I’m stopped for the day and anchored here. This is as far as I’ll go up the Salmon River. Looks like there’s a cafe and grocery store close by, and there is a small dock. I’ll get ashore before moving on.
I’ve enjoyed the last few days. Stopped in Oromocto for a bit, then came into Grand Lake and went up through Maquapit Lake. I got stopped at the entrance to French Lake by a low bridge, and turned around. Today I followed the left shore of Grand Lake and on up here. It’s a lovely area, certainly not overdeveloped. I guess it’s all part of a big flood plane.
I got back to Escapade Monday after a visit to Ontario. Flew there and drove back. I left the boat anchored in front of RKYC, and they kindly allowed me to use their dinghy dock.
Wednesday I headed on up the river. Weather continues to be lovely. Susan had planned to join me but couldn’t make it due to health concerns.
I’ve been running some errands ashore since arriving here yesterday, and am going to meander back with some big detours. I came up the main channel, and it was pleasant and docile. A bit of tidal current, but not enough to worry about. I can see why sailors would like cruising this area.
It’s been five years since I bought Escapade. Time flies. Here’s my needs analysis from that time. I’ve been really happy with the boat.
Some summary numbers:
Distance traveled: 24,753 miles / 39,835 km / 21,510 NM
Engine hours: 3,713
Fuel used: 22,225 litres / 5,880 USgal
The boat has been afloat all but one winter where I hauled and stored in Chicago. Two winters were spent in Toronto, and the other two winters I was south. About 15% of the fuel used went to heat.
I have been giving some thoughts to swapping boats. But without substantially increasing my price range there are few attractive options. I’d love to have a cruising sailboat, but fear that I’ve been too spoiled aboard Escapade, as well as by sailing mostly higher performance boats. A pilothouse is pretty much non-negotiable for me. The few motorsailers I’ve considered really don’t sail well.
I would really like to go north and east over the next couple of summers. Newfoundland and Labrador are calling. I think I can do that in Escapade, with some preparation.
I had a smooth trip yesterday. Arrived in Saint John just before low tide and took a run up to the Falls. Did a spin in a big whirlpool and retreated back to Market Square. Last time I was there was for a winter boat show about 40 years ago. It looks much the same.
The only other ship or boat in the harbour was a large cruise ship. On the way into the harbour I had fog with less than 1/4 mile visibility, and the stern of the ship lit up by the sun was a bright spot. Interesting tricks the fog plays.
I got through the Reversing Falls about 8:00 pm and came up here to anchor for the night. Will go ashore for lunch then head over towards Rothesay.
It looks like rain and a bit of breeze this weekend. I’m happy to be on the river.
Yesterday was a nice trip. Bit of everything – sun, fog, and a tide change in themiddle of the Bay that finally put some salt on the windshield. I left Parsborro just after high tide and arrived here about 2 hours after low tide.
I anchored here last night after exploring the harbour and going ashore for dinner in my dinghy. Nice spot, sheltered from the SW wind. The tide changed about 1/2 hour ago and I’m now getting ready to head down current to St John. Should be easy going, with a light headwind.
Yesterday was spent largely in the little boat. I was underway at about 0730, two hours after the bore arrival, to try to get up the river to the town of Shubenacadie.
I didn’t make it. Ran out of water here at about 11:00. It’s a good thing I was tracking my path up. By the time I turned around I was in a following current, and it’s all drying flats.
As low tide approached I tried going down the river, but got stuck on the flats a couple of times and gave up.
When the rafters arrived I followed them out to the flats. That was neat and informative. I saw the (small) bore arrive, played in the waves a bit with the rafters, and then zipped back up the river to arrive at the big boat for its arrival there. I’ve chatted with lots of the guides. My presence there was definitely a novelty.
With calm clear weather I left on the tide around 8:30 and arrived in Parrsboro around 0300, anchored in front of the Ottawa House, and had a good sleep.
I’m now relaxed and enjoying the surroundings. It’s beautiful here. No sights or sounds of people apart from rafters and kayakers. They’ve all stopped to say they’ve never seen a big boat on the river.
This is a brief set of videos of the bore. Not a big deal for us. Tides are low this week, and we’re in a good spot.
I took the dinghy for a spin briefly. Tomorrow morning I’ll go in on the tide to Stewiacke and Shubenacadie in the dinghy.
I took this from the dinghy after untying. It was like Escapade was motoring away.
Yesterday was a bit stressful. I didn’t get into any trouble, but have been on high alert for the last day or so, and slept fitfully last night.
Like the day before, I got underway too soon. The closest tide station for this area is Burnt Head, and I was planning around that. I approached the head about an hour after low tide, with a good tail current and a 15 kt following breeze.
