Historic
Port Dalhousie
To
sailing vessels, this is without doubt the most important Port on the
Lake. Every vessel boundto or from the Upper Lakes is obliged to pass
through the Welland Canal, and consequently to enter or leave this Port.
It has the advantage of being easily made in any weather, and with any
wind.
It
is furnished with an excellent Lighthouse, built on the end of the east
pier, containing a revolving bright light.
There
are no shoals or dangers of any kind to be feared in approaching Port
Dalhousie; the only caution requisite for a sailor, is to guard against
standing inside the range of the West Pier in working in, as between
it and the remains of an old wharf there are two rocks and a shoal (all
below water) on which he would put his vessel ashore. The piers run
N. and S. to the bend, thence to the lock N. E. and S. W.; they are
about 3,000 feet long, 200 feet apart, with an average depth of 12 feet
water. The basin or pond to the east of the steam-boat landing is too
shoal to be of any service, and it reflects no little discredit upon
the Commissioners for allowing so much valuable space to be lost, when
at a comparatively small cost the capacity of this important port could
be so greatly improved.
It
has been told me as a fact, that between three and four miles N. or
N. by W. of the lighthouse, the compass dips, and for a short time becomes
so disturbed as not to be relied upon. I have not been able to verify
this, but shall feel much obliged to any of the Captains frequenting
this Port, communicating to me the result of their experience.
COURSES
AND DISTANCES.From Port Dalhousie to Burlington Canal, W. 3/4
N. 32 miles." " Oakville, N. W. by N. 32 miles." "
Toronto, N. by W. 33 miles." " Whitby, N. N. E. 55 miles."
" Long Point, E. N. E. 136 miles." " Mid-channel between
Real and False Ducks, E. by N. 1/2 N. 174 miles." " Niagara
River, E. by N. 12 miles." " Devil's Nose, E. by N.1/2 N.
Port Dalhousie owes its existence and growth
to the building of the First Welland Canal, begun in 1824 and completed
in 1829. The entrance to the first canal was at the west end of the
present Lakeside Park and followed along the bank, on the northeast
side of Lock Street then turning south and passing behind the former
Government Gate Yard and Maple Leaf Rubber Company (Lincoln Fabrics)
before linking up with the Twelve Mile Creek.
The locks of this canal were very small, being only
100 feet long and 20 feet wide, built of wood. Traffic at the time was
carried on small sailing vessels, having a carrying capacity of between
five and six thousand bushels of grain.
Along
with the canal came the people to serve its needs. Barge and horse handlers,
tow boys, ships chandlers, and dry dock workers. Rooming house and grog
shops flourished bringing a different life and flavour to what had been
a sparsely populated rural farming area.
Toronto
Harbour
This
spacious anchorage is without doubt the best natural harbour on Lake
Ontario. It is nearlycircular, being formed by the main land on the
north, and by a long, low, and narrow spit of sand, on the east, south,
and south-west, called the Peninsula or Island ; it extends in a south-westerly
direction from the highlands in the township of Scarboro', and terminates
in a point which suddenly turns to the north opposite the Old Garrison,
and upon which trees of stunted growth are thickly scattered: thus is
enclosed a beautiful basin of about two and a half miles in diameter,
capable of containing a great number of vessels.
LIGHTHOUSE.
The
south-west extremity of this island is called Gibraltar Point, on which
is erected the Lighthouse, 66 feet high, having a fixed bright light.
CHANNEL.
The
entrance to the harbour is by a narrow channel at its north-west corner
between the Queen's Wharf and a row of buoys south thereof, which are
placed in about ten feet water. The present channel is 300 feet wide,
and about 600 or 700 feet long, having an average depth of 11 feet ;
but owing to the extreme narrowness of this passage, large and heavily
laden vessels often find it difficult, sometimes impossible, to beat
in or out against a head wind.
This
channel, however, is being widened from year to year by the constant
use of the dredge ; and I believe it is the intention of the Harbour
Master to continue this useful work until a clear available space of
400 feet has been obtained.
HARBOUR LIGHTS.
On
the Queen's Wharf are placed the Harbour Lights-the northenmost a fixed
red light, the other a bright beacon light on the western extremity
of the pier. These lights when brought into line indicate the entrance
to the channel. They bear N. by W. of the lighthouse on Gibraltar Point.
In
working up the Lake from the eastward at night, give the shore a good
two-mile berth when abreast of the Scarboro' heights, otherwise the
light on Gibraltar Point will be hidden by the trees on the Island.
If bound into Toronto Harbour, keep nearly a mile to the W. of the lighthouse,
then steer N. for the harbour lights. In the spring and fall, fogs are
prevalent, which hang near the surface, and do not ascend more than
thirty or forty feet from the water; the harbour lights, then, will
not be seen, in which case, when well to the westward of the lighthouse
on the Point, steer for the North Star, immediately under which will
be found the red light on the wharf.
When
the fogs are so dense as to obscure all the lights or other land marks,
the only safe guide is the lead line, and the shore should not be approached
where there is less than six or seven fathoms water.
SHOAL.
A
sandy shoal stretches into the Lake for a quarter of a mile in a S.
