BAYVIEW, TWILLINGATE -
"Row, row, row your boat" took on a much different meaning for a resident of Bayview on July 20-21 of this year as he voluntarily decided to row around New World Island, a distance of some 86-plus kilometers.
Eric Bourden, at age 73, had always wanted to row around New World Island, he advised in an interview shortly after completing the venture.
"In fact, if I were younger, I'd love to row around the island of Newfoundland, something I've thought of many times," said Mr. Bourden.
The rowing he completed on July 21 was on board a rowboat he himself had built back in 1982. A 13-footer that was "easy to row," he suggested. And he should know.
"I've built a few boats," said Mr. Bourden. "It's an art that's sort of handed down from one generation to another, I suppose.
"My great-grandfather Josiah Bourden could build boats. He moved from Durrell to Manuel's Cove (formerly a part of Bayview) with his two sons John and Samuel. My grandfather John used to build boats and my father Andrew learned from him. Father was 69-years old when he built the 27-foot boat that we used for fishing and getting fire wood."
Mr. Bourden explained as well that Abraham Jenkins, his grandfather on his mother's side, was also from Durrell but moved to Sceviours' Island around 1910.
"In the fall, Grandfather Jenkins used to row from Sceviours' Island to Twillingate with vegetables to sell to Ashbournes Ltd., a former retail business at Twillingate South," informed Mr. Bourden. "So rowing is sort of in my blood, I guess. I've always enjoyed it, so much in fact that I rowed around Twillingate South Island the week prior to trying New World Island just for a practice round."
The hardest part of the trip, he informed, was getting through the opening at the Curtis Causeway on Dildo Run as he approached that area while the tide was against him. There were times that he almost gave up, he reported, but managed to get through under the bridge.
He left Bayview at six o'clock on the morning of July 20 and headed East.
"The wind was southwest about 15 to 20 miles per hour," recalled Mr. Bourden. "By the time I got to Main Tickle it was blowing a bit harder so I tried the sail I was carrying, but it was only good for about one mile as the wind was then against me. I didn't use the sail anymore.
"I arrived at Rover's Harbour around 11 a.m. and tried to make contact with my wife Maxine by cell phone but that failed. I had lunch and left again at 11:45 a.m. although there was still a strong breeze of wind from the southwest. It meant I had to stay close to shore all the way up through the entrance to Dildo Run. I rowed until I saw the tickles between Crocker Island and Dunnage Island. By this time the wind had abated somewhat and as the evening closed in and the sun went down it became much calmer."
Mr. Bourden explained that he had wanted to visit Dunnage Island in particular for it had memories for him. On Dunnage Island he was looking specifically for a place called the Otter Pond for he had been there several times when he was younger. He recalled that the first time he was around 10-years old when he went there with his father who had a camp set up to stay in while wood cutting.
"When I got older we used to bring wood by boat all the way to Twillingate," said Mr. Bourden. "I remember one trip in particular we had a storm of wind from the northeast. By the time we got our wood cut, the wind had dropped some so we left for home.
"However, because there was too much sea and we had a loaded boat, we had to put into Rover's Harbour. We were there two days. Even when we came out through the Gut Tickle there was quite a sea. With the old five-Acadia slowed down we had to give our boat in tow quite a bit of rope. It broke three times coming up Main Tickle. No nylon rope in those days!"
"Sometimes we would leave Dunnage Island and come down the run around Western Head," explained Mr. Bourden. "Dunnage Island had a special meaning for me and my brothers. One of the first things my half brother Captain James Cheater wanted to do when he came home on leave during World War II was to row to Dunnage Island along with my brother Ike."
Mr. Bourden arrived at Dunnage Island on July 20 at about 5 p.m., he advised, and had something to eat. Then he talked with his wife on the cell phone, the first contact he had made since starting early that morning. And he never did get in to see where his father had the camp set up because access was only possible during high tide.
"I left Dunnage Island around 6:30 p.m. and took my course for Dildo Run," said Mr. Bourden. "I sighted the second or third buoy around 7:30. By the time I reached the buoy east of the causeway it was flashing so I decided to go into Dildo Island for the night. It was now 9:30 p.m. and after checking in with my wife on the phone I decided to turn in for the night. It was a beautiful night weatherwise, but the mosquitoes were rampant. I had a tarpaulin for cover but they got under that and I couldn't sleep. I got up and walked around until daylight brushing off the nippers and they still kept after me. Finally I had breakfast at about 4:30 a.m. and left at 5:30. Out on the water the mosquitoes disappeared.
"I was by this time only a short distance from the Curtis Causeway," said Mr. Bourden, "but the tide was rising and against me. The current was so strong under the bridge that I had to zigzag to try to make headway. Sometimes I wasn't even moving, even going astern at times. I'd look at the bridge pillars and that would confuse me so I concentrated on putting everything into my rowing.
"Eventually I saw I was gaining a little and then I made it through the opening. I picked up the buoys (channel markings) and headed straight for Farmer's Island. I went to the Western side of Farmer's Island and although I knew it to be a longer trip I saw some familiar spots like Hatchet Neck. I recalled the time on the way home from Millertown many years ago. Howard Parsons from Durrell and I had walked from Comfort Cove to Summerford over the winter ice. It had been hard going for it took us over three hours. Hatchet Neck had been a resting place and the halfway point.
"I had now been rowing two and one-half hours. It was 9 a.m. before I reached Farmer's Head. There I went ashore and had a snack and phoned home to say that I should be at Western Head by 12:30 p.m. I left again and it looked like the wind was about to come from the Eastern so I rowed a little harder.
"I did reach Western Head by 12:30. By this time the wind was from the East at a fair breeze. It was a hard pull to Moreton's Harbour, then it got some better. By the time I reached Cockles Rocks the wind was breezing again. I went into Matthew's Island but couldn't make cell phone contact so I stayed about 10 minutes and left again to arrive home at 2:30 p.m."
Mr. Bourden, although experiencing difficulty at the Curtis Causeway that, he acknowledged, was by far the most difficult part of the trip, would recommend the venture to anyone. The only advice he would give, he suggested, is to approach the Causeway opening when the tide is falling if traveling in the same direction that he took. Did he have problems with his arms or hands following the experience? No way, he assured. There was no effect whatsoever.
"If I were a few years younger," he reiterated, "I'd like to row around Newfoundland."
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