Wayfarer

By wayfarer

Red Bay Wreck, Labrador.

This hulk lies slowly decaying in Red Bay, Labrador, which looks out across the Straits of Belle-Isle to Newfoundland. John Cabot claimed the region for Henry the Seventh, who wasn't overly interested. Cabot reported that he'd found a land with many great trees (probably not Newfoundland or Labrador) and his ships sailed through waters so full of cod that the crew could catch them by lowering baskets over the side and pulling them up.
Henry wasn't bothered but Europe's fishermen were (Denmark had just forbidden foreign ships from fishing off Iceland - history repeats). Soon, there were English, French, Spanish, Portugese and Basques fishing the Grand Banks. The Basques saw the whales which were everywhere in the area, noticed that many migrated through the narrow passage between Newfoundland and Labrador and were soon hunting them close to oblivion, especially the Northern Right Whale, which was slow and floated when dead, which made it the right whale to go after. There is a great book by Mark Kurlansky called Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World, which tells the story brilliantly. It may not sound much but it's a real page turner - trust me!
As for this hulk, it's one of many ships that foundered in these waters.

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