SEAL COVE Grand Manan

44° 38.85’N 066° 50.30’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 375

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U.S. Charts: 13392

Canandian Charts: 4340, 4342, 4011

Passamquoddy region overview chart Harbor chart

Tidal range: Mean 14.3 feet; Large 19.6 feet

Customs: 888-CANPASS; Office: 506-662-3232
Emergency: 506-662-8484
Hospital: 506-662-8411
Ferry info.: 506-662-3606

SEAL COVE is a small and pleasant fishing community on the eastern side of Grand Manan near the southern end and a possible port of entry into Canada. The approach from the south is easy, and a man-made harbor provides excellent protection. Like most Grand Mananers, the people of Seal Cove are extremely friendly and helpful.
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This harbor is used mostly by lobsterboats. The lobster season officially ends in June to allow lobsters to molt and breed, so the boats gear up for other fisheries. Often nets are laid out in the fields and among the neat little houses to dry. In the spring, Douglas-fir poles 60 to 80 feet long are piled on the docks. They are sharpened at one end, ready to be driven by the floating pile drivers that build or repair the island’s weirs.
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The old harbor at the head of the cove dries out, so it is not useful as an anchorage. It is still used, though, by herring seiners and dories when the herring are running. The catch is unloaded and racked and hung in the weathered shingle smokehouses that cram the shore and perch over the water on old pilings.
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Lying secure in Seal Cove on a foggy day, there is a great feeling of peace, gently interrupted by occasional raucous seagull cries, the rumble of a lobsterboat's diesel starting up, or the rise and fall of voices on the wharf as fishermen discuss the catch, the market, and the weather.
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With prevailing summer winds, there will be fog at Grand Manan if the mainland is warm. “It can be desperate foggy in Seal Cove,” the fishermen say, “but burned off by the time you reach North Head.”
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Approaches. From the south or west, make for high Southwest Head and the lighthouse (with two radio towers nearby). Then pick up red-and-white bell “XAD,” southeast of the head. From the bell, coast up between Wood Island (low and partially wooded) and the east shore of Grand Manan.
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Note green can “XA3” off Buck Rock, left to port, and look for the “Flock of Sheep” near Pat’s Cove—glacial erratics left browsing 10,000 years ago. Stay in midchannel to clear the weirs along the Grand Manan shoreline. Otherwise, this channel is wide and open with the few dangers clearly marked. Ahead you will see the dark bulk of the wharves and the cluster of houses in Seal Cove. The fish pens moored south of the harbor are clearly visible, but they may not be lit at night.
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Anchorages, Moorings. There are two man-made harbors in Seal Cove. The northern one dries out at low water.
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The southern harbor, which you come to first, has good, deep water and excellent protection. A breakwater and wharf that are not shown on the charts extend from the north, perpendicular to the main wharf, and form a narrow entrance. Be careful as you enter that someone isn’t coming out.
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Tie up to a boat along the main wharf or, after June 30, to a lobster car in midharbor. An average low tide leaves about 12 to 14 feet of water along the inner wall of the south wharf and 9 to 10 feet at the southern edge of both rows of lobster cars and along the inner edge of the north wharf. The harbormaster will stop by to lighten your pockets by $25 for dockage.
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Use caution if you decide to dock to a lobster car. Get permission to stay alongside and check how well it is moored. Lobster cars float around quite a lot. If you are tied to one, don’t be surprised to find yourself bumping one of the boats nested at the wharf. Fenders are good insurance.
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Getting Ashore. Take the dinghy in to the float near the land end of the south wharf. If you are entering Canada here, call Customs at 888-CANPASS from the pay phone near the head of the dock.
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For the Boat. Harbour Authority of Grand Manan (506-662-8482). The Harbour Authority is responsible for all dockage. There is a trash can on the dock but no water. If you need water, ask around. Someone may give you water at his home, but you will have to lug it in containers. Irving (506-662-3433) will truck fuel to the wharf. Small amounts of ice are sold at the markets.
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General Marine Service (506-662-3288), in Grand Harbour, usually works on commercial boats, but they might help you with mechanical trouble.
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Daggett Agencies (506-662-3652) in Grand Harbour has some marine supplies.
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For the Crew. A half-mile walk into town will bring you to the small High Tide Market.
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Things to Do. Visit the handsome, shingled smokehouses around the northern harbor. Their owner, New York architect Michael Zimmer, runs a fun, free museum of art and fish, including a Herring Hall of Fame. Bring a picnic. A nice sandy beach with good sun and protected water extends farther to the north.
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The public Brookside Golf Course is an easy walk away, and it rents clubs. Windsor Park, on the hill above the town, has tennis courts.
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For a long hike, walk about 4.5 miles down the road to Southwest Head. You will be rewarded by wonderful views southward to Machias Seal Island and southwestward to the mainland.
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Preston Wilcox makes trips in Senorita to Machias Seal Island out of Seal Cove (506-662-8296).
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On Canada Day, on July 1, Seal Cove hosts an annual Canada Days Celebration with a children’s fancy dress parade, village suppers, and scallop-shucking and greasy-pole contests.