What I hadn’t taken into account was the tidal bore phenomenon. As I rode along at 10 mph I went through a large patch of turbulent water, and as I approached the sand bars at the head of the basin I realized that I had less depth than I was expecting. A quick check of tidal bore times revealed that the bore doesn’t arrive here until almost three hours after low tide. I had driven through the front of the bore again. I kept going until I was in ten ft of water and anchored for a couple of hours, and saw a 15 ft rise in water level.
Getting across the bars to the river was the next challenge. The tail current and waves didn’t make running up on one a good prospect. The charts give a few clues, and the rest I gleaned from looking at Google Maps satellite images. I didn’t see less than 15 ft on the way in, so did a good job picking a route.
My charts all showed an area around here which would be deep enough to anchor and not be beached at low tide. The reported tidal range at Burnt Head was 30 ft, and I was seeing depths of 20-25 ft on my sounder.
Around dusk as the current went slack a local self-proclaimed river rat came by to check me out. Marty helped me identify the deepest part of the river in a bit closer to shore, and I settled there with 32 ft of depth as the tide changed at 9:00 pm.
I was awake until about 2 am, and with the incoming bore expected about 345 I dozed on the settee. When I woke up it was to a lot of current, with my anchor occasionally breaking loose on a rocky bottom. I added a long nylon snubber, had a look around, and went to bed. The tide change around 10:00 got me up.
It turns out that the tidal range here is only about 20 ft, and it’s a weird schedule. The incoming tide takes about 4 hours, and the outgoing 8.
I’m now waiting for the incoming bore due here in about 20 minutes. Will take some videos. Here are photos looking upstream and down at low tide
Yesterday was a lot of fun. I upped anchor and headed in as soon as the current went slack. In hindsight it probably would have been sensible to wait for the water to come up a bit, but I had assumed that there would be a river channel visible at low tide. Not really. I ended up grounding a couple of times trying to get into the Bay. No big deal, as the tide was rising by something like 5 ft/hr.
Wolfville was barely visible over the marsh when I came by. After that it was clearly a river. Smooth sailing up to Port Williams. I had a very strong tail current going under the bridge, and kept going on the twisty river.
Things got a little weird after that. I’ve been replaying the events, and I think I drove down the front of a tidal bore. I was maintaining 4-5 mph boat speed for steerage, butspeed over ground was increasing, and I could see the water dropping ahead of me. Just when I was getting concerned I grounded in the mud. Nothing dramatic, but a full stop, with the stream coming from astern.
I lowered the anchor, and within minutes the boat lifted and swung around. I took a look at my maps and decided I had come far enough, and headed back down river against the current.
When I got to Wolfville the entrance channel had ten feet of depth, so I followed it in to the town. That was delightful. I anchored in the basin and dinghied into the dock for a meal out and groceries.
From Wolfville I came out and around to the Avon River, and anchored here last night. This morning I was up early and went for a tour almost up to Windsor, then back out on a falling tide. Not much to see.
I’m anchored here as I write this, waiting for the tide to change. Today I’m heading into the basin, with a plan to anchor in Maitland for a day or two to explore the Salmon and Shubenacadie rivers.
Weather continues to be very cooperative. Most of the province is under severe drought conditions, and there is a large wildfire nearby that’s been burning most of the summer. I saw lots of smoke from it for the first time yesterday.
This is my view this morning as I wait for the tide to change at 1230. I’m anchored here near Wolfville. Sunny and calm. Parrsboro is beyond the bluff.
I got ashore briefly in Parrsboro, and had a visit with Eric and Rosalie who are camping there this weekend. I was planning to stay last night, but at high tide it was very uncomfortable. Even small waves can get really nasty when the current is flowing. So I upped anchor about an hour before dusk and headed over here.
I anchored farther out last night, then came in on a falling tide this morning. This is as far as I could come without danger of being stranded at low tide. I’ll have about 2 ft of water under me when the tide changes in about an hour.
My plan is to travel on the incoming tide as far as I can upstream. Should be fun. There’s a bridge at Port Williams that may stop me. Tidal range here today is about 30 ft.
I grew up in Halifax but never spent significant time in this area. I have a much firmer grasp on the geography now. Sitting here I can look into the valley, with the north mountain as a distinct feature. In the early days access by water would have been through here or the Annapolis Basin.
Pics from yesterday. I have some history with Parrsboro, having vacationed there lots as a kid with my family. It’s very cool for me to visit by boat. I remember when the Kipawo was returned and became the Ship’s Company Theatre. That was the last boat to do ferry service between Wolfville, Kingsport, and Parrsboro.
Boating Adventures 