When the Bay of Fundy Swells, a River Roller Coaster Begins By JEFF SCHLEGEL From The New York Times August 3, 2007 THE GUIDE piloted our boat into the roiling rapids and we hit the first wave head-on. The force lifted us skyward and dropped us with a thud. We smacked into the next few waves in this set of rapids and got bucketsful of water in our faces as we shrieked and laughed. Then our guide circled around and we hit the rapids again. It’s one of the neater tricks in outdoor recreation: shooting a section of rapids, then repeating the process several times before moving upriver to tackle the next section. This is river rafting, Bay of Fundy style. The bay lays claim to the world’s highest tides, and twice daily its tidal flow surges inland into the Shubenacadie River in Nova Scotia with enough force to reverse the river’s natural flow. Known as a tidal bore, this natural phenomenon occurs in about 60 locations worldwide. Of these, few possess the physical traits or public access needed for recreation. In North America, the Shubenacadie (pronounced shu-ben-ACK-ah-dee) offers the most accessible way to turn the bore into a thrill with three outfitters who ply the river in motorized Zodiac boats. A series of eight sandbar-induced rapids runs up the Shubenacadie. When the rushing tidal flow meets a sandbar it creates waves, or tidal rapids, covering several acres at a time. Peak waves last 10 to 15 minutes at each sandbar, letting the Zodiacs make three or four passes on each rapid until the waves flatten out after deeper water submerges the sandbar. The process repeats itself at succeeding sandbars as the tidal bore moves upriver, and it continues until the sandbars run out after about eight miles. When the moon is right and the tide is high, the rafts power their way into tidal bore waves that range from 6 feet to 10 feet high. Lesser tides produce smaller rapids. The river looked drought-stricken when I drove over it on a bridge on a glorious morning last September. Thin streams of chocolate-colored water cut channels amid mocha-tinted sandbars in a scene that resembled something from Willy Wonka. That would change soon, when nature opened the spigot with the oncoming tide. I cast my lot with Shubenacadie River Runners, an outfit run by Brian and Kim van de Vrie in the small town of Maitland near the river’s mouth. “The Shubenacadie is the Fundy region’s hot spot because it sits toward the end of the Bay of Fundy’s V-like funnel shape, and its wide berth that can accommodate huge volumes of water,” said Mr. van de Vrie, a tall, athletic man with an easygoing demeanor who looks like an adventure tour operator from central casting. The Atlantic Ocean pours into the bay’s 50-mile-wide opening bounded by Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, then gets squeezed for 150 miles into an ever-narrower space at shallower depths that causes the water to rise and fall 40 to 50 feet. So much water flows into the Bay of Fundy at high tide that the Nova Scotia side tilts ever so slightly under its weight. Such ebb and flow — the bay fills and empties every 12 hours and 25 minutes — creates powerful erosion that scours cliffs, forges sea stacks and carves out caves along the bay coast. But rather than dramatically whooshing in and out of the bay as the Atlantic rhythmically flexes its muscle, the tidal flow is a gradual affair that’s about as exciting as watching your bathtub slowly fill up and drain over a half-day. Visually speaking, it’s hard to capture the tidal impact other than taking low-tide and high-tide photos of a shoreline landmark. But rafting on the Shubenacadie, particularly at high tide, is literally a more in-your-face tidal bore experience. My fellow passengers and I donned big red survival suits that were as bulky as space suits. We descended the rocky shoreline at low tide, split into three groups and climbed into the awaiting 16-foot Zodiacs. My guide, Steve Marshall, took our party of seven on a little cruise to get positioned before the tidal bore rolled in. WE sailed past scalloped cliffs of red sandstone and sheer limestone cliffs streaked with gypsum, and we saw a bald eagle floating above the tree-lined riverbank. Steve gave a quick history lesson on Maitland, which was a major shipbuilding center during the late 19th century, when it had about 3,000 people, and is now designated a “heritage” site by the province. Along its shore, the politician and shipbuilder William D. Lawrence built a ship named after himself that was Canada’s largest-ever full-rigged ship; his former shipyard is now the launching site for Shubenacadie River Runners. Latter-day Maitland is a handsome, sleepy town of 300 with several bed-and-breakfasts and a maritime museum that pays homage