Anchored down

It happened…we’re still not sure how, or exactly why, but it happened. We are now landlubbers once again. The little house on the hill is fully and definitively ours. And to cap it off, our much loved boat — the boat we’ve owned for nearly 15 years, and the place we’ve called home for nearly a decade — is in the process of being sold*.

What a summer it has been 😳 😬😄

After the rush of deciding to buy a new house, we spent the following couple of weeks sorting out some of the financial details, while also enjoying life as sailors, for perhaps one last time. We got off the dock, and went out to nearby Siviers Island anchorage where our friends Craig & Paula were waiting for us. We spent a wonderful few days with them, swinging from the mooring balls, and just enjoying the easy life.

After Siviers we went a bit further out to a place called Samson Island. Here we spent days with Randy & Mary Ellen, and Steve & De (& Farley the dog) — the people who’s fault it is we now own a house in Ramea!

Although we had planned to move on from Samson, the threat of a brush with hurricane Ernesto kept us moored to the spot. This was no great burden since Samson is beautiful, and semi-remote. So we spent the next two weeks, just exploring, and reading, and generally enjoying the watery life aboard Pachina Mia.

Our good friend, and fellow sailor Mark, had finally made his way back from his incredible Labrador sailing adventure. He tracked us down in Samson, and we spent another week tied together, reveling and relaxing.

Eventually though, we decided we had better get serious, and go and see this house we were now going to call home. We hauled up the lines, headed back to Lewisporte, packed a few bags, and drove off to see what the heck we had done 😳. Mark, being both the sweetheart, and also the skilled architect-type, elected to come along with us.

Getting to Ramea from Lewisporte is a full-day event. It’s a six hour drive to Burgeo, and then a one-hr & 15 minute ferry ride from Burgeo to Ramea. You have to time the ferry ride since it only runs one to three times each day. The ferry (Gallipoli) can only carry about 10 vehicles, and it’s first-come-first-served. So we had to leave very early from Lewisporte to get to our house in Ramea.

Side note: The road running from the Trans-Canada-Highway (the “TCH” as it is called in Newfoundland) down to Burgeo is an adventure in itself. The road is small, narrow, and makes the other highways in Newfoundland seem as smooth as silk (even though they’re terrible by most standards). The Burgeo highway is a bone-shaking, teeth-rattling, 150km-long ribbon of potholed horror. If you take your eyes off the road for a second, you’re liable to leave your car’s axles behind as you plunge into one of the holes of death. Driving it is quite literally like running a slalom course; dodging and weaving, and praying (if you’re into that stuff).

The Burgeo road also cuts through some of the most fascinating terrain. The typical Newfoundland forest slowly gives way to what they call the “Barrens” landscape. Trees shrink, then mostly disappear. Growth is mostly scrub brush and moss/bog. The landscape is littered with rocks and boulders, and deep sink-hole like ponds. It feels like passing into the northern tree-line, but we are heading south. It’s bizarre, and incredibly beautiful. And there’s caribou (if you’re lucky, as we were on the first trip).

The easy part is the ferry ride.

As we approached Ramea, we were … nervous. We’d only seen our house from the outside, and then in pictures sent to us by Steve & De. We were… apprehensive, to say the least.

But as the ferry came into the islands of Ramea, we were able to see our house from the boat. And we received the warmest greeting from De & Steve, our new Ramean neighbours, and fellow “Puffins.”

The House… the good:

Our house has the most amazing views of the harbour, the channel, and some of the islands. Our house backs onto open land, and looks out onto the most amazing rocky hills. The windows are newish, there is a functional deck with a big patio door. The bathroom has been upgraded, and the kitchen is older but largish with decent cabinets and work spaces. There are three, or four bedrooms (one is likely an office). The house appears to be reasonably well insulated. And while the heating is all electric baseboard, each room is on its own thermostat, so heating can be very local. We have a decent fridge, stove, flat-screen TV, and a dishwasher (although we’re likely getting rid of that). Plus, the house came with a bunch of small appliances, like bread maker, kettle, air fryer, vacuum cleaner, slow cooker, and lots of bowls, cups and the like. There are lots of hand tools, and even a few electrics, like a weedwhacker, palm sander, a full table saw, and a cement mixer. Oh, and it was very cheap; far less than the average price of a new car.