W. direction off Gibraltar Point, and is thence continued along the
W. side of the Island extending N. to the Bar Buoys which mark the channel
into the bay, at an average distance of a quarter of a mile from the
Island.
Vessels
running for shelter from an easterly gale should anchor on the W. side
of the Island about one mile from the shore, where there is good holding
ground in six or seven fathoms water, mud and clay bottom : if too near
the Island the anchor will not hold in the sand, and a sudden shift
of wind will put them ashore on the bar.
DANGER.
There
is a large boulder stone within five feet of the surface, nearly midway
between the Queen's and Garrison Wharves, and a little to the south
thereof.
REMARKS.
Much
having of late been said regarding the advantages which Navigation,
Commerce, and the City generally would derive from an eastern entrance
to the Bay, I cannot allow the present opportunity to pass without raising
my voice loudly against a measure, which if carried into effect, must
be followed by the most disastrous consequences to the best natural
harbour on Lake Ontario.
The
authors of the able reports on "The Improvement and Preservation
of the Toronto Harbour," - to whom prizes were awarded in May,
1854, by the Harbour Commissioners - are unanimous in condemning, not
only as useless, but actually prejudicial, a canal through the bend
or south-eastern portion of the Peninsula. If the integrity of the Island
is maintained, there is not the slightest fear of the present channel
ever closing, even if left entirely alone; it may become narrower, but
it would never become so completely blocked up, as to convert the present
bay into a small lake or pond : natural causes are at work to prevent
it. During the eight months of the year that the Bay is clear of ice,
the amount of water taken from its surface by evaporation alone is enormous
: experiments prove incontestibly that three-fourths of an inch a day
is a fair average to allow for loss from this source alone. Let us assume,
however, that only half an inch takes place. What will be the result
? From the 1st of April to the 30th of November we have 244 days ; this
divided by 2, gives 122 inches, or 10 feet 2 inches, the quantity of
water taken from the surface of the bay during the above-named period.
Again, taking the soundings of the Bay from the water's edge to its
deepest part, we find that ten feet would be a fair average depth; thus
we perceive that there is actually more water removed by evaporation
than the Bay is capable of containing at any one time. How, then, is
this loss supplied ? By an under-current of cold water constantly rushing
into the Bay from the Lake, between the end of the Queen's Wharf and
the bar buoys. This is clearly proved, both by experiment and by resorting
to the same means which put me in possession of the fact. I have dived
at least an hundred times from a boat moored in the channel near the
buoys, and when at the bottom, with my eyes open, I have invariably
seen myself drawn inwards towards the Bay, nor can I call to mind a
single instance where the under-current set outwards or in the opposite
direction.
I
am well aware that the surface or upper current will often run out of
the Bay, while the under current is running in, for this I have seen
a minute after coming to the top of the water; neither will I deny,
that occasionally, just after an easterly or south-east gale, when the
waters of the Lake are driven up towards its head, and when the Bay
in common with the Lake partakes of this rise ; or after a strong S.
W. blow, which produces the same effect, that this under-current may
be overcome by the pressure of the increased quantity of water in the
Bay, and that a reflux current may for a short time be established.
The
form or shape of the bar immediately opposite the Queen's Wharf, also
proves the steady indraft into the Bay. I have always likened it to
a man's foot; the shoal which runs from the N. point of the Island,
terminates suddenly near the spot where the red buoy is usually placed,
this I have compared to the heel; the northern end of the bar runs parallel
with the wharf, and represents the sole of the foot ; and the many sandy
prolongations which run easterly may be likened to the toes.
To
this natural cause, and to this alone, the persistance of the channel
at the Queen's Wharf is dependant: do away with this current or lessen
its force, by another opening at the east end of the Bay, and in ten
years' time the sand would gain such a mastery as to bid defiance to
the dredge.
There
are many other weighty reasons against making a canal at the S. E. end
of the Bay; they are, however, so ably set forth in Captain Richardson's
admirable report, that it is quite unnecessary for me to allude to them.
Might
it not be desirable to build a short pier of crib work, say two or three
hundred feet long, parallel with the Queen's Wharf, and at whatever
distance from it to the south that the Harbour Commissioners may deem
sufficient for the width of the channel, and upon the ends of which
lights should be erected?
This
pier would not in any way interfere with the escape of ice in the spring;
it would clearly indicate the width of the channel, and for which purpose
the present buoys are perfectly inadequate at night; and it could not
have any injurious effect in causing the sand brought in by the wash
of a S. W. wind from being deposited in any other situation than that
in which it now takes place.
Should
this suggestion not be deemed worthy of the consideration of the Harbour
Commissioners, they should, in common justice to all sailing vessels
(more especially strangers) visiting this port, cause to be placed at
the narrowest part of the channel south of the Queen's Wharf, either
a small beacon light (which might be lighted with gas), or a buoy fitted
with bells, and which the action of the water alone would be suffcient
to sound.
COURSES
AND DISTANCES. FROM GIBRALTAR POINT Taken from the Admiralty
Chart, surveyed by Capt. Owen, R.N. From Toronto to Burlington Canal
(Hamilton) S. W. 35 miles."
