Winter at Thunder Cove

Our friend Phyllis Buchanan DesRoches has a beautiful cottage at Thunder Cove on the north shore of Prince Edward Island. The beach at Thunder Cove is one of the most beautiful on PEI. 

The sea stacks at the western end of the beach, especially the famous Tea Cup, add to the beauty of the area. However, my husband and I have never seen Thunder Cove in winter. Phyllis shared her photos of the area with us and gave me permission to share them with you. These photos were taken on her cell phone.

Last week the ice was on-shore due to the northeasterly wind. When we were last on the north shore, a southerly wind kept the ice off-shore. That beautiful beach looks a bit different when ice fills the shoreline.

Three sea stacks in the area look different too as they stand amid the ice and snow. The one in the foreground resembles a vase. 

Behind it in the photo is a block-like stack, while the Tea Cup takes centre stage. 

Before long Phyllis will be back at the cottage for the warmer months when the snow and ice are but memories of the past winter. Meanwhile, one can appreciate the beauty of nature in any season.

P.S.

Yesterday I did the dance run as usual. I picked up my ten year old granddaughter from her dance class and dropped her home. During the fifteen minute drive we catch up on school and family news. She has my full attention and we love those precious minutes together.

She talked about war, the Russian leader and Canada taking in Ukrainian refugees. She will welcome any newcomers to our area and looks forward to meeting them. The tragedy of their situation wasn’t lost on the child and she struggled with the reason for such a tragedy.

She is not alone.

Thunder Cove

The beach at Thunder Cove is one of the most beautiful beaches on Prince Edward Island. The gorgeous red sand beach, tinted by iron oxide, is pristine and appears to stretch into forever. 

Sandstone cliffs along the length of beach are easily eroded and this process has always been a source of interest for residents and visitors alike. 

The sea’s sustained assault on the sandstone creates interesting shapes, holes and crevasses which are tempting for people to explore. This is not a safe practice however as the cliffs above collapse when the supporting sandstone is undermined.

Then there are the sea stacks around the island, the most famous of which is the Tea Cup at Thunder Cove. Created by erosion, they too draw people, as this one drew us on a recent visit to the Cove. 

We hadn’t seen the Tea Cup in several years and it was interesting to compare it to previous photos. The Tea Cup is not much different although the stem of the cup has narrowed. Every spring people expect to find the cup collapsed but it has defied the elements thus far. Its time is running out.

Meanwhile, one of two other sea stacks nearby has changed more noticeably since it lost its connection to the cliff.

The soil and sandstone nearby illustrate the danger of getting too close to the cliffs. 

We enjoy the cliffs at a safe distance and the sea stacks as long as the exhibit lasts.

  

Going home

One of my favourite settings in the world is a beach. This feeling about beaches developed during my childhood by the sea. At that time, it was the North Atlantic and a beach with smoothed beach rocks rather than sand. For me, the sound of the sea is like music, the smell of the sea takes me back in time and the sight of its gentle lap or waves of various heights comfort me. It is one of the reasons I love Prince Edward Island so much. Though it is part of my psyche, the sea is also physically near wherever I am on this island. 

A recent wander brought my husband and I to Thunder Cove, on the central north coast. The beach there feels like it goes on forever.

From the red cliffs near the parking area, the shoreline becomes sand dunes covered in Marram grass behind which are several areas with cottages, though few are visible from the beach. This beach is pristine, beautiful red sand with little seaweed at the high tide mark.

It wasn’t crowded. The further we walked, the more likely the beach goers were cottagers accessing the beach via an occasional trail through the dunes or stairs.

We kept the golden grand-dog on lead because Semipalmated plovers darted along the sand as the waves lapped the beach. 

At the east end of the beach, more sandstone cliffs separate Thunder Cove from the next beach, a shorter though equally beautiful one. 

The sandstone here is well weathered and doesn’t look stable. It is not an area for climbing though one might be tempted to do so. Above in the earth over the sandstone, a hole indicates a bird might be home, probably a bank swallow.

Two men prepared to launch a catamaran into the on-shore breeze as the tide receded. We watched as they hoisted the sails but didn’t see them leave.

This beach is nothing like the beach of my youth, however, the essentials are the same. The sound, smell and sight take me back to another time and place but one just as beautiful. The truth is when the sea is in your blood, you are never far from home.

Rock faces

At Thunder Cove the beach is pristine. The eastern side is lined with sand dunes. 

To the west the sandstone cliffs line the beach, and the wave action forms interesting features such as sea stacks. However, the cliffs themselves are worth a look as the sea works its erosive magic on them every year.

Sandstone erodes easily. Today, the cliff looks a long distance from the water’s edge. 

Not so during seasonal storms, especially during high tide, when the water licks at the sandstone and erodes it easily. 

