With more than three hundred kilometers of beach land surrounding the islands, becoming a beachcomber by the sea becomes one of the more enjoyable aspects to the Magdalen Islands.

Note : By law, it is not permitted to park a vehicle with four tires on the paved highway, nor is it wise. However, most of the main roads on the islands now have paved shoulders as well as graveled shoulders, so it is possible to park a car and walk out to the beaches from nearly anywhere on the islands.  Even though visitors are permitted to park along the sides of the road, it is safer to park in the multiple parking lots designed to allow easier access by boardwalks to the beaches.

There are many reasons to become a beachcomber by the sea on the Magdalen Islands. Treasures come in all shapes and sizes and many are tossed up on the rolling sands by the sea. A beachcomber may be looking for that elusive sea shell, a wrecked ship, a bottle with a note in it, or a special piece of driftwood to take home.

Treasures Found on Magdalen Islands Beaches

Almost five hundred years ago, tall ships started to arrive from Europe with men interested in exploring the new world. After coming through the Cabot Strait, the channel between Newfoundland and Cape Breton, they approached the Magdalen Islands.  Often a storm would arise while the ships were in the Gulf. Because the islands were just south of the Saint Lawrence Seaway, the channel that comes from the river, the ships might have run aground on the beaches or pile up on the rocks, becoming ancient shipwrecks which, with time become covered with sand or laid to rest on the sea bottom.

Often, many years later a storm could be just right to throw the wrecked ship up on the beach or remove the sand dune that had built up around it, exposing it to beachcombers.  More often than not, it would be just a piece of the hull, the rest ripped apart by the sea and scattered by the four winds. Pieces of pottery, china and cutlery are often found on the beaches after a storm as well as ancient coins from the old world and religious artifacts.

The first shipwreck registered on the Magdalen Islands was the Essex, a military ship from England, said to be carrying the payroll for the army of British General James Wolf during his battle with French General Montcalm for the domination of Lower Canada. That ship was never seen again but to this day, there are beachcombers who dream of finding the wreck.  Often a beachcomber will use a metal detector in areas where ancient ships have been wrecked.

It often comes to past that a beachcomber by the sea will come across an intriguing whale bone which will make the perfect lawn ornament or a piece of shattered sea glass that is all scratched and water worn and think about the amazing window charm it would make.  As one tours around the beaches, different colors of sand can be found…, white, cream, red, rust and black sands can be made into a variety of gifts from the sea.

But perhaps the most common of all beachcomber finds are the multiple sea shells found upon all our shores. Here on the islands beaches the Northern Moonshell, Blue Mussel, Oyster shells, Lobster, Quahog, Clam and the Common Razor Clam shells are common. Also Sand Dollars, Sea Urchins, both the Iceland and the Deep-sea Scallop shells, Whelk, Starfish, Sand Crab, Limpid shells and other unusual types of sea life litter the sand of the Iles de la Madeleine.

How interesting it is to come and be a beachcomber by the sea.  With each new day the tides rise and fall like clockwork bringing something out of the briny depths, something new to find. Why not come and try your luck at finding island treasure on some deserted beach on the Magdalen Islands.  You may just be the fortunate one who finds a hidden piece to our past.

Quote:

“The true object of all human life is play. Earth is a task garden; heaven is a playground.“ G K Chesterton