South coast Newfoundland and fog

[TJ D]

Hi all,

We'll be leaving ME for Newfoundland shortly, and are thinking about routing. I know that the incidence of fog on the S coast is higher than elsewhere. We would like to visit that coast, but if we can't ever see anything, it does seem to be a bit of a waste, eh?

Any NL vets care to chime in on their experience?

Good sailing, TJ

[Jon Eisberg]

I dunno, a cruise to The Rock without visiting the SW coast seems like a bit of a waste, to me ;-)

I haven't been along the S coast earlier than August, July is bound to be a bit foggier, I would guess... Nova Scotia has always had the most fog in my trips up to Atlantic Canada, however...

Sure, you'll probably have a bit of fog, but I doubt it will keep you from still seeing plenty of stuff worth seeing :-)

And, even when the fog is in offshore and along the coast, it generally dissipates considerably once you find your way into the fjords... Only time I can really recall being fogbound, was around Burgeo and the Ramea Islands for a day or so...

Enjoy, Newfoundland is simply an awesome cruising ground...

[TJ D]

Thank you, Jon.

Fantastic pictures! We are really looking forward to this trip. It's good to hear that the fog isn't as heavy as we were thinking. We probably won't get to NL until the second half of July, and then will stay through August.

TJ

[Fritz Gahagan]

It is cold and fog, calm & fog and 25+ knots & fog, but I will never forget the beauty of my cruise of the south coast of Newfoundland or the generosity and welcome of the people.

[CaptTom]

Thanks for the info! I'm planning to do the Downeast Loop next year, and the South coast of NL sure looks inviting on the charts. Not sure if there would be time, but I'd love to try it some day.

Questions: Are there any special insurance considerations? Is it typical to have to wait for a weather window to cross over from, say, Cape Breton? Is there a better place to start?

[hpeer]

Sydney is fine. You you can run up near Cape North and cross. Depends upon where you want to go. Clockwise or counter.

I a HIGHLY recommend hitting St. Pierre as well. The
e pastures at the bakery alone make it worth while.

[DeepFrz]

The pastries are even better...

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

The pastries are even better...

Ah well, each to his own!

(Effing iPad spell fix, my spelling and typing is bad enough, the fixes are priceless. )

[FamilyVan]

I haven't sailed on the south coast, but I have done some whale watching excursions and fog was an issue. However, I've spent plenty of time in St Johns. My observation is sometimes there is fog and sometimes there isn't. I don't think it would be a show stopper.

Another area I have spent some time is the west coast. My brother and I took a summer off quite a while ago to hike Gros Morne. Absolutely stunning geography. I don't remember an unusual amount of fog there.

Testament to Newfy hospitality- my brother and I both wound up merrying Newfy girls.

Sent from my SGH-I547C using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[thannever]

Farley Mowat's old book, The Boat Who Wouldn't Float, has some great passages on sailing that area in the fog besides being hilarious in general.

[Cool Runnings]

I sailed the south coast about 8 years ago. Absolutely magnificent. Do not miss this opportunity.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by TJ D

Hi all,

We'll be leaving ME for Newfoundland shortly, and are thinking about routing. I know that the incidence of fog on the S coast is higher than elsewhere. We would like to visit that coast, but if we can't ever see anything, it does seem to be a bit of a waste, eh?

Any NL vets care to chime in on their experience?

Good sailing, TJ

Hi TJ,

I haven't been to Newfoundland myself, but wanted to share an online resource I find useful when asking the same kind of questions about an unfamiliar climate.

Weatherspark.com aggregates all the data you might want to view in a very presentable format.

Per your question, here is a quick view of Newfoundland/Labrador climate history [scroll down a bit for the dew-point graph...] You can focus the data a bit more by selecting representative destinations for your trip.

I hope you find this as helpful as we do, and have a great time!

Cheers!

[TJ D]

Thanks to all for the responses. We're very much looking forward to the trip.

TJ

[Old Swampy]

We made our passage about 25 miles off the Nova Scotia coast, and our first landfall was in France (St. Pierre does belong to France). The pastries were great. Fortunately the fog lifted before we got there. Take no short cuts.

[DeepFrz]

Many of the outposts on the south shore are no longer inhabited so you might just have a lot of the fjords to yourselves.