A very early start to see the whirlpool. According to locals - 4 hours before high tide. So we were on the rocks at 5am today. We saw lots of porpoises, seals and birds feeding. Heard the water flowing up and around the underwater rocks but saw no distinct whirlpool. It sounded like rapids but today it is so calm it did not develop into a good whirlpool and make the sound of the "old sow". A bank of mist moved in over the islands and channel as we sat waiting. When it was really thick the fog horns got louder all around us. It then just evaporated and the horns stopped blaring.
By 7 am we were so cold we retreated back to the camper and snuggled into bed for a snooze. We woke with a shock at 8:20. I had wanted to leave the campground by 8 am so that we could catch the ferry at high tide.
We got to the ferry by 10. It was bigger than yesterday but the ramp still looked steep. Surprisingly we did not scrape the camper bottom. The drive up to St John was short and we arrived at the Reversing Falls at the tail end of the high tide just before slack tide. This is when the in-flow of the tide and the out-flow of the river counter balance each other and the water flow is almost non-existent. This "high" slack occurs twice a day and is the only time when boats can pass through the narrows, under the bridge, and safely over the 23m underwater rock ledge. Within twenty minutes the previously up-flowing water through the narrows had reversed and 1.2 million gallons per second was flowing out to the sea. (How many cubic feet per second is that?) We camped on the side of the river for the afternoon watching the rapids get rougher and rougher as the water lever dropped 4 feet per hour. Birds seem to love this time, and they were surfing and diving in the rapids while feasting on fish.
We hope to return to the rapids at the end of the trip so we can see the flow of water upstream, during a high tide. By the time we left St John's the rain had started. We traveled north to St Martins and set up camp right on the bay. By then it was raining a bit harder. We felt like we were in luxury with a full hook-up(water electric and sewer. After a cup of tea and running the furnace so we could thaw out, we tried to walk on the beach. No one else was out there so we decided to let Rocky have a run. He took one look at the stony, windy, wet beach then decided he was not interested in getting pelted with rain so he ran straight back to the camper. We persevered a bit longer but were soon back indoors.
The rain has been getting steadily harder all evening. We are having showers in the camper tonight and will crawl into bed with the hope that tomorrow will be dry.
It is wet and windy here! Our first north easter.
By 7 am we were so cold we retreated back to the camper and snuggled into bed for a snooze. We woke with a shock at 8:20. I had wanted to leave the campground by 8 am so that we could catch the ferry at high tide.
We got to the ferry by 10. It was bigger than yesterday but the ramp still looked steep. Surprisingly we did not scrape the camper bottom. The drive up to St John was short and we arrived at the Reversing Falls at the tail end of the high tide just before slack tide. This is when the in-flow of the tide and the out-flow of the river counter balance each other and the water flow is almost non-existent. This "high" slack occurs twice a day and is the only time when boats can pass through the narrows, under the bridge, and safely over the 23m underwater rock ledge. Within twenty minutes the previously up-flowing water through the narrows had reversed and 1.2 million gallons per second was flowing out to the sea. (How many cubic feet per second is that?) We camped on the side of the river for the afternoon watching the rapids get rougher and rougher as the water lever dropped 4 feet per hour. Birds seem to love this time, and they were surfing and diving in the rapids while feasting on fish.
We hope to return to the rapids at the end of the trip so we can see the flow of water upstream, during a high tide. By the time we left St John's the rain had started. We traveled north to St Martins and set up camp right on the bay. By then it was raining a bit harder. We felt like we were in luxury with a full hook-up(water electric and sewer. After a cup of tea and running the furnace so we could thaw out, we tried to walk on the beach. No one else was out there so we decided to let Rocky have a run. He took one look at the stony, windy, wet beach then decided he was not interested in getting pelted with rain so he ran straight back to the camper. We persevered a bit longer but were soon back indoors.
The rain has been getting steadily harder all evening. We are having showers in the camper tonight and will crawl into bed with the hope that tomorrow will be dry.
It is wet and windy here! Our first north easter.
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