Friar Bay, Campobello Island N.B.

Mulholland Light to the left, Lubec to the right

  We went to Friar Bay to enjoy a low tide paddle.  Actually, we came to the Lubec/Campobello area to enjoy low tide, then decided once we were there that the best way to see low tide was from the water.  So we crossed to Campobello Island and looked for a place to paddle.  We had our passports with us, and they were checked both ways.  Campobello Island may only be connected by a bridge to Lubec, Maine (and to the rest of New Brunswick by a seasonal ferry) but don't expect customs to ignore your crossings..

  Friar Bay was recommended by the information center as the place where they paddled, and conveniently it was quite close.  It's a broad open bay, with a nice rock/sandy bottom.  Friar Head and a sea stack are located to the southwest side of the bay.  Friar Bay is where Franklin Roosevelt used to anchor his yacht when he came to visit his summer residence on Campobello Island.

  We paddled off to the sea stacks, going by several sights on the way.  A couple abandoned boats, one old, one newer.

 There's a nice dock, which I think must be associated with  Roosevelt Campobello International Park, though I don't see anything about it on their site.

Some sort of aquaculture marked by yellow buoys.

  The sea stack looks most like a friar in this photo.

  And lots of wildlife, several sightings of ctenophora,  include a ribbon-like cestid comb jelly.  There were also  more than a few jellyfish.

  Lots of sea stars, and urchins.  (They were mostly on rockier shores)

  This sea gull gets to enjoy an urchin.

  Sand dollars freckled across the floor.

  We paddled down to Mulholland Lighthouse.  The narrows under FDR bridge are marked as hazardous for navigations because of the fast currents there mid tide.

   Out along Friar Bay, though, the water was peaceful and quiet, with plenty of time to observe the ocean floor.  We arrived back nearly at dead low, with quite a bit more sandy bottom to cross to return to our cars.

Summary:  Launch  Friar Bay Beach, adequate parking, no facilities.  There is an information center about a mile away.  We launched at 10:30 EDT, finished at noon.  Low was at 12:40.   About 3.5 miles. We headed back to Lubec for lunch, where we captured one of my favorite shots of the day, looking back toward Mulholland Light.