So, on our last post, we indicated that we picked up a guest mooring at Caton Island (Whelpley Cove). It is a mooring co-owned by several sailors from the Martinon Yacht Club including our friends Janet and Les Kierstead. We tied up and they rafted on later in the evening. They and their friends came over to Sea Sharp for a nice chat.

One interesting piece of information that Les mentioned is that there used to be a skate factor in Whelpley's cove and they produced those long skates called reachers. It seems that the term "reacher" is for Long Reach which is the eleven or so mile stretch of the Saint John River beginning around Whelpley's Cove and continuing to where the river takes a 90 degree turn to the left at Westfield.

We had a quiet night although there were parties on various neighbouring boats. Up early thinking we might head for Saint John to make the slack water at the Reversing Falls at 11:10. High winds are forecast so as the first execution of my promise to Judy to not go out in snotty weather, we decided not to go out today. So we headed for Saint John. We sailed, then motored the approximate 15 miles to Saint John and are now on a guest mooring at the Martinon Yacht Club. It's quite rolly here so we might move to another Yacht Club which would be more sheltered.,

So I promised a description of the world famous "Reversing Falls". Those who are interested in this phenomenon which is linked to the highest tides in the world might want to take a look at an Atlas at the Bay of Fundy. With the twice daily tides there is a huge amount of water which is flushed up and then back through the Bay setting up tides at Saint John of about 26 feet (up to 40 feet higher up in the Bay of Fundy). So now visualize the mighty Saint John River flowing out through a narrow gorge then into Saint John Harbour and the Bay moving up and down 26 feet twice a day. When the tide is low, water from the river rushes out; when it is high, the Bay being for that period of time higher than the River rushes in; hence reversing falls. It is not possible (at least for a sail boat - there is a jet boat which takes tourists through the falls at maximum inflow and outflows) to transit the falls other than at or around "slack water". This is the fairly short period of time when the river and the Bay are in balance and the roiling falls turn into a level, mostly calm exit into the Saint John Harbour then the Bay of Fundy. So, the yachtsman has to time his or her voyage to take into consideration slack tide at the Reversing Falls.