At Kelly’s Cove, New Brunswick, Connie Bishop and four of her friends embarked on a shore dive. Kelly’s Cove is a large beach on Greens Park Road, just north of the Greens Point Lighthouse, that is ideal for shore entry diving.
Letete Passage was a thoroughfare used by vessels to enter Passamaquoddy Bay en route to the wharves at St. Andrews, St. Stephen, and St. George. It was bounded on the east by Green’s Point and on the west by Macs Island. In 1878, Parliament appropriated $1,500 for the erection of a steam-powered fog alarm at Letete Passage in Charlotte County, and the following year, D. W. Clark constructed the fog alarm building and a reservoir to supply the needed water at a cost of $2,774. The trumpet would sound seven-second blasts every thirty seconds during dense air, fogs, and snowstorms, which could be heard up to six miles with the wind and just two or three miles against the wind.
The station underwent the most significant change in 1903 when a lighthouse was built on Green’s Point, which was then known as Mascabin Point on navigational charts. The $800 contract price for the wooden octagonal tower was met. The lighthouse was built in eight parts in St. Andrews, then transported by scow to the point and installed just northwest of the fog alarm building. When word of Green’s Point’s proposed de-staffing got out in 1995, a group of concerned citizens organized the Green’s Point Light Association to keep the station running as an educational and recreational facility. On December 4, 1996, the association and the Canadian Coast Guard signed a lease agreement authorizing the association to use the ground.
Green’s Point Light, which had been completely automated since 1996, was decommissioned on September 8, 1999, though the fog warning remained operational. In July 2008, the Green’s Point Light Association took over ownership of the lighthouse and station. Since 2002, a Coast Guard control station on the property has been used as a holiday rental to help fund the property’s upkeep.
Dive Report
There were 5 of us yesterday, 3 taking pictures. Max depth 50 ft, average 35 ft. Dive times ranged from 50 min – 75 min. We entered from shore at Kelly’s Cove at low slack tide. We can normally get about 40 min or so before the current picks up – yesterday was about the same. Visibility yesterday was 10-15 ft, a bit worse lately due to wind and melt. The Water temp was 42F. The site is a mix of soft bottom, rocky bottom, walls with lots of crevices. The site would be considered advanced, for experienced divers only due to the strong current and sometimes low visibility. Marine life at the site is quite varied, a beautiful sight!
Connie Bishop
Thanks to Connie Bishop for her photo contributions/dive report. Connie is co-owner of COJO Diving Centre with her husband Joe George. COJO diving is located in Fredericton, New Brunswick.
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