LUBEC

44° 51.85’N 066° 59.05’W

4th ed. Cruising Guide page 382

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U.S. Charts: 13396, 13328, 13394

Canandian Charts: 4343, 4340, 4373

Passamquoddy region overview chart Campobello Island chart Lubec Narrows chart Harbor chart

Tidal Range: Mean 17.5 feet; Spring 20 feet

U.S. Customs: 207-733-4331

LUBEC is a small town on the west side of Lubec Narrows through which pour the great tides of Cobscook and Passamaquoddy Bay. Lubec was once the sardine-packing capital of the world with 20 or more canneries and a can factory in operation and streets lined with elegant homes.
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Now the canneries are gone and with them, most of the town’s economic base. Recent efforts to revive the struggling downtown have included the building of a large municipal marina, and a fundraising campaign is under way to turn the last sardine plant into a museum.
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Still, even during the height of summer, there is a ghostly feeling to this place. Many of the false-fronted stores are dusty and boarded, and quite a few of the homes are for sale. The homes, though, are being cared for. When the sun comes out, so do the paint brushes, and the air rings with the sounds of hammers and saws.
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In 1897, Lubec was the sight of an infamous fraud concocted by the local Baptist minister and a partner. Together they convinced the townspeople and many out-of-state investors that gold could be profitably extracted from seawater.
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They formed the Electrolytic Marine Salts Company and built a secretive plant in North Lubec. The company claimed profits of over $100 per day, their stock soared, and construction was begun for a second plant. But less than a year after the company’s incorporation, a New York bank became suspicious of the extracted gold's consistency and investigated the Lubec operation. The minister fled to France and then to the South Seas. He was never prosecuted.
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Lubec is a Customs port of entry for the United States. The International Bridge, spanning Lubec Narrows, leads to Canada’s Campobello Island. The fixed bridge has a vertical clearance of 47 feet at high tide.
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Approaches. The easiest and safest approach to Lubec is from Friar Roads, after having first rounded Campobello Island and negotiated Head Harbour Passage. The water is deep and unobstructed to the Lubec Marina.
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Approaches via Lubec narrows. Lubec Narrows chart. From the south, the most direct approach to Lubec and the Passamaquoddy Bay area is through Lubec Narrows, but it is certainly not the easiest or safest.
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Lubec Narrows is spanned by a fixed bridge to Campobello Island with a minimum vertical clearance of 47 feet. Add to that Lubec’s mean tidal range of 17.5 feet, and most masts should be able to clear the bridge. But at low the dredged channel south of the bridge is narrow, crooked, and “dicey,” as some local sailors put it.
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Since the passage is barely navigable at low tide, the only time to attempt this passage is close to high slack. Therefore, if your mast is too tall to pass under the bridge at high slack, use Head Harbour Passage instead. Remember that high water will be higher than normal during spring tides and low water will be lower.
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Passing through the narrows at anything other than high or low slack poses another problem—current, and plenty of it. The maximum flood runs 6 knots in toward the Lubec, and the ebb surges out at as much as 8 knots. The current is at its strongest near Mulholland Point.
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Fighting your way under the bridge against the ebb would be difficult. Even going through with the flood is likely to be uncomfortable and dangerous because of the risk of yawing into the bridge piers. The period of high slack water in the Narrows is only five to 15 minutes.
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Leave flashing green whistle “1” off West Quoddy Head well to port, and then run to red-and-white fairway bell “WQ.” If you are waiting for the tide, anchor in Quoddy Narrows, in 12 to 25 feet, north of West Quoddy Head.
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When the tide is favorable, follow buoyed Lubec Channel, running between three sets of red buoys and green buoys. After leaving green can “5” to port, head for the center span of the bridge, sheathed in riprap. Note that the line of small crosses on the chart marks the international boundary, not the channel.
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After passing under the bridge, look for the breakwater to port at the northern end of the Narrows. The breakwater is normally easy to see, and even when it is covered by extreme high water, it is marked by a white pyramid midway along its length.
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To head south through Lubec Narrows, wait for the tide at the northern end of the Narrows or dock at the Lubec Marina. You can also wait at anchor in nearby Johnson Bay. When the tide is favorable, start the passage near green can “7” and head for the center span of the bridge.
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Anchorages, Moorings. The Lubec Marina is at the northern end of town, past the breakwater and around to the west. Its extensive floats berth both commercial and pleasure vessels, with plenty of room to accommodate transients. This is a convenient place to stop, but it can be very uncomfortable here in a north or northwest wind.
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You can also anchor to the west in Johnson Bay while waiting for the tide, in 15 to 25 feet at low, but this is not convenient to the town of Lubec.
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Getting Ashore. Land at the Lubec Marina at the northern end of town.
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To check in with U.S. Customs (207-733-4331), call from the marina or walk a few blocks to the brick customs building at the International Bridge. They are open 24 hours a day.
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For the Boat. Lubec Marina (Ch. 09, 16; 207-733-8999; www.nemaine.com/lubecmarina). This large municipal marina is the easternmost full-service marina in the United States and the focal point of Lubec’s economic revival efforts. As such it is well-run, clean, and welcoming, with plenty of space for transients. Water and electricity are available on the floats. Diesel can be arranged by truck to the commercial pier to the east.
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For the Crew. Ice, showers, toilets, and laundry facilities are ashore at the marina. On Water Street, the Mulholland Brothers Market has been restored as the first phase of preserving the McCurdy Fish Plant, the last United States smokehouse complex.
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It’s about a half mile from the marina to a group of markets. Turn right up the hill (Main Street), past the bandstand and down the other side to a Quik-Stop convenience store (ice and pay phone) and a Red and White Market, open every day. A bank with an ATM is just up the road toward Campobello.
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There are several restaurants in town, including the Home Port Inn and Restaurant at the top of the hill. The post office is at the bridge at the far end of Water Street.
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The Region Medical Center (733-5541, 733-4321) is on the road leading to Quoddy Head.
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Things to Do. Lubec’s heyday and hard times are jumbled together in the little Sardine Village Museum outside of town.
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Although there is no pedestrian path on the International Bridge, it is easy enough to walk across to Canada. American and Canadian Customs officials guard the road at either end.
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To get to the lighthouse at West Quoddy Head and Quoddy Head State Park, ask at the marina for the names of residents who, for a fee, will drive you. The candy-striped lighthouse was built in 1791 on the easternmost point of land in the United States. There are trails all along the cliffs, picnicking sites, and wonderful views of Grand Manan.
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