Join One Expedition for fins, fiddles and family fun
Credit to Author: Dave Pottinger| Date: Mon, 12 Aug 2019 18:45:38 +0000
Cape Breton’s legendary Barra MacNeils are halfway through another wild jig when someone yells, “whale!”
The five siblings that make up this world-renowned Celtic band have been reeling passengers in all week with their salty, foot stomping tunes, and perhaps the whales are getting jealous.
We race to the windows and outer decks of the impeccable RCGS Resolute to oooh and aaahat the fins and tails, returning to the bar to continue our step-dancing kitchen party. My mom cheers as her boisterous, six year-old granddaughter takes to the floor. With her untamed curls, Raquel hasn’t stopped bouncing since we boarded the 123m-long ship in Sydney, Nova Scotia. One Ocean Expeditions, a tour operator based in Squamish B.C., call their 10-day Atlantic East Coast itinerary Fins n’ Fiddles for a reason.
Period-costumed re-enactors in the historic Fortress of Louisbourg.
Expedition cruises are rather different from your average cruise. The ships are smaller, the excursions more physical, and when you’re visiting destinations like the Arctic, Antarctica, or remote southern Newfoundland, one never quite knows what to expect.
Wild winds and weather play havoc with schedules, which are mostly designed to be go-go-go… and go again. The buffet-and-pool crowd typically don’t enjoy slipping on survival suits to squeeze into zodiacs and make wet landings on shipwrecked beaches. You’ve got to be up for these types of expeditions, and nobody is more up for anything than the sizzling tornado that is my 6-year-old daughter.
I long ago learned that any adventure is only as special as the people you share it with. This includes 140 friendly passengers from Canada, the US, Australia; One Ocean’s outstanding Canadian and international staff; teenage winners of a nationwide Royal Canadian Geographic Society competition, and best of all, my retired mom. When the company is this good – and when the Barra MacNeils perform daily in the spacious bar – you could sail in a bathtub and still have a blast.
The writer’s daughter step dances to the Barra MacNeils.
As it turned out, the blast that kicked things off exploded from replica 17thcentury muskets held by period-costumed re-enactors in the historic Fortress of Louisbourg. I told my daughter we were entering a time machine, which befits the largest reconstruction project in North America. Louisbourg is the warm-up in Cape Breton before the ship sets sail to an almost mythical sliver of sand known as Sable Island. History records that Sable Island has wrecked an estimated 350 ships, and our expedition crew were determined to brave strong winds to salvage many a passenger’s bucket list.
They piloted the Resolute’s rugged zodiacs over large swells for a dramatic landing on the beach, and within moments, we could breath, and yet were breathless. Before us stood half a dozen of the 550 wild horses that live on the island, the unlikely descendants of a failed 18thcentury Acadian attempt to introduce crops and domestic animals.
One of the wild horses on Sable Island.
It’s a barren, hostile place. Just one of 80,000 trees planted on the island by the federal government in 1901 survived, hell even rabbits couldn’t make a go of it. The horses, nourished by sweet abundant grass that grows in the sand, were perilously close to being rounded up for dog food in the 1950’s. A public outcry saved the day, and today the entire island is protected and managed by Parks Canada. Just 500 people a year might hike a windswept dune to observe these shaggy, healthy and undeniably magical wild horses. The experience mesmerized us, resulting in a few more toasts than usual during Happy Hour at the bar.
There’s no playground on the Resolute, so my daughter had to improvise. She skipped down the immaculate carpeted hallways, did somersaults over the leather chairs in the stylish observation deck, leaped up and down the staircases, and played monkey bars with the hearts of staff, passengers and crew. Raquel became the surrogate grandchild for so many grandparents on board, no doubt wishing and planning for future expedition cruises with their own offspring.
Percé Rock in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec.
A few parents asked to see our triple cabin, delighted, as we were, to find it surprisingly spacious, modern, and suitable for kids of all ages. As for the daily zodiac and onshore excursions, nightly musical performances and scrumptious, silver-service meals, why should adults have all the fun? Together with the enthusiastic birders on board, Raquel marvelled at the puffins, guillemots, herons and eagles nesting on the aptly named Bird Island. Curious grey seals sprouted above the waves, and there were constant sightings of fin and minke whales. On the Magdalen Islands, we school bussed around to taste mouth-watering cheese, traditional smoked herring, and the salty-air hops of the island’s acclaimed long-running microbrewery. Raquel stuck to apple juice, passing on the samplings of seal sausage to devour the rich island cheese.
