Anniversary...Or Yet Another Fishing Story

For a few years when Claire was young, we owned a cabin (cottage) on the Robinson's River on the west coast of Newfoundland. We bought the cabin from Rick's grandparents, Dick and Classie Mercer, when they finished with cabin life and all the extra work it entailed.

Rick's parents had a cabin nearby, as did his great Uncle Reg and his wife Leona, and great Aunt Shirley and her husband Merle. We lived away from family in central Newfoundland, so it was a treat to be near some of our family for a few days in the summer.

It was late August, our anniversary, and I was cooking supper for the family. Claire was two and while she napped, I got things ready, cooking a turkey despite the heat.

Rick, like his mother, Sylvia, hated salmon fishing. However, he liked cod jigging and occasionally went with his parents and Newman when we were at the cabin. Newman was a local fisherman, making his livelihood catching the various creatures of the sea. On this day, Rick was gone cod jigging with his parents and Newman. This was more than ten years before the cod moratorium which closed down the fishery on the east coast of Canada to this present day.

                                Newman and Rick

The entry/exit to the beach at Robinson's River was a tricky one. On this day Newman was steering as they went out through the mouth of the river into the ocean. They jigged for cod for a couple of hours and had lots of fish which they filleted as they headed back into the beach. On the approach to the shore, the motor cut out and the seas, which had gotten rough, overturned the boat throwing the four of them into the water. However they had on their life jackets, and weren't that far from shore. Newman and Sylvia made it out of the water on their own. Then Newman swam out with a rope and helped Melvin and Rick ashore. 

                        Rick with part of a catch

Rick was wet and cold when he got back to the cabin. The incident was very frightening for all of them but for Rick, it made him reluctant to do anything related to boats ever again. Over time, the fear has abated somewhat. We've made a number of crossings of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Northumberland Strait, the English Channel, though Rick prefers the Chunnel to the ferry. Smaller boats are the most difficult for him.

It was a great anniversary after everyone warmed up and got over the initial shock. It certainly could have been a tragic day, so we were thankful to be able to celebrate. It was one of our most memorable anniversaries.

 Oh, by the way, the sea gulls had a good cod dinner that day. Cod fillet, no less!