The Reversing Falls near high slack water. Lower Falls and Split Rock are in the foreground.
Upper Falls are between the pulp mill and the islands. Photo: Canadian Hydrographic Service

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To those from afar, passing through the Reversing Falls represents a certain rite of passage. Stories of hair-raising adventures in the falls abound, though local sailors will pass through them and back for a day sail or navigate them at night. The entire trick is in the timing. Time the falls correctly, and the current is no worse than the strong currents you might encounter in places like Passamaquoddy Bay, but time them incorrectly, and your yacht will behave as if it is on a roller coaster. If you want local knowledge, call the Kennebeccasis Yacht Club at 506-652-9430. Here are some suggestions from the pros:
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SLACK WATER. The exact time of slack water may vary depending on the water level of the Saint John River, which fluctuates seasonally and with the amount of recent rainfall. If the river is high, a low slack will be slightly later, and a high slack will be slightly earlier. Conversely, if the river level is low, a low slack will be slightly earlier, and a high slack will be slightly later. Always arrive at the falls early to allow for these discrepancies and to wait for slack.
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Irving Oil Company publishes a table of slack water predictions for the Reversing Falls which most locals keep on board and find reliable despite its printed warning that it is not intended for navigation. The table can be picked up at the tourist information center at Market Slip and many other places or you can call them at 800-561-0123. The most accurate slack predictions are found at the Canadian Hydrographic Service’s website (www.chs-shc.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/chs/en/waterlevels).
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DEPTH. Depth through the falls is ample except for the charted 5-foot area just off Union Point. The soundings charted at the Reversing Falls were taken at slack water, but depth at slack will also vary with the height of the river at any given time.
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Approaches heading upriver. Reversing Falls chart. When heading upriver, pass under the Harbour Bridge (76-foot clearance), the first bridge at the head of the harbor, and arrive at the Reversing Falls early. Circle in the elbow of the river to the west, just below the Reversing Falls bridge, while waiting for slack water. Watch the water between the east shore and freestanding Split Rock to judge the water levels and the direction and force of the current. Take your time and wait for the tide. You will see the force of the current passing between Split Rock gradually diminish.

Whirlpools off Split Rock during the ebb at Lower Falls.
Upper Falls are in the background beyond the bridge.
Photo: Canadian Hydrographic Service

