Surfers on the Petitcodiac River in New Brunswick.
On Wednesday July 24th, two California surfers rode a tidal bore wave on New Brunswick’s Petitcodiac River for 29 kilometers, just over 18 miles. JJ Wessels and Colin Whitbread headed to the city of Moncton, one of surfing’s last frontiers, to jump on the “super bore.” Moncton, New Brunswick, sits on Canada’s southeast coast, just above Maine.
Initial reports praise the surfers’ achievements and speak of the city’s efforts to work with the surfers in order to utilize the annual tidal bore for tourism purposes. While theoretically this is still the case, the large amount of attention the record breaking feat received, along with surfer’s tendency to spread to a new spot like wildfire, has caused Moncton officials to release cautionary statements.
“It’s not yet a fully accessible, recreational river. It has the potential to become one. That’s why we’re so excited about what has happened last week,” stated the city’s Director of Tourism and Culture, Ben Champoux.
“We strongly encourage people to be very, very, very careful about accessing the river. We do strongly encourage people now to come see the river, see the tidal bore.”
Along with the dangers of surfing a tidal bore come rough currents, dangerous rocks and dirty water. The Californians were only able to hit the Petitcodiac after the Greater Moncton Sewage Commission had confirmed it would reduce the amount of treated water released into the river.
While it’s not likely that Moncton become the next over-run line up, it does highlight the penchant we surfers have for jumping on the bandwagon. It’s not always a bad thing but could hinder the enjoyment of others. We tend to see the next “big thing” and want to become a part of it. Maybe it’s our deeply ingrained sense of community or our love for sharing? Who knows. One thing is for sure though: Moncton is playing with fire when they invite the surf community to their hometown. We can be a rowdy bunch, always ready for a good time.
