7/22/26: Grey River

After a pleasant night under sail, I woke up about 50 miles from Grey River. The southerly had started filling in from the east, so we had to sail upwind to get to the inlet. As the wind shifted to the east, it died down and we were able shake both our reefs and keep sailing at 8 knots. This was only momentary as when the wind settled in the east, it grew to the point where we had to put both reefs back in. With the unexpected upwind sailing, we ended up nosing up into the waves, which involved a fair bit of slamming. This started the challenge between Nathan and me of who could have the largest wave crash over them while standing on the bow. As the wind continued to build and Nathan and I continued to outdo each other, the fog cleared and unveiled the dramatic cliffs of southern Newfoundland, which grew straight out of the dark grey, stormy waters and disappeared into the low, light grey cloud cover. The cliffs themselves, despite being mostly rock, were startlingly green and hosted a variety of moss, grass, and little evergreens. As the waves continued to grow, Nathan and I convinced Helene to join us in the wave competition for what ended up being the finale, where we all went on the bow and Jeff expertly skippered the boat to ensure we were all nearly wiped off the bow (while clipped in) and completely soaked. As we entered Grey River fjord, the waves immediately died down and were replaced with confused whisperings of wind and mist. The fjord broadened after the entrance and we found a little impression to anchor off of and then pull ourselves into using our shore lines. Seeing how striking the features of the fjord were, I decided to pull out the drone to try and get some good footage of the fjords and our anchoring job, and succeeded in doing so. Happily, I came to land the drone in my hand over the water in a spell of confidence brewed up by my successful cinematography, at which point I got the drone close to my hand, triggered its ground avoidance sensor, and watched the drone try and escape my grasp, nick my finger, and peacefully sink down into the fjord. There will be a hiatus in drone pictures, but hopefully not a permanent one.