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Heading Upriver at Low Slack. Before slack, the current will be against you; after slack, the current will be with you. Arrive early and circle clockwise while waiting. The water flowing between Split Rock is a good gauge of slack water. Before slack, the water will be flowing downriver, cascading in a mini falls through the split. When circling, head into the current and feel its strength against you.
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As slack approaches, the current’s force will diminish and eventually reverse and sweep you through the falls. It is better to go slightly early, against the last of the current, rather than later when there might be so much current in your favor that you lose steerageway. When it is time to go through the falls, approach the Lower Falls from the elbow in the river south of the bridges rather than trying to turn into the current from behind Split Rock.
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Heading Upriver at High Slack. Before slack, the current will be with you; after slack, it will be against you. Don’t be tempted to go too soon with too much current heading upriver, or you will lose steerageway. Circle counterclockwise in the elbow of the river so you will be running with the current when you are closest to the middle of the river but can then turn to port into the eddy of the elbow. Be careful not to get too close to the falls, where the current could sweep you through.
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Go through the falls while the current is still slightly in your favor, but not too early, or you will loose your steerageway. Or you can wait until the current turns slightly against you, but don’t wait too long, or the contrary current will become too strong to buck, particularly in the Upper Falls where it is stronger. Don’t approach from behind Split Rock, particularly when the current is still running upriver—your leeway as you turn might put you onto the rock. Even when approaching in the straight-line course from the elbow, you may still be set to the west at Split Rock. Be careful to stay in midchannel.
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Once you are past Split Rock and through the Lower Falls, the channel widens, and Union Point with its Kafkaesque pulp mill projects from the left. Steer slightly to starboard to stay in the middle of the river and pass between the Pulp Mill and a turbulent eddy to starboard called “The Pot.” Stay midchannel through the Upper Falls.
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Approaches heading downriver. Reversing Falls chart. When heading downriver, arrive early and circle in Lee Cove to the west, above the pulp mill on Union Point, near the log boom. If you are very early, good holding is reported off Indiantown. Watch the current at the submerged ledge and against the rocks at Union Point. The route through the falls will be the reverse of the upriver route.
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Heading Downriver at Low Slack. Before slack, the current will be with you; after slack, the current will be against you. When circling in Lee Cove, keep well away from the Upper Falls themselves so the current won’t sweep you over them. Go just before slack water and let the current help you, but don’t go too early or you’ll lose steerageway. You can also go at slack or just after the current has turned against you, but don’t wait too long or you won’t be able to power against it.
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Heading Downriver at High Slack. Before slack, the current will be against you; after slack, the current will be with you. Go through against the last of the current or wait until it turns in your favor. Don’t wait too long, or you may lose your steerageway in the Falls.
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Cautions. Logs from upriver tend to accumulate in the eddies of the falls and should be avoided. The logs will be floating on their sides or they could be waterlogged “deadheads” standing vertically in the water, with just one end near the surface. The logs can be anywhere, but most probably they will be lurking in the eddy lines, clearly defined by foam (created by the turbulence and the pulp mill’s effluent) and other wrack. Use extra caution when crossing these eddy lines.
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If through timing or temptation you run the falls with too much current in your favor, you may lose steerageway. Even though you are moving fast, the boat may hardly be moving relative to the water, and the rudder could have little or no effect. Control can be regained by throttling forward faster than the current, but you may be swapping one danger for another. Now the boat will be moving faster, and your decisions will need to keep up. The helm, meanwhile, might still be sluggish.
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A more dramatic emergency technique to regain control when steerageway is lost is to throttle hard forward or in reverse to turn the boat 180 degrees into the current, but this must be done quickly and decisively. Now, powering forward against the current, the flow of water over the rudder is the sum of the current and your speed, so steerageway is excellent. If your engine is more powerful than the current, you can either power against the current and out of it the way you came, or you can hold the boat stationary in the current. Or, by powering forward at a speed slightly less than that of the current, you can let the current carry the boat slowly backward in your original direction but with much more steering and speed control.

Lower Falls andSplit Rock during a strong ebb.

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Another mistake is to attempt the falls heading upriver too late after high slack, when the current has turned against you. Since the current is less at the Lower Falls than the Upper Falls, a late arrival might be able to power against it through the Lower Falls, only to find that the boat doesn’t have the power to overcome the current in the Upper Falls. And with every passing moment, the strength of the contrary current increases.

Standing waves in Upper Falls at maximum ebb.

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A skipper caught in this situation has a couple of nerve-wracking options. He can attempt to spin the boat around and shoot out the Lower Falls like a cork out of a Champagne bottle, but his 180 degree turn will need to be quick to minimize the boat’s leeway, and his steerage may be marginal once he has turned unless he powers forward even faster than the current on his way out.
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Or, perhaps more prudently, he can throttle back slightly while heading forward into the current and let the current carry the boat backwards slowly while he maneuvers toward the small cove south of the pulp mill on Union Point. Here, in relatively stationary water, it is safe to lie until the next slack water if necessary.
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If you are caught in the falls and feel you need help, call the Coast Guard (Ch. 16, cellular *16) or Fundy Traffic (Ch. 12). They may send the powerful jetboat of the Reversing Falls Jetboat Tours (506-634-8987) to tow you to safety.
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It is possible to navigate the Reversing Falls at night or in limited visibility, although this is not recommended for strangers. A tourist bureau up by the highway shines several blinding lights on the Lower Falls, and their glare makes gauging slack water difficult. Orange halogen lights from the highway and pulp mill provide surreal illumination through the Upper Falls, but by then your night vision will be nonexistent. The darkness will seem particularly inky, and there are almost no illuminated buoys from there to Grand Bay.
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