Amelia Earhart took flight from the airstrip at Harbour Grace on May 20, 1932, to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
"The Spirit of Harbour Grace" is a restored 1943 Douglas DC-3 on display at the Riverhead since 1993, commemorating Harbour Grace's rich aviation history.And in the bottom left corner, the "Kyle" is visible.
The SS "Kyle" was built in Newcastle, UK, in 1913, and was used as a ferry between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and later between Newfoundland and Labrador. By 1960, she became a sealing vessel, but after a losing encounter with an iceberg in 1967, SS "Kyle" returned to Harbour Grace for repairs.That winter, she broke her moorings in a vicious storm, and instead of breaking up on the rocks, the winds drove her to the Riverhead, where she has remained ever since. Local legend says that it was not the "Kyle"'s destiny to go to an underwater grave.
Instead, the SS "Kyle" was guided to it's final resting place in Riverhead by the "seaman's ghost" - where the vessel's illustrious past would never be forgotten.
The history of SS "Kyle" is here. If you have time, read it, it's fascinating. A way of life that's gone forever.
The Harbour Grace shipyard is full of fishing vessels under repair. Will this one ever challenge the high seas of the North Atlantic again?
Just across the road from the shipyard, we ate fish'n'chips at the Harbour Grace Hotel. Fresh cod, right out of the ocean.Mmmm, their fish'n'chips are some good, b'y!
More posts about our time in Newfoundland below.... just scroll down.
Fish and chips - the food of gods!
ReplyDeleteWish I'd been there for the fish & chips. YUM!
ReplyDeletelooks like those vessels will take a whole lot of repair to be useful again. but i guess it's a good place to grow old 'gracefully' :).
ReplyDeleteI'm so enjoying your trip and all the interesting things you were able to see.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a photographers paradise.
What a fascinating History of The SS Kyle.....I LOVE that it was NOT Meant to go down into the deep....And in a way, is still "serving" people by the very fact that it is visible and has been preserved as it has--To Honor History and as you said, 'days gobe by'.
ReplyDeleteNothing like Fresh Fish just caught and cooked...Yummmmm!
You gave me a laugh with your comment about Sweetie and The Steroids. Thanks for you kind dear words, my dear, and a Good Laugh, too!
It has been too long since I have had fish and chips. That last ship has had a rough go at it, huh?
ReplyDeleteHi again,
ReplyDeleteI love all these picture ... Harbour Grace is a fascinating place!
Sometimes, when I was young we would just go for ice-cream!
Barbara
Boats in dry dock always fascinate me, Sham. I guess they're a bit like the proverbial icebergs, with so much you never see normally.
ReplyDeleteWe had some great fish (haddock) & chips in Portland last weekend.
ReplyDeleteHad family visiting so we went all around the state, including a short visit to New Brunswick, Canada. :)
We had fish every day while in Norway – and it was good. The northern part of Norway, near Kirkenes, reminded me a lot of Newfoundland. It is pristine and lovely.
ReplyDelete