Background:

I'm on my way to Quirpon Island off the northern tip of Newfoundland, where I am looking forward to do some sea kayaking (weather permitting) amid icebergs and whales. At least, that's the plan. From what I understand, whales surface very close to the shore-line off Quirpon Island. I'm looking forward to this.

Ahh, Quirpon Island. You get there by boarding a small boat on a fishing dock at Quirpon Harbour and taking a 25 minute boat ride out in the North Atlantic Ocean. Quirpon Island, located off the northern tip of the peninsula and overlooking iceberg alley, is home to a lighthouse as well as to the Inn at Quirpon.

It is a unique, isolated place. Other than the Inn, its staff, and its guests, there is nothing else on the island. No utilites, no services, no roads, no vehicles, nada. Other than staff housing and a boat house, there are no other dwellings nor other people. What was originally an abandoned 19^th century lightkeeper's house became, through recent and extensive renovation, a charming and comfortable shelter. And I use the word shelter with purpose.

On Quirpon Island, the weather dictates and we follow. Being out in the North Atlantic, weather systems can be quite persuasive. What natives consider normal strong winds and rain can seem like gale force bordering on hurricane to newcomers.

Though settled by small communities of permanent and seasonal fishermen in the 1700 and 1800's, Quirpon Island gradually became deserted by the mid 1900's. As a result of this isolation, the Inn at Quirpon Island needs to be self-sustaining in every way. Everything that they cannot produce on the Island needs to be brought in by boat. For example, power needs to be generated on the premises. Logistically, this does present obvious challenges. But they seem to have developed an effective enough system.

The trip out:

I pull in to the dock at Quirpon Harbour and notice a small group of sea kayakers going through a basic briefing in the water. They will soon be kayaking out to the Island. Given the moderately strong winds, they will have their work cut out for them.

It seems that a weather system is quickly pulling in. Things will only get worse and I’m a little concerned that I’ll be leaving the bike unattended for what I expect may be a couple of days.

I look around for a protected area to park the bike as the weather is the biggest concern here. But which way is the wind going to blow?

I ask one of the nearby fishermen for his thoughts. He replies that it depends, that they could blow strongly in any direction and then change.

I park the bike as close to a wall as possible, leaning towards it. This will limit the wind’s effect no matter which direction it blows. Hopefully, that should do it.

There’s a certain air of excitement and bustle as my fellow travelers, a couple, get their luggage on board. They know the routine and are comfortable with it as this is their third visit to the Inn at Quirpon Island.

Within minutes, we're out in open water and feel the full effect of the winds. Waves are quite high as our small craft climbs up and slides down the other side.

If you’ve seen the movie The Perfect Storm, you’ll know how this feels. It’s not scary in any way. It just feels like we climb up and then down a non-ending succession of mountains. Like a natural roller coaster. I hold on to the open deck and try my best to stablize enough to take a picture. The strong wind, spray, and constantly changing attitude and rocking of the boat make this a bit of a challenge and so I miss out taking a picture of the really big waves.

This picture don't really convey the height of the swells, but the angle of the boat as well as the floater provides clues.

It feels a bit like an adventure but I also realize that local fishermen routinely navigate similar water.

We get our first glimpse of icebergs as we approach one of several sheltered coves.

These are just little baby icebergs floating slowly by down iceberg alley, close to the shore at Quirpon Island. They are quite common through the early part of summer.

It's easy to forget that the iceberg is much bigger underwater.

Almost too soon, we arrive at Quirpon Island.

This is the calm inlet where we accosted. From here, it's approx a 40 minute walk to the Inn.

Docking locations on the Island depend on the prevailing weather systems. There are several coves around the Island that allow sheltered docking, depending on the wind direction. Of course, this also means that the distance from docking to the Inn depends on which cove you choose. But no matter which cove is used, walking and hiking is the way to the Inn over terrain very similar to this.

There is natural, rugged beauty to this Island. Other than the six to twelve other guests and the staff at the Inn, there is not another soul around. Much of the Island is up on a plateau, with cliff faces covering much of it. Take a two or three hour hike and be in total isolation, communing with nature. It's difficult to prescribe a more effective stress reliever as you listen to the constant sound of water crashing in against the cliffs below.

Definitely a good sunning deck. But it was built as a heli pad for guests wishing to bypass the boat ride or that might be a little pressed for time. The hot tip here would be to fly in to Deer Lake airport and hire a helicopter for the flight in. Flying over Gros Morne National Park for some unique vistas would provide an added bonus.