Shown above are Sam MacCall (on left)of Cheverie, NS and Howard Spencer of Summerville, NS in their 12 foot boat powered by a 25 horsepower outboard motor in which they made the trip from Windsor, NS to Red Beach near Calais Saturday. They left their homes in the tiny craft Wednesday morning. The 175 mile trip was made to Red Beach in eight hours.In Eight Hours Flat
Dauntless Canadian Sailors Negotiate 175 Dangerous Miles Across Bay Of Fundy To Calais (By Jay Hinson)
Two dauntless mariners left Red Beach near Calais Wednesday morning at 10:00 o'clock for their home in Nova Scotia in the craft in which they had arrived Saturday--A twelve foot outboard motorboat. Sam MacCall 55, of Cheverie and Howard Spencer, 37 of Summerville N.S. had made the 175 mile trip across the dangerous waters of the Bay Of Fundy and Passamaquoddy Bay in the tiny splinter of a boat in exactly eight hours. The 25 horsepower motor pushed the craft along at speeds up to 55 mile per hour, but mostly they cruised along at three quarter throttle about 35 miles per hour. They had left Windsor NS Saturday morning and arrived in Red Beach at 6 o’clock Saturday evening where they stayed until Wednesday morning at Clarence Elliott’s camps.
The 12 foot Rocket built boat was made in Mahone Bay, NS and has a 54 inch beam. The motor used 15 ½ gallons of gasoline during the run. MacCall, a retired Navy man made the trip to renew acquaintances he had made in the first place when he was a twelve year old cook’s helper aboard a ship hauling gypsum from Red Beach. Spencer, a garage mechanic and the father of nine children, came along on the voyage to see part of the world. It was the longest distance he had ever been from home.
The men said because of the size of their boat they had to watch constantly for sudden trouble in the way of gust of wind, heavy swells or rocks. At one point they found themselves in the midst of a school of black fish in Mace Bay below St. John, NB and had to slow down abruptly a couple of times to avoid running up on the backs of fish which weighted as much as a ton or more.
The general route followed by the sailor’s was from Windsor NS down the Avon River across the Bay of Fundy 42 miles to Cape Spencer, Near St. John’s NB., then across St. John Bay to Letete Passage into Passamaquaddy Bay and up the St. Croix River to Red Beach.
The above was the event as reported in the Bangor Maine newspaper. Below is information that was passed down from relatives and friends to Larry Spencer (son of Howard) about the return trip to Cheverie, Nova Scotia.
Sam and Howard actually left from Cheverie village near the area that sailing ships where built many years before, not Windsor, NS as the newspaper article seems to indicate. It is close to Shipyard road, just past the Cheverie general store.
June 1954. (Over fifty four years ago!)
When Sam and Howard arrived at Calais, they left the boat tied up at the local dock to find the friends of Sam and visit for awhile. They had called by phone and let Sam’s friends know that they were sailing Saturday morning. I can only image the aches and pains of spending eight hours in that small boat! Upon returning, to their surprise, they found that many of the local’s had tossed spare change into the boat for the two to spend on refreshments at the local pub! The Maine fishermen and everyone else appreciated the magnitude of such an adventure.
When Sam and Howard left for the return trip home, a storm came up and they were talked into spending the night at a fishermen’s house in Maine. It ended up taken two and a half days to return to Cheverie. I believe the weather was just one factor in the extended layover! There also must have been consideration of the tide cycle for their departure. Out at sea, they had to slow for a pod of whales, stop to repair the 25 horsepower outboard engine that picked up some dirt in the carburetor. That’s where Howard’s expertise as a mechanic came in to good use.
Note....I don’t know if this type of excursion had been accomplished previously or even after, but one must respect these sailors for having the courage and sense of adventure that some of us only dream of.
