SHIPPAGAN, N.B. - New Brunswickers braved bitter winds and freezing rain Friday as the Olympic torch made its way from Fredericton to the northern part of the province.

Dozens of supporters gathered at the wharf in Shippagan late in the afternoon to see the flame despite the poor weather.

"I couldn't miss it,'' said Helene Daigle, wearing a winter jacket, scarf and toque. "It's really an historic moment.''

The torch was supposed to be taken aboard a boat for a harbour tour of the fishing town 100 kilometres east of Bathurst, near the tip of the Acadian peninsula.

But the trip was cancelled because of high winds that caused the flame to flicker perilously as it was carried across New Brunswick's north shore.

Organizers said Friday saw some of the poorest conditions so far in the relay, which has already toured the Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut.

But the cold and rain didn't appear to dampen the spirits of supporters in Shippagan, who danced in the rain to stay warm as they waited for the torch to arrive.

"We didn't think it would come all this way to see us,'' Daigle said.

"We are very proud.''

The torch relay began Friday before dawn in the provincial capital, slowly making its way north to Miramichi before completing a tour of the Acadian peninsula.

Residents in Taymouth, Boiestown, Doaktown and Blackville lined the normally quiet two-lane highway between Miramichi and Fredericton, cheering and waving flags in the morning drizzle.

"In some ways, when the weather is like this, it brings people out together,'' said Scott Tabachnick, a spokesman for Coca-Cola, one of the relay's sponsors.

"For these people, this is their only interaction with the torch, so we have to make it special.''

At the noon celebrations in Miramichi, several thousand residents - many of them children dressed in red hats and scarves, cheering and singing - gathered to celebrate the torch's arrival.

"In this weather, to see this many people is unbelievable,'' Mark Noel, Miramichi's community torchbearer, told the crowd.

Following its stop in Miramichi, the flame continued north along the coast of Miramichi Bay, making stops in Esgenoopetitj, Neguac, and Tracadie-Sheila.

After leaving Shippagan on Friday afternoon, it continued along the shores of Chaleur Bay, making stops in Caraquet and Grand Anse, until reaching Bathurst for a night of music.

In all, the flame visited 15 communities and travelled 402 kilometres Friday.

The torch is expected to continue west Saturday from Bathurst towards Edmundston, where the forecast calls for a mixture of rain and snow. The relay will stop in the afternoon for a special celebration in Grand Falls.

The flame is scheduled to leave New Brunswick early Sunday morning, heading to Quebec after stops in Edmundston and Saint-Jacques.

The 45,000-kilometre relay began Oct. 30 in Victoria, and will end Feb. 12 at the opening of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver.

(New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal)