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Nova ScotiaAtlantic Voice

A sensory journey through fog on the East Coast

The main character in the Atlantic Voice audio doc is fog.

Everyone in Atlantic Canada has stories about fog, says Sara Spike, a cultural historian

Atlantic Voice: A sensory journey through the fog

9 months ago
Duration 2:10
Through the fog: An Atlantic Voice documentary by CBC producer Natalie Dobbin. The documentary will air on CBC Radio One on January 21, 2024, at 8:30 a.m./ 9 a.m. NT. Videography and editing by Robert Short/CBC.

I know exactly when my fascination with fog began.

I read a line last summer that led me to isolated Sable Island, down the rocky cliffs at Signal Hill in St. John's, and to the familiarity of my back deck.

I came across Sara Spike's Dalhousie University biography while researching another story.

The line in question?"Her current research considers the role of fog in the everyday life of Atlantic Canadian communities from the early colonial period to the present."

Fog.

It's something I didn't think about a lot until I moved to Herring Cove, N.S.Sometimes the ocean view in the distance just disappears. I've learned the ebb and flow of the fog horn.

That's why Spike's work caught my attention.

A deck railing and you can only see fog in the distance.
The view from my deck in Herring Cove, N.S., on a particularly foggy day. (Natalie Dobbin/CBC)

"Everyone in Atlantic Canada has stories about fog or has memories of a really dense fog that they recall," says Spike, acultural historian who teaches at Dalhousieand is a research fellow at Gorsebrook Research Institute for Atlantic Canada Studies at Saint Mary's University.

She's writing a book on the cultural histories of fog in the region.

A woman stands on a beach wearing a navy blue toque with a green jacket and white and blue striped blouse.
Sara Spike is shown at Clam Harbour Beach on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia. (Robert Short/CBC)

"Coastal communities sort of understood fog to be just part of their community. It was a neighbour it was a character in their lives," she said. "It was part of their daily lives and they had to take fog into account in all of their daily considerations."

Spike is interested in the senses.

Water and trees are surrounded by fog.
Fog has really been a great way for me to think about sensation, says Spike. (Sara Spike)

"There's a growing field of what we call sensory history of historians who are interested in this embodied experience of the past," says Spike.

"And fog has really been a great way for me to think about sensation because so many of the stories about fog bring up the senses, bring up vision and sound and smell, even taste and certainly touch and the feeling of the sort of dampness."

A woman sits in tall grass speaking into a microphone and wearing headphones.
My exploration of fog brought me to Sable Island National Park Reserve. (Robert Short/CBC)

We know fog well on the East Coast. Grand Banks, N.L., is the foggiest place on earth. Sable Island ranks 10th, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

I recorded my journey through the fog,weaving together scenes from my search into an audio documentary called Through the Fog.

There are personal reflections, history, some science and art.

The funny thing is that when I went searching for fog, I couldn't find it.

When I took a helicopter ride to Sable Island, it was a bright and windy day. When I took a hike along Signal Hill, It was misty, and grey, and maybe there was fog in the distance? I met with Spike, twice, and still no fog.

But searching for fog showed me the importance of taking the time to look and to appreciate how fog has shaped life here on the East Coast.

Fog has shaped culture, history and tragedies in Atlantic Canada. Natalie Dobbin's fascination with fog takes her to Sable Island and then back to her home in Herring Cove in this documentary exploring the science, history and romanticization of fog.

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