The House… the bad:

The plumbing is in sorry shape. The roof leaks in a few places. And the crawl-space/basement is very damp, and is in need of a vapour barrier. The insulation is loosely fitted in place, and the extension part of the house has no insulation around the skirting. The roof is in bad shape on the windward side, and will need to be replaced asap. And the deck, while serviceable, needs attention.

The House… the ugly:

The house was basically abandoned by the second-to-last owners. They left a ton of crap, ranging from good stuff like the appliances, to absolute stinking, rusting garbage. We have already hauled eight contract-size bags of junk out of the crawlspace, plus disposed of ton of metal crap (oil furnace, BBQ, propane tanks, chairs, etc…). The attic is also full of stuff, including boxes and bags of kids toys and X-mas decorations. It’s going to take a lot of time just to get rid of all this junk.

Our first night in our house was spent without any running water, but with a warm sense that everything was going to be OK. And I guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t say something about Mark’s lovely house-warming gift, which is a hand-carved soapstone polar bear which he bought directly from the artist during his Labrador travels. But on a darker note, Ann found (screeched with delight!) a Crokinole game hiding in a closet. No wonder the previous owner’s marriage ended in disaster 💀.

We spent a few days doing some cleaning, sorting, and generally getting introduced to the house, the town, and some of the neighbours. But after a few days we headed back to Lewisporte. We had to haul the boat out early so we could spent the last couple of weeks in Ramea. So it was back to the marina to do the hard work of hauling, winterizing, and getting the big canvas cover over Pachina Mia.

Coming back to the club felt both comfortably normal, yet so very different. By then we knew this might be the last time we get Pachina Mia ready for winter. In fact, it might be the last time we come to the Lewisporte Marina — at least, as boat owners*. So many friends. Such a warm and enlivening space — and we might be saying goodbye to it all. Feelings were running deep, and unsettling; not in a bad way, but it did (does) feel like we are coming to an end.

The normal work proceeded to get the boat ready for winter. Our plan was to haul out, winterize, and then make another run to Ramea carrying a load of stuff. Since Pachina Mia will likely not be our home next season*, we had to think differently about what was left on board, and what we needed at the new house. So while it all felt similar, there was a background of finality, and “What the heck are we doing?!?”

Back to Ramea to continue the work on the house , and also to meet with sailor friends Duncan & Renée, who were going to sail in on their way to completing a circumnavigation of Newfoundland. It felt right to meet them at our new house, because they were with us in an anchorage earlier in the season just as this whole adventure began for us.

A few more days, and it was back to Lewisporte for our last load of stuff from the boat, and to finalize Pachina Mia for the winter. Again, emotions were mixed and confused. It’s so hard to think this might be the last time we do this… at least under our ownership*. But I should hasten, the sale is not yet finalized. Things might change.

We spent the last week back at the house, making her our own, while also removing more garbage and doing what we could to get this new place ready for its long winter without us.

We also spent more time getting to know our new-found Ramean friends . So far, everyone we’ve met has been incredibly kind, welcoming and helpful. And speaking of helpful, Ramea is populated by incredibly self-reliant and skilled people. You can’t call the plumber, roofer or electrician every time there is a problem. You do it yourself … or in our case, we call Austin. He is one of those guys that can do everything. People were contacting him on our behalf even before we met him. I guess everyone knows — we need help. So “Aust” has already got our plumbing working, patched our roof, removed an old oil furnace, and is re-plumbing our entire house. When we get back in spring we hope he’ll help us fix the roof. He’s amazing.

For now, it’s back to ‘normal’ life. We said goodbye to Ramea, boarded the ferry, survived the Burgeo road, boarded the Big Ferry, and are now back in “Canada.” We’re headed for Ottawa first, but have made a quick stop in Truro to see friends Chet & Margie. We have a full winter of house-sits booked, which we’re both greatly looking forward to. PLUS, there is Zoe Elizabeth to meet!

* As of this date the sale of Pachina Mia appears to be proceeding, but is not yet finalized.