Who knew just how much preparation is involved for a two-month boat cruise?
There's an old story likening the first manned Moon landing to being a typical American vacation. It took ten years to plan, two weeks to get there, the astronauts walk around for two hours, two weeks to return and then a month in quarantine. The Downeast Loop is not too dissimilar.
The Downeast Loop is a big circle. You can start anywhere. We are starting at the top of Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod. We will go through the Cape Cod Canal to Cape Cod Bay. Then we head northwest to Portsmouth, NH. From there we travel along the Maine Coast, eventually reaching the Bay of Fundy. Then around Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, down the St. Lawrence, past Quebec City to the Richelieu River, south to Lake Champlain, south on the Champlain Canal to the Hudson River, New York City, through Hell Gate to Long Island Sound and back to Cape Cod. It's about 2700 miles and about two months!
The Bay of Fundy is known for its tides. There are places in the Bay of Fundy where the difference between low and high tide is over 38 feet! We plan to visit St. Andrews and St. John's in New Brunswick in the Bay of Fundy. St. John's is known for its "Reversing Falls." There are a few minutes in each 6-hour tide cycle when the falls are flooded, and a boat can navigate over the falls. If it waits too long, the falls will be exposed again, and the boat would go aground. Move along, move along!
This book is essential to mariners traveling up and down the East Coast. It helps with the tides, and it will be very important to us as we navigate around the Bay of Fundy.
There are so many other places to visit, all just as interesting as the Bay of Fundy. We will tell you about it all in the coming weeks. But you will need to check in and read what we are up to. Nova Scotia, Bras d'Or Lakes of Cape Breton, across the Cabot Strait to Saint Pierre (a French island) then Newfoundland and its fjords and fossils.
In fact, we will be covering some incredible geology. This book will help us appreciate all that we will see.
So, welcome aboard! We can't wait!
Cheers!
Brio
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