When we visited the beach last year, one place had a phone booth sized opening in the cliff. This year, the change is dramatic as a huge area of sandstone has disappeared, creating an area more than ten times the size it was last year. This beach is eroding at an alarming rate.

The sandstone itself shows the rounded profile of water action. 

A developing sea cave shows how high the seas are sometimes, more than a meter above the sand.

A tunnel may erode into existence here. Could another sea stack, albeit a small one, follow?

And all along the cliffs, faces look out from the sandstone.

As nature does its work, their expressions will change or they’ll disappear over the next year,

 like the humans who gaze upon them. 

Thunder Cove

The sea stacks draw us to Thunder Cove. Every spring we wonder how the elements weathered the formations this past year. We recently paid our visit for this summer, timed to coincide with a receding tide. 

Younger limbs and joints climb over the rock along the beach which hides a view of the sea stacks.

We wait for a receding tide so we can move around the rock which juts into the sea. It’s fun to time the waves and run.

This is the site of the famous teacup sea stack. 

It has survived another winter, however one can’t help but wonder how much longer it will stand. There are always people here as is the case on this day though not like during summer vacations. 

There are three sea stacks, though one is more like a sea block. 

Until two years ago, an land bridge connected one sea stack to the cliff. The bridge collapsed and the sea continues its artistry. From a certain angle it looks as if a bridge is still present.

This day, a man is stood on the sand bars while his golden retriever looks on.

Nearby, others have made Inuksuk-like rock piles, leaving a sign of their attendance at the scene. Maybe they will last the season.

This beach is perfect for a walk and a look at nature’s handiwork.

A rare glimpse

The water was calm on this early summer morning. Winds were light with just a hint of cool air. Weather perfect! 

We came to view the sea stacks but on this day, Thunder Cove, Prince Edward Island, afforded my husband and me a rare opportunity to observe the lobster fishery. 

Several vessels were visible from the beach but one in particular, The Hailey Jo, was just beyond the sand bars. We watched her four fishers work as we walked the beach, the buoys for their traps visible from shore.

One-by-one, the traps were lifted over the side of the vessel as fishers checked for crustaceans inside. 

Occasionally an undersized lobster was dropped back into the water.

The boat visited the location of each buoy and fishers repeated the process. Traps were replaced over the side of the boat, sinking into the Gulf. On this calm day, only the usual occupational hazards apply. Imagine how those can be amplified by bad weather. 

While we were excited to see the lobster fishery in action, we were reminded of the tragedies recently off the shores of our province. Two men aboard a lobster boat were killed recently when two boats collided. 

At the beginning of the season, sandbars in several harbours around the island caused problems for lobster fishers. One boat was caught on a sandbar and started taking on water. The fishers were rescued by nearby boats. Others had to return to different ports rather than run the same risk going into their home port. 

Later on this day, we had our picnic at nearby Cabot Park where a channel through the sand bars along the beach, allows the boats to return to port at Malpeque.

While we were there, The Hailey Jo returned to port, negotiating her way through the sand bars. 

Red marker buoys should be kept right of the boat on the return to port. The Hailey Jo moved around the red buoys, as did the other boats who happened by during our visit. The sand bar must have shifted over the last two months and fishers know the location of the shifting channel. 

I admire and appreciate the work of all professional fishers.

After the storm

It rained buckets, the wind bent the trees and the temperature was unseasonably cold. It was one of those stay-in days unless you had to venture forth. We didn't.

The next morning it was sunny though chilly again. That sun alone was enough to tempt my husband and I to take our latest visitor, Georgie, the golden grand-dog and head out. 

 

We dressed for the cold.

Thunder Cove on the north shore was our destination. It is a pristine beach 

 

with a sandbar offshore, making the waves break a distance from the beach. Cliffs in the west and sand dunes in the east, give a variety of island beaches in one setting. Only a handful of people were on the beach though many of the cottages in the area were occupied.

Lunch was at cottage level overlooking the beach as we watched the lobster boats travel the Gulf of St Lawrence. 

 

The sound of the ocean filled the spaces in the conversation. Listening to the sounds of the planet was a welcome break from the clamour of world news.

This beach has a tea cup sea stack which we wanted to see again this year. However, high tide made that part of the beach inaccessible to us older folk. People with more courage and younger joints climbed the cliff to transverse the high tide mark.

 

We retreated but not before we had a closer look at the sea caves.

 

One might expect giant mice to peek out of the mouse hole-like erosions in the sandstone. 

 

Some holes were cave-like, big enough for a person to stand inside, bigger than last year as you can see.

 

                                                                              June 2017

 

                                                                              September 2016

On the east side of the beach, Morrison's Pond empties into the Gulf, crossing the beach. We could hear the sand along the banks of the stream falling into the water. 

Rather than cross the stream and get wet on this cold day, we left Thunder Cove to return on a warmer day at low tide.