Thursday, July 11, 2024, Tidal Bore at Burntcoat Head, Nova Scotia, Canada

We planned a trip to the Shubenacadie River to witness another tidal bore on the Bay of Fundy. Since we were early, we drove a bit further to Burntcoat Head Park on Cobequid Bay. This was the site of the world's highest tide at 53.6 feet. Unfortunately, the moon's orbit placed it in a position to only create about a 29-foot tide during our visit.

There was a mass of humanity walking the sea floor and playing in the thick mud. Lucky for them there was a foot washing station to clean up before returning to their cars. Unfortunately for them, there was a long queue that moved very slowly.

As the tide started back in, we headed to the Fundy Tidal Interpretive Centre near South Maitland, NS. There we walked by a Dominion Atlantic Railway caboose commemorating the Land of Evangeline Route (I'll have to delve into that history another time) on our way out to an observation platform atop old railroad bridge pilings.

It started sprinkling as we waited. We were now accustomed to seeing people we knew from our tour and we had quite a good showing on the platform.  

 Laye, Sam, Marcia and Will

Reggie, Teresa, and Linda trying to stay dry.

A park ranger from the center talked about the area and what we would see.

She showed us a photo she had taken of the highest tide she had seen on the bridge support.

We waited patiently as the rain increased. The tidal bore was about 20 minutes late and we were all pretty wet by the time it finally arrived. It was a bit underwhelming due to the limited visibility and the low tidal range but we did finally see a wave crest and the sand bar was quickly covered.

Another 10 minutes passed before we saw the mud runners racing upriver. They circled below us before beaching on the muddy bank of the Shubenacadie River.

I took one last picture of the bridge support for comparison with the ranger's high water photo. Of course, we were not yet at high tide but there was clearly no comparison with the record tide she had photographed. The rain refused to quit and we had seen enough so we headed home happy to dry off and warm up.