North River

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BLUSKI55
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North River

Post by BLUSKI55 »

Question,
if I launch from Hanover and go up North river, go by Blueberry Island and Couch Beach, does this lead to the Spit? Do I have to watch the tides and also is there a map that shows this in detail? thanks for your help.
Linda B Wright
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pat
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Re: North River

Post by pat »

You absolutely have to be mindful of the tides on the North River. If your goal is simply to get to the Spit, Hanover is definitely the hardest way to do it. However, if you're going for the very long paddle, then that would be the place. I'd guestimate it to be around a 12 mile trip from Hanover. If you simply would like to get to the Spit, launching from the Driftway launch would be a far better plan, as it's less than two miles.

If Hanover is definitely the plan, let me know and I'll tell you what you need to know about the tides. Getting past the Union Street bridge could be a challenging experience.
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Re: North River

Post by BLUSKI55 »

I basically want to go to Blueberry Island and Couch Beach, from Hanover launch. I just wanted to know if indeed that lead to the Spit. I go out of Driftway all the time, so im familiar with that. I was just trying to get my bearings as to where it leads. I know the tide is high at about 9:30 on Saturday, so any tide info would so be appreciated. thanks you so much
Linda B Wright
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Re: North River

Post by pat »

Yes, they're all on the North River. Technically, the Hanover launch is Indian Head River, but once you paddle down to the fork with Herring Brook (that leads to Pembroke Center), it's North River out to the ocean. Between Hanover and Couch Beach (and Blueberry Island, right next to it) the only place tide will have a serious effect is when you pass under the Washington Street bridge. The tide is high and the current switches direction approximately 3 hours after ocean high tide. That area is easily passable within an hour of that point, and with some muscling, maybe 2 hours on each side. Other than that, the current is going to be too strong to navigate.

A trip from Hanover to Couch Beach AND BACK might be tricky. I'm sort of thinking off the top of my head, but let's say that high tide at the ocean is at 12 noon. That means that it will be high at Washington Street bridge at 3pm. So let's say that you launch in Hanover at 1:30, and get to the Washington Street bridge at 2:00. At this point, you should be able to paddle against the current and get past there. From this point, I suppose it depends on how fast a paddler you are and how hard you want to paddle. You're still going against the current for a while here, but paddling full tilt, I think you could make it to Couch beach in an hour. I'd guess that the current would change direction during this leg of your trip, so you'd be with the current toward the end. If you didn't even get out of your kayak and simply turned around at Couch Beach and headed back, it'd be another hour back, putting you at Washington Street Bridge at 4:00, or one hour after the current has changed there. You'd be fighting through the narrows again, but then it would be fairly calm (albeit still against the current) for the final leg back to the Hanover launch.

So I believe it's possible, but definitely not leisurely. A far easier trip would be to park at the Union Street launch and paddle inland. You'd have the current with you both ways. You could even paddle all the way up to the Hanover Launch.
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Re: North River

Post by BLUSKI55 »

thanks for the info Pat. I may have to research this a little more.
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Ron
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Re: North River

Post by Ron »

Here is a link to the NSRWA tide data:

http://nsrwa.org/Page.78.html
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