to the past. Steve let us off on a large sandbar that covered several acres and we walked around a bit. “Don’t stray too far or you’ll get trapped by the incoming tide,” he said. Within minutes the brownish red bay water rushed in, and we climbed back into our boat. Steve started the motor, zoomed toward the newly formed first set of rapids, and told us to grip the rope that rings the top of the raft and to lean forward. The moon was full and the surf was up. Our group let out a collective “whoa” on the initial wave’s ascent, followed by a group grunt as we plopped down onto the water. The rapids can be unsettling at first, but it doesn’t take long to get used to the tumult. As we climbed the waves — which Steve estimated at six to seven feet — the birch trees on the far bluf vanished on the ascent as we tilted upward and water crashed over the bow, reappeared on the descent, and then disappeared during the ascent of the next wave. And on it went as we plowed through the rapids. In the initial stages of our run I noticed the barns and silos atop the left riverbank, a pastoral scene that seemed incongruent with the whirlwind of “Perfect Storm”-like waves thrashing our little boats. After we passed through a set of rapids and circled around for another run-through, I looked back at the waves and they looked deceptively small considering their big kick. The journey felt like a roller coaster ride on water, and the yelps and laughter coming from our boats must have made the river sound like an amusement park to the bystanders who stood on the bridge and watched us bounce upriver. Beneath the survival suits, our clothes were getting soaked by the slightly salty water. Halfway through we took a break and uncurled our fingers, which were locked into hook-like shapes from clutching the ropes. Despite the tumbling tide, the experience is relatively safe: the river’s sandy bottom means that anyone who falls in won’t hit his head on a boulder. And unlike, say, the piranha-filled Pororoca bore in the Amazon Basin in Brazil or the hypothermia-inducing bore at Turnagain Arm Fjord in Alaska, both of which attract intrepid surfers, the Shubenacadie tidal bore is free of man-eating fish and is fairly warm. Most of the people on my boat appeared to enjoy the ride. “It’s interesting how people are laughing during this,” said Gisela Westphalen, a German woman now living in Nova Scotia, who smiled with childlike glee throughout the trip. Her nephew’s wife, visiting with her husband from Germany, seemed less pleased. We resumed our ride until the tidal waters passed the sandbars and the thrills petered out. On the leisurely 15-minute ride back to the dock we gauged the tidal surge’s incredible volume as geologic formations we passed going upriver were now fully submerged. Back at the outfitter’s headquarters we showered, put on dry clothes and shared bore stories over gallons of hot chocolate. “Watching other people’s reactions was the fun part,” said Jim Harvey, who was part of a large family group from Halifax. “It was a little jarring at first, but I was never scared.” “Are you kidding?” one of his companions teased. “He screamed like a girl.” VISITOR INFORMATION: TIDAL bore rafting season on the Shubenacadie River runs May through October. The moon and the tides determine the intensity of the rides, and the rafting companies provide tide charts to plan your trip. During lower tides, more time is spent on nature interpretation. Trips range from one and a half to four hours, depending on the operators’ tour options. The following tour operators are all about an hour north of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shubenacadie River Runners (8681 Highway 215, Maitland; 800-856-5061; www.tidalborerafting.com). Rates are 55 Canadian dollars (about $50 at 1.09 Canadian dollars to $1 U.S.) for two hours to 75 ($69) for three and a half hours. Shubenacadie River Adventure Tours (10061 Highway 215, South Maitland; 888-878-8687; www.shubie.com). Rates are 62.70 Canadian dollars for an hour and a half and 79.80 Canadian dollars for three hours. Tidal Bore Rafting Park (12215 Highway 215, Shubenacadie; 800-565-7238; www.tidalboreraftingpark.com). Rates are 55 Canadian dollars for two hours and 70 Canadian dollars for four hours. The Palliser Motel (Exit 14, Highway 102, Truro; 902-893-8951; www.palliserrestaurantmotelandgifts.ca) has a restaurant that overlooks the tidal bore on the Salmon River. Double rooms start at 85 Canadian dollars, buffet breakfast included. The Captain Douglas House B & B (8843 Highway 215, Maitland; 902-261-2289), a former sea captain’s house built in 1860, overlooks the Shubenacadie River. Doubles with shared bath start at 95 Canadian dollars; 115 Canadian dollars with private bath.