GROSSVANN
An important word in the Sagas is "Hope", (Also spelled "Hoop" or "Hop.") "Hope" means "tidal lake" where a river runs into a lake before the water spills into the ocean. Melville Lake emptying into Grosswater Bay best meets the requirements of Erik's Saga description of Hope, "a river into a lake, and the lake into the sea." (Magnusson, 1966)
The Vikings probably called the approach to their Hope, "Grossvann." "Gross" means "large" in both Norse and English. Norse "vann" means, English "water." English mapmakers would have accepted "Gross" and changed "vann" to "water" without giving much thought as to why the Norse word, "vann" had been used by the local people.
Carlson sketched a map found on the Spirit Pound Stone #1. The map is similar to the east coast of Labrador from Newfoundland to Grosswater Bay. The runes on the stone say, in runes, "Vinland, Hoop, Take, two days." (Carlson, 1998) Norse ships would have taken two days to sail that distance. Whoever carved the stone knew Norse runes, Vinland, Hoop [Hope], the sailing time, and enough details to draw the islands in Grosswater Bay. Thus, two independent determinations of Hope imply strongly that Hope was in Grosswater (vann) Bay.
