting here is an adventure.

We had to take a really long ferry ride on a really big ferry. We were booked on the S/V Blue Puttees. She had 7 decks on 10 levels. Decks 1, 3, and 5 were double decks for vehicles. Decks 7, 8, and 9 were for passengers and deck 10 was the open sun deck.

The only option for a truck pulling a trailer from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland departed at 11:15 at night. It is a seven hour trip. You’re required to arrive 2 hours before departure. We got there more than an hour before that and there was already a long line waiting at the gate. I took this picture because three ATV’s pulled up next to us. In the distance you can see a ferry, but that’s not ours. That one is going to a port towards the eastern end of Newfoundland, a 16 hour trip.

Here we are through the gate and in line for the ferry. I had plenty of time to take this picture, we sat in line for over an hour and a half. When the other lines around us started moving, Bud and I got out and shut off our propane, as required, and put the little tags on to show the valves were off. That shut off our refrigerator and freezer until we could turn the gas back on once we were unloaded.

Finally we started loading. Here we are approaching the ramp. We’re loading through the bow. You can see the huge, white ship’s bridge above.

For as big as the ship was, the loading ramp was narrow. I was glad I didn’t have to line the truck and trailer up to fit through. This is the middle ramp, going onto deck 3. There must have been ramps above and below us, although we couldn’t see them.

Inside things opened up. Eventually all these lanes were lined with vehicles. When we left the truck we had to take everything we needed for the seven hour trip. For us that included Matey and his crate. Even though I made the reservation months ago, I couldn’t get a dog friendly cabin so Matey had to travel in his new crate in the kennel area. We could have left him in the truck, but you couldn’t return to the vehicle until the voyage was over. I didn’t like to leave him alone for eight hours or more.

Before we left the truck I took this picture of our map screen, just to show our blue arrow sitting in the water on the ferry.

We went inside and up to deck seven where we were directed to a little metal shed built outside the main cabin. That was the kennel area where we had to leave Matey. They did have a sizable chunk of Astro turf where he could pee just outside the kennel. Matey wasn’t interested, though. From where Matey was you could look down on deck 5 where there was uncovered parking in the stern.

We went back in the main part of the ship and up these stairs two more levels to our reserved seats on deck 9.

This was our seating area. Those in the know brought blankets and pillows. Bud and I dressed warmly, but we were both cold all night. My seat didn’t have the footstool, the leg rest wasn’t really long or high enough so if I tried to recline my seat I just slid off it. So I spent a long uncomfortable night sitting up and cold.

Other people slept well past dawn.

Since I only dozed fitfully, at dawn I was out on deck. I visited Matey, who was happy to see me but not happy that he wasn’t getting off the boat.

I went up on the sun deck as we entered the harbor. It wasn’t much colder than the cabin and was way more interesting.

Channel-Port aux Basques isn’t a metropolis…

but it is certainly picturesque.

That ship had all kinds of thrusters. It came into the port area quickly, then slowed and made a 180 degree turn in a very small space. Then slid right into this berth. We had loaded through the bow, but we were now stern to.

In short order we drove off the stern ramp and on to Newfoundland.