The reality of finding a place to anchor or moor

[Sailormantx]

I noticed that[emoji6]. There are apparently no childless women here, at least none that I have met. Newfoundland has everything a cruiser could want: virtually unlimited anchorages, wilderness, economical docking, great rum selection, no hassle from overzelous water cops. And some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They even speak my language (almost[emoji1] )

[Hasbeen]

What different places & lives we cruising yachties have.


Most of my cruising was in the Pacific Islands, the majority in the Solomons & New Guinea waters. In my stamping grounds there were only 5 towns with over a thousand European population. They each had a small yacht club with a few yachts & sailing dinghies. They all offered free honorary membership for 2 or 3 months, with use of showers, washing machines & use of the club.


Anchoring in front of the club was free, & you could lay a mooring if you wished. I joined the Rabaul yacht club, & was co-opted onto the committee after 4 months, & made chairman of the protest committee a month later, when they discovered I knew the racing rules.


When out cruising around I could go for 3 months without seeing another boat, & might see only a couple of European planters in that time. In some island groups, with a few villages, the locals would almost fight to get you to anchor at their village. This would give them best access to the trade goods, tobacco & fishing gear mostly, & radio batteries that they all wanted, & most yachties carried to exchange for food.


$50 or $60 worth of these could buy all your fresh food for 2 or 3 months. Most plantations could supply a little diesel, or petrol, but I had to go to a large centre to fill my gas bottles for fridge & cooking about every 12 or so weeks. Quite often the only engine I would start in months was the Honda generator.


My dinghy was a sailing dinghy, & on one occasion when I wanted to use the outboard on it I discovered it had seized. I worked out it had not been off the stern rail in 7 months. After that the first of each month became engine day, when I would run both the main engine & outboard to avoid that happening again.


I guess people motoring from marina berth to marina berth are cruising as much as I was sailing on & off anchor, in & out of isolated lagoons, never starting a main engine, but they sure are different ways of doing it.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Augi

I read somewhere that for those in RV's on wheels Walmart let's you use their parking lots. Not sure what the limitations / rules are.

Walmart will typically grant permission for overnight RV parking if asked if the stay is in compliance with local and state laws. A few localities do not allow RV parking outside of an official campground, either by ordinance or by zoning. State laws can have an effect. For example, in Minnesota, if more than 4 RVs are parked for camping in the same location, the campground has to be licensed by the state Dept. of Health and there are various rules that the operator has to comply with. Walmart deals with this by only granting permission for the first 4 RVs that ask and turning away additional ones.

I don't do it but there are some people who use a night at Walmart to break up long road trips. A few other businesses have similar policies, Cracker Barrel, Flying J.

What these have in common is that while they are somewhat suitable for an overnight stay (noise being the main problem), they are not suitable for enjoying a destination.

I wonder what would happen if you hauled your boat out and moved it over to the Walmart parking lot.

I know this is tongue in cheek but in reality they would probably be happy to accommodate a trailered boat for an overnight stay.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Boston Blackie

Hi Mike,

Not sure how to start a new thread and keep all the yarns attached? Please do so or advise your PM.

We plan a clockwise circumnavigation of NFD leaving SE Mass for offshore delivery last week in June bound for Port aux Basque. So we will likely be passing though the Bay of Islands early/mid July. Sandy Weld says cruising in Notre Dame Bay on the North Shore is some of the best there is. Warm wind off the island without fog. We just need to wait til the pack ice clears. (It was right thick in Trinity Bay on the East shore the second week in June this year.)

Lets plan a gam!

Cheers,
Blackie

Sounds like you’ve got quite the plan Blackie. Definitely, if I’m around when you come by, let have a GAM. I’ll PM you my email address, although you can always find me through my blog.

Sailormantx/boatpoker, nicely put. Newfoundland (and much of Canada) is still the land of open waters, and free anchoring (mostly). And Newfoundland is even more so… I’ve only been in the province for a short time so far, but the kindness and generosity is all true in spades here. I keep telling my new-found-friends they have to stop living up to all the Newfoundland stereotypes around being so friendly and generous.

And if you need a translator, I’m here. I’m new to 'The Rock’, but me ol’ fadder was a Newfoundlander, so I’m pretty good with all the accents. I often have to translate for my partner.

[a64pilot]

I have never seen an RV stay at a Walmart for more than an overnight.
I have to assume that if you did, someone runs you off, or People would.

[CFS Klopas]

Someone above was asking about Milwaukee, the anchorage there is the North half of the outer harbor, between the main channel and McKinley Marina. No personal experience, but based on the charts and Coast Pilot.

[ctl411]

Originally Posted by CFS Klopas

Someone above was asking about Milwaukee, the anchorage there is the North half of the outer harbor, between the main channel and McKinley Marina. No personal experience, but based on the charts and Coast Pilot.

Thanks for the reply. I've looked at the McKinley area on the charts also but was looking for personal experience.
We only anchor out if not in our "home" slip.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Hasbeen

What different places & lives we cruising yachties have.


