Punchbowl is a fully protected harbour with a buoyed entrance and one of the best wharf systems on the Labrador coast. It is also completely deserted!

This sign says it all.

The shore facilities were completed in the late eighties as an elaborate summer fishing station. In 1992 the cod moratorium killed the fishery and Punchbowl along with it.

The buildings were still in excellent condition but all the equipment has been removed. When I visited in 2000 the locals were stripping the facility so I don't know what remains today.

On the way north I came into punchbowl with a strong NE wind forecast. In a couple of hours the anemometer was reading 50 to 55 knots! I was glad I was tied to the leeward side of a wharf with all lines doubled up.

There are dozens of abandoned cabins round punchbowl but no permanent homes. There was never a real community with a school or church.

I visited Punchbowl again on the way south and by then the Labrador coast was getting positively crowded with cruising boats!

This is Belvedere a 65 ft motor sailor, well known in northern waters. She was on the way back from Baffin island. Owner John Bockstoce has taken her through the North West Passage.

This is Chris and Anni on Groais II, a home built 38ft cutter. They have sailed her round the world and have cruised extensively along the Labrador coast.

They also run a ski club in Nova Scotia. Visit their web site 

Three cruising boats and a fishing boat together. I doubt the harbour has seen so many boats for a few years.

The blue barrels on the wharf are full of melted iceberg water. Apparently there is a market for iceberg water down south.