One of New Brunswick’s most popular tourist spots was partially flooded on Sunday. Water levels were around a foot-high in places at the Pointe-du-Chêne Wharf. Most of the water was in front of the Sandbar Restaurant and the adjacent ice cream bar. Hundreds of thousands of tourists and locals visit the wharf every summer, and on Sunday a few locals came out to see the water levels for themselves. Some said it was a common occurrence and not a big deal at all while others were caught off guard. Peter Davis has had a boat at the Pointe-du-Chêne Yacht Club for 28 years and said he’s never seen the tide this high before. “I was really surprised. It almost reminded me of one of the past hurricanes we may have had. Just a really high tide,” said Davis. “Very surprised to see the water this high.” However, Sandbar manager Vanessa Coates said it’s not that unusual. “At this time of the year we do get lunar tides that bring in a higher tide. Normally you’ll see storms that bring in water like this. It’s fairly calm and nice today, but today it’s a little higher than it usually is at this time of the year. Normally in January is when you’re going to see the higher tides in this area,” said Coates. Coates said the Sandbar wasn’t damaged at all. “There’s no water in the basement, nothing like that. We’re built good. We’re not too worried,” she said. Davis said the water at the wharf on Sunday reminded him of Hurricane Fiona which caused millions in damages to the wharf in September of 2022. “It definitely has that sort of creepy feeling of high water,” said Davis. Hurricane Fiona caused millions of dollars in damage to the wharf on Sept. 24, 2022, and the federal and provincial governments spent over $10 million to help restore it and protect it from future storms. For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
