Red Bay National Historic Site

One misty moisty morning,
When cloudy was the weather,
We chanced to meet an old man
Dressed all in leather ...

... well, not really.  But it was a misty, moisty morning.  We anticipated this rainy, windy weather and planned to visit the nearby Red Bay National Historic Site.

As with all Canadian National Parks and National Historic Sites, red Muskoka chairs can be found if you look hard enough.  We searched them down for Kathy's red chair album on Facebook -- and we found them, perched right by the Red Bay harbor:

 

 

Red Bay, Labrador is a small town, population 142, is a fishing village notable as one of the most precious underwater archaeological sites in the Americas. Between 1530 and the early 17th century, it was a major Basque whaling area. Several whaling ships, both large galleons and small chalupas, sank there, and their discovery led to the designation of Red Bay in 2013 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The town boasts one restaurant and one church:

 

Between the near and far shores of the harbor sits little Penney Island, with the remains of a trading post and wharf facilities from times after the Basques whalers (foreground in the photo below).  Local residences lie at the foot of Tracey Hill in the background.

From the harbor, we could see Saddle Island, to the left in the middle ground, and Tracey Hill in the background.  A cemetery on Saddle Island holds the remains of 140 whalers, many of whom died from drowning and exposure.  The story goes that one Basque whaler, Juan Martinez de Larumme, was accidentally stranded in Red Bay over the winter.  He survived that ordeal, only to die after being rescued in the Spring of 1577.

Some of the houses in Red Bay are colorful with that unique Newfoundland-and-Labrador architecture.  This photo looks out toward Saddle Island, and the wreck of the Bernier:

Formerly a Coast Guard vessel, the Bernier was later used to haul cargo. After developing engine trouble, she put into Red Bay.  A storm caused her to come loose from her mooring, and she drifted over to run upon the rocks of Saddle Island.  Although she could have been repaired and refloated, a shortage of funds caused the owners to abandon her. She now lays as a derelict.

Other, more exciting behemoths have grounded off Red Bay.  This tabular iceberg was stuck several hundred yards off the point:

After learning all of these interesting things about Red Bay, we finally came to the National Historic Site itself, where memorial plaques on stone record the designation of the site by UNESCO:

In 1565, a ship believed to be the San Juan sank in the harbor just off Saddle Island during a storm. Other, smaller vessels, such as chalupas, have also been recovered from the waters.  The ship was excavated during the 1980's and each of its components was recorded in detail.  Most of it was reburied for long-term preservation in the environment that had already preserved it for 450 years.  Another galleon was found 25–35 feet below water in 2004. It was the fourth trans-oceanic ship to have been found in the area.

Information gathered during the excavation of the San Juan was used to construct a replica that now sits in the National Historic Site's Discovery Center:

One of the San Juan's chalupas was recovered almost wholly intact and now sits in an annex to the Discovery Center.  Chalupas were used to chase whales that were spotted from the ship.  One chalupa was always tied to the stern of a whaling vessel and towed behind it, while 6 or 7 others were stacked on the vessel's decks, to be deployed in the chase of whales when needed.

The Discovery Center boasts a sunset room or "Widow's Walk" observatory, from which we could see Saddle Island across the near side of the harbor:

The exhibits in the Discovery Center are excellently curated and tell the entire story of Basque whaling in Red Bay, the archaeological record, and the story of the discovery and excavation of the San Juan in understandable and interesting detail.  For most of our visit, we were lucky enough to be the only visitors, so we were treated to docent explanations that a typical visitor might not have enjoyed.

After our tour, we repaired to that one restaurant, Whaler's Station, where we were treated to "world famous Chalupa fish and chips," and a big bowl of their Harbour fish chowder (not to mention a partridgeberry milkshake).  We topped it all off with a visit to one of the few souvenir shops in the area and -- with the chilly, wet and windy weather -- headed back to our RV to snuggle into the warmth of our little furnace.