Most of my cruising was in the Pacific Islands, the majority in the Solomons & New Guinea waters. In my stamping grounds there were only 5 towns with over a thousand European population. They each had a small yacht club with a few yachts & sailing dinghies. They all offered free honorary membership for 2 or 3 months, with use of showers, washing machines & use of the club.


Anchoring in front of the club was free, & you could lay a mooring if you wished. I joined the Rabaul yacht club, & was co-opted onto the committee after 4 months, & made chairman of the protest committee a month later, when they discovered I knew the racing rules.


When out cruising around I could go for 3 months without seeing another boat, & might see only a couple of European planters in that time. In some island groups, with a few villages, the locals would almost fight to get you to anchor at their village. This would give them best access to the trade goods, tobacco & fishing gear mostly, & radio batteries that they all wanted, & most yachties carried to exchange for food.


$50 or $60 worth of these could buy all your fresh food for 2 or 3 months. Most plantations could supply a little diesel, or petrol, but I had to go to a large centre to fill my gas bottles for fridge & cooking about every 12 or so weeks. Quite often the only engine I would start in months was the Honda generator.


My dinghy was a sailing dinghy, & on one occasion when I wanted to use the outboard on it I discovered it had seized. I worked out it had not been off the stern rail in 7 months. After that the first of each month became engine day, when I would run both the main engine & outboard to avoid that happening again.


I guess people motoring from marina berth to marina berth are cruising as much as I was sailing on & off anchor, in & out of isolated lagoons, never starting a main engine, but they sure are different ways of doing it.

Great post. How long ago was this?

[Hasbeen]

Hi Scout. I sailed into the South East of New Guinea waters in 1974. I did over 30,000 nautical miles exploring all but the south coast of New Guinea, & all but the eastern coasts of some of the Solomom islands. I did another 10,000 miles further north.


I found exploring many of the major areas where the WW11 was fought very interesting, & found it amazing that there was so little left of bases that just 30 years before had 25,000 man establishments.


In one group that had both fighter & bomber strips, with a "black cat" base a couple of squadrons of PT boats all I found was a pile of rusty machine guns, a jungle covered air strip, a set of cement stairs from water level up to a flat space on a very small island, [100 yards across], with very faded sign that said OFFERES CLUB.


I had my last cruise through the southern Solomons in 86. I have been back since, & a few areas have considerable palm oil development, & some tourism has developed, but there are still very few towns. Many of the larger islands now have roads, where none existed in the 80s.


In fact many plantations have reverted to local rather than expat ownership, & are producing less copra. There is less copra cargo boat traffic than in the 70s in many areas. One I knew well was a 30 ton a month plantation with it's Australian owner is now about 3 ton a month, after being returned to the local villagers. The power house has fallen down, the air strip has reverted to jungle, the jetty I built there is silted up & useless, & much of the plantation is reverting to jungle.


This does not make it a less interesting place to visit. The people, although not very industrious are welcoming & friendly, & the atoll with 63 islands & 300 square miles of semi enclosed lagoon is amazing.


So some areas are developing, but many of the more isolated islands are reverting to an almost traditional life style. It is a fantastic cruising ground, protected by it's isolation.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Hasbeen

Hi Scout. I sailed into the South East of New Guinea waters in 1974. I did over 30,000 nautical miles exploring all but the south coast of New Guinea, & all but the eastern coasts of some of the Solomom islands. I did another 10,000 miles further north.


I found exploring many of the major areas where the WW11 was fought very interesting, & found it amazing that there was so little left of bases that just 30 years before had 25,000 man establishments.


In one group that had both fighter & bomber strips, with a "black cat" base a couple of squadrons of PT boats all I found was a pile of rusty machine guns, a jungle covered air strip, a set of cement stairs from water level up to a flat space on a very small island, [100 yards across], with very faded sign that said OFFERES CLUB.


I had my last cruise through the southern Solomons in 86. I have been back since, & a few areas have considerable palm oil development, & some tourism has developed, but there are still very few towns. Many of the larger islands now have roads, where none existed in the 80s.


In fact many plantations have reverted to local rather than expat ownership, & are producing less copra. There is less copra cargo boat traffic than in the 70s in many areas. One I knew well was a 30 ton a month plantation with it's Australian owner is now about 3 ton a month, after being returned to the local villagers. The power house has fallen down, the air strip has reverted to jungle, the jetty I built there is silted up & useless, & much of the plantation is reverting to jungle.


This does not make it a less interesting place to visit. The people, although not very industrious are welcoming & friendly, & the atoll with 63 islands & 300 square miles of semi enclosed lagoon is amazing.


So some areas are developing, but many of the more isolated islands are reverting to an almost traditional life style. It is a fantastic cruising ground, protected by it's isolation.

Sounds like a grand adventure! It's good to know that there are still places in the South Pacific that haven't been ruined by progress.