A Big Island Landing

Tom Strople had just arrived home from the northshore, where he had been employed in a lobster canning factory on Big Island. Anyone who has traveled to PEI by ferry has no doubt seen Big Island on their right when coming out of Caribou, on the way to Wood Island. There was no harbour on Big Island, and the fishermen landed their boats after each days fishing.

Tom was in hot pursuit of Mabel Burke, a daughter of Henry Burke, my great uncle, who was keeper of Green Island light, and it chanced that on the day that Tom arrived home, uncle Henry happened to be ashore from the light, so Tom invited himself out to the island for a visit.

When they arrived in the cove on the north side of the island and uncle Henry had secured the boat to her mooring, they proceeded to load the groceries, mail, etc., into the dory. There was a heavy sea on the beach, and Mabel and her siblings were standing on the top of the beach, waiting for their dad and Tom to land. They didn't know the drama that was about to unfold.

" By thunder, Henry, gimme them oars, and I' ll show you how they land on Big Island." said Tom, as he and Henry embarked into the little dory. " Okay Tom, me sonny, you take her in." and uncle Henry seated himself in the stern of the dory with his back against the "tombstone" Tom set back on the oars and the dory fairly flew toward the beach, where his paramore waited with fluttering heart.

There is a fair bit of skill involved when landing on that beach when there is a sea running. Anyone who has observed waves breaking on the shore will perhaps have noticed ' lulls ' in the pattern; times when the sea activity decreases and relative calms occur. The trick in Green Island cove is watch the Yellow Rock Point and the end of the cliffs just south of it. You ' lay on your oars ' (rest ) and watch and wait for a lull in the sea pattern.

Tom didn't adhere to these basic principles on that fateful day; he was in love and maybe figured that love could conquer all, even the seas rolling in around the Yellow Rock Point, whatever happened his timing was 100% in error and instead of surfing in on the crest of a wave to the shore, he got caught in a trough. The dory 'pitch poled' went stern over bow, as they say in NL, landed upside down on the maggoty kelp bank that is ever present on the cove' s beach.

As uncle Henry crawled out from beneath the overturned dory, he said, " That was good Tom, me sonny, I always wanted to know how they land on Big Island ! "

Seanachie

One of the oft told tales that my dad, the premier Seanachie, passed on to me.