Launch Weekend - POSTPONED

Doug Riecken, Director of Launch and Haul, has announced that the launch this weekend has been postponed two to three weeks due to continued high water. (Launch Weekend was scheduled for May 16th & 17th)

Once the water level is low enough to begin pounding pilings, it will take some time to get the docks in shape to safely moor boats at them.

Please stay tuned for further updates, both via this Blog or by email.

Water Rising

According to the River Forecast, water levels will continue to rise in the Quispamsis-Saint John district for the next two days. The forecast does not go beyond that. By Thursday the water level is expected to be 0.5 m below 2005 levels. We will have to wait until Wednesday to find out if it has peaked or not.

I see that a number of boats have been moved at the club as of 6:00 PM this evening. For those who haven't made it down, the water is over parts of the paved road to the club at high tide.

It should also be noted that there are some small boats / dingys that could be floating when the water goes up. In fact there is one wooden boat upside down that is fully surrounded by the river water.

***Please stay tuned for updates on the potential need for work parties for the weekend. ***

River Watch Web Links:
Actual and Forecast Water Levels - http://www.gnb.ca/public/Riverwatch/levels-e.asp
Historic Water Levels (1962-2005) - http://www.gnb.ca/public/Riverwatch/charts-e.asp

Dock Space Available in Rothesay, NB

RYC currently has two protected berths available to existing or new members.

Both are end-on. One is for a boat with a maximum beam of 10 feet. The second is for a boat with a maximum beam of 12 feet. Depth of water would be a minimum of 10-12 feet.

If you are interested, please contact our membership Director, Anne Kinch-Finney (h) 506 849-7611

Dock Update

A quick update from Hugh Scarth:

• Power should be available on the docks as of this weekend (June 2nd)
• They are going to try to have water available on "A" and "B" docks this week, somewhat depending on if members can come and help on Wednesday evening
• There is water available on the main wharf now if you need to fill your tanks before the weekend. There are still boats being launched and masts stepped, so take that into consideration if you do plan to fill your water tanks.
• The holding tank pump-out system is not ready but the committee is working on a plan to have it ready as soon as is possible. Stay tuned for updates.

Water Levels

As it is our first year with the new Breakwater and Wharf upgrade, it is interesting to see the impact of the freshet. Here are some photo's taken Sunday morning around 10:15.


This was taken Sunday Morning. The water
was down a little from its highest mark - see
the debris on the gravel between the pavement
and the water line.


The docks are looking great! Once some technical difficulties are resolved on Thumper, there will be a need for a big push to pound
over 100 pilings. I'm sure Hugh will be looking for volunteers shortly.

Berths & Docks Report (by Hugh Scarth)

We had a very successful weekend launching the docks. They are all in the water. The six new ones all look very good and are very stable.
"B" dock is complete except for one 32' section to be added to the end for short term docking.
"A" dock needs to have 4x16' and 3x32' plus 1x32' section added to be complete. Once in place the rest of the poles will be driven.

Thumper is working well. It even has an electric start. A 7' section is to be welded on tomorrow to allow the longer 35' poles to be driven.

The breakwater is doing its job. With a SW wind there was no wave action at the end of "A" dock. Some settling of fill, that was expected in the launch area, was corrected. The corner of the old wharf was beefed up with larger rock to make it more stable in East winds.

We are a month ahead of where we were a year, thanks to the excellent turnout of volunteers this weekend. Stay tuned for next weekend.

Hugh Scarth