August 14 and 15 2014 Grand Manan Island and pilot whale on beach … part one

we visited  Grand Manan Museum …it  holds the collection of Allan Moses 300 + bird specimens, which were found in the Grand Manan area … also displayed is the Second Oldest Fresnel lens from Gannet Rock (1831), once the second brightest lighthouse lens in the world … exhibits on dulsing and the sea vegetable industry …and much more … we were very impressed with this museum

and a great exhibit about the invention of radar, by Ernest W. Guptill , the slot wave guide and the Eye of the Radar … we sure have used ours on this adventure

Modaki at low tide … only about 12 feet of the mast showing … our wind generator only works on high tide … no wind down in the harbour at low tide

the fishing weirs, ferry and the light house we will visit 

this is low tide at Seal Cove .. everything is on stilts ..

it reminded us so much like Peggys Cove

this area is full of old herring smoke houses … not in use now

off we drive to Dark Harbour on the west side of the island … we went up the hill and around valleys and down again to find this jewel  ….

this area was used for herring fishing long ago, but now it is dulse industry …there was salmon aquaculture here but it is now abandoned

at the entrance to the natural harbour is this wooden structure, we thought it was a lighthouse, but was told it was used in the herring industry … 

the cliffs are about 200 ft high, and the rocks I'm walking on are rounded by the tides

some of these buildings are used for summer homes … and some are used by Dark Harbour Hermits … it would be impossible to get to this place in the winter

in the middle of the parking lot is a dory with motor on, tied to a rock … we found out later that at high tide, there is no parking lot, it is all under water  .. makes sense 

we found the dulse drying area, it is really amazing drying system

round rocks are laid on the flat ground and mesh over top, of that, then the dulse, kelp, etc is laid out by hand to dry … we understand that on a good hot day, it can dry in about 4 hours .. and when rain is in the forecast it is rolled up and tarped, cause fresh water will ruin the harvest

these workers are cutting the dulse up before drying

then there was this guy harvesting sea lettuce … it is dried the same way

once back at the boat, at high tide, the fishing boat and Modaki was about 20 feet from the dock, it took a lot of pulling on the fishing boat's lines to get it back to the dock …