ONCE through the Grand Manan Channel, the wide-open and temperamental Bay of Fundy lies before you. Huge tides move icy water in and out of the bay, which turns warm, moist air into concrete-thick fog. When the wind blows against the strong currents, the bay is whipped into steep, unruly waves. At other times, Fundy lies under a glass surface, lulling, warm, and beguiling.
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Fog is most prevalent in spring and early summer in light southerly winds of less than 10 knots. Ship reports indicate fog 30% of the time in July, the worst month, but this is an average. Between foggy days, the days can sparkle.
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The last of the good harbors are near Letete Passage, tucked behind the Bliss Islands or on either side of Frye Island and the Letang Peninsula. Farther east, the coast of New Brunswick is bold, with only one or two harbors for refuge until you reach the shipping port of Saint John. This small metropolis lies at the mouth of the Saint John River, fortified along its waterfront by huge concrete container-ship terminals, oil tanks, a ferry terminal, cruise-ship docks, and the Canadian Coast Guard. It is not an easy place for a yacht to lie.
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Beyond the city, the dramatic Reversing Falls is the gate-keeper to the inland wonders of the Saint John River. Two irrefutable forces of nature meet at the falls—the enormous Fundy tides and the ceaseless seaward flow of the river. At low tides, the river cascades out to sea. At high tides, the sea surges upriver. And during the short slack periods, the falls are navigable by boat.
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With surprising suddenness, you enter a different world, where the warm, fresh waters of the Saint John River stretch inland, tinged brown and smelling of rich earth. The fog is dissolved by the sun, the tides are measured in inches instead of meters, and salt is found only on your food. Languid arms and bays flood the valleys between the rolling hills, and wavelets lap at wooded shores and beaches of river sand.
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Farther upriver, story-book cable ferries cross from one hamlet to another. Farms and pasture spill to the banks, and cows are barged to the low, grassy islands for grazing. The narrow tributary of the Jemseg River opens into wide Grand Lake, where the inland sailing is unobstructed and unsurpassed on the warm breezes. Fredericton, the capitol of New Brunswick and the head of navigation, flanks the river just below the Mactaquac Dam.
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In emergencies, Canadian Coast Guard can be reached on VHF channel 16, and also by cellular phone by dialing *16. Vessel Traffic Services, known on the radio as Fundy Traffic, can be reached on the VHF. Use channel 14 west of The Wolves and channel 12 east of The Wolves, or call 800-565-1582.
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Copyright 2002 DIAMOND PASS PUBLISHING, INC.
A Cruising Guide to the Maine Coast, Hank and Jan Taft, Curtis Rindlaub