Lakespeak: The Language of the Great Lakes – Seaway Route (Part 2) – Summer 1984
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The Great Lakes… 84% of the continent’s fresh water… a different story in every drop.
By Capt. John J. Lawrence and Robert D. Graham
Basic route map around Neebish Island. Image from Wikipedia.
GEOGRAPHICAL
Big Eddy, the: a very conspicuous current eddy on the U.S. side of the St. Lawrence just below Iroquois Dam.
Black Hole, the: a tortuous part of the upbound channel past Neebish Island on the St. Mary’s River. Sometimes still called the Sailor’s Encampment, this area was very hazardous before construction of the Rock Cut allowed separation of upbound and downbound traffic on opposite sides of the island.
Boat Wreck, the: the hulk of the German Motor Vessel Nordmeer, stranded on Thunder Bay Shoal in Lake Huron in late November 1966.
Bypass, the: the Welland Canal Bypass, opened in 1973, that expedites traffic. Prior to completion of the 8.3 mile bypass, ships had to negotiate a difficult section passing through Welland and spanned by several bridges.
Cape, the: Cape Vincent, at the head of the St. Lawrence. A pilot station is located here.
Coteau Luke: (pronounced KO-tuh by most Anglophones) A reference to Lake St. Francis (be- tween Cornwall and Valleyfield on the St. Lawrence) that dates from pre-Seaway days, when Coteau Landing marked the western end of the old 14-foot Soulanges Canal. The term is chiefly used by veterans of the 14-foot navigation era, and may gradually pass out of use with their retirements.
Crossover, the: points on the St. Lawrence where the main channel crosses from one side of the river to the other. These are near Oak Point, New York, and Lancaster Bar on Lake St. Francis.
Cutoff the: the “new” (opened in 1963) channel between Lake St. Clair and the lower end of the St. Clair River. Completion allowed shipping to bypass the old channel often called the Snake Run.
Eleven and Twelve: the outermost of the buoys in the dredged channel above Port Huron, Michigan, at the foot of Lake Huron.
Flats, the: St. Clair Flats, low-lying land near the southern extremity of the St. Clair River.
Hole, the: the Copeland Cut, about two miles above Eisenhower Lock on the St. Lawrence Seaway. Ships avoid meeting here because of close quarters and a strong northward current set. Also called the Dark Hole.
Lachine Lake: veterans’ term for Lake St. Louis. The term originated when ships used the now- closed Lachine Canal to reach Montreal from the lake.
Long Level, the: the lock-free thirteen miles of the Welland Canal between Locks 7 and 8.
Mid-lake: a traffic reporting-point halfway across Lake Ontario. Vessels report positions to Seaway Oshawa and Seaway Sodus.
Rock Cut, the: the downbound shipping channel on the west side of Neebish Island on the St. Mary’s River. The mostly-artificial channel was constructed in the 1920’s, cut through solid rock.
Rock Pile, the: a mound of rocks off Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, used as a reference point by traffic control and shipboard personnel.
Salt Dock, the: the Diamond Crystal Salt Company wharf at St. Clair, Michigan, used as a reporting point for traffic on the St. Clair River.
Snye, the: the channel between the St. Clair River and Wallaceburg, Ontario, comprising the Chenal Ecarte and Sydenham Rivers, and navigable by smaller cargo vessels.
Soo River, the: the St. Mary’s River.
OUT OF COMMON USE
Boilers, the: a white-water area just below Morrisburg on the pre-Seaway St. Lawrence River. The disturbance was caused by submarine boulders, and shipmasters were commonly warned not to run through the Boilers when downbound (upbound traffic was already “inside,” in the Rapide Plat Canal, at this point.)
Bookends, the: the concrete “closure structure” built above Lock 20 on the 14-foot Cornwall Canal during construction of the Seaway. It allowed ships to continue using the old canal while the dike system designed to contain Lake St. Lawrence was being built. The closure structure was sealed with stoplogs just before cofferdams were dynamited and the new “lake” formed in July 1958.
Guard Gate, the: a control structure that existed just above the Welland Canal’s Lock 7 until the end of the 1982 navigational season. By that time it had ceased to perform a useful function and served only as a bottleneck, as ships had to pass through its 80-foot portal as they would through a regular lock. Sometimes called the draw.
Darby’s Lake: mariners’ name for Bergin Lake, a controlled body of water between the upper and lower Cornwall Canals. It was named for Lt. Col. Darby Dargin, a 19th-century Canadian militiaman and Member of Parliament.
Jump, the: the Rapide Plat, a swift and hazardous section of the old downbound shipping channel above Morrisburg, Ontario. Successful passage required favorable water levels and careful piloting, and was not attempted at night.
Piller’s Bay: a bay below Weavor Point on the pre-Seaway St. Lawrence. The slack water in bays such as this enabled upbound ships to gather way before emerging to battle the current.
Snake Run, the: the twisting old channel that formerly connected Lake St. Clair and the St. Clair River through the Flats, superseded by the Cutoff (see) in 1963.
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