Experiences with St. John Reversing Falls, Bay of Fundy

[deblen]

Originally Posted by deblen

I agree with Capt Len's recent post. Doesn't matter which slack. If you were too late on the outflow slack,you would know it when you reached the turn into the rapids. You would not be able to power against the outflow at that point & would have to return to the harbour (Market Slip).


Suggest you have a look at the harbour & river on Google Earth. The water is deep & traffic normally very light to none. Stay in the middle & enjoy.



You picked a date that the Bay of Fundy is "ebb tide all day-all week". That happens basically every other week-no big deal.


I did a bit of "figgerin"-but double check me.


You would like to leave GMI,get up thru the falls & into a marina all during daylight hrs on July 08.
Our tide tables are in ADT. It doesn't get dark until after 9PM ADT.

You can get thru the falls at 7:44 PM (19:44)
You can be at RKYC by 8:45PM ( 20:45)


To accomplish this,leave North Head 10:00 AM AST. (1 hr prior to low tide)
You will have 7hr 45min ,mostly flood tide,to travel approx 50nm to the falls. Should work. / Len


R. Falls slack time tables are only issued for the "current 7 day period".


To calculate a slack at a future date:


Using the official tide tables for Saint John,N.B. & using ADT.


End of Inward run slack = Low tide time + 3h 50min
End of Outward run slack = High tide time + 2hr 25min.


OR OR OR roughly-slacks occur at 2hr 15min EITHER side of High tide.

I made two errors in the above post. Ignore two references to AST & replace AST with ADT in all cases. All times should be Atlantic Daylight Time. / Len

[deblen]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

Yeah, I've been through Hellgate countless times (it's in the background of my profile pic actually). It's the same general idea, but the extremes are definitely worse in St. John. Lots of people go through Hellgate with maximum favorable current and the only consequence is a little water on deck.

Thanks so much for all the figgerin, it's a huge help. You've confirmed a lot of my rough calculations. I think we'll save the marina (prob RKYC) for the trip back down and anchor for the first few days on the river.

I may chime back in here with more questions, but in the meantime I'm just excited to get up there. Thanks again.

Jack

P.S. Are there really two different people named Len on this thread with knowledge of St. John?

Yes. Capt Len is from Maine & I'm Len from G. Manan.My wife's name is Debbie-hence "deblen"


If you are going to anchor out,I suggest going to the stbd (East) side of Kennebecasis Isl.,just above the ferry crossing. Good free anchorage. / Len

[OrangeCrush]

End of Inward run slack = Low tide time + 3h 50min
End of Outward run slack = High tide time + 2hr 25min

While I'm reading closely... did you switch the words inward and outward here? Isn't the water flowing outward from low tide for the next 3 hours and 50 minutes, and inward from high tide for the next 2 hours 25 min?

Also, can you explain what you mean by "all ebb all day all week?"

Thanks for clarifying re: Lens. I'll be visiting both your stomping grounds this summer. If you want to come down and say hi when we're in North Head I'll give you a heads up.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

End of Inward run slack = Low tide time + 3h 50min
End of Outward run slack = High tide time + 2hr 25min

While I'm reading closely... did you switch the words inward and outward here? Isn't the water flowing outward from low tide for the next 3 hours and 50 minutes, and inward from high tide for the next 2 hours 25 min?

Also, can you explain what you mean by "all ebb all day all week?"

Thanks for clarifying re: Lens. I'll be visiting both your stomping grounds this summer. If you want to come down and say hi when we're in North Head I'll give you a heads up.

You are correct !! I did reverse the words Inward & Outward. The slack times are correct though.


"ebb all day all week"-just a saying,meaning that during daylight hrs the week you are going up Fundy,the tide is running down against you.The tide times are approx 1hr later each day,meaning that the previous or following weeks would have been slightly more convenient for your purposes (variation of Murphy's Law)
My wife has a similar saying "It's always low tide when we get to the wharf"

[deblen]

This weather forecast site has proven quite accurate for Fundy.
https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/...nan_island_sar

[deblen]

Berthage for visiting pleasure boats at Grand Manan.2019


US Charts 13392/13394
Old Cdn Chart 4340



I have been informed by the Grand Manan Harbour Authority that berthage at North Head (Flaggs Cove ) Harbour will be very tight during summer 2019.
However,there are a half dozen or so good free moorings (first come-no reservations) & plenty of good sand bottom anchorage west of the fisherman's wharf.
The GMHA is recommending Seal Cove as the preferred harbour for transient berthage.
It is highly recommended that you contact GMHA before arriving to arrange berthage. There is normally no one posted at the harbours to serve you.


Grand Manan Harbour Authority - Home


These are commercial fishing harbours.There are no yacht facilities. However,for the most part,if you ask a fisherman,they will help you .


I post the above as a Public Service only. I have no personal authority re the harbours.

