Cape Enrage
Encyclopedia
Albert County, New Brunswick
Albert County is located in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada on the Chignecto Bay of the Bay of Fundy. Prior to the abolition of county government in 1967, the county seat was Hopewell Cape...
, roughly half way along the coastline between the villages of Riverside-Albert
Riverside-Albert, New Brunswick
Riverside-Albert is a Canadian village in Albert County, New Brunswick.The village is composed of two separate communities, Riverside and Albert, which were amalgamated into a single municipality in 1966....
and Alma
Alma, New Brunswick
Alma is a village in the parish of Alma, Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. The village is centered on the small delta of the Upper Salmon River and Cleveland Brook, where they empty into Salisbury Bay....
at the eastern entrance to Fundy National Park
Fundy National Park
Fundy National Park is located on the Bay of Fundy, near the village of Alma, New Brunswick. The Park showcases both seashore habitats and highland Acadian forests...
.
Accessible from Route 915
New Brunswick Route 915
Route 915 is a long provincial highway located entirely in Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. The highway begins at Route 114 in Alma and travels along the northwestern shores of the Bay of Fundy before turning back north to end at Route 114 in south Riverside-Albert.-Route description:Route...
, the island itself is surrounded by jagged sea cliffs that are often more than 50 metres (145 ft) high, and is separated from the mainland by a narrow tidal creek.
Cape Enrage derives its name from the large reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
that extends south into Chignecto Bay
Chignecto Bay
Chignecto Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy located between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and separated from the waters of the Northumberland Strait by the Isthmus of Chignecto. It is a unit within the greater Gulf of Maine Watershed...
, which causes the water off the point to become extremely violent, particularly at half tide when the reef is partially exposed and the water is moving quickly. The oldest lighthouse
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
on the New Brunswick mainland, dating from 1847, is located at Cape Enrage. The lighthouse itself has been automated and unmanned since the 1980s, but it has recently become a popular tourist destination
Tourist destination
A tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...
, as a result of a concentrated effort by local students to renovate the property and run it as a summer project. In 2004, Frommer's travel guide listed it as one of the 'Best Views in Canada'.
History
Acadian sailors made early mention of 'Cap Enragé,' and after the Acadian expulsion, British settlers anglicised the name to Cape Enrage. During the 1840s, Cape Enrage won a contested debate as the location of the first lighthouse in Chignecto Bay, and the lighthouse was erected in 1847. A variety of boathouses and temporary lighthouse keeper's houses were built over the next decades, but were frequently damaged or destroyed in the region's numerous storms and harsh winters. The lighthouse itself was heavily damaged in one storm in the 1840s, and was extensively repaired. The current lighthouse keeper's house dates from 1952.The lighthouse was automated in the late 1980s by the Canadian Coast Guard
Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard is the coast guard of Canada. It is a federal agency responsible for providing maritime search and rescue , aids to navigation, marine pollution response, marine radio, and icebreaking...
, and the last lighthouse keeper, Noel Justison, left the property in 1988. The property quickly began to suffer from neglect and vandalism, and by 1993 all of the buildings except the lighthouse were scheduled for demolition by the government. However, in 1993 a small group of high school students from Moncton, under the supervision of Dennison Tate, their physics teacher, began a restoration project at the site, renovating all of the buildings and slowly turning the site into a tourist destination. From 1993 to 2009 Cape Enrage Interpretive Centre, a not-for-profit, student-run organisation, maintained the property and the students also offered climbing
Climbing
Climbing is the activity of using one's hands and feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or military operations.Climbing activities include:* Bouldering: Ascending boulders or small...
, rappelling, and kayaking
Kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving across water. Kayaking and canoeing are also known as paddling. Kayaking is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle...
in the summer months through the for-profit business, Cape Enrage Adventures. In the summer of 2004 the Canadian Coast Guard formally transferred ownership of the lighthouse to Cape Enrage Adventures and Cape Enrage Interpretive Centre.
Tourism Today
Visitors venture to Cape Enrage to enjoy the awe-inspiring scenery of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotian coasts along the Bay of Fundy. And don't worry if it's a foggy day, because instead you can sit by the seaside and watch the fog roll by in tune to the low growl of the fog horn while warming up with a hot coffee and a bowl of seafood chowder.Cape Enrage is run by a volunteer board of local tourism and business owners that oversee the lighthouse as well as climbing and rappelling adventures on the site. Cape Enrage facilities include wilderness trails and a wheelchair accessible walk along the cliff top. A restaurant, gift shop and bathrooms are open daily in the summer season. Climbing and rappelling adventures are booked in advance and are usually available from May through to September. Details are available on the Cape Enrage website.