Fantasy RV Caravan - Day 12

Tuesday, 13 August - Day 12

Today was designated a free day in the schedule.  

Our first stop of the day was the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station.  The Annapolis Tidal Generating Station is the largest tidal generating station in the world.  One of the only tidal generating stations in the world, the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station was built in 1984 as a demonstration plant and is the only one in North America.  The station generates up to 20 MW of electricity at peak output, enough to power to 4,500 homes.

The design of the turbine uses low head technology such that it requires a minimum of 6 foot head for the turbine to operate.  While the turbine is capable of operation on both the incoming tide and the outgoing tide, prior efforts to control the level of the Annapolis River is such that they can’t use the full capacity of the turbine without negatively impacting the farms along the river upstream.  So the tidal generating station only operates with 2.5’ of tide in the river.

Photo of turbine model

The Annapolis Tidal Generating Station has been in operation for 35 years.  Many lessons have been learned.  For example, building dams on the Bay of Fundy is a dumb idea.  The Bay of Fundy moves a lot of sediment, and dams cause the sediment to settle.  They have proved to be environmental disasters, according to our guide.

The gentleman providing the information today was Les, who had a career in sales.  He was an amazing presenter, and provided a lot more than just the facts and figures about the tidal generating station.  He shared a lot of information about why this is likely the last tidal generating station of this type, and information of other efforts Nova Scotia is pursuing to derive their energy from renewable sources, such as wind.

After our tour of the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station we drove Sprinty to the other side of Annapolis Royal to play the Fort View Golf Course, formerly the Annapolis Royal Golf and Country Club, with Phil and Lori, two of our caravan mates.  Phil got a new driver two weeks ago and has been chomping at the bit to use it.

We both started off a little rusty, and made double bogey on the first hole.  Kris bounced back with a chip in birdie on the second hole, while Darrell decided to explore the woods down the right side twice.  Kris maintained her three stroke lead for a few holes, then Darrell tied it up, but made the turn one stroke back.

On the back nine, we tied the next three holes, then Kris’ persistence and consistency started chipping away.  Kris finished the day 3 strokes ahead.  

When we got back to the campground, several of our caravan mates just wanted to know who won between the two of us, and were pretty tickled to learn that Kris won again.

A few minutes after we got back to Sprinty, the campground manager came by to ask if we were missing a cell phone.  We were not, but learned that the golf course had called and someone had left a cell phone in a cart at the golf course.  When Phil and Lori returned (they stopped at the Annapolis Tidal Generating Station on the way back), I passed on about the cell phone.  It was Phil’s.  Pretty amazing piece of detective work for the golf course to call this campground (one of several in the area) to reunite the cell phone with its owner.

At 6pm, we joined Doug, Jan, Bill, Lyn, Phil and Lori to grill dinner on Doug’s barbecue overlooking the Bay of Fundy.  A very pleasant evening, chatting around the grill until well after sunset.