My Final Blog from the Water
September 15, 2024
Fredericton, NB Canada
After an extended stay in Quebec City, Jerry from Land Tugs took the Water Weaver south to Saint John, NB where she was launched in the mighty Wolastoq | Saint John River at the Royal Kennebecasis Yacht Club (RKYC). My delay in Quebec was the result of the first transport company developing trailer issues. I randomly called Land Tugs, spoke with Jerry the owner-operator, and within a few hours he rescheduled his world to pick us up the next day. He was very professional and fast, loading WW at noon and splashing her at 0900hr the next morning, then turning tail quickly for Montreal and his next gig. Jerry was curiously familiar, but we didn’t have any real-world connections. I realized later that he was a clone of my Uncle David in speech, mannerisms, desire to assist others, and work ethic, and just a bit spooky. I have dealt with five boat trucking companies on this expedition, and a few fly-by-nighters; call Land Tugs if you need your boat moved in the Ontario to Maritime regions.
I had a few great days at the RKYC dock meeting my colleagues from UNB Saint John, friends stopping by, and of course, new friends I met on the dock. I learned the story of the Club’s “royal warrant” (1898) from proud, long-time members, and the beautiful places to anchor-out along the river. The weather was perfect which provided for some lovely WW tours on the bay.
Keeping with the perpetual boat issue theme, WW’s autopilot computer decided to malfunction while in Saint John - this is the Course Computer Unit or CCU. Another several hours on the phone with Garmin technical support yielded the sad news that a new one would have to be shipped and installed by me. Given Garmin’s shipping and delivery abilities, I anticipated replacing the CCU on the final day of my journey, and sure enough I was installing and recalibrating WW’s autopilot on her last day on the water.
I had lined up several WW events in Fredericton with plans to enjoy a few days along the river before docking in the city. The weather had its own agenda of course. Heavy winds and fog kept me at the dock and I lost my nights out on the lower the river. Eventually, on a beautiful Monday morning with calm waters and the sun rising behind me, I headed north to Fredericton. I have experienced an amazing collection of beautiful places along my route – Georgian Bay, Tennessee River, Gulf Islands, The Berries in the Bahamas, and The Thousand Islands. Without a doubt, the lower Wolastoq | Saint John River is as breath-takingly beautiful as any place I enjoyed on my journey. You could spend a lifetime exploring the amazing waters of Kennebecasis Bay, Long Reach, Belleisle Bay, Washademoak and Grand lakes, and islands of the lower river.
I made two stops along the way. I first pulled into Carter’s dock at Carter’s Point to visit Dr. Cornel Ceapa at the Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar, Inc. Cornel and Dorina started this sturgeon aquaculture operation about 20 years ago and evolved it into a self-sustaining farm for the native Atlantic and Shortnose sturgeon, Acipenser oxyrhinchus, and A. brevirostrum. We have worked together since his early days when he was collecting the initial broodstock. I used those opportunities to improve our knowledge about the species in the river as we worked to establish sustainable harvest levels. Cornel loves sturgeon. It was an easy decision to work with someone so passionate about these fish, the river, and the people who lived on and fished the river, and despite some unwarranted criticism of his investment in a sustainable aquaculture idea. As Cornel explains, we are overexploiting our sea food resources to the point that we need to develop sustainable farming of water’s natural resources to both supply our growing food demand and remove the harvesting pressures on wild animals and plants. And if you think we aren’t overharvesting fishes, visit your neighbourhood Asian food store that imports and sells fish where the diversity and abundance of countless species are on display. It was a quick visit because Cornel and Dorina were setting up a garden party for American eco-tourists who were arriving to experience the sustainable caviar and sturgeon produced on site.
My second stop was in Gagetown where I topped up my fuel at the Gagetown Marina, also home of the Old Boot Pub (a fun stop for another day). I hadn’t visited Gagetown since pandemic times and it remains a wonderful example of small town New Brunswick complete with the best local cidery and distillery, Gagetown Distilling and Cidery, and winery, Mott’s Landing Vineyard and Winery.
I depended entirely on electronic navigation charts for my long journey, mostly Navionics and Aqua Map on occasion (with paper maps always on the side table). The only region of uncertainty with e-charts were the very shoal-shifting waters of the Atlantic Intra-Coastal Waterway (Georgia and the Carolinas mostly), and that is where Aqua Maps and Bob 423 provided the most up-to-date routes past shoals. I was a bit surprised to discover that the e-charts were vague and mysterious on my home river as I passed the big islands. I have plied these waters for almost 30 years, so I have a good sense of their dangers, e.g., random dead heads from old logging runs appearing and disappearing, dead trees dislodged and emerging after high waters. My ride upriver was considerably slower than anticipated. As I arrived to the city and passed under the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge, my son Keegan was there filming my approach to downtown Fredericton. He met me at the Capital City Boat Club dock where I would hang out for a couple of weeks. It was a quiet return to my home town, but I made sure we ended the evening at my long-time local, the Lunar Rogue, one of “Allen’s Top 10 Pubs of the World” (there are only 5 on the list).
I spent a week at the dock and then on the eve of the Harvest Music Festival, I moved out to a mooring ball to escape what became quite a party at the dock with boats tied up four abreast. I met with more friends and colleagues, my University President Paul Mazerolle – a critical cog in the wheel of support for my expedition idea, and some media. Unfortunately, we missed Sakom (Chief) Allan Polchies Jr. Chief of Sitansisk | St. Mary’s First Nation because I couldn’t get the boat to the old campground / reserve site. Elder Cecelia Brooks had facilitated my request for an invitation to be in Wolastoqey territory.
And of course, there were more new friends at the dock. Many in the boating fraternity know the Great Loop and around the docks there are congratulatory handshakes, questions, and sharing of plans of future looping once people see the AGLCA’s Gold Burgee flying from WW. The most frequent comments are, “you did the Loop alone”, “…on that [little] boat”, “…for 400 days”, along with looks of astonishment but a respect that arises from having spent time on the water and experiencing the daily challenges themselves.
My plans included being at home for the Harvest Music Festival because it is the City’s signature event, one that I have enjoyed since we moved there in 1995. There is always a superior collection of several hundred musicians playing in various venues with world-class headliners like Fiest, Colin James, Blue Rodeo, and Robert Plant. This year my son was on stage with two new acts and I was blown away by Waylon Napadogon. I thought I might get blown away out on the water too because WW was just a stone’s throw from “The Mojo Tent”. Instead, the music, clear skies, calm river, and a wee dram of Tomatin were excellent sedatives.
This will be my last blog from on the water. I have mixed feelings about wrapping up the water adventures of the Water Weaver. I’m very attached to her. We have had countless adventures and amazing experiences of learning and fun sprinkled with extreme, unnerving conditions endured together. You have read my stories about our mechanical woes, but these simply reflect the pressure I put on the Water Weaver as we plied 5,000 nautical miles of watery challenges. It is impossible to predict and plan for all the on-the-water issues of an adventure like this, but she was unquestionably seaworthy in every sea state; I never felt unsafe as we powered along or swayed at anchor. There are countless boat designs and configurations out here and I feel fortunate, even blessed that I chose this vessel, or perhaps more accurately, she chose me. Leaving the secure and comforting arms of the Water Weaver floods me with melancholy as I move on to new life adventures. She was pivotal in a transformative stage of my personal growth as I learned from and was humbled by the water flowing by me each day. Caio bella.
From the middle of the Wolastoq | Saint John River,
Allen