" Port Dalhousie, S. by E. 33 miles."
" Mouth of Niagara River, S. E. by S. 35 miles. (When
on the bar bring the Fort Niagara to bear S. E. by E.)"
" Devil's Nose, E. by S. 86 miles."
" Genesee River (Rochester), to clear Braddock's Point, E. by S.
1/4 E. 110 miles."
" Oswego, E. 1/2 S. 176 miles."
" Long Point Light, E. 1/2 N. 136 miles."
" Cobourg E. N. E. 1/4 E. 78 miles."
" Whitby N. E. by E. 34 miles. No
variation to be allowed for compass when within 20 m. E. or W. of Toronto.
Kingston
Harbour
Kingston
Harbour, next to the Bay of Toronto is the best natural harbour on Lake
Ontario; theapproach to it, however, is intricate - consequently, dangerous.It
is situated at the N. E. corner of Lake Ontario, just where the Lake
terminates and the River St. Lawrence begins.
CHANNELS.
There
are three channels by which it may be made.
1st.
The Batteau Channel between Wolfe or Long Island, and Simcoe or Gage
Island: this is generally used by small craft only, having in several
places little more than two fathoms water.
2nd.
South Channel, between Simcoe or Gage Island and Snake Island; here,
also, the water becomes shoal, having only 2 1/2 fathoms.
3rd.
North Channel, which is the best: it runs between Snake Island and the
main Land, which, although it increases the distance a little, is by
far the safest, having from 4 to 10 fathoms water in it.
From
South Bay Point in Prince Edward's District on the west, to Stoney Point
in New York State on the east, the navigation of the Lake is interrupted
by numerous islands, shoals, and rocks, which renders the approach to
Kingston Harbour dangerous to vessels unacquainted with it.
SOUTH
CHANNEL.
In
making this harbour from any of the western ports of the Lake, steer
for the Mid-Channel between the Real and the False Ducks; then alter
the course to N. E. 1/2 E., which will take the vessel through the south
channel direct to Kingston Harbour.
Should
there be a head wind, make this course the base line, never passing
it to the southward, but stand off and on to the northward and eastward
until inside Nine Mile Point on Simcoe Island; keep close to Four Mile
Point, (on Simcoe Island,) leaving Snake Island, which may be known
by a single tall elm tree, and upon which the Board of Works are about
to erect a lighthouse,) bearing N, W. or to the left; from thence the
course is clear to Kingston.
In
running along Simcoe Island from Nine Mile Point Lighthouse *
*
The Lighthouse on Nine Mile Point is 45, feet high, and furnished with
a good stationary bright light.
to Four Mile Point, do not follow the curve of the island, as the water
becomes very shoal.
NORTH
CHANNEL.
Should
the North Channel
be preferred, when inside Nine Mile Point Lighthouse, steer due North
till midway between snake Island and the main land : this course will
clear a shoal bearing N. W. of the lighthouse, and give Snake Island
a good half-mile berth to the eastward, thence due east into the harbour.
In
making Kingston from Oswego, two courses may be taken. Due N. will take
you to Nine Mile Point, clearing the Ducks, leaving them to the westward,
and Pigeon Island and Charity Shoal to the eastward.
North
by West (which is the best course) will take to mid-channel, between
the True and False Ducks.
DUCKS LIGHT.
At
night the stationary bright light of the False Ducks will be first seen
; but in the day time, South Bay Point, which is high bushy land, will
be seen before the Ducks.
SOUTH
BAY POINT,
Should
a gale be coming up from the W. or S. W., good anchorage and shelter
can be obtained inside South Bay Point: to make it, keep to the eastward
of the Outer Drake Island, and to the north of the Inner Drake (the
False Ducks) and anchor off the N. E. point, or run alongside a small
wharf which will be found there.
UPPER GAP.
If
obliged to run for shelter behind South Bay Point, Kingston may afterwards
be made by passing through the Upper Gap ; that is, between Indian Point
on the West, and Amherst Island to the East. Steer N. by E. till between
Amherst Island and the main land, then E. N. E. till North of the Brothers,
thence E. to Kingston.
REAL DUCK.
Shelter
and good anchorage can also be obtained inside or to the N. E. of the
Real Duck Island.
NOTE.-There
is a channel between South Bay Point and the Outer Drake, which, however,
should not be attempted except with a leading wind, in fine weather,
and by a good pilot, as a dangerous shoal exists between this island
and the point.
COURSES
AND DISTANCES. Kingston to Snake Island, S. W. by W., 4 miles."
Nine Mile Point, S. W. by S., 8 1/2 miles."
Mid Channel between True and False Ducks, S. W. 1/2 W. 27 m. Nine
Mile Point to South Bay Point, S. W. by W. 26 miles."
" W. end of Galloo Island (Lighthouse) S. by E. 1/2 E. 23 m. Mid
Channel between Ducks to Long Point, W. S. W. 25 miles."
" " Oswego, S. by E. 40 miles."
" " Genesee, S. W. 75 miles."
" " Port Dalhousie, W. S. W. 165 miles. From
Long Point Light to Toronto, W. by S. 136 miles.