Each night we’d gather at in the lounge bar for a ship briefing and pre or post-dinner performance from the Barra MacNeils. As passengers, the MacNeil clan were generous and friendly; as multi-instrumentalists with sweeping vocal harmonies, they were the life of the party.
Along with the music, One Ocean stacked the expedition with naturalists, marine biologists, historians and scientists. A presentation from Oceanwise founder and former Vancouver Aquarium CEO Dr John Nightingale revealed the shocking impact of micro plastics across the planet’s oceans. The washed-up garbage he collected from the remote shores of Anticosti Island spoke volumes.
A zodiac and onshore excursions on the aptly named Bird Island to view puffins, guillemots, herons and eagles.
One Ocean’s environmental commitment speak volumes too, from the elimination of plastic water bottles – guests are provided with metal bottles and filtered water – to raising funds for marine charities and hosting scientists and research facilities. As with any cruise, it can be hard to reconcile this with the abundance of food and drink on-board, or the fuel and cost of maintaining and operating a ship as impressive as the Resolute. Still, hedonism takes a back seat, and nobody disembarks without a greater appreciation for our ocean, and the importance of protecting it.
Circling in a zodiac around Bonaventure Island at the mouth of the Gaspé Peninsula, my daughter gazes wide-eyed at 120,000 gannets nesting in the cliffs. These graceful yellow-headed seabirds, one of the largest found in the Atlantic, dive-bomb into schools of fish below, swallowing their catch underwater.
My mom opts for a moderate hike on the island to see the nesting pairs from above. Each day presents numerous excursion options depending on one’s level of fitness and personal interest. Cycling was out for Raquel, but I did take her sea kayaking into cascades that empty off the sea cliffs of Quebec’s Anticosti Island.
Enjoying the view on Magdelan Island.
She also managed a decent hike on the fabled Tablelands of Gros Morne, and later along the coast and narrow streets of the distinctly European island of St Pierre. Together with neighbouring Miquelon, St Pierre is the last remaining French-held territory in North America, an island with EU license plates, excellent imported wine and numerous brands of canned fois gras – priced in euros, of course.
“Add France to your list!” I tell Raquel, who has now travelled to 8 countries on 4 continents. She’s a jetsetter, but not an early riser. Given our early starts each morning, I decided it best to insert a few ship days.
For Raquel, museums and puffin colonies are not nearly as entertaining as dancing to her Spotify playlist on the polished floors of the ship’s gym, or hanging out on the bridge with the amenable Ukrainian captain who allowed her to push a few buttons. And let’s not forget the bottomless ice cream from the 6thdeck Bistro, which triumphs over all.
In truth I was a little concerned about bringing a young kid on such an ambitious itinerary, and yet travelling with children infuses any adventure with energy and wonder. Kids ask questions that cut to the whalebone, and broadcast their emotions through their skin. On a cruise where you might share dinner with an Australian land developer who has travelled to 160 countries, or two dozen people who have travelled to Antarctica, youth brings freshness, delight and awe…and it’s contagious.
On expedition ships, there’s a Plan A, a Plan B, and a Plan C. Can’t land on the north side of Sable Island? We’ll land on the south side. Too much wind to anchor in the narrow fjord of Newfoundland’s Francois? We’ll sail up the wider fjord of La Poile.
My Plan A had my mom looking after Raquel while I gallivanted in the Atlantic, and my mom putting Raquel to bed while I gallivanted with a fine single malt at the bar. Spare a thought for my wife who had to deal with our 3 year-old son back in Vancouver, as she wasn’t gallivanting anywhere except work and daycare.
Hiking on the fabled Tablelands of Gros Morne.
Much like expedition ships, travelling with kids also requires a Plan A, B and C. For Raquel demanded to participate, to explore, to dance and revel, refusing to retire to her bunk unless I’d meet her in a nightly I’m not tired/yes you are battle. “I wonder where she gets it from,” laughs my mom, quite enjoying the spectacle four decades after I put her through much of the same.
Better to surrender to the experience – the Resolute, the islands, the wildlife, the companionship and culture – and share the ageless, timeless and diverse wonders of Atlantic Canada.
“I can’t believe I’m going to bed before the 6 year-old,” says an exhausted passenger, after the Barra MacNeils and later, Raquel’s playlist, inspired a full-blown dance party on our final night.Perhaps One Ocean should start calling this popular annual sailing: Fins, Fiddles, Families…and Fun.
Robin Esrock is the bestselling author of The Great Canadian Bucket List. The writer’s travels were partially covered by One Ocean Expeditions. It did not review or approve this article.