The Western Beach in the Port Hood Day Park

The views on this page were taken during a stroll along the western portion of Boardwalk Beach, below the end of the boardwalk, to its southern end and returning back to Shipping Point. I walked to the far end of the beach, about 830 m (½ mi) to the southeast from Shipping Point, where I sat and contemplated the beautiful scene. It was only when I happened to think I should be seeing Henry Island and couldn’t see it that I finally noticed the fog; by the time I had left the far end and returned to Shipping Point, the fog covered the south end of the beach and had come ashore inland over the dunes and bog area; simultaneously, to the north, it had come in off the Gulf of St Lawrence and covered much of Port Hood itself, though the area at Shipping Point remained relatively clear.

Photo #1 was taken from where I stopped on the return walk, about a ⅓ of the way from the southeastern end, and looks back at where I spent a half hour wool-gathering and enjoying the views. As you can see, cliffs rising above the water line the shore to the south of the end of the beach. The rightmost point (which appears hazier than the point just before it) is Seonalds Point south of the entrance to Little Judique Harbour; it is superimposed on top of Domhnull Ruadhs Head, concealing most of the latter. The darker point just to its left is MacNeil Point, north of the Little Judique Harbour entrance.

Photo #2 was taken from the southeastern end of the beach, looking at the beach as its curves out to Shipping Point, at the left of photo and out of its scope. I was not the only person on this part of the beach—two pairs of adults walked to where I was sitting while I was there on this beautiful morning. Their height gives an excellent measure of the height of the dunes bordering the beach. In other years, a volleyball net is often found in this area of the beach, which is adjacent to the Lighthouse Cottages, and it is not uncommon to encounter sunbathers working on their tans. The rocks in the foreground of this photo are characteristic only of this far end of the beach; the remainder of the beach is fine sand, here decorated with kelp that has washed in and will soon be gone with the arrival of the summer.

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Photo #3 looks at the nearby coast to the south of the end of the beach, extending to Domhnull Ruadhs Head in the distance (Seonalds Point is still superimposed on it, but now a bit to the left). The boat at the right proved to be that of a lobster fisherman; it made its way into the harbour on my walk back. This rocky cliff-bound scene is typical of this coast; numerous homes and summer homes sit on these banks off Shore Road.

Photo #4 is an unusual view from this site: Henry Island, which should be off shore and very visible in St Georges Bay, is missing! At first, I thought it was my eyes and I cleaned my glasses; it was only then that I finally noticed the fog on Port Hood Island and came to that plenty of fog was out there! Took me long enough!

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Photo #5, a wide angled shot from the southeastern end of the beach taken four minutes after photo #4, shows, left of centre, Henry Island back in its place, though still heavily shrouded in fog; the lighthouse at its top, which usually stands out against a blue sky is missing. Parks Point, at the southern end of Port Hood Island is in the centre of the photo and Parks Beach is at the right.

Photo #6, taken from the same location as photo #1 on the return walk, shows Shipping Point at the left of the photo, a bit hard to make out, superimposed as it is against Port Hood Island, but marked in this photo by the channel marker which stands offshore in the channel. The fog is now settling in over Port Hood Island and the huge cloud bank that crosses the width of the photo reached well inland of Port Hood. It is perhaps worth pointing out that this photo is at low tide: how can one tell? The line of kelp marks the point furthest inland to which the waters, likely driven by the winds, have pushed the floating kelp; the lower line is more likely the normal high water mark. Another way to tell is that much of Shipping Point is under water at high tide.

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Photo #7 looks back down the beach from near Shipping Point, which is to the right of this photo and outside its scope. By this time, the fog bank had crossed over from Henry Island and was now blanketing the southern portions of the day park itself! It is interesting to note the goodly-sized stones that have been forced up to and along the dunes, testimony indeed to the fierce winds and waves that buffet this coast during storms. It is no wonder that the boardwalk needs repairs each year.

Photo #8 looks across the harbour towards Black Point and Murphys Pond, now also enshrouded in fog that has crossed over from Port Hood Island and come in off the Gulf of St Lawrence beyond. Yet elsewhere, it is a clear and beautiful late spring day!