Please deal directly with the GMHA. / Len

[Dymaxion]

Originally Posted by deblen

Yes. Capt Len is from Maine & I'm Len from G. Manan.My wife's name is Debbie-hence "deblen"


If you are going to anchor out,I suggest going to the stbd (East) side of Kennebecasis Isl.,just above the ferry crossing. Good free anchorage. / Len

That's Keith's Cove Also free, south facing McCormack's Cove offers good anchorage on K Island. It will be quieter than Keith's if on wknds. Prevailing is usually out of S-SW however and can get choppy. Saint John Marina, 2.4 km across Grand Bay from McCormack, offers full service.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by Dymaxion

That's Keith's Cove Also free, south facing McCormack's Cove offers good anchorage on K Island. It will be quieter than Keith's if on wknds. Prevailing is usually out of S-SW however and can get choppy. Saint John Marina, 2.4 km across Grand Bay from McCormack, offers full service.

Yeah I had spotted McCormack's Cove on ActiveCaptain and it looked like a good first stop. It's good to know that Keith's Cove is an option too since that info was not on my proverbial radar.

[OrangeCrush]

Originally Posted by deblen

Berthage for visiting pleasure boats at Grand Manan.2019




I have been informed by the Grand Manan Harbour Authority that berthage at North Head (Flaggs Cove ) Harbour will be very tight during summer 2019.
However,there are a half dozen or so good free moorings (first come-no reservations) & plenty of good sand bottom anchorage west of the fisherman's wharf.
The GMHA is recommending Seal Cove as the preferred harbour for transient berthage.
It is highly recommended that you contact GMHA before arriving to arrange berthage. There is normally no one posted at the harbours to serve you.

Please deal directly with the GMHA. / Len

I will call them, thank you. I've stayed at North Head twice before. The mooring was not ideal in light winds since we kept hitting the buoy hardware. On the second day a gale came up and we tied up at the wharf which was definitely the right choice. In decent weather I'd probably choose to anchor this time. I don't mind using the dinghy and we'll sleep better. Seal Cove seems less convenient to get in and out of.

We had a great time at the bar the first time we were there (2014) sharing stories with some of the local sailors. I had just a 26 foot boat then and people couldn't quite believe we had sailed it there from Brooklyn with 4 guys. At one point, some young people walked in and I caught the bartender make a comment under her breath. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the group was as from Seal Cove, they only drink Schooner Beer, and the people from North Head prefer Alpine and don't care much for Seal Covers. I'm sure she was exaggerating but it cracked us up and became something of a running joke. "Damn Seal Covers and their Schooner Beer." Anyway, I thought you might enjoy that anecdote, and it might explain my "loyalty" to North Head.

Regardless, we'll be clearing customs there and North Head is the only reporting station, but I'll definitely give them a call to run everything by them.

[deblen]

Originally Posted by OrangeCrush

I will call them, thank you. I've stayed at North Head twice before. The mooring was not ideal in light winds since we kept hitting the buoy hardware. On the second day a gale came up and we tied up at the wharf which was definitely the right choice. In decent weather I'd probably choose to anchor this time. I don't mind using the dinghy and we'll sleep better. Seal Cove seems less convenient to get in and out of.

We had a great time at the bar the first time we were there (2014) sharing stories with some of the local sailors. I had just a 26 foot boat then and people couldn't quite believe we had sailed it there from Brooklyn with 4 guys. At one point, some young people walked in and I caught the bartender make a comment under her breath. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that the group was as from Seal Cove, they only drink Schooner Beer, and the people from North Head prefer Alpine and don't care much for Seal Covers. I'm sure she was exaggerating but it cracked us up and became something of a running joke. "Damn Seal Covers and their Schooner Beer." Anyway, I thought you might enjoy that anecdote, and it might explain my "loyalty" to North Head.

Regardless, we'll be clearing customs there and North Head is the only reporting station, but I'll definitely give them a call to run everything by them.

Ha Ha! It's hard to believe that there could be that strong a(friendly) rivalry between villages on a 17 mi. long island,but there is. I live mid island (Ingalls Head/Grand Harbour) and in our day we called S.Cove "the ghetto" & N.Head "the capital".
Seal Cove is a nice harbour for berthage since the recent expansion. From Maine,I don't think there is much,if any distance difference vs. N Head. S.Cove is definitely closer to Nova Scotia. If you are going to Saint John,You go due east from the harbour & up thru Cheneys Passage at +/_ 2hrs of high tide. S.Cove is about 1hr from N.Head via the Passage.
AFAIK,Customs will come to S.Cove-they always did.We don't have a resident Customs Officer on the island.They have to come from Maine border-1hr drive & take our 2hr ferry to GM,so another 12mi should be no big deal
All GM harbours are geared totally to the commercial fishery-they have priority. You will find that when you get north of Bar Hbr,Me.,Yacht facilities are only in larger population centers. We only have a 2-3mo. pleasure boating season on the salt water. Be prepared to enjoy solitude,self sufficiency & roughing it a bit.


Len

[deblen]

Magazine article on cruising the St. John
https://maineboats.com/print/issue-1...-st-john-river

[Dymaxion]

FYI, if you come through the Falls and head up river a short distance to Brundage Point there are 5 mooring balls available, free of charge for one night stays. Likely longer if you asked, never seen a boat on them. The visitor center has an excellent dock, and washroom facilities. Farmers market and music Friday evenings. It is the same point as the Grand Bay-Westfield cable ferries, downstream of the cables. Cheers.