Getting Screech’d in In Newfoundland

Most of our conversations with locals in Newfoundland included at some point the question “so, where ya heading?”. They are really interested in ‘come from aways’ and want to make sure you enjoy your stay. Everyone seems to have this need to give you a local tip on somewhere to go or something to do, which is great.

 

One such random tip was that the best place to be screech’d in is at Christian’s Pub in St. John’s. We were worried it would be a tourist trap and a bit hokey, but it actually turned out to be one of our best memories of Newfoundland.

 

You can get screech’d in at many place, but Christian’s in St John’s is legendary. The entire bar shuts down during the 45 minute ceremony which is run by Lukie, a local dressed in his full wet weather fishing garb (sou’wester hat and heavy raincoat) and goes something like this:

One of our favourite sayings we learned was ‘Long may your big jig draw’. Luckily we’d been to a wooden boat building museum (as you do) where they’d explained the technique of jigging which is basically dropping a line from the boat with a giant hook attached. While commercial fishing no longer uses this method, people we met still use it for family fishing.